Toronto Blue Jays get important new update on negotiations with Kyle Tucker

Mark Feinsand's latest read from MLB.com circles still has Toronto viewed as the frontrunner, with the New York Mets hanging around in the background.
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What's made this one feel weird is how quiet it's been for weeks, even as the calendar flips and camp gets close. Spring training is no longer an abstract thing, it's right there on the horizon.

Tucker is turning 29 on January 17, and his 2025 line with the Chicago Cubs still pops despite the bumps. He hit .266 with 22 homers, 73 RBIs, and 25 steals in 136 games.

Feinsand noted the hand fracture and a September calf issue that muted the second half, but the overall value stayed star-level. MLB.com pegged him at a 143 OPS+ and 4.5 fWAR in 2025.

He's also not some late-blooming mystery, he was the fifth overall pick in 2015 with real pedigree. The hardware is there too, including a 2022 Gold Glove and Silver Sluggers in 2023 and 2025.

Tucker would be the perfect fit to add to the Blue Jays lineup especially the fact that he is a left handed hitter. This is the first update in a while that gives new information on the Blue Jays and Tucker they have be linked as favorites for quite some time now.

If he lands here, the cleanest setup is Tucker in right with Daulton Varsho staying in center, then the rest becomes musical chairs. Toronto already committed five years and $92.5 million to Anthony Santander, and George Springer still needs at-bats.

That's where Tucker's all-around game matters, because he doesn't just mash mistakes. He runs, he controls the zone, and he can actually defend the corner, which changes how they will build late-game matchups.

The infield ripple is just as real, because Toronto has been mapping flexibility for months. MLB.com has already floated the idea of Andrés Giménez at short, with Ernie Clement and Addison Barger filling in around him.

That kind of setup naturally makes the Bo Bichette question louder, not quieter, because there are only so many everyday spots. It doesn't force a move, but it tightens the choices fast.

The other breadcrumb worth remembering is Tucker's December 3rd visit to the Jays' complex in Florida, which confirms this isn't just agent noise. Now it's about term, dollars, and who blinks first.

More details on: MLB.com