The Toronto Blue Jays may not be the favorites to land top free agent Kyle Tucker.
Toronto has shown plenty of interest in Tucker, and at one point during the offseason, was considered the frontrunner. However, that may no longer be the case, according to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal.
Rosenthal believes the Blue Jays are focusing more on infield help rather than the outfield, which could push them away from signing Tucker.
“All these things are in play for the Blue Jays,” Rosenthal said on Fair Territory on Monday. “I imagine Tucker and (Cody) Bellinger, to an extent, are as well. Their need, their greater need, is in the infield. The Blue Jays, you can see the logic there.”
If Toronto does prefer to sign an infielder, it does appear the Blue Jays will pursue either Bo Bichette or Alex Bregman. Should the Blue Jays land one of them, it could very well take them out of Tucker’s market, which would be a surprise, as Toronto has seemed like the frontrunner early on this offseason.
Tucker is a four-time MLB All-Star. He hit .266 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs last season with the Chicago Cubs.
Tucker Visited Blue Jays Facility
Earlier in the offseason, Toronto hosted Tucker on a visit to their spring training facilities in Dunedin.
Tucker lives nearby, so it was a quick drive over. Blue Jays manager John Schneider liked the meeting with Tucker.
“We sat upstairs for about an hour, an hour-and-a-half, talked through kind of where the organization is, where the organization is heading, both from a team, roster-building standpoint, from an ownership standpoint, and he talked baseball. It was pretty cool,” Schneider said to Sportsnet. …
“It was very productive. Again, great, great player. And it’s not a surprise his skillset fits exactly what we’re doing. So, we’ll see where the next couple (of) weeks lead.”
Schneider felt like the meeting was productive, which could result in a signing. However, if Rosenthal is correct and the Blue Jays are pursuing infield help with Bregman or Bichette, Tucker may not be coming north of the border to play for the foreseeable future.
Tucker is a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a one-time Gold Glove Award winner.
Toronto Showing Interest in Bregman, Bichette
The Blue Jays have been one of the more active teams this offseason, but Toronto may not be done.
Rosenthal reported in his article on The Athletic on Saturday that the Blue Jays met with Bregman and are showing interest in him and Bichette.
“Team officials have been in recent contact with Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras, according to sources briefed on the conversations,” Rosenthal wrote. “Ideally, the Jays want to add a left-handed hitter, but either the right-handed Bregman or Bichette would fit their defensive alignment better than Tucker or Cody Bellinger, both of whom bat left.”
Bregman and Bichette are two of the top free agent hitters available, so adding one, or possibly both, would be a major move. But, as of right now, no deal is done as Toronto continues to be in the market for a bat.
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