The New York Mets have “likely” added a fourth year to their behemoth contract offer for free-agent slugger Kyle Tucker.
Former Mets GM and MLB insider Jim Duquette first reported on Wednesday afternoon that David Stearns had probably upped his offer, which was previously reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic to be coming in at three years.
While the Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly extended a long-term contract offer for the soon-to-be 29-year-old, the Mets have gone the route of more money per season. While Sammon reported that New York is offering an average annual value of $40 million to $46.6 million, Robert Murray of Fansided disclosed shortly after that Stearns has floated the prospect of $50 million per season for Tucker’s services.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are believed to be another potential finalist for Tucker, but no formal offer has been reportedly made as of Wednesday afternoon. Jon Heyman of the New York Post added that the Yankees were “on the periphery” of the Tucker sweepstakes, but there is no concrete evidence to suggest that they are legitimate players as this free-agent saga enters its final lengths.
Despite the Mets offering fewer years, Tucker is interested in the high-money proposal. He has had multiple meetings with Mets brass over the last week.
His acquisition would ease some of the tension that has been hanging over the Mets since the Winter Meetings, when the trading of Brandon Nimmo was followed by slugger Pete Alonso and star closer Edwin Diaz walking in free agency.
Tucker has sported 162-game averages of 30-plus home runs and 100-plus RBI over the past five seasons with a slash line of .277/.365/.514 (.878 OPS). A natural right fielder, he would move to left in Queens for Juan Soto. It might not be the best defensive outfield by some measures, but it would be as imposing an offensive one-two punch as one will find in Major League Baseball moving forward.
