The Toronto Blue Jays are in an all-out arms race this offseason, and one of their massive swings came this week when Kyle Tucker, this year’s free agent gem, visited their player development complex in Dunedin, Fla. But that offensive target may have just landed in the crosshairs of their divisional rival.

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 is far from casual. It confirmed that the Jays are seriously pushing to land one of the league’s best hitters.

Unfortunately, though, it seems like the Jays’ chase has hit a major roadblock.

The New York Yankees are not just in the Tucker sweepstakes; they might be the ones leading it. And it’s because of two aspects – the need and the financials.  

Last season, the New York Yankees were 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.

“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.”

The Yankees not only have the financial incentive, but they also have the need. With Soto gone, the team has a long-term opening in left field.

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

Additionally, Tucker can serve as a backup plan if Cody Bellinger were to leave. With him declining his offer and big market teams interested, it’s not hard to imagine him playing elsewhere.

For the Blue Jays, though, the possibility of losing out on Tucker can be a massive blow because his fit in their lineup was textbook. They need a long-term outfield anchor with George Springer moving away from everyday duties and Daulton Varsho approaching his free agency in 2026.

Tucker addresses many of the issues, including contact, power, on-base skills, postseason experience, and five straight years of 20-plus homers with an OPS hovering around .865. So, the Jays clearly have a big Yankee problem!

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

Kyle 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 average 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.

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 be “the superman” on the team suddenly. They would need him to hold down left field, and that’s a reasonable ask.

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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.

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