This is getting nuts; even for the Dodgers. L.A. is signing outfielder Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240-million contract. An average annual value (AAV) of $60-million. Of course, if it includes the deferrals that the Dodgers love to include in deals, then that AAV would be lower. Consider too though that Tucker can opt-out after both the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
Tucker to the Dodgers means that Tucker does not go to the New York Mets, who were almost counting on getting Tucker’s bat for their lineup. It’s worth noting that in a stretch of a little over 24 hours the Mets had pitcher Ranger Suarez swiped away from them by Boston and now lose Tucker to the Dodgers. Bo Bichette is the next biggest bat available and the Mets have sniffed around the edges of interest for the former Toronto Blue Jay during the offseason. With Tucker off the board, New York’s gaze is apt to turn to Bichette although it would complicate their infield. Marcus Semien at second and Francisco Lindor at third are not candidates to change positions. Brett Baty and Mark Vientos have handled third with Vientos serving as a part-time designated hitter. Both played left field on a very limited basis earlier in their careers, so putting one of them in the outfield would not be out of the question.
Prior to Tucker going to L.A., Mets owner Steve Cohen put out a post on X that he later had to explain a little. The gist of his posts was that basically, the Mets were waiting to hear from Tucker about whether he would become a New York Met.
You can figure that Cohen and Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns have exchanged some late night texts and that neither of them are going to sleep well tonight. Shifting to Bichette would be a potential move for the Mets if they are serious about adding another bat to their lineup.
Tucker to L.A. probably means that the Dodgers would be out on Bichette. Of course, the Dodgers seem intent on signing players just to keep themselves in the news, so anything is possible. The Yankees are obsessed with Cody Bellinger and aren’t signaling that they were anywhere near pivoting to Bichette. They are in Bellinger or Bust mode, so figure them out on Bichette unless Bellinger would go somewhere else, which does not figure to happen. It was thought that the Blue Jays were done shopping after signing Kazuma Okamoto a little over a week ago, but they were playing the long game to sign Tucker, reportedly offering his a 10-year contract. The Mets and Dodgers took the short version of a deal with L.A. winning out. The Mets could redouble their efforts by turning to Bichette as an alternative to Tucker. Boston is still interested in signing Bichette since they missed on re-signing Alex Bregman who went to the Chicago Cubs.
The fact that archenemy/division rival New York would go after Bichette should give the Phillies extra incentive to do whatever it takes to get Bichette signed. Bichette and the Phillies met on Zoom on Monday and reportedly have spoken since then. Many pundits like Jon Heyman and Ken Rosenthal have had the Phillies as the front-runner to sign Bichette and keeping him away from New York may be all the added incentive they need to get a deal done quickly.
Suffice it to say that while we don’t know how this is going to play out, it seems like the final big pieces of the free agency puzzle are starting to fall into place. It’s almost certain that things will continue to move quickly as one signing begets another and the Phillies hope to be getting Bichette.
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