Jed Hoyer calls out Kyle Tucker’s struggles while sidestepping the bigger issue

For the Chicago Cubs to have a shot at making a deep run in October, Kyle Tucker has to be at his best. Not only has he not been at his best the last two months, he's barely been playable and his only real offensive value has come via his ability to draw walks.

Cubs president of baseball operations covered an array of topics in a Monday morning appearance on 670 The Score, including the Owen Caissie playing time conundrum, and spoke to what he believes could be the cause behind Tucker's prolonged slump.

“He probably changed his mechanics a bit while fighting through it,” Hoyer said on the Mully & Haugh Show. “And I think that probably is a big part of it. I mean, he is a little bit different mechanically than he was at the beginning of the year, and that’s what he’s working hard to get back to.

Kyle Tucker's finger injury could be to blame for his recent struggles

That makes sense - and there's no reason the explanation alone should draw the ire of Cubs fans. But given the team opted not to place Tucker on the IL after he suffered that finger injury back on June 1, it feels like the subsequent mechanical issues could have been avoided if the team just shelved him and made sure he was at 100 percent before returning to action.

It feels like an annual occurrence: the Cubs have a player who is clearly attempting to grind his way through an injury, while putting up subpar numbers. The team allows him to keep gutting through it, refusing to put him on the injured list. Then, once the season ends, we find out about the extent of the issue and immediately re-hash the same discussion we've having right now.

Tucker has been a shell of the player he was for much of the first half, and his struggles have taken the wind out of the Cubs' sails as they watched a four-game lead in the division the day Tucker injured his finger turn into a chasmic eight-game deficit entering Monday's doubleheader. They need him to get his swing back, plain and simple.

“He’s sort of exasperated right now. I understand it. I know he’ll get through it. He’s too good of a player not to. But it’s certainly hard to watch him struggle because I know how much he wants to be hitting and be helping the team.”

Exasperated or not, Tucker is firmly in the crosshairs of Cubs fans heading into a huge week at Wrigley after he was booed for not running out a ground ball in Sunday's win over Pittsburgh. The quickest way back into the hearts of the fanbase? Start coming up with big hits - hopefully of the extra-base variety - and see if he can help the team close out the regular season on a high note.