Cubs Convention takeaways: Kyle Tucker's lineup impact, Seiya Suzuki at DH

After a weekend of celebrating Sammy Sosa and the arrival of Kyle Tucker at Cubs Convention, spring training is now squarely in focus.

Pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, Ariz., in less than three weeks to prepare for Opening Day in Japan against a loaded defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers team.

Advertisement To compete with the firepower the Dodgers have, the Chicago Cubs offense needs to bounce back after a disappointing if still solid season in 2024.

Here are three convention takeaways on some key Chicago bats.

Is Tucker a rising tide? Tucker is a rare talent.

Theres a reason the Cubs gave up one of their top prospects ( Cam Smith ), their starting third baseman ( Isaac Paredes ) and a key piece of their pitching depth ( Hayden Wesneski ) to secure just one year of his services.

Since 2021, the left-handed right fielders 145 wRC+ is tied for ninth in baseball with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Obviously, hell positively impact the club.

But will he elevate the lineup? In baseball, guys that produce seasons like hes produced, every night theres damage, manager Craig Counsell said.

Thats what it feels like.

Or theres just games where they single-handedly take over.

To produce numbers like he has, thats what happens.

The impact it has on guys around him, I think its really more the production that player has that creates the lift.

The idea of an elite bat making others around him better has been a debate in baseball circles for a long time.

Perhaps others will see better pitches, especially those hitting directly ahead of Tucker, giving them more opportunities to drive the ball.

But ultimately, its hard to measure how Tucker impacts other players.

The simple answer is the one Counsell gave: Tuckers impact will be felt just by his mere production, which is clearly at an elite level.

Suzuki understands his role Seiya Suzuki had some rough moments in right field last season, and once Pete Crow-Armstrong had established himself in center and Cody Bellinger returned healthy, pushing him to DH seemed like the logical move.

It wasnt as if the move impacted his performance, as the talented righty posted a 140 wRC+ in 59 games in the role.

Advertisement With Tuckers arrival, Crow-Armstrongs emergence and Ian Happ locked in at left, it seemed natural that Suzuki would be the full-time DH in 2025.

But comments made by his agent, Joel Wolfe, at the Winter Meetings last month had everyone wondering if this could be an issue.

I think that if he was being posted in Japan and teams were presenting to him their opportunities and they said, You can come here and be our full-time DH, I dont think he would have signed with that team, Wolfe said about Suzukis feelings on not playing in right field.

Seiya was a great defender in Japan, so its not a compliment being a DH.

But according to Counsell, this is a nonissue.

We talked with Seiya (on) Monday, Counsell said Saturday.

I told him that right now, its DH where the at-bats will come from.

He understands.

Hes on board.

He wants to play the field, but he understands that right now this is where the team sits.

I know that hes going to play a lot of outfield.

You hope Kyle and Ian are healthy, obviously, and if they are, theyre going to play.

But things will happen.

Guys need days off.

Injuries happen.

So do deep slumps, and that can change things as well.

But for now, the best version of this team is with the two Gold Glovers in the corners and Suzuki at DH.

If hes looking to win with the Cubs, he surely understands and can accept that.

It takes talent to trade for talent The cost to get Tucker was obviously high even at the time, but a year after the Cubs traded two prospects Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope to acquire Michael Busch, some are wondering if the Dodgers stole some talent from them.

The number of times in interviews last year that people said we won that deal no, we gave up a lot of talent to get Michael Busch, team president Jed Hoyer said.

In some ways, when you make a deal like that, youre either pulling wins forward or pushing them backwards.

When youre trading Javy Baez for (Crow-Armstrong), you know that youre giving up a good player in that moment to hopefully get wins in the future.

Advertisement Many knew Ferris had a high ceiling.

A second-round pick by the Cubs in 2022, the team paid him a hefty bonus just north of $3 million to add him to the organization.

The left-handed pitcher has always been intriguing and is now finding himself on some top-100 lists.

But Hopes sudden surge has opened eyes.

Hope was an 11th-round pick in 2023 by the Cubs.

Now hes rising on top-100 lists, even finding himself in the top 10 of one prominent publication .

The amateur department deserves a lot of credit for identifying Hope, and in general, its done a good job of adding talent to the system beyond just first-round picks.

Having talent and depth to trade and immediately help your MLB roster is important.

The Cubs have to hope they continue to unearth talents like Hope, Ferris and Smith and that some help the big-league club and others are used to add established talent.

The Cubs might not have expected Hope to have this quick of a rise, but they liked him as evidenced by the $400,000 bonus they gave him and the Dodgers werent doing the deal unless they received Hope and Ferris.

Busch is now helping a Cubs team that is under pressure to make the playoffs and needs win-now talent.

With Michael Busch, were getting a young player who we have six years of control over that we were very confident could step in and play for us, Hoyer said.

But you realize you are giving up a lot of future value to do that.

Theres always that push and pull, and we gave up two really good prospects to get him.

(Top photo of Seiya Suzuki: Stacy Revere / Getty Images).

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