Cubs looking smart after not paying Kyle Tucker $240 million for 4 years originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Chicago Cubs made a decision that, at first, seemed surprising.

They had just traded for Kyle Tucker a year earlier, but when he hit free agency in the offseason, they didn't really pursue him. They let teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays battle for his next contract.

The Cubs may have known what was coming, or they may have gotten lucky.

But so far, Tucker's deal with the Dodgers hasn't worked out.

He signed an absurd four-year, $240 million contract -- that's $60 million a season, although some is deferred.

And so far, Tucker has been a below league average hitter. His OPS+ is just 96, which means he's been 4% worse than the league average bat.

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His traditional stats include a .239 average with five doubles and three homers in 29 games. His OPS is .688.

Tucker has also not shown his early-career defensive prowess, so his bat is going to have to get going for him to start to return value on that contract.

There was at least a bit of reason to wonder about regression after Tucker struggled at the tail end of last season, but that was mostly attributed to a mid-season injury.

Now, it appears Tucker is just off to a slow start.

Will he heat up? The Dodgers sure are hoping so. He's part of a stacked lineup, which should take the pressure off, but it hasn't helped him so far.

The Cubs were never going to dish out the type of contract the Dodgers gave Tucker, even if they wanted him back. But at least right now, it looks just fine that they chose to let Tucker move on.

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