The winter meetings got underway Sunday in Orlando, and for the Toronto Blue Jays, this week could be the perfect time to establish clear front-runner status in the American League.
Through Wednesday, executives from all 30 teams will have conversations with free agents and their representatives, and no free agent is more coveted than four-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker. After spending the season with the Chicago Cubs, Tucker appears to be facing a wide-open market for a $300 million-plus deal.
For a Toronto team that doesn’t have a ton of left-handed talent in the lineup, Tucker might be the impact bat that takes things to a new level. Pairing him with righty slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the next decade would be a scary sight for opposing pitching staffs.
The 28-year-old Tucker was widely reported to have visited the Blue Jays’ facility in Florida last week, but signing with the club is, of course, a much bigger commitment.
On Monday, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo predicted that Tucker would ultimately make that commitment, and that the Blue Jays would add a lefty with a career .865 OPS to the middle of the order.
“There aren’t many suitors that, whether it’s for fit or financial reasons, are in the mix, but there’s still interest for an ultra-talented player who can alter the championship landscape,” wrote Castillo. “And it starts with Toronto.
“The Blue Jays whiffed on the brightest stars of the past two free agent classes — Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto — and Rogers Communications still has money to spend after investing $500 million in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in April and another $210 million recently in free agent starter Dylan Cease. … Pairing the left-handed-hitting outfielder with the right-handed-hitting Guerrero would give Toronto a scary tandem for years.”
Tucker’s season was disrupted by a hand fracture that he tried to play through and wound up sustaining a two-month slump, yet he still sported a 143 OPS+ and 4.6 wins above replacement in 134 games. If anything, his slight “down year” may have saved a team like Toronto a couple million bucks per year.
If Tucker were to join the Blue Jays soon, the natural next question would be whether the deal took Toronto out of the running for incumbent shortstop Bo Bichette, one of the handful of other free agents projected to sign for nine figures. But for now, all we know is that the Blue Jays are very much in the mix for both and may have their choice of who to prioritize.
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