A new rumor reveals the Toronto Blue Jays‘ final offer to Kyle Tucker, and it came nowhere close to winning his sweepstakes in free agency.
While they aren’t spoken about in the same way as the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Mets, or the Philadelphia Phillies, the Blue Jays have shown in the last few years that they are more than willing to spend huge sums to improve the roster.
It’s why they were a serious contender to sign the biggest free agent in MLB history three years ago, Shohei Ohtani, and were viewed as the early favorite to land the top player on this year’s free agent market, Kyle Tucker.
To begin the year, they seemed to be the likely landing spot for the four-time All-Star because they were willing to do what the other contenders wouldn’t and give him a contract for 10 years. Yet, in recent weeks, the Mets and Dodgers emerged as a threat because they were open to paying an absurd annual rate for a short-term deal.
Last week, USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale suggested the Blue Jays were still the preferred choice, and the reason Tucker was still available was a hope they would increase the annual average on their last offer.
Blue Jays offered Kyle Tucker 10 years and $350 million
On Thursday, the outfielder finally made his decision, and it wasn’t the Blue Jays. Instead, he took a historic four-year deal worth $240 million from LA that would pay him just under $60 million a season. In a new report from the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, it seems Toronto gifted Tucker to the Dodgers by standing pat on their last offer.
“Blue Jays’ offer to Kyle Tucker was $350M for 10 years. They certainly put in a big effort. Still one of the biggest winter winners with all they’ve done,” he wrote.
While the Blue Jays’ offer was a good one, it would mean Tucker would make $35 million annually. That’s close to $25 million less a year than what the Dodgers won the sweepstakes with, and $15 million less than the Mets also reportedly had on the table.
