Cubs have cautious optimism they avoided a major Kyle Tucker injury

Nothing like watching the player your team pushed major chips in on as a one-year rental leave a game in early June with an injury. That was the headlining story on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field, though, with Chicago Cubs superstar Kyle Tucker leaving the game early with a hand injury after an awkward-looking stolen base attempt against the Cincinnati Reds.

Tucker took a couple more at-bats before manager Craig Counsell pulled him from the game. The initial diagnosis - a jammed finger - doesn't sound too serious and the hope is that Tucker can avoid any IL stint, an effort that should be buoyed by the fact the Cubs have a scheduled off-day Monday before opening up a series in Washington, D.C.

“Just day-to-day; not too concerned,” Counsell said after the game. “He felt all right at first, obviously enough to take a couple more at-bats.” ... “It’s just a sprained finger and as soon as some of the swelling goes down – I mean he took the second at-bat and it just was a little uncomfortable. So, with the lead, just got him out.”

Kyle Tucker putting up MVP-caliber numbers in year 1 with the Cubs

With all eyes on Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki as they battle for top billing on the league's RBI leaderboard, it almost feels like Tucker has flown somewhat under the radar, despite putting up some monster numbers: .394 OBP (10th in MLB), .918 OPS (13th in MLB) and 40 walks to just 32 strikeouts.

“I feel all right,” Tucker told Marquee Sports Network on Sunday. “Hand's a little jammed, a little swollen. Obviously, we got our off day tomorrow so hopefully it feels a little better once we get to Washington.”

He, along with Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong, have played in all 59 of the Chicago Cubs' games to this point, and all have played a huge part in the team being 15 games over .500 for the first time since 2018, carrying a four-game edge in the division into Tuesday's matchup against the Nationals.

There's no point even speculating, let alone panicking, about the injury and what it could mean. If he needs a day or two, it seems likely that Seiya Suzuki would take over in right and Counsell could play the matchups with the DH role. But the early hope from Counsell, Tucker and the Cubs is that he'll be good to go once the swelling goes down and won't miss a beat.