Cubs star suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand back in June, . Tucker jammed his right hand diving into second base on a stolen base attempt in a game against the Reds on June 1. Manager Craig Counsell subsequently confirmed the June fracture but says Tucker is now healthy ( ). Initial x-rays came back negative. However, Rogers writes that follow-up testing revealed a small fracture at the top of his hand between his ring finger and pinky. The Cubs did not announce the diagnosis at the time, and Tucker has not spent any time on the injured list. The four-time All-Star preferred to play through the injury. In retrospect, its fair to question whether that was prudent. Tucker had been one of the best hitters in MLB for the seasons first two months. He owned a .284/.395/.524 slash with 12 homers acro s 269 plate appearances through June 1. Since then, hes batting .236/.352/.368 in almost the exact same amount of playing time. Tucker has connected on six longballs over the past two and a half months. While the injury certainly seems to be having an impact, its worth noting that Tucker actually continued to play well in the immediate aftermath. He hit .311 with five homers in June. It wasnt until July that things went completely off the rails. Hes batting .189/.325/.235 with one homer in his past 38 games. Tuckers plate discipline remains strong he has actually walked more often than he has struck out during that stretch but his power Christian Wood Jersey has completely evaporated. His rate of hard contact (batted balls with an exit velocity of at least 95 MPH) was between 44-50% in each of the first two months. It remained solid at 42.9% in June but has plummeted below 30% in each of the past two months. That kind of play from a hitter of Tuckers caliber has naturally led to speculation about his health. Pat Murphy, manager of the Milwaukee team that is playing the Cubs this week, that the outfielder was playing through an injury. I think Tuckers hurt. I dont have any information, but Tuckers not the same, Murphy said on 670 The Score. Tucker himself has maintained that hes physically ok. However, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer conceded to Rogers that when you look at his numbers, its had an impact on him, for sure. Thats the nature sometimes of these small injuries. They can do that. Counsell has kept Tucker out of the lineup for the past three games two days, including a doubleheader on Tuesday. Chicago won all three games over the MLB-best Brewers with playing right field. Counsell hasnt committed to Tuckers status for tomorrows series finale. The Cubs remain six games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central. Theyre comfortably in Wild Card position, which gives them the flexibility to mix in more off days for Tucker if nece sary. Theyll need to find a way to get him back to being productive if they hope to make a deep playoff run. The injury and slump obviously come at an inopportune time for Tucker personally, as hes a couple months from free agency. Hes the clear #1 player in the cla s and generally expected to command $400MM+ as he enters his age-29 season. Tony Carr Jersey