The Toronto Blue Jays are moving through this off-season as aggressively as possible. They added Dylan Cease on a seven-year, $210 million deal, got back Shane Bieber, and even landed Cody Ponce. But one of the biggest swings came this week when Kyle Tucker—easily one of the gems of this year’s free-agent class—visited their player development complex in Dunedin, Fla.

You could downplay the scene and say he lives just up the road in Tampa, so a visit, if at all, was just convenient. But in free agency, this visit is far from casual. All it did was confirm that the Jays are seriously pushing to land one of the league’s best hitters.

Unfortunately, though, it seems like Jay’s chase has hit a major roadblock, and it’s a big one- the New York Yankees. They are not just in the Tucker sweepstakes; they might be the ones leading it. And it’s because they have two things—the need and the financials.  

The New York Yankees’ last season was ready to give an arm and a leg for Juan Soto- exactly $750 million. In comparison, Tucker’s demand of $427 is actually peanuts! Jim Bowden laid it out clearly and simply: “That contract may seem like a lot of money, but think about it this way—it’s a savings of $338 million over what Juan Soto was paid last offseason.”

Not just the financial incentive, the Yankees have the need too, because with Soto gone, the team has a long-term opening in left field. So, these two reasons alone show how aggressively the Yankees might be positioning themselves.

The Yankees, moreover, still don’t fully trust Jasson Dominguez’s glove, and Spencer Jones is still raw. So, pairing Judge gives them a safer and much cheaper long-term outfield core than Soto.

Also, Tucker might be the perfect backup plan for the Yanks because Cody Bellinger might just be on his way out of the Bronx. Sure, his dad played in pinstripes, but with him declining his offer and big market teams interested, it’s not hard to imagine him playing elsewhere.

For the Blue Jays, though, Tucker’s leaving is a huge problem—because his fit in their lineup was textbook. They need a long-term outfield anchor with George Springer signing out of everyday duties and Varsho approaching his free agency in 2026.

Tucker solves many of the issues from contact, power, on-base skills, postseason experience, and five straight years of 20-plus homers with an OPS hovering around .865. The Jays now suddenly have a big Yankee problem!

Why Tucker makes more sense for the New York Yankees than anyone expected

If there is one question that’s popping around in the Yankee universe, it is this—how exactly would Kyle Tucker fit in pinstripes? On paper, he surprisingly fits really well. More than what people would have thought.

Tucker is a true five-tool player. The kind that checks every box the Yankees have been trying to fill since Soto walked out to cross-town rivals. At the plate, he brings a career. 273 average, plus an annual pace of 31 home runs and 25 stolen bases per 162 games.

Even in 2025 with the Chicago Cubs, he showed a type of discipline with 87 walks and 88 strikeouts that the Yankees desperately need in their lineup.

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Sure, defensively, he has had a slow year, and his metrics have dipped, but given that Judge is locked in the right field, the Yanks won’t ask him to suddenly be “the superman” on the team. They would need him to hold down left field, and that’s a reasonable ask.

Add him to an outfield of Judge and Trent Grisham, and the unit feels stabilized. Add him behind Judge, and teams can no longer pitch around the captain. So, Judge Tucker might not be the Soto-Judge dream team, but make no mistake—they would terrify pitchers nevertheless.

And sure, Toronto might be pushing hard, but if the Yankees sense they get a cornerstone with Tucker, they would go all out for it.