The Chicago Cubs are poised to end a four-year playoff drought as they hold pole position for the top National League Wild Card spot with just a few weeks of season left.
And if the Cubs do successfully break that drought, they can thank several standout players for their contributions. Throughout the year, Cade Horton, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw have all made impressive strides, while Nico Hoerner and Seya Suzuki have enjoyed particularly strong seasons. But even though he endured a harsh slump, no single player has been more important than Kyle Tucker.
Since joining the Cubs in a surprising trade with the Houston Astros this past winter, Tucker has led the team in runs, on-base percentage and on-base plus slugging percentage. But his stint with the team could be short lived, as he’s set to become a free agent this winter.
Tucker is likely to be the most coveted available player in the sport with any number of contending teams competing to sign him. And after a significant change to the ownership equation, the cross-town rival Chicago White Sox could be in the mix.
In June, the White Sox announced that billionaire private equity investor Justin Ishbia had agreed to a framework to become the long-term owner of the team that would include some capital infusions as a limited partner this year and next. As a result, the White Sox could suddenly be willing to spend as much as $450 million on a blockbuster contract signing, though stealing Tucker from the Cubs is still probably a long shot.
“Could Ishbia announce his presence by signing Tucker to a contract worth perhaps more than six times the team’s current record deal of $75MM?” Tim Dierkes wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. “Chalk it up as highly unlikely, yet still more likely than it’s been in a long time.”
Despite playing in a sizable market and winning a World Series championship just two decades ago, the White Sox aren’t generally considered a significant threat to sign or trade for premier players. But with a new principal owner moving in and a superstar playing on the other side of town, perhaps that can change this winter.
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