Red Sox Getting Early Buzz For Kyle Tucker Sweepstakes

The Boston Red Sox currently have a surplus of outfielders, but could they target another one?

At first look, that doesn’t sound like it's an idea that would make sense. Right now, the Red Sox have Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, Rob Refsnyder, and then depth pieces like Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard. Yoshida spent most of his time as the team's designated hitter as well, but did get some playing time in the outfield in 2025 when he was fully healthy. All in all, there's a lot of outfield talent here. So much so, that it will be tough to play everybody if they all return in 2026.

While this is the case, Jon Heyman of the New York Post interestingly mentioned the Red Sox among the possible fits for Chicago Cubs superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker. Heyman first reported that the Dodgers will pursue Tucker, and followed by mentioning Boston with the San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies as other teams that also could pursue him.

"Will the rich get richer? The Dodgers are expected to make a play for No. 1 free agent Kyle Tucker, who’d fit nicely into the National League’s best lineup," Heyman said.

"The Giants, Phillies, Red Sox and many others could be in the mix, as well,” Heyman continued.

Why the Red Sox could sign Kyle Tucker

Oct 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) reacts after hitting a home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning in game four of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Boston isn't a stranger to pursuing a superstar outfielder in free agency. Take a look at last year, for example. The Red Sox had a similar "problem" with a surplus of outfielders, but were in the mix for Juan Soto right up until the end.

Tucker is a few years older than Soto, but he's a fellow superstar and big-ticket free agent himself. It doesn't hurt that the Red Sox shed some salary this season by trading Rafael Devers away. They pursued Soto with Devers still on the roster even when the price tag was approaching the $700 million range. Now, they don't have Devers so realistically they could afford Tucker, whose projected market value is around $400 million, per Spotrac.

There's been a lot said about the Red Sox's outfield surplus. But, both Duran and Abreu have been in trade rumors over the last few months. If you were to bring in Tucker, you could easily clear space by flipping one of -- or both of -- those two for pitching to make it work.

An outfield featuring Anthony and Tucker at the corners and Rafaela in the center field undoubtedly would be the best in baseball for years to come. But, it's still a pipe dream. It's too early to know how a big sweepstakes like this will go. Last year, it didn't seem like the Red Sox were going to be involved for Soto, and then all of a sudden they were competing for him right until the end. It's too early to know how these things will go, but it's interesting that Heyman at least mentioned Boston for him right now.

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