Ever since signed a ma sive extension with the Blue Jays back in April, has been viewed as the consensus top player in this winters free agent cla s. Its not hard to see why, as hes a four-time All-Star, a former Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award winner, and the fifth-place finisher in AL MVP voting in 2023. That resume is what convinced the Cubs to trade All-Star third baseman , top prospect , and young starter to the Astros last winter in order to acquire Tucker in his final year of club control. Its a decision that paid off in a big way during the first half of the season. Through the end of June, Tucker slashed an phenomenal .291/.395/.537 acro s 83 games. Among qualified hitters, only , , , and had a higher wRC+ than Tuckers 158 during that stretch. While it wasnt quite on par with the otherworldly 179 wRC+ Tucker posted in 78 games with the Astros last year, it was still an undeniably dominant showing that led to many wondering if he would join Guerrero and in clearing the $500MM benchmark upon hitting free agency this winter. Once the calendar flipped to July, however, things changed for Tucker in a hurry. In 163 plate appearances since the start of July, Tucker has hit just .189/.325/.235 with a wRC+ of just 72. Hes tallied just four extra-base hits in that time and has gone a full month without hitting a home run at this point after launching his last long ball on July 19. Tuckers slump has been lengthy enough and severe enough that club manager told reporters (including ) yesterday that he plans to give Tucker some days off in hopes of helping him reset and get back on track. That the Cubs are sitting a player who looked like a legitimate MVP candidate just over a month ago is inherently shocking, but its hard not to see why given his recent performance. Its fair to wonder how Tuckers deep struggles of late may have impacted his market in free agency, as well. After all, a major calling card for Tucker has been his consistency and reliability as a middle-of-the-order force. An extended slump such as this one puts a hole in that narrative, especially when combined with him mi sing half of last season due to injury. When looking at other outfielders who signed mega deals in free agency, Tuckers resume doesnt quite measure up. He no longer seems likely to wind up with an absurd platform season like Judge (nine years, $360MM) put together in 2022, and hes three years older than (13 years, $330MM) was when he reached free agency. The inflation top-level MLB contracts have seen in recent years Hank Aaron Jersey should help Tucker, especially as compared to Harpers contract from all the way back in the 2018-19 offseason, but if his season doesnt turn around going forward he may not even crack the $400MM threshold in free agency, much le s $500MM. So, will Tucker be able to turn things around? Theres certainly some reasons for optimism. Most notably, his discipline at the plate has remained elite even during his slump. Since July 1, Tucker has actually walked (16.0%) more often than hes struck out (15.3%). His .224 BABIP during that period suggests some positive regre sion could be on the way in terms of batted ball luck, but even underlying metrics like hard-hit rate (27.9%) and barrel rate (2.7%) suggest hes earned his lack of power production. Theres been speculation in some circles that a finger injury suffered when sliding into second base could be the cause of his power outage, but thats a somewhat dubious claim between Tucker himself suggesting his finger has not caused him problems at the plate and the fact that he had a 14.7% barrel rate and 42.6% hard-hit rate in 24 June games following his return from the injury. It would be a shock if Tucker truly batted below the Mendoza line with virtually no power the rest of the way this year. Hes been a bottom 20 player in baseball since July 1 in terms of wRC+, and its practically unheard of for a player of his caliber to perform that poorly for that long when not dealing with some sort of physical i sue or age-related decline. With that said, its worth noting that Tuckers recent slump has actually put his 2025 numbers more or le s in line with his career norms. Tucker is hitting .261/.374/.447 with a 131 wRC+ overall this year. Through the end of the 2023 season, Tucker was a career .272/.345/.507 (132 wRC+) hitter. Those slash lines are awfully similar, and it stands to reason that its at least po sible Tuckers incredible 78-game 2024 campaign was simply an outlier. On the other hand, it must also be noted that Tucker put together 709 plate appearances between the start of the 2024 season and the end of June 2025 where he hit a combined .290/.401/.559 with a wRC+ of 168. Only Judge (218), Ohtani (179), and Soto (171) posted better numbers during that time frame. It shouldnt shock anyone if Tucker is able to recapture some of that production over the seasons final six weeks and ends up with a strong platform year, even if it doesnt quite reach the heights that looked po sible two months ago. What do MLBTR readers think is in store for Tucker over the final weeks of the 2025 campaign? Will he be able to turn things around and quell any doubts created by his recent struggles? Will his slump continue and push his season numbers lower than they are now? Or will his numbers settle in as he levels off somewhere close to his career norms? Have your say in the poll below: How will Kyle Tucker finish the 2025 season? Tucker won't completely turn things around, but will enjoy enough positive regre sion to match his career norms. 59.27% (2,689votes) Tucker's slump will continue, and he'll finish with the worst full season of his career. 25.04% (1,136votes) Tucker will turn things around and put up numbers similar to his first half production. 15.69% (712votes) Total Votes: 4,537 Travis D'arnaud Jersey