Kyle Tucker‘s four-year, $240MM contract with the Dodgers ended an intriguing trip through free agency for the outfielder, as Tucker opted for a shorter-term deal with an extremely high average annual value and some built-in flexibility (opt-outs after the 2027 and 2028 seasons) over a longer-term pact. Multiple reports suggested that Tucker’s only true long-term offer on the table came from the Blue Jays, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes that the terms of Toronto’s offer were $350MM over ten years.
This is more in line with the 11-year, $400MM projection that MLB Trade Rumors predicted for Tucker at the start of the offseason. That price tag was naturally going to keep many teams out of the bidding from the onset, but even among the larger-market teams, there seemed to be a reluctance to give Tucker a long-term commitment — perhaps due to the injuries that cost him time over the last two seasons, and contributed to his second-half slump with the Cubs last year. The Mets were Tucker’s other primary suitor but New York was reportedly only willing to offer a frontloaded four-year deal worth $220MM with multiple opt-outs.
In terms of pure dollars, the $350MM would’ve tied for the seventh-priciest deal in baseball history, and only 15 contracts have ever topped a $35MM average annual value. It would’ve been the largest free agent deal in Blue Jays history but not their largest contract altogether, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s 14-year, $500MM extension from last spring takes that title. The Jays have gone bigger in the past, however, as they made Shohei Ohtani an offer similar to the heavily-deferred ten-year, $700MM pact that the superstar took from the Dodgers during the 2023-24 offseason.
This now marks the fourth time in three offseasons that the Jays have made a huge push for a player who eventually signed with the Dodgers, between Tucker, Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki. Given how the latter three played major roles in Los Angeles’ World Series triumph over Toronto last fall, missing out on Tucker as well adds some sting to the Blue Jays’ unsuccessful pursuit. It also didn’t help that longtime shortstop Bo Bichette then signed with the Mets on a three-year, $126MM deal that also included two opt-outs, leaving Toronto coming up short on seemingly their top two position-player targets of the offseason.
That being said, the Kazuma Okamoto signing filled a hole in the Blue Jays’ infield, and led to some speculation that signing Tucker for the outfield was more of priority for the Jays than reuniting with Bichette. There’s also the fact that Toronto had years to discuss long-term extensions with Bichette when he was under team control, and the acquisition of Andres Gimenez from the Guardians last winter seemed to hint that the Jays were preparing for a post-Bichette era at shortstop.
Had Tucker accepted the Blue Jays’ offer, he would’ve joined Guerrero as the team’s lineup cornerstones for the next decade. He also would’ve solidified a Jays outfield that has George Springer and Daulton Varsho both scheduled to hit free agency next winter, even though Springer primarily worked as a DH in 2025. The Jays are certainly hoping that Anthony Santander (their biggest signing from last offseason) can rebound from what was essentially a lost 2025 campaign, and Okamoto’s signing probably means that breakout star Addison Barger may be utilized more as a right fielder than as a third baseman.
For now, Toronto’s regular outfield looks pretty similar to their 2025 plan — Varsho in center field, Springer and Santander perhaps splitting time between DH and one corner slot, and some combination of Barger, Nathan Lukes, and Davis Schneider all getting time in the other corner spot. Barger figures to play some third base and Schneider can play second base, further aiding manager John Schneider’s ability to find at-bats for everyone.
Of course, it is also possible that the Blue Jays might still bolster their outfield picture with another new face. Cody Bellinger has been on the Jays’ radar both this winter and in past offseasons, and he is reportedly looking for a longer-term deal than the five-year deal in the $155MM range the Yankees have apparently put on the table. The Mets have also been linked to Bellinger’s market, though that could change now that the Amazins have splurged on Bichette. The Jays’ willingness to offer Tucker 10 years obviously doesn’t mean they’ll readily offer Bellinger anything beyond five years, but Toronto has been so aggressive in free agency that it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team pivoted to the best outfielder remaining on the open market.
Landing Tucker would’ve been another coup in what has already been an expensive offseason in Toronto. Dylan Cease‘s seven-year, $210MM contract is the biggest free agent deal in franchise history, and the Jays have also invested heavily in Okamoto (four years/$60MM), Tyler Rogers (three years/$37MM), and Cody Ponce (three years/$30MM). The Blue Jays’ payroll has already soared to record heights, with RosterResource‘s projection of a $310.5MM luxury tax number already putting the Jays over the maximum penalty line of $304MM. This comes with a 90 percent surcharge for the Jays as a penalty for their second consecutive year as tax payors, so Tucker’s $35MM AAV for 2026 would’ve come with a big tax hit of $31.5MM.
As much as ownership is clearly willing to spend in pursuit of a championship, one wonders if Tucker (or Bichette) represented a special circumstance, and the Jays aren’t willing to spend to such a huge extent for Bellinger or any other prominent free agents remaining. Toronto could look to lower-cost free agents or to the trade market to address any other roster holes.
Yeah. The Dodgers offer was insane, if Blue Jays offered 415 million though, that’s a different story.
Not really 60 mil a year with opt outs sounds better than 40 mil a year with locked in deal
Still would have been an overpay.
I think I would have taken the $350M sitting right in front of me.
I think everyone at MLBTR would’ve taken 350 million for 10 years at MLBTR. Who is making more than that here?
aintstyw
“I think I would have taken the $350M sitting right in front of me.”
Me too.
But Tucker might think that after 2 years, or 4 years, he’ll get another offer that combined with this deal will top $350 million.
With me, teams would see that I was not a major league quality player and I would not get another deal..
He has two years to watch how the market looks when he has opt out options.
This is a strong hit to the I want a salary cap goofs. You can’t force players to play where they don’t want to. Teams have built in geographical advantages and even if you offer the most money they’ll still much prefer some destinations over others.
Time to socialize/communize the dodgers profits so the rest of the teams whose entire payrolls are less than kyle tucker is making can sign free agents /s
Yeah, how about a profits ceiling? Increase the payroll penalties 500%.. Regulate the Owners. They collude more than we know.
It’s called revenue sharing and it already exists. They still don’t spend. A spending floor is what’s needed.
What’s needed are owners who are Championship-oriented. Those who aren’t will still manage to whatever floor is mandated. Nothing will change.
High risk in small markets. Wealthy people are averse to losing money. That’s why they are wealthy.
150 floor, 250 ceiling
There kind of is a spending floor…. Nobody just enforced it until the last couple years.
Any team that receives revenue sharing is supposed to spend 1.5 times the amount they receive. They just call is a “spending obligation” so it can be loosely enforced.
So teams like the A’s or Marlins who receive $70M are supposed to spend at least $105 M
Owners policing other owners.. It’s like kids guarding the candy store.
The MLBPA has to file a greivance and if the lack of spending continues then revenue sharing can be withheld.
100% revenue sharing is needed. When one team is spending more in CBT penalties than the total revenue several teams receive including revenue sharing, the system is broken.
I get the /s and agree. All of these big contracts come with BIG risk and the socialists miss that. Even the monster spending Dodgers weren’t so head and shoulders ahead of others in 2025. And all of these players can suffer horrendous injuries and be gone from baseball in weeks, months or a few years before their contracts are up.
They’ll be okay, which is why the big contracts work for them, but the teams, with the penalties, the insurance required and all the strain on their crossed fingers are all taking huge chances that the round ball does or doesn’t connect with the round bat and the leather gloves the way it has in the past or is projected to keep doing.
All that said, I’d say the players made good decisions for their bank accounts if not their hearts, but they ‘ve played this team sport forever and unlike hockey, basketball and football they can make a huge difference all by themselves with a swing of the bat (apologies to fans/purists of the other sports for my implication that ‘team’ is spelled differently for their lads and lasses (exceptions always exist, the Bobby Orrs, Rocket Richards, Gordie Howes, Wayne Gretzkys, Espositos, Lafleurs Beliveaus, Gilberts, Sayers, Bradshaws, etc.) but the Babe, the Hornsby, the Mick didn’t depend on a pass or a pass target to show their greatness or ability to transcend a hangover…
Attending Spring Training in 1986 I was fortunate enough to end up at the next table to the father of a retired Yankee legend. There were others there, but we engaged in a great one on one transfer fer of insights to me where this old man, now long gone, told me about how hard his son had worked to refine his skills, keep his eye on the ball (literally and figuratively), lots of “it was a different time” comments, but also that gravity and physics don’t change (much) and that’s what makes baseball the greatest challenge and best stat-comparable sport. One of my life’s highlights.
I wonder how little different our conversation would be today, almost 40 years later, despite the new wealth of stats. He told me Hornsby was the best hitter he ever saw, Babe was a nice man, Mickey could drink anyone under the table but it was how he coped with stress and expectations, his PED of choice.
How will the Blue Jays respond? Well, Bellinger makes sense. Giving him security could lead to a golden age for player and team. This article hit all the right notes. Thank you. The headlines await the pen strokes, curdling stomachs, and moving vans as the teams take things cross-country to their Spring homes. Baseball is getting ready to wow us again after football finishes, a damaged NASCAR kicks off and the Olympics spin up winter sports once again..
Keep up the good work, this is one of the best sports operations extant! We’re all ready for new seasons.
Don’t they have to over pay players in order to compensate for the higher taxes, gas prices, cost of living??
Not really. They have to overpay them to get them on a 4-year contract in their prime. Kyle Tucker is getting his first year paid out as a $64 million signing bonus, which is taxed in the state where he receives the check. For him, he lives in Florida, so he pays no state tax.
@Yanks
Yes… the Pirates can afford to pay Tucker $60 mil a year. What they can’t afford is to pay Tucker $60 mil and them pay market value for an Ohtani, or a Freeman, or a Betts, or a Snell, etc. Why is this so hard to understand? And there are levels to wealth.
Mark Walters worth $12 billion who in addition to being CEO for Guggenheim Partners , a money mngt form that holds over $350 billion in assets and partner of Guggenheim Sports Group which in addition to owning the Dodgers also own the Lakers vs Bob Nuttering who’s worth $1.5 billion and owns the Pirates, a local newspaper and a resort. That is David vs Goliath on steroids. Which owner can afford to operate their business on a deficit and not take a salary? Which team can borrow, more like transfer, a billion dollars to fund deferred contracts and then use that money on escrow to invest and reap capital gains? The Mets and Dodgers hold an advantage that no other team that I’m aware of holds…. being owned by owners that run billion dollar money management firms with access to billions they can borrow from.
CAN SOMEONE FROM THIS SITE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO OTHER HOW THIS WORKS SO WE CAN GET PAST THIS BOTTOM OF EQUALITY?
LOL. The Pirates are a business that needs to be profitable on their own. Stop assuming billionaires are obligated to use their portfolios to net losses for your fandom.
Stop bootlicking billionaires. It doesn’t need to be profitable, actually. Each team can take on $250 million in debt. Most sports owners view these investments as vanity projects. They’ve made their money elsewhere.
How about you spit in the next players face you see and say you’re not allowed to play where you want go to Minnesota or Milwaukee where I think you should play because small market!
How about we introduce relegation so we can get rid of poverty player farm teams like the pirates and marlins and consolidate the MLB into teams that can actually compete and spend $
These “so and so team offered x money and lost” posts after the fact are kind of monotonous. More like these teams’ propaganda saying they tried.
I appreciate it. It has some schadenfreude value, and the writers have to prepare the material for the pre-season roundup anyway, so why not get multiple uses out of it?
Either you want to know the WHOLE story or you don’t. If he gets injured and ends his career, they will reference the money he turned down in the discussion about risk. MLBTR does it because they’re pros.
Kevin Durant joining the Japanese deferrals. Won’t matter after 2027 though this foolishness will be over soon.
DeFerals? Is that like a French wildcat?
Block me buddy
To Cashman:
Go ahead and offer 6/$195. The Jays are desperate to save face and replace Bichette’s bat. I think they’ll be more willing to offer 7 years.
They don’t need to save face, they’ve already signed 4 of the top 50 free agents this off-season!
They may however choose to turn it into a momentous offseason by picking up Bellinger or perhaps Suarez though. But it won’t be to save face, that’s daft.
@Andrew
Daft? haha
The Blue Jays have been active this winter, but they’re still facing serious uncertainties heading into 2025. They lost Chris Bassitt, who had a great year, and replaced him with Dylan Cease—a guy who posted an ERA in the high 4s last year and was even worse on the road away from pitcher-friendly Petco Park, with a road ERA in the high 5s. They signed Cody Ponce from the Korean league, but we have no idea how he’ll perform against MLB competition, and while Kazuma Okamoto could be a real talent at third base (I wanted the Yankees to sign him), he’s completely unproven at this level. Then there’s 36-year-old George Springer—which version are they getting, the 35-year-old who looked like a stud or the 34-year-old from 2024 who looked like a dud? Most importantly, they **need** to replace Bo Bichette’s bat because other than him, Vlad is the only guy in that lineup that commands any real respect from opposing pitchers. The Blue Jays have been busy, but busy doesn’t equal better—they’ve got more questions than answers right now.
Bassitt hasn’t signed anywhere yet and says he wants to stay in Toronto.
That being said probably every team in baseball would choose a 30 yr old Cease over a 36 yr old Bassitt, if they had to choose one.
Toronto has done a more than most other teams this offseason and seem more likely than others to keep trying to add.
How is deferring huge amounts of salary allowed?
The player agrees to it.
They’re usually requested by the player.
@Seam
Doubtful. It’s usually done to help the team circumvent the salary cap hit and avoid going over the luxury tax.
That’s not the only reason, nor the biggest one. Tucker is a native Floridian who will likely retire there when he’s done playing. Any signing bonus or deferred money that’s paid to Tucker while he’s in Florida is money that he won’t have to pay state income taxes on, since Florida doesn’t have a state income tax.
There’s a reason so many Major Leaguers make their offseason homes in Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Florida. Players are taxed where they earn their money. So every Dodger has to pay California state income taxes for every home game played, as well as those played vs. the Giants, A’s, Padres and Angels.
As for the competitive balance tax, while Shohei’s contract gives him an AAV of $70M per year, $46.1M of it still counts towards the competitive balance tax.
There’s also this incorrect belief that the Dodgers are just putting all these deferred salaries on the credit card and will have their day of reckoning down the road. As if what they spend today will limit what they can spend in the future.
MLB teams have to put the present-day value of deferred money into an escrow account, not the full future amount. For players like Shohei, this means roughly 95% of the deferred portion (e.g., $44M of a $68M deferral) goes into escrow annually, earning interest, with the team funding the shortfall and the player receiving the full agreed-upon amount later, benefiting from time, interest, and tax advantages.
$44M at 5% interest per year would be $71.6M after 10 years. Anything above what the Dodgers owe Shohei goes into their coffers.
I guess what I’m trying to say, why aren’t more teams doing this? I’m not talking about Shohei contracts for $70M. But what stopped the Pirates from offering Realmuto the 3-years/$45M he got from the Phillies? He would have been the perfect fit there for that young pitching staff. They’re already good enough to be a Wild Card team. Why not try to play for a World Series with the second-best pitcher on the planet?
Incorrect
The first thing that needs to be understood is what constitutes a “signing” bonus in the eyes of the taxing authorities.
The bonus is not conditional on playing any games for the team
It’s payable separately from any other compensation
And it’s not refundable
Federal Vs. State Tax Planning Opportunities
Signing bonuses are subject to federal tax regardless of whether they meet the above criteria. Where tax planning opportunities may arise is related to state tax. If all three of the above criteria are met, “signing” bonuses are not subject to state tax apportionment.
Typically a team will withhold state tax of the team state where the player is assigned. If their bonus is deemed a “signing” bonus it will not be apportioned as wages and will be taxed in their resident state. Where a player resides can have dramatic effect on their overall tax situation.
I don’t really care about the deferrals themselves. My issue is that the full contract amount should count toward the luxury tax annually. If you pay out the actual money after the fact, so be it.
What do you mean?
Agree,
The deferred amount counts toward the luxury tax in the years it gets paid out. The Dodgers basically have no way to ever get under the tax in the 2030s even if their whole active roster makes the league minimum. It’ll be increasingly expensive for them to field a competitive roster. They get more now in exchange for being able to afford less later.
Smuz, no its not. Deferred salaries count towards the CBT at the NPV amount in the year it is earned, not when its paid.
I’m guessing that this will be the big sticking point with the next CBA because there’s no chance in hell that the players will go for a salary cap. The players don’t want anything that will limit team spending. No way they’d be happy with 100% of the full contract amount counting toward the luxury tax because that would curb spending.
If the Dodgers are currently being taxed on $46.1M of Shohei’s $70M deferral, that’s about 66%. I can see the owners asking for 100%, followed by the players countering with 75%, followed by the two sides compromising in the 80-85% vicinity.
Don’t forget that those small market owners rely on that tax money when it comes to revenue sharing. They don’t want to curb the Dodgers and Mets’ spending to the point where it also affects their bottom lines.
Deferrals are not a big deal. Their primary purpose is to save the player income tax, which is why they mostly happen in high tax jurisdictions. But the team pays every year, just not to the player (to an escrow account) and what they pay does count for lux tax. Ohtani’s contract is $46m a year, not $70m. It was only announced as $70m to grab headlines, and as that’s roughly what it will be in 10 years with normal growth.
Shhhhh all of these stubborn keyboard warriors aren’t ready to accept this truth yet.
You have a poor understanding of how economics works. Unless those players move to a state like FL or TX to live in when they collect that deferred money then they will still have to pay state taxes. Even in that case the state MIGHT contest their attempt to circumvent tax laws. They still have to pay federal tax. Deferred money absolutely benefits the team, especially teams like the Dodgers owned by major money management firms. They can borrow $1 billion from the forms they own, fund the escrow accounts and them use that money to invest and reap capital gains the same as they would anyway. The Dodgers can indeed, profit of the money they’ve put aside for Ohtani, Betts and others. The Pirates, nor Yankees for that matter, can’t do that.
Seam, the primary purpose is to save the teams money on the CBT.
A brilliant move by the Dodgers.
Team Tucker was looking for 10/400 million.
Unless Tucker is a freak of nature, the value of the last 3 or 4 years of such a contract would not have held up; so instead, they ponied up and bought the best part of his career, saving $ 160 million.
@Yankee
Only a crazy person would see that as “saving money”. Ticket isn’t going to give them $60 mil worth of production, or at least not comparable to what an Ohtani, Soto, Judge, etc would provide at their current rate of production. It’s an absurd amount and nothing more than the flex of a large mindy mngmt firm that owns a baseball team. Thank God the nba has a salary cap or the Lakers would be the most lopsided team in the NBA.
but that is apples and oranges.
This is like choosing to lease a 75000 dollar vehicle or buying it outright. You get less ROI on the lease but you drive the vehicle during its best performance years
If you decide to buy it outright and keep it for 10 years, you deal with the headaches of car breakdowns and upkeep.
The Dodgers just leased Tucker.
what anyone here thinks he is worth is irrelevant
It is what the Dodgers think he is worth.
So that being said,,ask yourself how many players in their late 30’s are living up to the value of their contract.
So, even if Team Tucker came down to 10 years and $350 million, those last 3 or 4 years would not yield a positive return on the Dodgers’ investment.
Tucker’s best years are going to be his next 4 or 5 years, so the Dodgers uploaded money from the back end of that potential 10 year contract and bought those 4 years out.
@Yankee
Go rent an apartment priced at $5,000 a month on a two year lease ($120,000 in total). Now go to the landlord and offer him $90,000 to let you stay there for 6 months. Let’s see how fast he is to draw up the lease and get your signature on the paper. Logically, it makes zero sense for the Dodgers to do it other than the fact they can afford to do it. They are literally living by the motto “It ain’t trickin’ if you got it”.
@Yankeesfor — LAD are paying 110% tax on the 60M they’re paying him in ’26, so they’re paying 120M+ for 2026. If he hits 30 HR (career-high…smh) – they’re paying him 4M per HR.
*sorry, “paying 4M per HR” (not paying him that much, with the luxury tax)
You’re not accounting for the investment value of getting that $240m up front.
They are basically matching his salary with the CB tax. At this point I dont think the dodgers care if they save money or not.
Really sorry to hear about the Blue Jays loosing Bo and Kyle, especially Bo. If I was a player, I’d moved to Canada in a heartbeat.
California taxes are as bad if not worse than Canada’s. If we were talking about any of the teams in TX or FL you would be correct though. NY taxes are extremely high as well.
Really sad how teams like Miami don’t take advantage of their low taxes in order to incentivize players to come there
Not endless, but yes they are flush with cash and unlike other ownership groups they choose to reinvest a significant portion of profits back into the team. Dodgers also have a large stadium – 50k seats – that they sell out almost every night. Each home game they generate roughly $4.25MM from tickets alone, to say nothing of merchandise, food/drink, parking, etc. I wouldn’t be shocked if the grand total is $10MM each game, so $810MM in revenue just from games. Easily over 1 billion when factoring in TV deal, sponsorships, etc.
Cashman replies:
But I can sign Bader for two years at a fraction of the $$$ to platoon with Dominguez in LF this year and then take over CF in ’27 when Grisham is gone.
Tucker isnt worth $350M
What does that mean? To whom?
He’s worth what a team is willing to pay him
And if helps a team win multiple championships you think the team really cares about cost
Tell that to the Tigers and Pirates. Guarantee them 3 championships and they would be saying “nope, too much”.
Of course he is.
If the details are accurate, Tucker may have made a mistake if total $$$ are a factor. 29 today, and 33 by the time his deal ends if he stays to its conclusion, there is a very real chance he won’t pull another $110M+ in salary after it ends.
Looking to celebrate a WS Win, it would have been nice to see him join the team but I am not disappointed the Jays didn’t get him. I am reminded of a bit of AA’s excellence from back in the day when he succeeded in dumping a “similar”, eventually albatross deal attached to Vernon Wells.
@Kodion
Realistically, what are the other offers on the table? The Jays offered 10/$350. Unless he has a career ending injury or falls off a cliff, he likely would be able to command 4/$110 with no problem.
I can’t believe Tucker settled for 60M/year. He’s worth at least 150 million per season,
“One Billion dollars sir!! Plus….we’re going to rename the Moon Tucker , in your honor!! Just think about it son, look kids it’s a full tucker tonight!” Gm pitch to him.
@jhomeslice
Did you say that with your pinky touching the corner of your mouth?😉
Time will tell but I wouldn’t be surprised if the injury prone Tucker comes to regret leaving $110 million on the table.
Nobody who will have a net worth of over 200 million is going to have regrets related to money.
He won’t regret anything. He has 2 opt outs, as soon as he has one healthy good season he’s opting out and will receive at least 7 years in a new contract.
You guys forget 350 million dollars Canadian is only $34.50 American dollars. Plus you have to play in Canada, Blahhhhh. Canada only makes good poutine and comedians, not much else. Although I heard Toronto will be getting electricity and indoor plumbing this year and that may have swayed Tucker’s judgment a bit, he ultimately had to go to New Canada I mean Commiforna. I believe Newsome and Justin Trudeau get their 55 gallon barrels of hair gel from the same place, and Justin wants to be just like Newsome when he grows up. So there’s that.
They get paid in US dollars
Simm–Guess you don’t understand Sarcasm. It’s one of my super powers.
Cultural ignorance is bliss
God, some people are thick.
Cody Bellinger has been on the Jays’ radar both this winter and in past offseasons, and he is reportedly looking for a longer-term deal than the five-year deal in the $155MM range the Yankees have apparently put on the table.
Seems easy enough.
$350M for Tucker would have been an awful lot better deal than $210M for Dylan Cease.
Yup. Jays screwed that pooch.
So Dodgers offered basically twice as much as the Blue Jays. For all I care the Dodgers have to pay the deferrals while getting little marketing value from the core years of these contracts because of a multi-season lockout.
The Dodgers pay his deferrals now, not later. Just not to him.
Thanks. Gotcha. I was finding that tricky thinking of this obvious potential work stoppage coming up. Yup – escrow makes sense. I should have my CPA wife in the toom instead of me sometimes. Thanks lol
Plz don’t put your wife in a “toom.”
(I’m kidding. That’s just a funny autocorrect.)
ChetLemonAid – my math ain’t mathing and my English ain’t Englishing today lol.
Good article. Some points:
1. Tucker/ Bo were special cases. The Jays are unlikely to spend a bunch more this off-season because they don’t have a lot of holes and because they have to go to ownership to exceed budget. It’s clear ownership will only approve large expenditures for the highest end players.
2. Bo has always been pretty mercenary. He said he wanted to stay but he is heavily influenced by his dad who has no connection to the Jays. The Jays tried to keep dad happy by hiring him as a hitting coach and that failed pretty quickly. They also planned on making an offer to Bo in 2024 but his season was a disaster. Not a surprise to see him leave.
3. I will be interested to see how Bo does in NY. I don’t think he will deal well with fans getting on him and the pressure of being a high paid face of the franchise. It’s not something he has done well at before.
Bo will in no way be the face of the Mets. It’s Lindor’s team or if you prefer, Soto’s. That’s in fact probably part of the reason he chose them.
I’ll miss Bo, but not having Dante around is a definite plus. Particularly since the abuse story came out, his periodic lurking around the team was a distracting embarrassment.
Exactly when did Bo Bichette struggle with being a high paid face of a franchise (not that he’s truly the face of the Mets with all their other high paid guys)? He’s been thriving in the spotlight his whole life. Players born into MLB families are the least likely to have that issue, doubly so if they were always considered a top prospect and top young star.
It seems (we don’t really know) he never really embraced being one of the best players on TOR. Vlad, Springer, Gausman, even Clement are the guys doing media/ commercials.
Bo just sends out the vibe of “leave me alone.”
We shall see.
Not being an extrovert doesn’t mean a guy is struggling under pressure. The Mets didn’t hire him for their PR department. His lack of desire to do commercials doesn’t impact his play, and he’ll be making enough money to get by without that side job.
If anything, he’ll be insulated from the media pressure by his lack of need for that sort of performance and approval. It’s those who need everyone to like them who are in trouble in New York.
“don’t have a lot of holes”
Um, yes they do. Their offense hugely over performed in 2025 and statistically there is no way they are going to get similar years of out Clement, Lukes or Straw, all of whom performed WAY outside of career norms. You think Springer and his broken down body, another year older can repeat the miracle of 25?, Gimenez can’t hit his way out of a paper bag, Varsho is a bottom of the order guy and how long can such an obese guy who plays catcher go before his horrible conditioning catches up with him? He’s 27, Prince Fielder who had similar conditioning lasted until 29, but he didn’t play behind the plate.
The Blue Jays lost one of the few bats they have that can be counted on.
They need a bat for the middle of the order, right now, they have Vlad and hopes and prayers for the the other first 4 spots in the lineup.
True, and their rotation is nowhere as good as the fans seem to think it is.
Jays will be fine with neither player. They made it through September and through the playoffs without him. Their defense improved and Clement set the MLB record for hits in the playoffs. The way this looks like it will play out is Geminez at SS, Clement at 2b, Okamoto at 3b, Vlad at 1b with Kirk as C. OF will be Varsho at CF, Barger in RF and a combo of Santander/Schneider and others in LF. They also have Lukes and Straw who can play all positions and will be defensive replacements in the later innings. They also Loperfido, who played very well in his time on the team and Clase at AAA waiting for an opportunity. The team is extremely good with athleticism, moderate speed, contact intensive, strikeout aversive, and will continue to hit with moderate power enough to score alot of runs. They will wear down pitchers and hurt teams in the last 3-4 innings. If there was any move i would make for them to finish this offseason, I would talk to the Padres and see what a trade for Mason Miller would look like. It would take at least one major league player and probably 3 of their top 5 minor leaguers, at the very least. But, having him as a lock down closer with the rest of the relievers they have, they would be even more dangerous than this past year.
“only” 4 years, 220M. Oh man has this market gotten out of control. Tucker is a good hitter when healthy but he’s not a “star” – he is quiet, and seemingly has no emotion or drive. I wonder how much he actually likes baseball ⚾️?
I suspect the Dodgers looked into that. They got burned when they looked past Bauer’s known weirdness, and for all their massive spending they are now chosing guys who all pull on the same rope.
It’s possible to really like something but also be an introvert.
There could not be more salt in the Canadian wound after this report. Rejection doesn’t get much bigger than math.
Most of the salt has been used on the streets.
Seems like we should ship some salt to the US to help dissolve some ice that seems to be building up…
I guess Tucker just didn’t want to play for the 2026 World Series champions. Too bad…
Given this figure, the jays may have thought they were in the running for Tucker. Compared to the accepted contract and Mets apparent offer, they weren’t even in the same realm. This is an embarrassing offer in hindsight.
$350MM guaranteed is an “embarrassing” offer? This was very much in line with what was predicted at the start of the offseason, the Dodgers and Mets just went crazy.
Not rationally no; but in the context of what he was offered, yes.
I think he ends up leaving money on the table when it’s all said and done.
He didn’t want to be a mother canuker
What’s the difference between Kyle Tucker and the CEO of United Health?
What is united health?
Absolute insanity!!!
When you see contracts that huge you wonder. I like what the Tigers have done, and its probably time to move on from Skubal. Baseball was pretty cool when I was a kid. Paper route money in pocket riding my bike to the ball park to get a bleacher seat or splurge with a upper reserve ticket. Have a treat, popcorn, or a dog. Baseball was fun.
Why do none of the top free agents wanna play for Toronto? It seems like every season they are “in” on just about everyone, but lose out to other teams?
There’s a rumor been circulating among the players that it’s not in the US, and is in Canada instead.
David Wells wrote a book about why players don’t want to play in Canada. Although I think some things, the fans for example who were previously more interested in minor league hockey than in major league baseball, have since changed for the better.
It’s hard also for young families. Although there are apparently a few good private schools, almost all the schools are government schools and the only healthcare allowed is low-grade government healthcare. Factor in the unpleasant weather for half the year, and not many families are going to want to live there. It’s more a place for someone near the end of their career whose children are settled elsewhere, to play for 6 months without your wife and children relocating.
Anyone whose business has an office in Canada, in Montreal or Toronto, will know exactly what I mean. You have to recruit locally because it’s very hard to get anyone to relocate there. Even before you get to the taxes.
@Best
Ever heard of “investment properties” ? Pretty sure guys earning hundreds of millions living in child weather cities like NY, CHI, CLE, etc manage to “suffer” thru the cold. It’s not like they can afford things to make life more convenient and I’m sure that teams or mlb provide health care for the players and families.
“Low-grade” healthcare? Canada consistently ranks near the very top in global healthcare quality, much higher than the US. It’s easy to look these things up.
The rest of your take is also absurd – Toronto or Montreal are more desirable places to live than like 90% of US cities.
I know Americans arrogantly think they have the best medical care in the world, but that is simply not the case.
On a global scale, the U.S. ranks 30th for the quality of its healthcare system and its ability to treat and cure diseases and illnesses, according to WHO. The U.S. also ranks 69th for its health score, which measures the health of the population and their access to necessary services for maintaining good health.
The U.S. is the only high-income country in the world that lacks universal health coverage.
I have to think this is lucky for the jays they didn’t sign him.
I would have loved for the jays to get Tucker, but I feel like they have a bigger need in the infield.
You can’t run Clement and Gimenez out there for an entire year.
Go and get Donovan or some sort of an upgrade imo.
I wouldn’t hate getting bellinger though hehe.
But….its Canada…..eh!
Yeah…awful place.
A frozen wasteland that should have been incorporated into the USA long ago.
This app sucks
Dodged a bullet…this guy is Shawn Green 2.0. Going to be a 15 hr hitter as he declines, which will start soon.
It would appear that you may be… Vladdy was an extension, whereas Cease was signed as a free agent.
Do the Math! The Dodgers just have larger base numbers & more zeros at the end to offer players!
If he had took the $350M/10YR Deal as opposed to the $240M/4YR Deal he would be playing the last 6 years at $18.33M AAV or $110M/6YR.
He should just play through the contract then negotiate another or extension.
If he were to opt out and then suffer an injury, he would not get back close to this kind of money.
Being a newb on this board why is there so much hate against Canada? Its only a game for f’s sake.
Reply to Carver: Because exactly 49.8% of us Americans are morons.
This is baseball now. Players don’t wanna be locked in for 10 years. The days of long term contracts for star players are over. Yeah maybe you can get a decent player long-term but not a superstar. Not unless you’re talking about $800 million type money. Teams who want to compete with the Dodgers better act like the Dodgers and do it quickly. And I’m a Phillies fan still mourning the loss of Bo Bichette for the same reason.
Not a good few days for the Blue Jays, after a very promising start to their offseason. Not only did they lose out on Tucker, but Bichette to the Mets. Ouch. The Jays are still probably better than they were before the offseason started, but the loss of Bichette makes that a lot less. They would have been better off keeping him than signing Cease, for sure.
I just have the hardest time still believing that Kyle Tucker is getting paid 60 per. There’s really nothing that back up that salary. Hurt or not, the numbers aren’t THAT amazing.
The Blue Jays offer was spot on after watching this guy play last season. But, I wouldn’t want that contract after a few more years. It’s going to be ugly by year 4 or 5.
I’m glad he’s not a Cub anymore. I think Tuckers biggest problem is he doesn’t love baseball. I wouldn’t pay him because he doesn’t have the love, passion, or the desire to do anything to win. Good riddance.
Tucker is getting $304 million for 4 years 60 million signing bonus, 6 years less commitment and 46 million less. Hes on a title contender