Kyle Tucker injury just became the Cubs’ most embarrassing moment of the season

It shouldn't have taken as long as it did, but Chicago Cubs fans finally know what is at the center of Kyle Tucker's slump. Tucker suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand at the start of June. The fact that we are at the end of August and the Cubs are just now sharing this news speaks to a larger issue that has plagued the organization before this season.

Tucker was reportedly approached by the Cubs about being placed on the IL, and he declined the move, suggesting that he was capable of playing through the injury. Initially, he wasn't wrong. Tucker posted a wRC+ of 173 in June, nearly 20 points higher than his production in any other month this season. From that standpoint alone, it's very easy to see why the Cubs did not place Tucker on the IL.

However, the other shoe dropped in July when Tucker's power profile all but disappeared. Still, mostly tied to his ability to get on base, Tucker carried a 106 wRC+. Not terrible by any means, but definitely not the number you expect from an All-Star right fielder. Things finally reached a boiling point in August, with Tucker carrying a 16 wRC+ and looking mentally broken.

There is plenty of blame to go around for why things have turned out the way that they did with Tucker and what we now know to be his injury.

Jed Hoyer

If it is raining ahead of a 1:20 game at Wrigley Field on a Friday afternoon, Cubs fans will find a reason to blame Jed Hoyer. The debacle that has been the Cubs' handling of Tucker's injury has only given the anti-Jed Hoyer crowd another reason to point to his shortcomings as the team's President of Baseball Operations. Tucker's numbers in June defend the Cubs not placing him on the IL initially, but there was clearly something impacting his swing in July. The lack of messaging from Hoyer's front office led you to believe that Tucker just became bad overnight. That is rarely the case. And for that reason, Hoyer does take a decent piece of the blame pie.

Kyle Tucker

Just because avoiding placing their star players on IL is something that has become common practice under Hoyer's watch, it doesn't mean that Tucker is off scotch-free when it comes to this mess. It can't be overlooked that Tucker turned down the Cubs' idea of being placed on the IL. As much as he doesn't want to, it's hard not to look at Tucker's contract situation and think that it played a factor in his refusal to be sidelined for 10 days.

Craig Counsell

Making $8MM per season, Craig Counsell needs to be making more of a difference than he currently is. Of course, the final decision of placing Tucker on the IL or not wasn't his call; it was his call to continue to start Tucker over the last several weeks, even when it became clear the veteran outfielder was costing the Cubs runs. Add in the fact that Owen Caissie was sitting on the bench before Monday's decision to sit Tucker for a few days, and this is something that was poorly handled by the Cubs' manager.

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