Blue Jays hopeful their response to reported Mets’ mega offer will win over Tucker

The rumors have been swirling and it appears the market for Kyle Tucker is finally developing. After months of very few pieces of real news to chew on regarding the top free agent on the market, some real (reported) news broke on Tuesday. FanSided's Robert Murray originally broke the story that the New York Mets have a short-term deal on the table for Kyle Tucker that would pay him $50 million per season.

But there's a reason why the deal hasn't come to fruition, and that's thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Blue Jays hopeful their response to reported Mets’ mega offer will win over Tucker

In his column on Tuesday (Jan. 13) Nightengale reported that the Blue Jays, "have discussed a long-term contract with Tucker that pays him less money per season, while the Dodgers also are lurking with a huge short-term deal." And even with the reported $50 million AAV on the table, he says that the Blue Jays "remain in the hunt."

He furthered that speculation on Wednesday (Jan. 14) when he was aguest on the Foul Territory podcast and said the reason Tucker hasn't signed yet is because "he's waiting for the Blue Jays to raise the AAV."

It will be incredibly interesting to watch how this unfolds. On one hand, Tucker is going to get paid regardless. On the other, he may not be ending up somewhere that he can call his forever home. A short term deal makes some sense for Tucker if he thinks he can get back on the market and make even more money. We've seen players do that in recent years including Carlos Correa, Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman.

But it would be a huge "bet on yourself" type of move for Tucker to leave money on the table, coming off two season's where he has had a few injury concerns. Obviously those concerns aren't so overwhelming that it's scaring teams away from wanting to bring him in on a big money deal, but freak accidents happen in this game.

It is not yet known how many years the Blue Jays are offering and whether the long term dollars would work out to the short term value of the Mets' deal. By looking at Toronto's projected roster over the next few years, one would have to think the offer is for at least five years if not more. Tucker, who will be 29 at the start of the 2026 season, is a two-time Silver Slugger winner, a four-time All-Star and a Gold Glover. He's got a World Series ring and possess an elite level combination of contact, power, and speed.

It's no wonder the top teams in the league are hoping to acquire him and it feels like it's coming down to the wire now on what his decision will be. If Tucker is waiting on the Blue Jays to increase the money, it's obviously an internal conversation worth having in Toronto's front office. But with a payroll already near the $300 million mark, it's understandable that there may be a limit on how much higher they can go.