Inside The Cubs

Jed Hoyer Reveals 'Probable' Reason Behind Kyle Tucker's Slump

The Chicago Cubs need their slugger to get out of his rut.
Maddy Dickens|
Jul 3, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer speaks before a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Jul 3, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer speaks before a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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It is no secret that Kyle Tucker is finding himself in one of the worst ruts of his career, which has gone on for a considerable amount of time.

In his last 15 games he has posted a slash line of .189/.295/.208 with no home runs, three RBI, and 14 strikeouts. It has been a near month since he had a homer and that was the last time the Chicago Cubs sat at the top of the NL Central. They are now eight games back.

The Cubs' president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, has his suspicions surrounding his struggles and it dates back to his injury in June when he injured his fingers after diving head first into a base. Tucker battled through it and was forced to change the mechanics of his swing to some degree. Hoyer spoke with The Mully & Haugh Show:

"Clearly, he’s struggling, you can see it in his face, in his body language, how much he’s  struggling.  He’s such a natural hitter. For a guy like that to go through an extended stretch like this,  I’m  sure  it’s  one of the first times in his life he’s probably gone through this. It’s hard. Obviously, it’s a big year for him and he wants to help the team."

His swing hasn't gone back to what fans are used to seeing when Tucker steps up to the plate. He has an OPS of .410 in August with a hitting average of .160 and no extra-base hits. In the last six games Tucker has gone 2-for-21 and fans have led to booing him, which really isn't fair.

A player like Tucker is being hard enough on himself. The new Cub was an All-Star this season and he is too good to not find his groove again. Hoyer believes in the slugger and everyone who loves this team should be behind him as well.

Looking Forward for the Cubs

Tucker running the plate in a blue and white pinstripe uniform in blue cleats and a blue glov
Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

The Cubs struggles have coincided with the slump that Tucker has found himself in, but that will turn around. Even though they are unlikely to take back the top spot in the NL Central from the Milwaukee Brewers, it will be important for them to keep the top wild card spot going into the postseason.

They now find themselves in a high stakes five-game series with the Brewers.

Rookie sensation Cade Horton is getting the nod as starting pitcher for the opener with Milwaukee. The Cubs are coming off of a series victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates and looking to keep the momentum going, a slugging Tucker would really help.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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