Perhaps the biggest MLB free-agent prize of the upcoming offseason is slumping badly and is not currently playing as his team seeks a “reset.”

The Cubs benched star outfielder Kyle Tucker for both halves of a doubleheader Tuesday against the Brewers, with Chicago sweeping both games, and kept him out of the starting lineup again on Wednesday.

After being named to his fourth straight All-Star team in July, Tucker has since hit just .182 with one home run and six runs batted in. More recently, Tucker’s skid has included a stretch of just two hits in his last 25 at-bats, and boos for him have grown louder and more frequent at Wrigley Field. 

The situation is a significant turn for a player who was at the top of many MLB free-agent lists, particularly after the Blue Jays extended first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in April. Tucker was set to garner an annual salary likely in excess of $35 million, perhaps by a significant margin, and build heavily beyond his current $16.5 million. 

“The fans are frustrated and Kyle’s frustrated,” said Cubs manager Craig Counsell. “He’s trying. It’s just not clicking. We’re going to have to take a little step back here, for sure, and just give him some days off to reset him, hopefully.”

It’s still quite possible that Tucker will garner a highly lucrative contract in the fall as he reaches free agency. Some projections before the All-Star Game even reached $600 million for a future deal, as players such as Juan Soto and his $765 million pact with the Mets have helped reset the MLB player market. His performance the rest of the season, however, will likely be quite influential to that forthcoming situation. 

“Tuck is going to be fine,” teammate Ian Happ said Wednesday on WSCR-AM in Chicago. “He’s one of the best players in baseball. Sometimes just being able to watch baseball for a day and just get away from it … and not have to be grinding through at-bats can help a lot.”

The Cubs traded a trio of players to the Astros for Tucker last December, and the deal has generally worked out for both sides. Chicago, looking to return to the postseason after a five-year absence, currently holds the top wild-card slot in the National League, Houston leads the American League West division, and is poised for a ninth-straight playoff berth. 

Multiple NFL preseason games have been available to watch through NFL Sunday Ticket this month, even though YouTube’s $2 billion annual out-of-market media-rights package is supposed to include only regular-season broadcasts. 

This past Saturday, the Dolphins-Lions Week 2 preseason matchup, which was not a national TV broadcast, was available to watch via NFL Sunday Ticket for subscribers on YouTube and YouTube TV that had already signed up for the service for the upcoming season, Front Office Sports has learned. 

Saturday’s Patriots-Vikings game, which aired at 1 p.m. ET like Dolphins-Lions, also appeared on some users’ YouTube TV listings under the Sunday Ticket channel. This coming Saturday’s Texans-Lions preseason game, which is not one of the eight national TV games in Week 3, is also scheduled to air on NFL Sunday Ticket in several markets.

While NFL Network did have its most-watched preseason Week 1 earlier this month, it doesn’t appear YouTube is trying to capitalize on those football-crazed viewers. 

Each season since 2023, when YouTube took over Sunday Ticket, the NFL has allowed several games each preseason to air on the service for testing ahead of the regular season, a source told FOS. Those games have not been promoted, although some users on Reddit have reported noticing them in recent years.

Out-of-market preseason games are available to livestream on NFL+ for premium subscribers. The NFL and YouTube did not comment for this story.

ESPN’s Preseason Play

ESPN is making five out-of-market preseason games available on its app this Saturday for users already subscribed to its new direct-to-consumer service through the ESPN Unlimited plan, which is $29.99 per month. 

Some users will also be able to watch the preseason games by authenticating in the app through select pay-TV providers.

WWE premium live events (PLEs) are migrating from NBC’s Peacock streaming service to ESPN’s direct-to-consumer network sooner than previously planned.

Earlier this month, WWE and ESPN announced a five-year, $6.5 billion deal for the PLEs to move to ESPN beginning with WrestleMania next year. However, WWE and ESPN announced Wednesday that the partnership is starting six months sooner. 

Peacock’s final show will be Clash in Paris on Aug. 31, and ESPN will take the baton starting with Wrestlepalooza on Sept. 20 in Indianapolis.  

The nature of the arrangement of how Peacock and WWE decided to end the PLE portion of their deal early was not immediately clear. WWE remains in business with NBCUniversal with Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC and SmackDown on USA Network (which is getting spun off into the Versant portfolio). It was also not immediately clear whether the end date has changed on the pact between WWE and ESPN, as far as whether it now concludes in September 2030 or still in March 2031 as originally planned. 

ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service launches Aug. 21 and will cost $29.99 a month, or $39.99 a month when bundled with the new Fox One streamer.

There has been some confusion about whether people who currently subscribe to ESPN via cable, satellite, or OTT bundles will receive access to the WWE PLEs and the rest of the content on ESPN’s direct-to-consumer network. 

ESPN does not currently have deals with Xfinity, Cox, Optimum, or YouTube TV for subscriber authentication, but customers of DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Charter, Fubo, and Verizon Fios will have access at no additional cost.

Sports leagues have continued to venture into the digital creator space to target a younger fan base. Bundesliga is taking a step that may turn into the blueprint for future North American leagues.

The German soccer league has awarded the rights to stream Friday night games in the U.K. and Ireland to two YouTube channels: That’s Football and The Overlap.

The Overlap, which has more than 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, is closer to a traditional sports show with several big names in European soccer, including Gary Neville and Roy Keane. However, That’s Football, which has about 1.4 million subscribers, is akin to the style of the modern digital format, run by creator Mark Goldbridge, a fan of the English Premier League’s Manchester United. 

Bundesliga will also broadcast Friday night games on the BBC in the two countries and stream on its own YouTube channel. All four broadcasts will run simultaneously.

It’s not the first time European leagues have awarded broadcast rights to digital creators. Twitch streamer Ibai Llanos streamed a match for LaLiga, the country’s top soccer league, in 2021. Tim Cocker of the YouTube channel EggChasers Rugby acquired the rights to Pro D2, the second-tier French rugby league, earlier this year. 

U.S. sports leagues have yet to adopt the same formula, as the price on media deals has continued to climb exponentially. 

However, many have been investing in digital creators. Football creator Deestroying was named a sideline reporter for YouTube’s coverage of the NFL game in Brazil next month, while ESPN tapped YouTuber Kenny Beecham to lead its digital coverage of the 2025 NBA draft.