The Toronto Blue Jays have come up short in years past for superstar free agents. Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto both turned down the Blue Jays to sign elsewhere.
However, after a trip to the World Series, ESPN’s Jeff Passan revealed that league executives see the Blue Jays as favorites to land Tucker this offseason. The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets are also expected to be suitors, to no surprise, but a surprise team has also been linked to Tucker.
“Even after acquiring Taylor Ward in a stunning trade on Tuesday night, the Baltimore Orioles are not necessarily set in their outfield,” wrote The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. “They still could upgrade in center over Colton Cowser and Leody Taveras. And though Ward will play left, with Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Beavers potentially alternating in right, club officials are not ruling out a pursuit of right fielder Kyle Tucker, the top hitter on the free-agent market.”
The Orioles missed the postseason after back-to-back appearances. The team’s president of baseball operations, Mike Elias, wants “badly” to get the team back on track, per Rosenthal, and has a history with Tucker. Elias was the Houston Astros’ scouting director who chose Tucker fifth in the first round of the 2015 draft.
The Orioles do not have the same spending power as the Blue Jays, but depending on how desperate Elias is, they could, at the very least, drive up the price for the Blue Jays. The Orioles also cannot sell the idea of contention like the Blue Jays can, coming off a trip to the Fall Classic.
More MLB: Blue Jays Predicted to Sign $400M Slugger Who Rejected Qualifying Offer
