Cubs' Jed Hoyer Talks Trying to 'Balance' Deadline Approach with Tucker Extension

The Chicago Cubs have some serious decisions to make over the next couple of weeks as the trade deadline approaches; however, that is nothing compared to the decisions ahead of them this offseason.

When Chicago traded for their new star outfielder Kyle Tucker -- who has been every bit as advertised this season -- last winter, they did so with the knowledge that he would become a free agent after one season in the Windy City.

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Tucker has played himself into the conversation of an extension which could be worth more than half a billion dollars, and as a result, it has become a question of whether or not the Cubs will be able to keep him.

At the deadline, Chicago must balance both the fact that Tucker could only be here for this season and they need to go all in with the knowledge that they could need to replace him after the year.

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When discussing the debate of how strongly they are going to pursue pitching upgrades, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was very honest about the reality of the situation.

"What we know the most about is where we are right now," Hoyer said when asked the obvious about Tucker's status impacting deadline strategy in an exclusive Q&A with Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required). "Certainly, you’re always trying to balance those things. But what’s in front of us is really important."

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Hoyer went on to break down the impact of Tucker to the team and talk about how he has changed things and realistically how that has to be considered when weighing the decisions of how aggressive to be in making trades and potentially signing him.

"Obviously, he’s had a huge impact on our offense. He’s been terrific," Hoyer said. "Having him on base all the time and watching the quality of his at-bats has really had a huge impact. He’s just a great all-around player that has really benefitted us in so many ways. Clearly, this has been a really impressive position-playing group so far, and he’s a big part of that. Obviously, that’s going to factor into our calculus."

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Mooney went on to point out a potentially more optimistic take on the situation regarding Chicago's approach to dealing with prospects, noting that with so many assets financially allocated to Tucker, young, controllable players like those at the top of the farm system could be critical.

No matter what happens this offseason though, the Cubs have the makings of a team who can win right now.

It's up to Hoyer to create a team that is capable of doing that both while Tucker is here on a one-year deal and also when he's either playing somewhere else or in Chicago for the long haul on an expensive agreement.

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