CHICAGO — Anything that happens to Kyle Tucker is magnified, given his status as the No. 1 MLB free agent expected on the board next winter, and the high price the Chicago Cubs paid to acquire the All-Star outfielder. At the moment, the club is cautiously optimistic that Tucker just avoided the type of major injury that could have altered this season’s trajectory.
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The alarm bells went off when Vidal Bruján replaced Tucker in the fifth inning of Sunday afternoon’s 7-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. Tucker had jammed his right ring finger on a headfirst slide in the first inning, forcing the Cubs to make a decision on the Gold Glove right fielder, whose presence has helped elevate the team into a serious playoff contender.
“Not too concerned,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said afterward. “I’m optimistic this is going to be, at most, a day or two, as soon as some of the swelling goes down. It’s just a sprained finger. He took the second at-bat and it just was a little uncomfortable. So with the lead, we just got him out of there.”
The Cubs have demonstrated resilience and determination throughout the first two-plus months of the season, overcoming injuries to All-Star pitchers Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga while restoring the big-game energy at the Friendly Confines.
Tucker’s all-around production and easy confidence are major reasons the Cubs finished the first day of June in first place in the National League Central, already 15 games above .500. The club is expected to reassess Tucker’s condition on Tuesday, before the start of a three-game road series against the Washington Nationals.
“I feel all right,” Tucker said. “The hand’s a little jammed, or a little swollen, but obviously we got our off day tomorrow, so hopefully it feels a little bit better once we get to Washington.”
Wearing a Cubs travel sweatsuit, Tucker also had some kind of bandage on his right ring finger as well as a cut across the bridge of his nose. On the headfirst slide, his helmet popped off and flipped over as his face scraped against the dirt.
“My hand hit the ground kind of weird and got caught under me,” Tucker said. “I was just hoping that it went away, and tried to grind through the at-bats. But it was kind of hurting. We took a precautionary route of just coming out of the game. We went and did X-rays and everything — they were fine — so hopefully the rest of today and the off day tomorrow will help.”
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On that play, Tucker was caught stealing for the first time as a Cub. He’s now 16-for-17 in those situations, to go with 12 homers, 39 RBIs, 44 runs scored and a .918 OPS. He’s played in all 59 games this season, showing why the Cubs gave up the talented Cam Smith, Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros.
“You don’t really go through the whole season feeling 100 percent,” Tucker said. “You probably feel 100 percent, maybe, in spring training or at the beginning of the season. For me, as long as I’m able to go out there and play, I’m going to go out there and play. Do what I can, to the best I can. I don’t like getting taken out of games or missing games.”
(Photo: Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
