Blue Jays Should Sign 'Plan B' Star if Unable to Land Kyle Tucker
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Spring training starts in a month, and there are still some top free agents available for the defending American League Champion Toronto Blue Jays. The Kyle Tucker sweepstakes are still looming, but in case that falls through, there is another outfielder in the mix that is much cheaper.
Toronto Has Been Busy
This year's offseason has been very busy for Toronto. Fresh off a gut-punching end to a historic season losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in last season's World Series, the Blue Jays went back to work, signing free agent Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 contract.
Shortly thereafter, the Jays shifted acquisitions overseas to Korea and Japan, signing right-hander Cody Ponce and infielder Kazuma Okamoto, both to multi-year deals.
Along with avoiding arbitration to some mainstays in outfielder Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement, Eric Lauer is the lone Blue Jays player heading to arbitration hearing. They are also still in discussions re-signing fan favorite Bo Bichette.
Tucker Is Expensive
With all these aggressive signings and moves, Toronto is poised to take back what was stolen from them last season, a World Series title. Signing All-Star and MVP candidate Tucker to a long-term deal puts the icing on the cake, but discussions have waned, given his price point.
The 28-year old is expected to sign a box office deal contract north of $250 million. Already spending close to that amount of money to Dylan Cease, it's natural that Toronto hasn't pulled the trigger yet in signing the All-Star outfielder. If Tucker signs elsewhere, there is another outfielder who just hit the free agent market.
Why Blue Jays Should Sign Cody Bellinger
Enter Cody Bellinger. Seven years removed from his MVP season, the 30-year old turned into one of the more underrated bats in the MLB. After a rough last few years with the Dodgers, Bellinger spent his last three seasons with the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. During those three seasons, the Arizona native seemed to find his stroke, putting together an average slash line of .287/.340/.846 in 141 games hitting 20 homers or more.
Last season, Bellinger hit mashed 29 homers with a 125 OPS+ with a 5.1 WAR, the highest since 2019.
The Yankees, expecting to re-sign their All-Star outfielder, have been unable to get a deal done. Additionally, reports broke out that that the 30-year old outfielder and Brian Cashman are at an impasse. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, The Yankees offered Bellinger five years, earning at least $30 million per year. Since players in Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber signed contracts around those numbers, New York believes Bellinger is in that similar range. Scott Boras, Bellinger's agent, believes otherwise, and prefers a longer deal worth more money.
Third baseman and three-time All-Star Alex Bregman, one of Scott Boras’ clients, recently signed a five-year, $175 million deal with the Cubs. At that price point, and with Bregman being slightly older than Cody Bellinger, it’s easy to see Boras’ perspective.
Should the Blue Jays miss out on King Tuck, they should strongly consider Bellinger. While he won’t come cheap, Bellinger would be far more affordable than Tucker. Last season, he posted a +8 defensive runs saved in right field, the same position Tucker plays. Though a few years older, Bellinger is a former Gold Glove winner with proven power and would be a strong addition to Toronto’s lineup, further capping off an impressive offseason.
Not only will the Blue Jays acquire a possible replacement, but also stealing a key player in Bellinger away from a division rival is sure to cause some heated rivalry drama.
The Blue Jays can envision a powerful outfield featuring George Springer, Daulton Varsho, and Kyle Tucker. Even if Tucker is replaced by Cody Bellinger, the group still presents a formidable threat.
