Blue Jays Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Sparks Rumors With Message to $400 Million Free Agent

Kyle Tucker’s ‘Full Throttle’ Message

Tucker shared a post on Tuesday that appeared to be a cryptic update of his free agency, writing “full throttle with a fire emoji. Guerrero responded two days later, sharing an emoji of wide open eyes in response to Tucker’s post.

Guerrero’s message sparked speculation that the Blue Jays could be closing in on Tucker, who slashed .266/.377/.464 for the Chicago Cubs last season.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider told Sportsnet that the team met with Tucker in free agency and called it a “productive” meeting.

“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.

“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.”

The Blue Jays have already landed the most expensive free agent this winter, signing pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year contract worth $215 million. They also rounded out their staff by signing Cody Ponce to a three-year deal worth $30 million.

The Blue Jays are looking to reload after a crushing finish in the World Series, taking a lead into the ninth inning of Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers before giving up the tying run and losing in extra innings.

Blue Jays Could Face Big Competition for Kyle Tucker

As Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells noted, the Blue Jays have been the most aggressive team so far in courting Tucker — though there are some other big players in the mix.

“The Blue Jays hosted Tucker for an in-person visit at their player development complex in Florida on Dec. 3, per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson,” Wells wrote. “It’s the only publicly confirmed in-person meeting that Tucker has had since the start of free agency, but there are several teams that have engaged his camp to this point.”

Wells went on to cite Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, adding that the New York Mets, New York Yankees, and Baltimore Orioles had also touched base with Tucker’s representatives.

It could take a big commitment to land Tucker. Writing for The Athletic, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden predicted the Yankees would land Tucker with a giant contract — 10-years and $427 million.

“That contract may seem like a lot of money,” Bowden wrote, “but think about it this way—it’s a savings of $338 million over what Juan Soto was paid last offseason.”