The Chicago Cubs are on top of the world! Well, at least in the baseball world, given they are atop the NL Central. And the big reason for that is Kyle Tucker. After getting him from the Houston Astros, he has been on fire. It’s probably one of the best moves the Cubs made. But it is also bittersweet given that now they have to think about how to keep him in Chicago in the long haul.

Tucker will most likely be a free agent if the Cubs don’t sign him for the long term. But according to Cubs insider David Kaplan, the fans have nothing to worry about. He updated everyone on the Cubs REKAP Podcast on how the team is willing to pay whatever it takes to lock Tucker in for the long term. Yes, you heard that right—whatever it takes, no matter how big that contract soars. Surprising for even the Cubs fans, if you ask!

Nevertheless, if you are a Cubs fan, you are probably happy. But hold up, because apparently, this is not the best decision. According to former Marlins president David Samson, it could end up being a costly mistake, a

Samson at Nothing Personal Podcast said, “I do have a message for the Ricketts family: You want to sign Kyle Tucker? Here’s what you don’t do. You don’t have it out there where somebody in the media, like a David Kaplan with the Cubs Recap podcast, can say, “I’m hearing that the Cubs have wrapped their brain around”—doesn’t” mean he’ll accept it, but “wrapped their brain around whatever it costs, we’re paying it, and they want to keep Tucker…can you imagine a worse negotiating position?

Samson said spreading those rumors was a huge mistake, and given that he has been in the hot seat before, he knows the game well enough to comment. For him, that rumor was a negotiating error, and he even compared this situation to a disaster he saw in the past with the Cubs when they signed Edwin Jackson. The result of that ended up being bad for the team in the long run. So for him, if the Cubs want to avoid the repeat, they need not make their willingness to shell out money so public.

Samson highlighted that it is sometimes way better to let a player go than to overpay for a player. He even gave his example and how he has been there and done that. And for him, it’s overkill to spend this much and regret it in some years to come. However, it’s easy to understand why the Cubs would want to give Tucker everything they got—he has turned the franchise around.

Why the Chicago Cubs can’t keep calm over Kyle Tucker’s contract

You are probably wondering, what’s all this fuss for a player about, and the offseason is nowhere near. Heck, the games are not even halfway done. But the fact is, Kyle Tucker is lights out and crushing it this season. Look at the numbers he has been putting up—.288 average, .397 OBP, .568 slugging, plus 7 homers and 26 RBIs. Tucker is making it clear why the Chicago Cubs and the Ricketts family are so desperate to lock him up.

The Cubs, of course, want someone like him—a generational player. Someone they can build the team around. Take Judge for the Yankees, Soto for the Mets, or Guerrero Jr. for Toronto. But the fact is, as Tucker is rising to the occasion, so is his price tag. If the Cubs want to keep him, they need to open their wallets to a deal that touches maybe what Soto or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got. Right now, according to Bob Nightengale, the predicted number sits at $500 million for Kyle Tucker, and it’s huge.

Tucker was projected to be worth $300 million on the open market earlier, and now there’s a $200 million jump. But it makes sense, given Tucker’s gameplay. So for the Cubs, the game is on, and so is the pressure. But if they don’t act fast and put up a deal good enough, they have to see Tucker walk away. It’s a heartbreak the Yankees faced this season when Soto walked away. But then, the free agency can be wild, and anything can happen.

And even though David Kaplan did say the team will do anything, it remains to be seen whether they will. Because, as Samson warned, the Cubs need to play it smart. Do you think they will just shower money on Tucker? Let us know.