According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Mets are “in” on the free agent. Kyle Tucker. The four-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger is an MLBTR free agent.
A lot of speculation has linked Tucker to the Mets this offseason, and it’s not hard to see why. According to RosterResource, Steve Cohen’s club earned $346MM, $336MM, and $340MM in 2023, ’24, and ’25, respectively. Currently, their projected payroll for 2026 sits at just $294MM. That means president of baseball operations David Stearns should have at least $40 million left to spend. You have added, that is, signing Jorge Polanco, Devin Williamsagain Luke Weaverand trading Marcus Semien. However, considering all the players the Mets have lost or dealt, including Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz, Brandon Nimmoagain Jeff McNeiland considering how they missed the playoffs so miserably last September, Stearns has a lot of work to do. Of course, he didn’t sign Juan Soto in a record-breaking contract last season to stay on his hands after a year.
If Stearns wants to make a big splash, there’s no better way to do that than to sign the top free agent on the market. The Mets are reportedly hesitant to sign the starting pitcher to a long-term contract this winter. In addition, Heyman notes that Tucker’s asking price is high for this reason Cody Bellinger remains their target in the outfield. That said, it would be foolish to count the Mets out of the Tucker sweepstakes for financial reasons. They could give him the 11-year, $400MM contract that was projected at the start of the season ($36.4MM AAV), and their payroll would still be lower than in any of the past three seasons.
In addition, the Mets have a clear opening for Tucker in their roster after parting ways with Nimmo. Currently, RosterResource has Carson Benge penciled in as New York’s starting left fielder. Benge is a consensus 100 prospect, and it’s clear how much the Mets value him. He is thought to be unaffected by trade talks this winter, and Stearns has suggested he will have a chance to make the big league roster in spring training. However, Benge is only 22 years old and completely unproven at the MLB level. It’s hard to imagine a team with World Series aspirations would let him get in the way of signing a proven star like Tucker — especially now that the Mets have been linked to Bellinger. At that point, the Mets are thought to prefer to add a right-handed bat to their lineup, but their interest in the left-handed hitting Bellinger suggests that handedness won’t be a deal breaker. Benge, for what it’s worth, also bats from the left. Additionally, Tucker’s career numbers against southpaw pitches (133 wRC+, .842 OPS) are nearly identical to his numbers with the platoon advantage (141 wRC+, .877 OPS). There is no good reason why being on his left is a deal breaker.
Back in November, MLBTR’s Steve Adams listed the Mets as a “potential suitor” for Tucker’s services. In the past two weeks, nearly 20,000 MLBTR readers have voted on whether they think Tucker will sign, and the Mets have received support for third (15.23%), just ahead of the Yankees (10.09%) and behind only the Blue Jays (40.22%) and Dodgers (15.55%). So, it was no surprise Thursday afternoon when Heyman confirmed that the Mets had expressed at least some interest. They join the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Orioles as teams interested in the outfielder, although Baltimore was linked to him before signing Alonso. Other teams that might be a good fit include the Dodgers and Giants; Heyman notes that “every major-market team” is in on Tucker, though the Yankees and Mets are the only ones he mentions by name.
