Cubs Offense Could Get Better With Addition of This Outfielder
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Chicago Cubs are off to their best start since 2016, a year Cubs fans remember so well. Chicago has one of the best lineups in MLB and that lineup is a huge reason it was the first National League team to reach 40 wins.
There are weak spots for the Cubs, one of which is their bench. The duo of Jon Berti and Vidal Brujan have combined for just four at-bats since May 20, meaning neither of those two players have done much for Chicago over the last two weeks.
It is safe to assume Chicago will upgrade its bench prior to the trade deadline and one option to upgrade it would be current Chicago White Sox outfielder and former Cub Mike Tauchman.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Mike Tauchman #18 of the Chicago White Sox looks on against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field on June 05, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Mike Tauchman #18 of the Chicago White Sox looks on against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field on June 05, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.Tauchman spent the first five seasons of his career with the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants.
He spent the last two seasons with the Cubs and instantly became a fan favorite due to his heroics in the summer months of the season. The last two summers on the northside of Chicago were often referred to as the "Summer of Tauchman" and that magic would certainly be welcome back.
Sights and sounds of an (early) summer of Mike Tauchman 😌#YouHaveToSeeIt | https://t.co/BiD3w4rxR4 pic.twitter.com/BLxsgdbjOp — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 24, 2024
He is batting .297 with three home runs and a .957 OPS in 19 games and 67 at-bats so far this season. Those numbers are well above his .250 average and .732 OPS in his two seasons with the Cubs.
Tauchman could provide much more depth than Brujan has given Chicago, and his familiarity with the players and the organization could make him a critical player not only on the field, but in the locker room as well.
A trade for the former Cub could be exactly what the franchise needs to secure its first NL Central title and playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
More MLB: Three Players Diamondbacks Could Trade if Struggles Continue
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
20 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Kyle Tucker returns, but Chicago Cubs lose series finale to Milwaukee Brewers in thriving rivalry
Kyle Tucker was back in the Chicago Cubs lineup Thursday after a three-game respite from manager Craig Counsell to get his head together and his swing back. Did anything positive come out of the time off? 'We won a few games,' Tucker said. 'So that's positive.' Tucker's return coincided with a 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in the finale of the five-game series at Wrigley Field, as the Cubs fell seven games back in the National League Central race that isn't really much of a race. Tucker went 0-for-4 with a walk, and the Cubs wasted another fine outing from Shota Imanaga (8-6), who made only one mistake in seven innings — a two-run home run to Brice Turang in the second. It only seemed as if the Brewers were in town longer than a Wendella boat ride, with five games and one rainout since Monday afternoon. The Cubs won the series, but it felt like another missed opportunity. 'Look, I describe this series as we kind of held serve,' Counsell said. 'We probably needed it a little bit more. We win three out of five. That adds up to three wins. Today stings a little bit. Getting today's game obviously would've been a big one. They played a better game than us.' The Cubs finished with five hits and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, finishing the five-game series with a .187 average off Brewers pitching. Counsell rested his hottest hitter, Matt Shaw, using him as a defensive sub in the ninth. Despite the wind blowing in again, it was still Tucker's chance to show the time off was put to good use. But he grounded out twice, hit a soft liner to second and flied out to center. It was an eventful week for the Cubs slugger, who was booed, benched and baffled by being in the eye of a media hurricane in Chicago, after years or being a solid but unassuming member of the Houston Astros' menagerie. Tucker's summer slump apparently was the result of a small fracture in his right hand near his ring and pinkie fingers from a June 1 slide. Or maybe not? Photos: Chicago Cubs lose to Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 at Wrigley FieldNo one is quite sure because Tucker hit well for a stretch after the injury, which was not fully disclosed at the time, and then stopped slugging completely, with no home runs since July 17. The Cubs kept the results of an imaging test quiet while Counsell and President Jed Hoyer repeatedly insisted Tucker was fine the last two months, before Counsell finally confirmed an ESPN report on the small fracture after Wednesday night's game. Tucker said he was OK playing through some pain, though that decision looked bad when his slump, combined with the poor stretches of several teammates, contributed to the Cubs' free fall from first place to wild-card contenders. 'I was just like, 'I'm going to keep playing,'' he said before the game. 'There wasn't really a need to go on an IL, because I could still do everything. It was more like a pain tolerance at that point rather than like I physically couldn't do anything.' Tucker is headed toward free agency and projected as the top available hitter. Missing time could've cost him on the market, where he stands to make $400 million or more. But he kept playing until Counsell finally benched him after Monday's game for a mental reset. Why the deception? Counsell said many player injuries are not disclosed when that player is still good enough to play. He didn't feel the Cubs misled the media 'because (Tucker) was playing' and hitting well for a while. 'So, again, we still don't know the answers completely,' Counsell said of Tucker's struggles. 'We made a decision together to keep playing him. He was playing well and able to manage it, tolerate it, which is something players choose to do to maybe get through things. So …' And so it goes. Turang's two-run home run off Imanaga gave the Brewers a quick lead in the second inning, and the Cubs were held to one run off Quinn Priester and five Brewers relievers. The Cubs put the tying run on with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Tucker's soft liner to second turned into a double play when Michael Busch misread it and couldn't get back, and Seiya Suzuki fanned. The Brewers added on in the eighth on Isaac Collins' two-run single off Ryan Brasier, whose ERA zoomed to 14.86 (11 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings) over his last eight appearances. The Cubs led off the eighth with back-to-back walks but failed to score again. The Cubs left for the West Coast after the game to open a three-game series Friday in Anaheim, Calif., against the Los Angeles Angels, followed by trips to San Francisco and Denver. They still control their fate in the NL wild-card race, and a 5-3 homestand was at least a sign they might be emerging from their post-All-Star Game doldrums. Brewers fans made themselves at home this week at Wrigley, which remained packed despite three weekday days games due to a rainout and most kids being back in school. On Thursday the Cubs replayed a video of late Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker performing the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley, a moment that united fans from both cities. A memorial for Uecker, who died Jan. 16 at age 90, will be held Sunday at the Brewers-Giants game in Milwaukee. But that's it for the season series, which the Cubs won 7-6, for whatever that's worth. It was a lot of fun, with plenty of fan taunting, some great endings and manager Pat Murphy's crazy assertions the Brewers were still 'underdogs' to the Cubs despite their huge division lead. We can only hope the Cubs and Brewers meet again in the postseason with a chance to end each other's season. That would be a fitting conclusion to a rivalry that gets better and better every year.
New York Times
21 minutes ago
- New York Times
Greenberg: Kyle Tucker, Cubs waste a perfect opportunity to gain another game on Brewers
CHICAGO — After two days and three wins over their division rivals, the high-flying Cubs fell back to Earth like a Kyle Tucker fly ball to shallow center field. It wasn't Tucker's day on Thursday, and as it has so often been the case over the past few weeks, it wasn't the Cubs' day either. The Milwaukee Brewers scored a 4-1 win Thursday to finish off this five-game series. While the Cubs got the head-to-head season tiebreaker (they went 7-6 in the matchup) by winning the middle three games, the Brewers leave Wrigley Field with a seven-game lead in the NL Central, just one fewer than they came in with. The Cubs were close to making Milwaukee nervous. In related news, postseason ticket invoices were sent out Thursday morning. "We kind of held serve. We probably needed a little bit more. We (won) three out of five … Today stings a little bit." Craig Counsell after the Cubs' loss to Milwaukee. — Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 21, 2025 I came to the ballpark prepared to eat crow after writing the Cubs didn't have 'a chance in hell of winning the National League Central' after Monday's 7-0 loss, which, of course, was followed by three straight wins. It was a bit of conjecture, to be sure, but it was how I felt in the moment. More importantly, if the Cubs won Thursday, it would've been a shot in their collective arm as they head west for a three-series road trip. Advertisement While the division truly hasn't been settled yet, not with more than a month to go, I still think we're looking at a wild-card team. It's difficult to make up seven games with 34 left and no more head-to-head matchups. But for the Cubs to catch fire, something has to change. And there aren't a lot of moves to make. Tucker returned to the lineup after sitting for three games as part of an overdue mental reset. That the Cubs won those three games didn't go unnoticed, even Tucker mentioned it to reporters before the game. He still went hitless Thursday, which made him 0-for-8 in the two losses this series, but, hey, at least he finished the day with a line drive and a fly ball, showing some rare lift with the bat. Sure, the line drive was 76.2 mph and resulted in a double play, and the fly ball in the ninth went just 270 feet, but maybe the hand really is healed. Still, he's just not himself, and while every conversation about Tucker this season has included the context of his impending, expensive free agency, right now, the focus should be on the present. The Cubs should return to the postseason for the first time since 2025, but how long can they stay there if their star can't hit? Rookie Owen Caissie looks like a more promising option at this moment. Despite what he's said, I wouldn't be surprised if Tucker goes on the IL for something soon. It doesn't make sense for either side to keep trotting him out there until he can hit with some authority. It's not like he's unlucky. The Cubs are embarking on a three-city road trip to Anaheim, San Francisco and Denver. They don't come back to Chicago until Sept. 1. Rest Tucker until then and hope for the best as the calendar turns. Of course, it's not just Tucker struggling. Several Cubs hitters need to break out. In the eighth with runners on the corners and two outs, Cubs manager Craig Counsell pinch-hit for Dansby Swanson, his high-paid, bottom-of-the-order shortstop. But Caissie, the star of the series, meekly grounded to first base to end the threat. That's how it went all game. Advertisement The Cubs' only run Thursday came on a Pete Crow-Armstrong sacrifice fly. They had five hits, all singles, and while they walked eight times, they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. While the Cubs pitching more than held its own this series, they scored one total run in their two losses and 14 in their three wins. Thursday's starter Shota Imanaga made just one mistake, giving up a two-run homer to Brice Turang in the second inning. The Brewers' other two runs came on an Isaac Collins single in the eighth, just after Sal Frelick's fly ball right eluded a sliding Tucker. Chants of 'Let's go Brewers' filled the air on a beautiful afternoon at Wrigley Field. It was their day. It's still their division. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Paddy Pimblett appreciates Khamzat Chimaev showing 'levels of the game' in UFC 319 win
Paddy Pimblett disagrees with the fans who booed Khamzat Chimaev's UFC 319 performance. Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) landed 12 takedowns and had over 21 minutes of control time in a lopsided decision win over Dricus Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) to claim the middleweight title in Saturday's main event at United Center in Chicago. As Pimblett watched Chimaev hold down Du Plessis round after round, he couldn't help but praise the challenger's dominance. "For the casuals, this isn't going to be a fun fight to watch, but for people who actually do MMA and old school opinions, they'll appreciate this," Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. "I appreciate it because this is levels of the game, and Khamzat's grappling level is very high. His wrestling and MMA wrestling is brilliant. "I don't know if I've ever seen a fight like this, like champion, such a one-sided beatdown because Chimaev nearly won every second of this fight. Joe Rogan is right: Khamzat looks fresh. Everyone questioned his cardio going into this fight, and he looks sound. ...The crowd is booing. It's not Khamzat's fault that Dricus can't stop him doing this." As he wrapped up his breakdown, Pimblett didn't waste the opportunity to take a shot at fellow lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan. "Arman doing his best to get as much screen time as he can while his mate wins the belt," Pimblett said. "Closest that tool comes to touching it." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Paddy Pimblett: Only casuals would hate Khamzat Chimaev's UFC 319 win
