TORONTO — The Blue Jays might just be getting started. Kyle Tucker, the top player in this winter’s free-agent class, visited with the Blue Jays at their player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., on Wednesday, a source told MLB.com.
Tucker lives in nearby Tampa, making the visit an easy one, but this still speaks to the Blue Jays’ interest in landing the 28-year-old, who could command a contract that blows past $300 million. The Blue Jays remain interested in a reunion with Bo Bichette, too, but with Bichette having spent nearly a decade with the organization, no guided tour is required there.
This all feels so similar to the Blue Jays’ pursuit of Shohei Ohtani two offseasons ago, which included a tour of the complex. This pursuit won’t come with all of the drama — including that famous Zoom call when GM Ross Atkins refused to reveal where in the world he actually was — but the stakes are still incredibly high.
The Blue Jays, fresh off taking the Dodgers to extra innings in Game 7 of the World Series, aren’t just happy to hold the memory.
Tucker’s fit with the Blue Jays is obvious. Yes, a talent like Tucker fits with any organization, but he does all of the things that define “Blue Jays baseball.” That’s a new idea, forged by the 2025 team, but it’s here to stay. Tucker puts the ball in play, gets on base and does it all with some thump behind his approach, good for an .865 OPS with between 20 and 30 home runs in each of his past five seasons. Any questions about Toronto can easily be fielded by some old teammates, too, including George Springer and Myles Straw.
Toronto’s outfield needs should be a bigger storyline, too. Just as Bichette would slide in naturally to the spot he just vacated on the middle infield — whether that be second base or shortstop — Tucker fills a legitimate need beyond his talent alone.
Daulton Varsho will be a free agent after 2026. The same goes for Springer, who’s more of a DH by now, and Anthony Santander will surely take some of those DH at-bats when Springer’s time in Toronto is done. The Blue Jays have some development success stories in the outfield, from Nathan Lukes to Addison Barger and Davis Schneider, but it’s been entirely too long since this organization developed an All-Star-caliber talent in the outfield. Tucker is just that, year in and year out.
Money matters, of course. Tucker will not come close to the mega-deals signed by Juan Soto or Ohtani — even half of Ohtani’s $700 million may be tough to scratch — but any deal could push $30 million per season or more. The Blue Jays will already begin paying Vladimir Guerrero Jr. handsomely along with Cease, but their books are set up well in the coming years. As long as Rogers ownership is determined to push in, the Blue Jays are built to sustain this spending without any albatross contracts on their books and no clear season coming over the hill that will cause a financial logjam.
The Blue Jays’ interest in Tucker has long been obvious. Now, by walking through those gates, Tucker’s is, too.
It’s an impressive selling point, that newly renovated facility in Dunedin, which is already one of Florida’s gems.
This isn’t new ground for the Blue Jays now. They know how it feels to reel in the big fish, and fresh off their best season in more than three decades, one that brought a love for baseball back to life across the national market in Canada, they’re hungry for more.
