With Kyle Schwarber coming off the board on Tuesday when he signed a five-year deal to stay with the Philadelphia Phillies, the industry expectation became that the position player market would start to move.
Former Houston Astro and Chicago Cub Kyle Tucker is the biggest name still the open market, and both New York teams have reportedly checked in on the outfielder.
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Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Mets, Yankees and “most all big-market” teams have checked in on Tucker, as have the Baltimore Orioles.
Tucker, 28, was an All-Star for the Cubs in 2025 (his fourth straight All-Star selection), posting a 143 OPS+ with 22 home runs, 73 RBI, and 25 stolen bases. He has a career OPS of .865 and would provide an elite, left-handed bat to whichever teams he signs with.
From a Mets perspective, Tucker would have provided some needed thump in the lineup, but they’d likely need to do some outfield shuffling, as Tucker has almost exclusively been a right fielder in his career (639 games in right, 72 games in left). The Mets would likely move Juan Soto to left field if they were to sign Tucker.
The Yankees have a similar situation in the outfield. Trent Grisham is likely locked in to center field, meaning Aaron Judge would stick in right. Tucker would likely need to play left field for the Bombers, as moving Judge to left doesn’t seem to be on the table.
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Yankees GM Brian Cashman has said that the team would “love” to bring back outfielder Cody Bellinger, who has proven he can perform in the Bronx and is a more natural fit in left field (plus has the versatility to play first base). But Tucker would certainly be an enticing option as well.
