The New York Yankees failed to retain Juan Soto last offseason, but could sign the top free agent available this winter.
Kyle Tucker is the top free agent available and will have several teams interested in him. Although he has been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees are also expected to show interest in him.
MLB analyst Anthony Franco of MLBTradeRumors predicts the Yankees will win the bidding war by handing Tucker an 11-year deal worth $400 million.
“He’s entering his age-29 season,” the article read. “An 11-year deal would take him through age 39, the same age at which Judge’s nine-year contract concludes. Guerrero, Soto, Xander Bogaerts and Trea Turner all got paid through 40. Tucker doesn’t have the up-the-middle defensive profile of Bogaerts or Turner, but he’s clearly a better hitter. Over the past five seasons, he ranks 11th among qualified batters in both OBP and slugging percentage. He’s likely to remain 35-40% better than league average at the plate for the next few years. …
“Tucker received and will reject a qualifying offer, so he’ll be attached to draft compensation. That doesn’t matter much for free agents of this caliber. The Cubs would need to shatter their franchise-record $184MM precedent to keep him, which seems unlikely. The Yankees, Dodgers, Blue Jays and Phillies all make sense as potential suitors.”
Tucker would add another power bat to the Yankees’ lineup and replace Cody Bellinger if he leaves in free agency.
The 28-year-old is a four-time MLB All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He helped the Houston Astros win the World Series in 2022.
Tucker Could Surpass $400 Million
After Soto got over $700 million and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got $500 million from the Toronto Blue Jays, Tucker is the next player in line for a massive payday.
Tucker is the top free agent available and will have several teams bidding on him, which will up his price. Although Tucker’s camp wants him to get to $500 million, MLBTradeRumors doesn’t expect that to be the case.
“While Tucker’s camp at Excel Sports Management might start out with a half-billion-dollar asking price, the $400MM milestone is more realistic,” the article read. “Guerrero received a $35.7MM annual value on his 14-year extension. The age gap will prevent Tucker from getting a 14-year deal, but he could beat $36MM annually. An 11-year guarantee at that term would put him at $396MM — at which point he could probably convince a team to go to $400MM if he cares about the round number.
“A twelfth year would almost certainly push him past $400MM, while he could also take aim at becoming the fifth position player to secure a $40MM annual value. There should be enough interest for Tucker to get a decade-long commitment, though there’d surely be plenty of teams happy to explore a shorter term with opt-outs if he feels he’s not coming off an ideal platform year.”
Tucker hit .266 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs last season with the Chicago Cubs.
Yankees Expect to be Aggressive in Offseason
New York was eliminated by the Blue Jays in the ALDS, and the Yankees will look to right the ship in 2026.
The Yankees have some areas of need this offseason, and New York plans to be aggressive this offseason, according to general manager Brian Cashman, as he believes they have a World Series-caliber roster.
“We had a better record than the Dodgers did, but in the postseason we didn’t play to the best of our abilities,” Cashman said to The Athletic. “No matter what, every year we’ve got to find a way to make our team bigger, better, and stronger than it was the year before. Our intent is to always try to win the World Series.”
New York hasn’t won the World Series since 2019.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees Predicted to Land Superstar Slugger in Massive 11-Year Deal appeared first on Heavy Sports.