It is assumed that money rules in the elections and decisions of an athlete, but this is not always true. We can see it with the case of Kyle Tucker, a baseball player who left the Cubs to go to the Dodgers with a lower contract than the one presented by the Blue Jays. They practically paid him the 400 million he asked for in the winter market; however, he rejected them. He had his reasons.
At the beginning of the offseason and until a week ago, the figure of $400 million was the one that hovered around the right fielder in his capacity as a free agent. Toronto was the team that came closest to respecting that amount by offering him a 10-year, $350 million deal. To their surprise, the player turned them down.
In the midst of those negotiations, the Dodgers appeared to present him with a four-year, $240 million proposal. Los Angeles’ scouting department did its job to hit the key point of the deal, time; Tucker did not want a long-term contract.
The Blue Jays’ offer to Kyle Tucker was $350 million over 10 years. They certainly made a big effort. Even so, they remain one of the big winners of the winter for everything they have done
Tucker, 29, became one of the top free agents after turning down a $22 million qualifying offer from Chicago. The Blue Jays welcomed him to their spring training complex and saw him as the perfect complement alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., hoping to improve their lineup with his power and defense. Unfortunately for Toronto, they did not consider the timing issue.
The Dodgers did take notice of that to propose a deal that included opt-outs after the second and third years, a $64 million signing bonus and $30 million in deferred money, giving it an average annual value of $60 million, second only to Shohei Ohtani.
What happened with the Mets and Kyle Tucker
The New York franchise had a strong interest in acquiring Tucker. According to Heyman and Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Mets’ final offer was a four-year, $220 million contract.
Unlike the Dodgers’ deal, this one did not include deferred payments. The Mets offered opt-outs after the second and third years and a $75 million signing bonus, $11 million more than Los Angeles. Unlike the Blue Jays and the two-time champions, the New Yorkers were slow to sit down and negotiate with Kyle.
A sad offseason for the Blue Jays
Toronto suffered two major blows with the losses of both Bichette and Tucker. They had a very unproductive winter market, signing pitchers Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers, as well as infielder Kazuma Okamoto, to strengthen their roster after the World Series.
The Blue Jays remain focused on long-term success, and Tucker came very close to being part of their plan to build an elite outfield. However, the story is not over yet, as they could go all out in the pursuit of Cody Bellinger and thus seriously harm their divisional rival, the Yankees.
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