Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season. |
CHICAGO -- When the Cubs uncorked the champagne and celebrated their first postseason berth in five years last week, Kyle Tucker was absent from the party in Pittsburgh. The star outfielder was en route to Florida as part of his effort to get to the bottom of a calf injury that has sidelined him for three weeks. The Cubs hope to have a few more celebrations in October involving Tucker, but the timing of his return remains cloudy. His situation will loom large over the final homestand, as the North Siders get closer to knowing their first-round opponent and site. Tucker is set to rejoin the team on Tuesday at Wrigley Field to assess his progress and potential readiness. “We’ve got to figure out when and if he’s going to be available,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ve got six games left.” |
Counsell added that it is more likely a five-game runway for Tucker, as the manager did not expect him to be in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Mets. As of Sunday, Tucker had yet to resume running drills to test his left calf, which flared on Sept. 2 and necessitated a trip to the 10-day injured list on Sept. 9 due to little improvement. Tucker and a member of Chicago’s medical team headed to his Tampa, Fla., home on Wednesday to meet with a physical therapy group that has worked with the outfielder in the past. He has leaned on the group in the offseason and also consulted them during a comeback from a right shin injury last year with the Astros. “He had a tremendous September last year coming off a similar situation,” said Counsell, who reiterated that the goal is to get Tucker into games before the playoffs arrive. |
Tucker lost three months of his season between June and September a year ago before hitting .365/.453/.587 in 18 games prior to the postseason with Houston. The outfielder put up those numbers without having a Minor League rehab assignment before being activated. Given Tucker’s low-maintenance approach to hitting work behind the scenes, the Cubs are hopeful he can similarly regain his rhythm in the batter’s box this time around. Tucker rarely takes batting practice on the field, preferring to stick to a cage routine that involves specific drills and tracking pitch shapes and movement. Tucker certainly looked to be in a groove prior to the setback, hitting .327 with a 1.040 OPS in the 15 games before landing on the IL. That stretch came after he hit .190 with a .571 OPS in the previous 35 games. In the wake of that slump, it was also revealed that Tucker had played through a (since-healed) hairline fracture in his right hand, sustained on June 1. |
Early on this season, when Tucker was producing at an MVP-caliber level en route to a place in the National League’s All-Star starting lineup, he made an impact not only through his production, but as a presence for the hitters around him. His return would certainly make the Cubs’ offense look more formidable as October arrives. Cubs fans will recall Kyle Schwarber’s famous return for the World Series in 2016 after missing almost the entirety of that season due to a severe knee injury. He rejoined the lineup for the Fall Classic and hit .412 in five games, including a three-hit showing in the decisive and historic Game 7 in Cleveland. Could Tucker step right back in and immediately power a deep October run? “Nobody knows the right answer to that question,” Counsell said. “We have history on both sides of it, examples on both sides of it. We feel better if we see [him back], right? It just makes us feel better -- it’s one of those situations. I could feel better. It’s not going to help for me to feel better on Tuesday [when we have to keep the big picture in mind]." |
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When Anthony Rizzo had his number retired by the Cubs in a lovefest at Wrigley Field earlier this month, it was a chance for current Cubs first baseman Michael Busch to get a first-hand look at how revered the franchise great is among the fan base. On Saturday in Cincinnati, Busch put his name alongside Rizzo as one of a select few first basemen in team history to launch at least 30 homers in a season. Busch’s blast -- one that soared a Statcast-projected 432 feet -- made him just the fifth Cubs first baseman (at least 51% of games played at the position) in history with a 30-homer showing. Rizzo did so four times (2014-17), Derrek Lee achieved the feat three times (2004-05, ‘09), Ernie Banks did so twice (1962, ‘68) and Fred McGriff once (2002). “It’s pretty cool to be able to do it,” Busch said. “Especially coming over here, I heard a lot about Rizzo and what he meant to this organization, what he meant to the team. Bringing a World Series to this city was kind of the cherry on top.” |
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Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki heads into the last homestand with 49 RBIs at home this season. Who was the last Cubs player to collect at least 50 RBIs at home in one campaign? A) Sammy Sosa B) Kris Bryant C) Derrek Lee D) Anthony Rizzo |
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• Everything to know about the Cubs’ playoff situation as things currently stand. Read more >> • See which reliever MLB.com’s Mike Petriello thinks could dominate in October. Read more >> • October offers an opportunity for unsung offensive heroes to arise. Read more >> • Shota Imanaga looking to use last start to work on these flaws. Read more >> • Playoff-bound Cubs weighing their rotation options for October. Read more >> |
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"It was just the consistency. Day in and day out, sticking to his routine, never missing a workout, never missing a bullpen. The consistency was just off the charts. Plus the fact that no matter what, he always took the ball. No matter what role was asked of him – if we asked him to go on short rest, if we asked him to come out of the bullpen -- he always took the ball.” -- Cubs veteran Justin Turner, on long-time Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw, who announced his retirement Thursday |
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D) Rizzo
If Suzuki reaches 50 RBIs at home, he’ll become the first Cubs player to cross that line in a season since Rizzo in 2019 (56 RBIs). The Cubs’ record belongs to Hack Wilson, who drove in 116 at home during his wild 1930 season. The closest anyone has come to Wilson since ‘30 is 88 RBIs at home by Sweet Swingin’ Billy Williams in 1970. |
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