Evaluating Cubs options in MLB free agency, including three former players

You’re Cubs manager Craig Counsell and its Opening Day 2026. Will the choice be batting Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber or Cody Bellinger in cleanup spot?

With the free agent market opening up this week, the left handed power bats of these three former Cub players will be open for bidding among all 30 MLB clubs including the Cubs.

[Cubs 2025-26 offseason primer: Free agents, roster decisions, key dates]

Tucker, who was the last to perform at Clark and Addison in the 2025 season, will be analyzed first. The 28-year-old All-Star was among the league’s MVP candidates before several injuries (including a broken finger) helped capsize a potentially terrific season. After missing most of September with a calf strain, he moved back into the lineup for the eight playoff games the Cubs played in October.

In postseason play, Tucker hit .259 with one home run and one RBI. The numbers were more in line with the statistics he put up from July 1 through the end of the season. After July 1, Tucker hit five home runs and drove in 21 runs over the last three months of the season.

The outfield play on defense was also dealt a blow with numerous trauma to his lower body from aggressive base running and fouling balls off of his leg and kneecap.

“Tucker is one of the most selective hitters in baseball,” a scout from the NL Central told me. “His ability to walk as much — or more — than striking out should not be overlooked. Still, his overall year was not quite up to his seasons before 2024. I think he is still going to be an impact player going forward, but clubs will look at his injuries the past two seasons and weigh that against the years and money that they offer him.”

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden wrote an article last week that predicted Tucker will receive a contract of $427 million over the next 10 years. If that’s the case, he will not be playing for the Chicago Cubs.

According to sources around the league, a contract that is more in the $30 to $35 million dollar area per season for fewer years, will be the kind of contract he will be offered this winter.

All the boxes were checked as far as Tucker enjoying the Wrigley fans and his Cubs experience, except his home batting numbers. Wrigley Field held Tucker to seven home runs and 36 RBI with a .236 batting average.

“We will see what happens,” Tucker said when I asked him if it was his wish to return to the Cubs as a free agent. “I don’t know what the future is going to hold. But if not, it was an honor playing with all of these guys and I wish them the best of luck. Whether I’m playing with them or not, it was a fun group to be a part of.”

Bellinger, who will play at age 31, had a fine season with the Yankees in 2025 after the Cubs traded him to New York last winter. After an injury plagued 2024 season with the North Siders, he played four different positions for the Yanks and hit .272 with an .813 OPS. At the end of the season, he told the Yankees he would opt out of the last year on his contract that would have paid him $25 million for 2026.

Bellinger has said his experience as a Cub was a great one for him and the team. The Cubs trading him was more about using the $27.5 million he would have been paid to pick up three players then anything else. His overall versatility makes him an attractive acquisition beyond his slugging ability. Bellinger is a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman and outfielder.

“I am a huge fan of Cody,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said in the middle of October. “I know Cody had a great experience here, but I expect that in general. I think our players have great experiences playing here. That’s a huge selling point when we are talking to free agents. That is our goal to have people who come here feel that way.”

Bellinger agreed with the Hoyer mantra when we talked in the late summer.

“I loved my time with the Cubs,” he said in August. “I made a lot of amazing friends. I have been lucky to play for three amazing organizations — now the journey will continue.”

Bellinger also told me how much his wife enjoyed the Chicago experience while he was a Cub.

Schwarber is a Chicago legend who was a first-round draft pick in 2014 and a World Series hero, and he would be a magical choice for Cubs fans. At age 33 and coming off of his best season, the word on the street is the Phillies will do everything in their power to bring back the likeable and popular slugger.

[MORE: Why Kyle Schwarber, Cubs could reunite next season]

Schwarber led the National League with 56 home runs and 137 RBI. What will the price be for the DH in free agency? Would bringing him back to finish his career as a Cub be the perfect symmetry for him and the Cubs organization?

Schwarber will be paid somewhere in the $30 million-plus range per season with a new contract. The leadership he brings is just icing on the cake for his next team.

All and all, these are some tough choices for Hoyer and Co. as they wait for the free agent market to open and the talks at the GM meetings in Las Vegas to begin Nov. 10-13.

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Evaluating Cubs options in MLB free agency, including three former players

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