Projected as equals on-field, 1 way Alex Bregman is a huge upgrade over Kyle Tucker

Kyle Tucker is not, in any way, shape or form, worth $60 million a year. Plain and simple. Is he a very good baseball player? Absolutely. But is he worthy of being the highest-paid player (in terms of AAV) in the history of the game? No.

(Yes, I know technically Shohei Ohtani has a higher AAV, but when you factor in deferrals, he loses the top spot to Tucker).

Last winter, the Chicago Cubs packaged up top prospect Cam Smith in a deal to bring Tucker to the North Side. There was rampant speculation over whether or not Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins would be willing or able to extend the All-Star outfielder - and we got our answer when, after a rocky, injury-plagued second half, Tucker hit free agency.

Ultimately, he landed with - who else - the Los Angeles Dodgers on a jaw-dropping four-year, $240 million contract that includes opt-outs after the 2027 and 2028 seasons. Meanwhile, Hoyer and the Cubs pivoted, landing the player they had desired for years in Alex Bregman, signing the two-time World Series champion to a five-year, $175 million deal.

Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman projected for near-identical production

A new piece from MLB.com highlighting key player projections across the league points out that the two players are expected to put up near-identical performances in 2026.

• Kyle Tucker: 27 HR, 18 SB, 82 RBIs, 139 wRC+, 3.9 WAR
• Alex Bregman: 23 HR, 77 RBIs, 121 wRC+, 3.8 WAR

As the piece says, 'equal, but different'. Offensively, Tucker is the superior player. But thanks to Bregman's above-average defense at third, they net out as a wash when put side-by-side, both coming in just under 4.0 WAR in their respective first years with their new teams.

While there are clear differences in how both players go about delivering value on the field, the real difference-maker for the Cubs, at least, will come off the field and in the clubhouse, where Bregman is universally lauded as one of the best leaders in the league. That moniker has never applied to Tucker, and there's nothing wrong with that, but for a Chicago club coming off its first full-season playoff appearance since 2018, his arrival comes at a perfect time.

There's a lot riding on young players like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Moises Ballesteros and Matt Shaw (assuming the latter isn't traded before Opening Day). PCA, in particular, put up MVP-caliber numbers in the first half last year, only to struggle down the stretch. Bregman is going to be an important voice in their ears, helping them learn how to keep the highs from getting too high and lows from getting too low over the course of the grueling grind that is a Major League Baseball season.

It's no coincidence that one year after coming up short in their pursuit of Bregman, ownership and the front office upped the ante and made sure they got their guy. They know that, even in the final years of this deal, there are intangibles he'll bring to the table - and we'll soon start to see the impact he has when everyone gets to Mesa in the coming weeks.