The Cubs aren’t even done adding to the team for this coming year, and already questions are swirling about 2026.
One in particular: Will the Cubs be able to hold onto Kyle Tucker?
Tucker, who can hit free agency after this coming season, will have the final say. But the Cubs have control over whether they present him with a competitive offer – either in extension talks before the end of the season, or next winter when he’s surveying the market. That should be the team’s New Year’s resolution.
Asked point blank whether the Cubs would have the resources to put together such an offer, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer evaded.
“That’s something that we’ll discuss in the future,” Hoyer said in a Zoom conference call last week, when Tucker was formally introduced as a new member of the Cubs. “I think that there’s no point in speculating on that today, as we sit here in December.”
He genuinely may not have been able to answer. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, who Hoyer wouldn’t throw under the bus, controls the team’s payroll budget. And he insists that he sets those budgets based on team revenue.
The Cubs, as a policy, don’t reveal budget figures, citing the need to maintain leverage in negotiations. But it’s clear that they’ve been maneuvering within strict parameters.
There’s certainly an argument to be made that the 15-year, $765 million contract Juan Soto ended up signing with the Mets would not have been a smart investment for the Cubs. But they weren’t even involved before the bidding got that high.
‘‘There’s nothing that precludes us from being involved in those players,’’ Hoyer said at the winter meetings. ‘‘We, organizationally, decided not to pursue that one. Doesn’t mean in the future we won’t.’’
The Cubs instead turned to the trade market to bring in their big acquisition, sending third baseman Isaac Paredes, right-handed swingman Hayden Wesneski and 2024 first-round pick Cam Smith to the Astros for Tucker.
Days later, the team dealt Cody Bellinger to the Yankees in an obvious salary dump that gave them the necessary financial flexibility to round out their team within budget constraints.
Pulling off the trade for Tucker was still an organizational win. And Hoyer made that clear to his team at scouting meetings in December.
“One of the things I complimented people on is, in order to have the player resources to make a deal like this, it comes with a lot of good scouting, a lot of good acquisitions,” he said.
The Cubs had acquired both Paredes and Wesneski in trades over the past couple years. And Smith was a fast riser after they selected him No. 14 overall out of Florida State University.
“You have to make a lot of good decisions to be in that position,” Hoyer said. “And I would say that even with this [trade], our future is really bright. We have, still, a really good farm system, really clean financial books, and some ability to make moves in the future.”
Keeping a player like Tucker in the organization, however, doesn’t require a series of good decisions — just one more. And while Hoyer likes to say, “Chicago sells itself really well,” the city won’t be able to work its magic over the next year if the money isn’t there.
Tucker will certainly garner a hefty financial commitment. While 26-year-old Soto’s age played a large role in his free agency, and Tucker will be 28 entering next offseason, Tucker will still be solidly in his prime. And the five-tool player will have plenty of suitors if the Cubs can’t sign him to an extension.
“Of course you want players like Kyle Tucker for a long time,” Hoyer said, noting that any possible extension talks will be kept internal. “No question. He’s at such an elite level in our game.”
Could Tucker be the elite player that breaks the Cubs’ trend of more cautious spending? Maybe the new year will loosen the purse strings.
Maybe.