Cubs’ “Underwhelming” Plan to Replace Kyle Tucker Ignores a “Major Red Flag” From 2025’s Collapse.vc

The GM Meetings confirmed the Cubs are not seriously re-engaging their Silver Slugger. Now, their internal plan to replace his offense is “underwhelming” and overlooks the very “red flag” that ended their season.

The GM Meetings have provided even more confirmation of what many in Chicago feared: the Cubs are not planning on seriously engaging Kyle Tucker on a return to Chicago.

The “frenzy” of the 2025 offseason, which saw the Cubs land the superstar slugger, has been replaced by a “sobering” 2026 reality. According to The Athletic‘s Patrick Mooney, the early impression is that the Cubs will be replacing Tucker internally.

The plan, as it’s being “underwhelmingly” laid out, involves:

• Moving Seiya Suzuki to right field.
• Giving top prospects Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros a “run” as the team’s primary designated hitters.

While the team has been “linked” to a right-handed bat like the Angels’ Jo Adell—a move that would make sense to complement the left-handed Caissie and Ballesteros—the primary plan is to trust the farm.

In a vacuum, giving top prospects a “runway” is smart. But “through the lens of replacing a Silver Slugger” for a 92-win team trying to close a “big gap,” the Cubs are setting themselves up for failure by ignoring a major red flag.

The “Red Flag” Hoyer is Ignoring

The Cubs were a 92-win team in 2025, but they finished 5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers and were beaten by that same Brewers team in the NLDS. The World Series proved a “big gap” remains.

The problem is that President Jed Hoyer seems to be “talking himself into a catch-22.”

Hoyer has touted the fact that the Cubs “could roll out a starting lineup for a game tomorrow.” But he can’t ignore the “glaring” struggles the offense had during the second half of the season and in the playoffs.

[Video placeholder: The Cubs scored the 5th-most runs in baseball in 2025, but @SpiegsAndHolmes have a few concerns moving forward… — 670 The Score (@670TheScore) November 12, 2025]

This is the “major red flag.” The reason Hoyer wasn’t “worried” about the offense’s ugly finish… was because of how strong it was at the start.

That logic is a “dangerous” gamble. The 2025 team, with Kyle Tucker, proved it was not good enough down the stretch. By removing Tucker and replacing him with prospects—who are “large question marks” by default—Hoyer is not fixing the “red flag.” He is betting that the end-of-season collapse was a fluke, a bet that could cost the Cubs dearly in 2026.