The Blue Jays have made the biggest splash of MLB free agency so far, and they may end up outdoing themselves.
Toronto hosted outfielder Kyle Tucker, considered the top player on the market, at their training facility in Dunedin, Fla. on Wednesday, noti.group’s Jon Heyman confirmed. FanSided first reported the news.
The visit comes on the heels of the Jays signing right-hander Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract.
In his list of the top 40 free agents, Heyman predicted that Tucker will receive an 11-year, $375 million contract.
Tucker, 28, earned his fourth straight All-Star nod this year, his first with the Cubs after he was acquired from the Astros in a trade last offseason.
In 136 games, he hit .266 with an .841 OPS, 22 home runs, 73 RBIs, 25 steals and 87 walks against 88 strikeouts.
He slumped badly in the second half, hitting just .225 with a .690 OPS, five home runs, 21 RBIs and five steals over his final 53 games; he missed more than three weeks in September with a calf strain.
That came after he hit .291 with a .931 OPS, 18 home runs, 52 RBIs and 20 steals over his first 83 games.
In what is a brutal development for the Yankees, the Blue Jays appear ready to go all in after reaching the World Series for the first time since winning their second consecutive championship in 1993; this year’s club lost to the Dodgers in seven games, falling at home in 11 innings in Game 7.
In addition to Cease, the Jays signed right-hander Cody Ponce this week to a three-year, $30 million contract after a strong season in Korea.
The 31-year-old, who last pitched in MLB with the Pirates in 2021, recorded a 2.04 ERA with a KBO-record 252 strikeouts over 180 ⅔ innings to earn MVP honors.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
