Whatever happens with Kyle Tucker will be the No. 1 storyline surrounding the Chicago Cubs this offseason.

Will he re-sign and provide a major boost to the Cubs’ lineup in 2026 and beyond? Or will another team offer him a megadeal in free agency?

Tucker heads into this winter as one of the top players available. Even during a down year (by his standards) where he battled through a broken hand and later a calf injury, the star right fielder put up 4.5 WAR in 136 games. His 143 OPS+ means he was 43% better than the average major leaguer in 2025.

So if Tucker is not back in Chicago in 2026, how will the Cubs replace that production?

In short, it likely won’t be by just one player. When healthy, Tucker is one of the 10 best players in the game.

But the Cubs do have two young players already in the organization who might be able to help — Moisés Ballesteros and Owen Caissie.

Both players made their MLB debut in 2025 and flashed their potential despite some uneven playing time.

“I think both those guys are really good, young hitters, for sure,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his end-of-season presser last week. “They have really bright futures. Exactly when and how that happens, I’m not sure.”

Watch Jed Hoyer’s full end-of-season press conference only on the Marquee Sports Network app.

If Tucker does end up departing in free agency, the Cubs could backfill by adding Caissie into the outfield mix, or by making Ballesteros a regular DH and shifting Seiya Suzuki into right field full-time (where he played in September and October). Fellow prospect Kevin Alcántara could also factor into the outfield equation.

Ballesteros was initially called up in mid-May when Ian Happ went on the IL. He hit .188 over a five-game stretch, then went back down to Triple-A Iowa for two months. He spent a one-game stint with the team on July 30, collecting a big, three-run hit that helped the Cubs claim a win over the Brewers in Milwaukee.

The Cubs sent Ballesteros back down to the minors until mid-September, when Tucker officially went to the IL with a calf injury.

From that point on, the rookie DH flourished, and his final big-league numbers were almost identical to what he posted in Triple-A:

MLB: .298/.394/.474 (.868 OPS)
AAA: .316/.385/.473 (.858 OPS)

It was only a 20-game sample overall for Ballesteros, but he was hitting fourth for the Cubs down the stretch in the middle of a pennant race and showed what type of impact he could make.

Caissie also had some good moments (ironically also against the Brewers), but overall struggled in his first foray into the big leagues. The 23-year-old outfielder saw some regular playing time in August while Tucker endured a mid-season slump and then came up in September before a concussion landed him on the IL for the rest of the year.

Caissie hit .192 with a .568 OPS, one homer and four RBI in 12 games (27 plate appearances).

In the minors, the left-handed slugger mashed 22 homers and 28 doubles in 99 games while posting a .551 slugging percentage and .937 OPS.

Hoyer has spoken often about how teams rely on surprise contributions and breakouts from players throughout the course of a successful season. Put another way: Teams need players to outperform expectations for a team to outperform expectations in a season.

In 2025, the Cubs had several of those success stories — most notably with center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and starting pitcher Cade Horton.

Could Ballesteros or Caissie follow the same path in 2026?

“One of the things I’m most proud of this team is when you look at our production and look at the players — from a recent standpoint, you’re talking about like a Pete coming up and developing and producing,” Hoyer said. “You’re talking about Cade having a great year. Matt Shaw had a great second half. But even Nico [Hoerner] played his best baseball in the second half. We’ve seen the time it has taken to get there, and he’s a homegrown player.

“That’s the lifeblood of baseball today. You have to have good, young players. I think those are the guys that have real upside that can surprise you, and have great years — even beyond projections. So I consider Moises and Owen in that group. And I think their futures are really bright.”

Even if Tucker signs with another team this winter, the Cubs could go out and replace him with a proven bat in the lineup.

But Ballesteros and Caissie have put themselves on the map as left-handed bats and will enter spring training trying to carve out a major role for themselves on the 2026 Cubs.