The Toronto Blue Jays are heavily linked to free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker. Nonetheless, the American League pennant winners might have to decide whether to pursue Tucker or keep their homegrown star, Bo Bichette.
Coming off a World Series appearance, where they were one game away from winning a championship, the Blue Jays have turned themselves into an attractive destination for any player looking to compete for a title.
Nonetheless, while the Blue Jays could be looking to land the biggest fish in the free-agent market, TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips doesn’t like the fit of Tucker, who spent last season with the Chicago Cubs, in Toronto if it means losing Bichette.
“If it’s Tucker, then it’s not Bichette,” Phillips said on the November 19 edition of TSN’s “Overdrive.” “I think that’s the one thing that is clear: Kyle Tucker is probably going to get the biggest free-agent contract in the marketplace this hot stove season.
“There’s been speculation it could get as high as $400 million. Do the Blue Jays really want to have a $500 million investment and a $400 million investment in two players? Bichette will be much less than that.”
“The other thing about it is put Tucker in right field. It moves [Anthony] Santander to left, [George] Springer DHs, and it means that [Addison] Barger becomes your everyday third baseman. [Ernie] Clement goes to second. It’s a lot of moving pieces… I would rather have Bichette at second and go with the same outfield configuration you had: Barger in right, Santander in left, and [Daulton] Varsho in center.”
Blue Jays Lineup Appears Fine Without Kyle Tucker
If the Blue Jays are forced to choose between Tucker and Bichette, Phillips argues that the former Houston Astros standout wouldn’t raise the lineup’s level if Toronto chose him over Bichette.
“The idea of Tucker would bring another left-handed bat in,“ Phillips added. “You’d be able to go Springer, Tucker, Vlad, Barger—left, right, and have balance throughout the lineup. They’ve got enough balance for me. I think Barger, Varsho, and Santander as a switch-hitter should give them enough left-right balance to get through. It did this year. I keep hearing Tucker, but I don’t see them as the biggest player on Tucker.”
Will the Blue Jays Go All Out for Kyle Tucker?
While Phillips isn’t seeing the Blue Jays as going all out for Tucker, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden believes that if Toronto want Tucker, they need to put all their chips on the table to secure him.
“If [Tucker] joins the Blue Jays, he is their second-best player to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.,“ Bowden said on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. “I want star players to win championships. I want to have them. So yes, I need Tucker because he’s better than everyone you mentioned, but Guerrero…
“When you’re running a franchise like Mark Shapiro that’s representing the country of Canada, and you are one inch away from winning a world championship, it’s pedal to the metal, baby.
“You’re that close to winning. And if you have a chance to get Kyle Tucker, yes, get it done. And by the way, can you get Framber Valdez? Do that, too. [Can you] get Dylan Cease? Do that, too. So you’re that close. You got the money, you got the resources. Finish the job.”
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