CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Tucker is trying to break out of a prolonged slump, and the Chicago Cubs are doing whatever they can to help the All-Star outfielder.
Nothing is working at the moment.
Tucker rested while Chicago swept a doubleheader against Milwaukee on Tuesday. He is batting .148 (8 for 54) in August, and he has just two extra-base hits — both doubles — in his last 24 games.
A day after manager Craig Counsell said they were “going to have to take a little step back” with Tucker and give him some days off to reset, the plan for the slugger seemed unclear. Speaking before the doubleheader started, Tucker and Counsell both left open the possibility of him playing on Tuesday. But he stayed on the bench for both games.
“We talked Sunday night a little bit and, you know, we put a lot on the table and then we’ll see where that goes,” Counsell said.
Rookie Owen Caissie started in right field in each game in the doubleheader. Counsell used Justin Turner to hit for Caissie in the fifth inning of the nightcap, and then had Willi Castro in right for the rest of the Cubs' 4-1 victory.
Tucker has some company. The Cubs (72-54) are averaging 3.7 runs over 30 games since the All-Star break, compared with 5.3 in the first part of the season. The slumping offense has played a role in Chicago falling seven games behind surging Milwaukee in the NL Central.
The 28-year-old Tucker jammed his right ring finger during an awkward slide in a victory over Cincinnati on June 1. He missed one game and then made a pinch-hitting appearance before returning to the starting lineup on June 5.
“I'm fine,” Tucker said Tuesday. “I mean, I’ve played, you know, for the most part every game this year. So I’m fine going out there.”
Tucker was acquired in a trade with Houston in December. He is eligible for free agency after this season, but he said that isn't a factor in his trouble at the plate.
He got off to a terrific start in his first season with Chicago, batting .290 with 17 homers, 52 RBIs and a .923 OPS in his first 85 games. He made the All-Star Game for the fourth time.
But he hasn't been the same player since the break, hitting .182 (16 for 88) with one homer, six RBIs and a .572 OPS in his last 26 games.
Asked if he could recall a similar slump at the plate, Tucker responded: “Probably not this long.”
“But, I mean I think everyone’s had stretches where they have, you know, not done that great or whatever,” he continued. “I don’t know. I'm just trying to figure it out.”
While Tucker is known for his reserved, steady demeanor, there are signs that the slump is taking a toll on him. He was slow getting out of the box on a grounder that was momentarily bobbled by Milwaukee first baseman Andrew Vaughn in the fourth inning of Monday's 7-0 loss to the Brewers.
He had a similar moment in the sixth inning of Sunday's 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh, leading to some boos from the crowd at Wrigley Field.
“I mean it’s kind of exhausting. I don’t know how many times I've rolled over to first or second,” Tucker said. “Regardless you still got to run down the line whether you’re out by 50 feet or not. But I mean it’s just a little tough right now.”
While explaining what Tucker is working on at the plate, Counsell pointed to his first at-bat of Sunday's game against Pittsburgh, when the slugger bounced to first on a 3-1 fastball right over the plate.
“There’s separation from what he wants and what’s happening, what he thinks he feels and what’s happening,” Counsell said. “And you just, you try to just keep working on that and it’s a little thing that puts it back in place. It’s probably a simple thing that puts it back in place. It’s a swing, doesn’t have to be like a successful swing even. Could be a foul ball that puts it back in place.”
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Chicago Cubs' Kyle Tucker (30) celebrates with manager Craig Counsell, right, at the dugout after scoring on a Carson Kelly single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Chicago Cubs' Kyle Tucker follows through on an RBI single during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting raged Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a new ceasefire.
Thai officials said they did not agree to a ceasefire. Cambodia has not commented directly on Trump’s claim, but its defense ministry said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Saturday that some of Trump's remarks didn't “reflect an accurate understanding of the situation.”
He said Trump’s characterization of a land mine explosion that wounded Thai soldiers as a “roadside accident” was inaccurate, and did not reflect Thailand's position that it was a deliberate act of aggression.
Sihasak said that Trump’s willingness to credit what may be “information from sources that deliberately distorted the facts” instead of believing Thailand hurt the feelings of the Thai people “because we consider ourselves — we are proud, in fact — to be the oldest treaty ally of the United States in the region.”
The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.
The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.
More than two dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in this past week’s fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced.
The Thai military acknowledged 15 of its troops died during the fighting, and estimated earlier this week that there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and more than six dozen wounded.
Trump, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, announced on Friday an agreement to restart the ceasefire.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had, after his call with Trump, said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first.
The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday included dissolving Parliament, so new elections could be held early next year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.
Hun Manet said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed," Hun Manet wrote.
Anwar later posted on social media that he was urging the two sides to implement a ceasefire on Saturday night. Cambodia's prime minister, also posting online, endorsed the initiative, which included having Malaysia and the United States help monitor it. However, Thai Prime Minister Anutin denied that his country was even in negotiations over the proposal.
Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.
BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.
However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.
Thailand's navy was also reported by both sides' militaries to have joined the fighting on Saturday morning, with a warship in the Gulf of Thailand shelling Cambodia's southwestern province of Koh Kong. Each side said the other opened fire first.
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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
A man sits in a tent as he takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
An evacuee cooks soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
An evacuee tastes soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees cook food as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Children raise their hands while receiving donation from charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees wait to receive donation from local charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
