When the Cubs were at their best in 2025, their offense carried them on many nights. The combination of Kyle Tucker, last winter’s biggest acquisition, a breakout season from Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s surge in the first half gave Chicago an offense that was the envy of many teams in baseball.
When Tucker was healthy, he did exactly what the Cubs hoped to do when they acquired him last winter, carrying the offense at times, but also helping make the players around him better.
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The team’s offense dipped in the second half of the season and was one of the reasons for Chicago’s elimination in the second round of the NL playoffs. That’s why the Cubs are entering the offseason with a few more questions than answers.
The first of those questions: How do they replace Tucker’s bat in the lineup?
The 28-year-old right fielder is the biggest free agent this winter and is expected to approach, if not exceed, a $400 million salary. Although the Cubs have said they would like to keep Tucker, it would be difficult to find anyone in the industry who thinks Chicago intended to bring him back.
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For what?
The four-time All-Star didn’t look like himself for much of the second half of the regular season and playoffs as he dealt with a calf strain and a hairline fracture in his right hand, but when healthy he produced at an elite level.
Tucker hit .266 with 22 home runs, 73 RBIs and 87 walks. The first half has been what many teams this offseason will be salivating over as he carries a .280/.384/.499 slash line with 17 homers and Gold-Glove caliber defense in right field.
So if Tucker doesn’t return, how will the Cubs fill his void?
“I think we’ll always be looking to improve the offense,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told Yahoo Sports during the general managers’ meetings last week. “I don’t think it’s imperative. I think we have a very well positioned group of players. We take into account the offensive and defensive part, I think it’s a really productive group.
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“I think if you look at our depth chart, we need to add throwing this offseason, and that will probably be the biggest focus. But yeah, of course, if there are other areas offensively that we can improve, we’ll look to do that.”
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Despite their collective second-half slump, the Cubs still finished fifth in MLB in runs scored. And while a glass-half-full approach would tell you to view Busch’s breakout as a reason to be optimistic for 2026, a glass-half-empty approach would view Crow-Armstrong’s .634 second-half OPS as a major cause for concern.
The man known as PCA was one of the most electrifying players in baseball last season with elite defense as well as his offense in the first half. And even though he’s only 23, like Tucker, he was a major cog in Chicago’s offensive machine. If he’s not the player he was in the first half, which is hard to replicate, the Cubs might need more offense than they’re letting on.
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“Pete’s whole season was really good,” Hoyer said. “The way he went about it. Obviously it was a little boom or bust, but I think he’s going to continue to improve and refine things. I mean, the beauty of being a great fielder is you get an opportunity. And we had that with Javy (Báez). elite hitter, because he got those at-bats by playing excellent defense.
“And I think when you play good defense, it gets you in the lineup. And Pete did that in 2024 and 25. Matt Shaw did that for us last year. And that’s where defenders are able to fine-tune things a little easier offensively because they just have the ability to see the throws whereas, if you’re an offense-only guy and you’re not hitting, you’re just not going to play.”
When it comes to the free agent market, there are a few players who could contribute to the Cubs roster in a similar way to Tucker. One of them is Kyle Schwarber, former Cub and 2025 NL MVP. The other being third baseman Alex Bregman, who the Cubs attempted to sign last winter.
While Cubs fans would love the return of their prodigal son Schwarber, the Cubs lineup could use the right-handed bat and Bregman would still be in good shape. The 31-year-old third baseman hit .273 with 18 homers and 62 RBIs and was an All-Star for the Red Sox in his only season in Boston.
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The question, often asked in Chicago in recent years: will they pay?
History would tell you no and the Cubs are more likely to spend on a frontline pitcher and high-leverage arm than a bat.
A team like the Cubs in one of baseball’s biggest markets should be able to check more than one or two boxes, which has angered its fans.
Is it fair to say the Cubs offense is better than it showed in the second half and postseason? Sure, but there have been some major red flags that need to be addressed if Chicago hopes to return to the postseason. And while pitching is and should be a priority for Hoyer and the Cubs, not adding offensive reinforcements could be a big mistake.
