The Chicago Cubs could hardly celebrate the acquisition of Kyle Tucker before they had to start worrying about their ability to keep him.
Tucker is a three-time All-Star who's well on his way to a fourth. He's one of the best outfielders in Major League Baseball, and he'll be hitting free agency this winter at the still-young age of 28.
That's a recipe for Tucker to get paid massive money, and the Cubs might not be prepared to open up their wallets. There have been whispers about Chicago attempting to get an extension done for Tucker before the winter hits, but that's a "believe it when you see it" situation.
Who do the Cubs have to worry about luring Tucker away? The short answer is "every big-market team," but one team might be scariest of all. That's the team that's seemingly signed everyone they've targeted over the last two years.
On Wednesday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic named the Los Angeles Dodgers among the top threats to poach Tucker from Chicago when he hits the open market in November.
"Tucker has led the Cubs to a first-place start in the NL Central and is considered a top-five MVP candidate in the league. He is again on pace to hit close to 30 homers and steal close to 30 bases," Bowden wrote.
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"Following Juan Soto’s record-setting $765 million deal in free agency and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $500 million extension, Tucker is expected to land a nine-figure contract that starts with a 6. Several big-market teams, including the Cubs, Phillies, Yankees and Dodgers, should be in play for him."
If anyone thought the Dodgers wouldn't be involved for Tucker simply because they already signed a fistful of mega-deals, think again. And LA's outfield is somewhat shorthanded this year, with Michael Conforto struggling mightily on a one-year contract.
The biggest contract the Cubs have ever handed out remains the $184 million deal they gave Jason Heyward, closely followed by $177 million for Dansby Swanson. Tripling that value seems like a tall task, even for someone as good as Tucker.
The Dodgers being in the picture isn't good for anyone. Even if they don't wind up signing Tucker, they'll likely drive his price tag through the roof for someone else.
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