The Chicago Cubs are in second place in the NL Central, only 5.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. But the team is without a few key pieces, especially in the outfield. Seiya Suziki is struggling and dealing with an illness, but Kyle Tucker is the big loss.
He was placed on the injured list in early September with a left calf strain, and he's expected to miss some time in the final month of the regular season. The 28-year-old is in the process of recovering, and Craig Cousnell recently announced an injury update for Tucker.
As Jay Cohen of The Associated Press reports, Counsell shared that Tucker isn't expected to be back once he's eligible to come off the injured list. Tucker can be activated on September 16th, but isn't expected to be, according to Counsell.
Cubs expected not to activate Kyle Tucker when he's eligible
"I think the symptomatic stuff is the running right now, so we're on a bike," Counsell said. "We're hitting still, throwing. We're hoping to have a weekend of kind of no symptoms doing any of that. And that'll lead us back onto the field. And to the running and then go from there."
Amid this update from Counsell, Cohen writes, "Counsell said he doesn't think Tucker will be ready to be activated when he is eligible to return on Tuesday."
Chicago has been without Tucker since early September, and now he's not expected to be ready to return in the middle of the month. Tucker can still return this season, but it might be closer to the end of the month, and for a postseason series, rather than right when he can be activated.
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Tucker was acquired in the offseason from the Houston Astros for Cam Smith and Isaac Paredes, two players who've been strong additions for the Astros. Tucker is a free agent at season's end, and there's a real concern that the Cubs are only getting 2025 out of Tucker.
But so far, Tucker has been great. He has 132 hits with a .270 batting average and 22 home runs for the Cubs with a strong .854 OPS. However, it's been the tale of two halves for Tucker with the Cubs.
Since July, Tucker has been hitting .233 with a .716 OPS. Not terrible numbers, but also compared to his .291 batting average and .931 OPS in the months prior, it's a concerning drop-off.
Tucker is a huge piece of the Cubs' postseason hopes this October, and getting him back and healthy is a much larger priority than trying to win the NL Central.
He won't return when he's eligible to come off the injured list, as Tucker and the Cubs wait for the superstar outfielder to get back to full health before activating him for the team's postseason run in 2025.
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