Kyle Tucker is an enigma on this free agent market, one that has kept teams such as the Yankees’ in a frozen tundra during free agency.
This is not a report that indicates the team will sign Tucker or has engaged in recent activities that would increase their odds of signing him, but rather an opinion piece about that lack of rumored interest on the star outfielder.
One comment that has stuck to the left-handed hitter is one by Joel Sherman of the New York Post, which suggested he lacked a burn to play the game of baseball.
We’ve seen these kinds of attacks on free agents before, and while sometimes a team’s character evaluations help them steer away from a disastrous contract, in many cases the public reports of bad clubhouse vibes are…misguided at best.
The Yankees are not a team joining the fray of squads that have correctly deduced that Kyle Tucker is problematic for winning, rather they’re in a group of squads who are cheaping out on an excellent talent.
Taking a Trip Down Free Agency’s Long-Lost Narratives
People forget the reason why Manny Machado, who everyone recognizes now as a future Hall of Famer, was unable to land a contract for most of the offseason leading into 2019, but one comment rubbed teams the wrong way:
“Obviously I’m not going to change, I’m not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle,’ and run down the line and slide to first base…That’s just not my personality, that’s not my cup of tea, that’s not who I am.”
Easily the funniest thing about this quote was it pertained to him not running out a groundball in a contentious NLCS, a series where he also spiked first baseman Jesus Aguilar and was labeled a dirty player for everyone to see.
Boston fans will tell you that the star infielder had shown his true colors when a collision at second base with Dustin Pedroia had effectively ended his career.
Now the second contract that Machado had signed will likely age poorly, but the initial 10-year $300 million contract would have been a good one for the Yankees to have handed out in hindsight.
If the Yankees had slapped on an extra $2-3 million a year or just simply let Machado walk after his 2022 season, they still would have extracted tons of value out of this contract.
Pairing Judge with the 15th-most valuable player in baseball from 2019-2022 might have resulted in a World Series Championship over that timespan, but Machado was not the only villanized free agent of that class.
Bryce Harper was coming off of a bad platform year in 2018 where he recorded -21 DRS and -15 FRV as an outfielder, with maturity concerns causing some teams to back off of a big contract for him.
This is a deal that might be underwater at the moment, but he too is almost certain to return the ~$314.2 million the Phillies will end up paying him after you adjust for the COVID year.
With six more seasons to essentially return about 10-12 WAR in order for him to be worth the contract, there’s a good chance this deal works out really well despite the UCL tear and transition to first base.
You’ve replayed this moment in baseball history a lot if you’re a Yankees’ fan and it doesn’t hurt as much as it may have if he won a title in Philadelphia, but I’m very confident he would have returned on investment.
Harper shaved his face and played centerfield when he visited Yankee Stadium and unlike Machado didn’t want opt-outs, he wanted to be the highest-paid player in baseball and stay somehere long-term.
Thank God the Yankees sided with a market that was hesitant to sign either of these two, right?
I decided to look at the past with Anthony Rendon too here, since he was an elite player in the middle of his prime who ended up being the worst contract arguably ever signed in MLB history.
There are no red flags for off-field conduct; his PR was at an all-time high considering he was a focal point of the Nationals breaking through and winning the World Series right after losing Bryce Harper.
The cool, quiet, and dominant slugger was a smooth fielder at the hot corner and accumulated the seventh-most WAR in baseball among position players from 2017-2019, the best third baseman in the game.
He ended up being a dud. There were no reports about a burn to play the game that wasn’t there or an extra motor that teams believed he couldn’t find.
Rendon got paid, kept getting hurt, and then it became a question of whether he cared about baseball or not when he said this sport was a job to him.
You could counter by saying the Angels were just idiots who paid him without digging into his past, but the Dodgers were among the most aggressive teams in his services.
We’re talking about the same Dodgers who are known as baseball’s model organization, the one who would win a World Series title less than 365 days following a disappointing free-agent whiff.
So, how does this all tie back to Kyle Tucker?
The Yankees Should Break From the Market on Kyle Tucker
A lot of teams in baseball do not have the clubhouse to make Kyle Tucker their number one guy, and that’s something the Yankees should use to their advantage.
Perhaps their greatest weapon in the pursuit of the star left fielder is Aaron Judge, a towering presence on the field but also in the clubhouse as well, helping to manage the wide variety of personalities that walk into the clubhouse.
When the Red Sox traded Alex Verdugo, he came with baggage during his days with the Dodgers, and while he played poorly in New York, he didn’t have new controversies arise once the team reported to camp.
This is not a pardon for his previous transgressions, but rather an example of how players who normally cause stir-ups on and off the field due to their actions (not play) can become non-issues in the clubhouse with Aaron Judge.
You could even look at more business-minded players who care solely about their craft such as Juan Soto, who isn’t at all problematic but doesn’t seem to do anything but play baseball in a city that demands attention and headlines.
Aaron Judge absorbed a lot of the nonsensical attention that comes with playing in New York, and it’s why Soto had an extremely positive experience playing in the Bronx.
Jazz Chisholm is perhaps the most outspoken player the Yankees’ have rostered over the last decade, and he went from an isolated individual due to the issues in Miami to part of the clubhouse’s nucleus.
Am I supposed to believe they cannot absorb a player who speaks little and might not be built to lead a team?
Kyle Tucker might not care enough about baseball to be Johnny Hustle as Manny Machado put it, but he sure cared enough to play through numerous injuries to help the Cubs make the postseason in a walk year.
He could have shut it down and made a business decision, but he took a risk with his body to help a team that has zero interest in paying him win their first playoff series in nearly a decade.
If that’s not the burn to play that you need to be a Yankee, then I’m not sure a lot of guys in this league care about the game at all.
You have a 28-year-old outfielder who is clearly better than Cody Bellinger available in a market waiting for the former to sign before the latter will even consider signing.
There’s also value in signing Kyle Tucker when a team such as the Blue Jays, who crushed the Yankees in the ALDS, stand out as the top suitor for his services because they’re being opportunistic.
Are the Yankees just comfortable watching Toronto land the best player on the market a year after winning the pennant and the American League East?
If the organization truly wants to be the ‘Mecca of Baseball’ as Brian Cashman mentioned after the 2023 season, then this is a complete no-brainer.
When looking at the Yankees’ roster, you could analyze their left field hole and note that Cody Bellinger’s return wouldn’t be a bad thing depending on the price.
He’s a good player, but Kyle Tucker would be notably better and give your offense the kind of boost that would cement this team as the best in the American League.
It’s not like the Yankees are shaping up to sign a starter; it’s become significantly more likely that a trade is their route to improving the rotation versus free agency.
A lot of the smoke over the last week is that the team will be more opportunistic with Tatsuya Imai, so we don’t have a financial opportunity cost to consider here.
Sign the best player available: history has often sided with the bold in free agency, and the Yankees should not get caught up in trusting the market shift that led to Manny Machado and Bryce Harper lacking suitors.