Chicago Cubs 2025 Position Analysis: Right Field

[Andrew Wright]

Chicago Cubs fans have been awaiting a superstar-caliber player to insert into the lineup and potentially help put them over the top. The offseason gave them just that as they acquired right fielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. Tucker will now be the everyday right fielder and headline one of the most stacked positions in the game.

Image courtesy of © Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Kyle Tucker is, in no uncertain terms, the superstar that the Cubs have needed. In just 78 games in 2024, Tucker hit 23 home runs and drove in 49 runs. He finished with a .993 OPS, which would have been first among right fielders if Tucker had enough at-bats to qualify. He will now head into 2025 fully healthy and hoping to replicate what he did in 2024 over a full season.

Seiya Suzuki has served as Chicago's primary right fielder over the past three seasons. Bad defense and an injury in 2024 saw Suzuki serve as the DH when he returned to the lineup, as Cody Bellinger slid over to play right field for the remainder of the season following the emergence of Pete Crow-Armstrong (a vastly superior defender to Suzuki) in center.

The Cubs were eighth among MLB teams in 2024 in Wins Above Average (0.7) from the right fielders, while the Astros ranked second. That included statistics from Suzuki, Bellinger, Mike Tauchman, Kevin Alcantara, Alexander Canario, Patrick Wisdom and Miles Mastrobuoni. Of course, only Suzuki and Alcántara remain from that group in 2025, though Tucker should help stabilize the turnover at the position. 

Defensively, Tucker ranked sixth among right fielders in defensive runs saved (DRS) with seven in just 592 innings played. Meanwhile, Suzuki was No. 20 on the list with just three total runs saved. As such, Tucker will be both an offensive and defensive upgrade in right field for the Cubs in 2025.

Suzuki will still get his fair share of games in right field when Tucker needs a day off his feet. Along with Suzuki, there is the potential for Alcántara to spend time in right field if he is able to crack the Opening Day roster — and even if he doesn't, he'll serve as the next-man up while gathering more seasoning at Triple-A. As long as both are fully healthy, the split in games between Suzuki and Tucker in right field should be somewhere in the 120/40 range, with Tucker getting the majority of the playing time.

If all goes well and Tucker is able to replicate what he did in his limited playing time in 2024, he'll be on the brink of a very large payday in the offseason. At that point, the Cubs would need to do whatever it took to bring him back to Chicago for the 2026 season and beyond.

View full article