Kyle Tucker injury: Cubs reveal slumping star was diagnosed with fractured hand in June
Tucker's injury has since healed, but he remains in an offensive downturn
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Chicago Cubs outfielder and impending free agent Kyle Tucker was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right hand in June, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. Tucker, who played on, suffered the injury on a slide on June 1. The fracture, now said by the team to be fully healed, was located where his pinky and ring finger meet.
"He was sore for a little while but was able to play," Cubs manager Craig Counsell told ESPN on Wednesday. "He had some more imaging, and it showed a small fracture that was healing."
Tucker, 28, entered Thursday hitting .261/.374/.447 on the season with 18 home runs and 25 stolen bases (on 27 attempts). He's been mired in a nearly two-month-long slump, which has culminated in him sitting for the past few days in an attempt to reset, both mentally and physically.
Take a look at Tucker's production by month:
| Month | OPS | K% | BB% | GB% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar/Apr. | .935 | 12.4% | 15.2% | 24.8% |
May | .882 | 11.6% | 14.9% | 33.0% |
June | .982 | 19.2% | 12.5% | 35.7% |
July | .675 | 10.8% | 20.6% | 33.8% |
Aug. | .381 | 23.0% | 8.2% | 53.7% |
CBS Sports' Mike Axisa recently chronicled what was ailing Tucker, pointing out his swing may have been impacted by the then-unidentified hand injury -- a dynamic that top Cubs executive Jed Hoyer seemed to agree with.
"I know it did bother him for a while," Hoyer recently told MLB.com. "I don't know whether it still bothers him, whether it created some bad habits along the way with compensating and things like that. There's no question that when you look at his numbers, it's had an impact on him, for sure. That's the nature sometimes of these small injuries. They can do that."
The Cubs will conclude a five-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday before beginning a three-city, nine-game road trip on the West Coast.
