CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker played his first major league games at Wrigley Field when the Houston Astros visited the Chicago Cubs in April. It was cold, he said, and a lot of fun.
“Those fans love their Cubs,” Tucker said. “That’s kind of how it felt from, you know, the visiting side.”
Now he will get to check it out from the home side.
The Cubs acquired Tucker in a trade last week, inserting the well-rounded star into a lineup in need of another dangerous bat. The right fielder was limited to 78 games this year because of a broken shin, but he still hit 23 homers and drove in 49 runs.
The price was considerable — third baseman Isaac Paredes, right-hander Hayden Wesneski and highly regarded prospect Cam Smith were shipped off to Houston — but Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer felt it was worth it. Even for a player who is eligible for free agency after the 2025 season.
“We have a lot of really good players on the team. We’re very balanced,” Hoyer said Tuesday in his first public comments since the trade. “But it did feel like we lacked, that kind of, consolidation of (wins above replacement), I would say, on our roster in one player. And obviously Tucker is just one of the best players in baseball, period.”
The trade for the three-time All-Star is Hoyer’s boldest move — so far — since the Cubs went 83-79 this season and missed out on the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Matthew Boyd was added to the rotation when he finalized a two-year, $29 million contract on Dec. 7, and catcher Carson Kelly agreed to a two-year, $11.5 million deal last week.
Chicago had a surplus of outfielders after acquiring Tucker, so it traded Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees on Tuesday. The Cubs also agreed to send the Yankees $5 million as part of the deal for right-hander Cody Poteet, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
The move creates more financial flexibility for Chicago that it could use to shore up its bullpen, or possibly for a veteran infielder in case top prospect Matt Shaw isn’t ready to fill its opening at third base just yet.
“It’s still early in the offseason,” Hoyer said before word of the Bellinger trade started to come out. “And certainly there’s a lot of players out there, and our team’s not complete. … We’re not done.”
The catching situation appears set, with Kelly joining Miguel Amaya behind the plate. Kelly played for Detroit and Texas this year,…