Cubs deadline move screams ‘no’ on Kyle Tucker—but ESPN says otherwise

Above all else, the Chicago Cubs' refusal to part with any of their top prospects at the MLB trade deadline seems to have confirmed what has largely been a worst-kept secret: the Cubs won't be the favorites for Kyle Tucker when he hits free agency this offseason. Holding onto both Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara, the Cubs have a clear succession plan in place for the likelihood that Tucker is in his final two months on the North Side.

If that is too harsh a reality, Cubs fans who like to live with a fill-the-glass-half-full mentality can cling to this prediction from ESPN's Jeff Passan.

In the immediate aftermath of the MLB trade, Passan sets the over/under on Tucker's next contract at $450MM and believes that the Cubs are the favorite. A couple of things to consider here are that in-season, insiders almost always are going to throw a bone to the team the player is already on, suggesting they are on the inside track. Furthermore, Passan is talking to the Chicago market as part of a Cubs radiothon for cancer awareness. We're not fully saying the Passan was throwing Cubs fans a bone, but he certainly was aware of what was happening in the room.

Cubs deadline move sure looks like a Kyle Tucker shutdown… or is it?

With all eyes on Tucker's recent "slump", there has been a new wave of predictions over what Tucker's next contract will look like. The $600MM number that has been much-discussed in the past has always felt irrational, considering Tucker's age, and if his"slump" does one thing, it's probably confirmed that fact.

The guess here is that if Tucker's contract is anything under $500MM, the Cubs will be the team that signs him. That said, even with his home run numbers disappearing in July, a team likely will be willing to go above $500MM in their offer to the Cubs' All-Star.

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