The Chicago Cubs traded a pair of players, Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith, to the Houston Astros for outfielder Kyle Tucker.
He played in just one season with the Cubs, and while he was an All-Star and had a good year, he's now a free agent and likely to sign elsewhere.
MLB.com writer Mike Petriello believes that part of why the Cubs are losing out on Tucker is due to the home-field disadvantage Tucker had at Wrigley Field. It's an inexplicable difference, but it might have played a factor in Tucker looking elsewhere.
Kyle Tucker's FA decision might have Wrigley Field reasoning
"Similarly, a return to Chicago doesn't seem to be in the cards," Petriello writes, "because for as good a season as he had as a Cub, Tucker really didn't seem to enjoy hitting in Wrigley Field, where his slugging percentage was 129 points lower than it was on the road."
Tucker is not likely to come back to the Cubs, and it might be in part due to how much he struggled at Wrigley Field compared to when he played elsewhere.
This past season, Tucker hit.266 with an OPS of.841. While not the best by his standards, compared to the.993 OPS he had the year prior, it was still a strong year. But when looking at his home and road splits, there's a significant difference.
In 66 home games, Tucker had 55 hits, 38 runs scored, eight doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 26 RBIs, a.236 batting average, and an OPS of.747.
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In 70 road games, Tucker had 78 hits, 53 runs scored, 17 doubles, zero triples, 15 home runs, 47 RBIs, a.292 batting average, and an OPS of.923.
This is a significant difference, as his OPS is nearly.200 points higher on the road than at home. It's not a small sample size either, as they're nearly equal, with Tucker having just 34 more at-bats on the road than at home.
While Tucker won't make his free agent decision solely on these home-road splits, they are, in Petriello's opinion, part of why the Cubs won't be bringing Tucker back this offseason.
The 28-year-old four-time All-Star is likely going to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays on the biggest deal of the offseason. Chicago isn't likely to get him back, and his struggles (by his standards) at Wrigley Field might be playing a factor.
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