Cubs Manager Delivers Kyle Tucker Injury Update
The Chicago Cubs have had a turbulent last few weeks in the injury department, especially in their outfield as they prepare to gear up for the playoffs and put themselves in the best position possible by the time October arrives.
Both of their star outfielders in Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong have been dealing with ailments recently, and while neither was forced to hit the injured list, the Cubs have now been without both stars for a fair amount of time.
Crow-Armstrong -- who fouled a ball off his knee over the weekend -- returned to the lineup in a DH role on Monday night and appears to be close to normal, however Tucker has been a different story.
After being missing from the lineup on Monday night, Tucker now has not played in a week as he deals with an ongoing calf problem. Following the series opening loss to the Atlanta Braves though, manager Craig Counsell did provide a tremendous update on the right fielder and revealed he was available off the bench should he have been needed.
Going into Monday, a stint on the injured list did not sound to be in the cards anymore, and Counsell revealed via Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required) that Tucker had progressed further on Monday and is on the cusp.
"At this point, no," Counsell said when asked if Tucker could still be placed on the IL. "I think we’re making good progress. As long as we’re having days where we’re moving forward and getting closer — that’s what we’ve felt the last two days, especially — we’re in a good place."
Instead of bringing him back to the lineup though, they instead wound up placing him on the IL retroactive to Saturday and activated top prospect Moisés Ballesteros in the corresponding move.
Tucker has now missed five games headed into Tuesday night and Chicago has lost four of them as the offense has been a major struggle. In three of those games, the Cubs have scored just one run total, the first game against Atlanta last night being included in that.
On the season as a whole, Tucker is slashing .270/.381/.472 with 22 home runs and 73 RBI, collecting a bWAR of 4.8 through 133 games played. He has been prone to streakiness, however clearly the 28-year-old is as important as any other player in baseball to his team and when he's at his best, there are not many better.
If Chicago wants any hope of making the kind of run this October that they are hoping for, Tucker is going to be at the center of things. In order to do that, he will have to get healthy and give this team their superstar back.
Oilers Cleared in Evander Kane LTIR Investigation
The NHL has closed its investigation into the Edmonton Oilers' usage of long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and found no wrongdoing, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told reporters Tuesday. As a result, the Oilers will not receive any punishment, either retroactive or for the upcoming season.
The investigation centered on Edmonton's handling of forward Evander Kane, who did not play at all during the regular season but returned for Game 2 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. He then scored six goals and 12 points in 21 playoff games while averaging 16:29 of ice time to help the Oilers reach their second-straight Stanley Cup Final, where they once again lost to the Florida Panthers.
Kane being on LTIR took his $5.125 million cap hit off the Oilers' books, which helped them acquire defenseman Jake Walman and forward Trent Frederic at the trade deadline. The Oilers were far from the first team to use this loophole to add players at the deadline, but for unknown reasons, the league decided to look into their usage of it more closely.
The league is set to close this loophole with the new CBA, which won't fully go into effect until the 2026-27 season, but some changes are already going into effect this season.
Starting this season, teams will be retired to ice a cap-compliant lineup for each playoff game, whereas the salary cap previously ceased to take effect once the postseason rolled around. Teams such as the Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights have iced lineups far above the cap in previous years, though not without significant controversy.
Teams will also receive less LTIR relief for injured players, now capping out at around $3.8 million for one player instead of their full cap hit. This has already had major ramifications around the league, most recently forcing the Montreal Canadiens to trade the contract of legendary goaltender Carey Price after previously having his entire $10.5 million cap hit off the books for the past few years.
The Oilers traded Kane, 34, to the Vancouver Canucks this offseason in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick. The trade was mostly to clear his salary with major extensions due over the next year and change.
Kane scored 62 goals and 111 points in 162 regular season games during his time in Edmonton, plus 26 goals and 42 points in 68 postseason games.
