Ranking the Contenders to Land Kyle Tucker This MLB Offseason

Mon, Dec 1, 2025
by CapperTek

Few things electrify an MLB offseason quite like a multi-team bidding war for a franchise-altering superstar. But this winter, with the ink barely dry on the 2025 campaign, the focus is razor sharp: Kyle Tucker, baseball’s most coveted free agent, has detonated a powder keg of speculation that blazes from the Big Apple to Tinseltown, from the boardrooms of dynasties-in-waiting to the hearts of restless fan bases.

This is no ordinary offseason headline chase. Tucker—at 29, a four-time All-Star, a 25+ homer threat even in an injury-marred season, and armed with the rarest blend of left-handed power, speed, and Gold Glove defense—is the kind of talent that forces entire franchises to realign their vision. His resume glitters: Five straight years between 4.2 and 4.9 fWAR, a .841 OPS in 2025, 22 home runs, and 25 stolen bases despite a fractured hand and an ill-timed calf strain. The contract chase? North of $400 million, with whispers he could join the elusive company of Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani as baseball’s latest nine-figure icon.

But which teams are currently leading the race for the former Chicago Cubs star's signature? Let's take a look at the contenders.

Yankees

Seventeen years is an eternity in the Bronx. When Yankees legends are measured by rings, not mere memories, every passing season tightens the pressure-cooker. The 2025 Yankees were a microcosm of hope and heartbreak: a seven-game AL East lead squandered at an alarming rate, a 94-win rally to the Wild Card, then a swift playoff exit. Now, the parade-starved city has grown even more restless.

Online betting sites think that the 17-year drought could come to an end next season, given the right circumstances. The latest MLB lines at Bovada currently list the Yankees as a +700 second-favorite to win the World Series next season. What's one way to guarantee that those odds shrink drastically? Enter Kyle Tucker.

His pull-power—22 home runs, a swing built for the Stadium’s short right porch—couldn’t fit the need more perfectly. His presence beside MVP Aaron Judge not only fortifies the lineup with 20-25 additional homers and 30 steals, but recalibrates the Yanks’ balance. Throw in his Gold Glove, and suddenly the Yankees do more than plug a hole: they restore the mythos of Murderers’ Row for a new age.

Insiders converge on a single narrative: Brian Cashman’s war chest, fortified with $300M+ payroll flex, will be trained squarely on Tucker. A monster deal is the prediction, and the motive is crystal clear—the drought must end, and history must be chased, not awaited. In a city built for icons, nothing less will satisfy. The baseball world watches: Is this the cornerstone of the next Yankee era?

Dodgers

As the sun set on another champagne-drenched October in L.A., the Dodgers—two-time defending champions—were already plotting war games. Their 2025 campaign, a stunning 93–69 march, wasn’t without its missteps: left field was a revolving door, bullpen stumbles haunted late innings, and injuries threatened to disrupt the elegant machinery. But nothing, not even Mookie Betts’ swoon or bullpen chaos, could stop the relentless Dodger machine.

Still, dynasties aren’t content with standing still. In the language of front offices, “three-peat” is both a taunt and a challenge. Enter Tucker, a player whose addition could cement this team’s place among the greatest ever assembled. Slide him into right; shift Teoscar Hernández left; unleash the kind of thump that turns Dodger Stadium’s alleys into launching pads for 30 home runs annually.

Analytically, the fit is textbook: Tucker’s youth (29), his blend of 4.5-fWAR upside and lefty OBP, and the reality that only one of the Dodgers’ key regulars is under 30. The cost? Mere decimals for a super-club already comfortable at $329M payrolls. According to the experts, the Dodgers are practically an inevitability for megadeals. If L.A. blinks first, the rest of the league will have to chase a Death Star that’s somehow grown stronger.

Blue Jays

Toronto’s journey in 2025 was the stuff of epic: division titlists by the slimmest margin, slaying playoff dragons en route to an agonizing World Series Game 7 defeat. Yet, rather than retreat to caution, the Jays have signaled intent with historic aggression—see Guerrero Jr.’s 14-year, $500 million extension. The hunger, though, persists.

Roster arithmetic points to one thing: left-handed firepower to complement a righty-leaning order. Enter Tucker, whose 143 OPS+ and postseason poise fit Toronto’s cravings like a custom-tailored glove. Slotting him into the outfield doesn’t just let George Springer take precious DH days; it creates a modern-day murderer’s row—Vladimir Guerrero, Dante Bichette, Kyle Tucker—capable of breaking the game open at any moment.

The Jays are thought to be more aggressive than anyone in the race for Tucker's signature, and armed with a war chest worth north of $400M for a new crown jewel, The Six could well be the perfect fit. The organization chased Soto, flirted with Ohtani, and now their north-of-the-border revival hinges on turning heartbreak into legacy. With Tucker, the dome in Toronto could be shaking right into November.