MLB analyst foresees Kyle Tucker eclipsing Jason Heyward’s record $184,000,000 Cubs contract by a mile

The Chicago Cubs traded for Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros and in exchange sent Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski and prospect Cam Smith. Tucker, who will become a free agent after the 2025 season, had a great season but was not healthy due to a right shin injury, playing only 78 games.

He slashed career best .289/.408/.585 batting line, 23 home runs, 49 RBI, 56 runs scored, 11 stolen bases without being caught and 56 walks. A full season projection could have him chasing the likes of AL MVP Aaron Judge and finalist Juan Soto.

Tucker is expected to sign a contract north of $400 million next offseason. If the Cubs sign him, they will surpass their previous best contract, which was an eight-year, $184 million contract. Discussing Tucker's potential contract, Trevor Plouffe said (on Baseball Today 22:15 onwards):

"10 years, 450—does that get the job done? Yeah, I think it does. Is that a crazy contract to give out? Yeah, it is. That’s okay; it is crazy. It’s pretty big—it’s huge. Would 10 years, 400 get it done? Probably."

"Hayward was nowhere close to the bat that Kyle Tucker is," Chris Rose added to the conversation.

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Kyle Tucker discusses possible extension with the Cubs

Kyle Tucker put a straight face when asked if rather than testing free agency would he sign an extension with the Cubs. The outfielder doesn't have much to answer to that at the moment as he said:

“I’m open to anything, whether that’s now or later,” Tucker said in his introductory press conference Tuesday afternoon. “See how it goes. In terms of contracts or anything, as long as I go out and do my job when I’m on the field, that stuff will just take care of itself.

“My job’s not to worry about all that. It’s to go out there, perform, put up numbers, try to win games and get to the playoffs and World Series. … If you have the numbers, you can deal with the rest. I’m open to anything and everything. I feel like there’s no harm in listening and seeing where it goes.”

For now, Kyle Tucker is focused on having a great season next year, raising his stakes so that he could sign a contract closer to one of the best going around in the majors.