Kyle Tucker, Kansas City Royals left fielder?
That’s a stretch, but there may be some who believe it to be possible if one truly connects all the dots surrounding the Royals right now.
We learned this week that Kansas City wants an everyday left fielder (one has to imagine Tucker could move from one corner to the other), and Jim Bowden of The Athletic just connected the Royals to the four-time All-Star.
Jim Bowden’s Tucker-Royals connection comes with a caveat
“Kyle Tucker is expected to get the biggest contract this offseason, but interestingly, teams have varying outlooks on what his contract should look like,” Bowden wrote. “Teams value Tucker anywhere between $300-$450 million, depending on contract length, with some clubs having more interest in exploring shorter-term deals with extremely high AAVs.
“Tucker fits the best with teams like the (New York) Yankees, (Los Angeles) Dodgers, (New York) Mets, Royals and (Toronto) Blue Jays. I also think the (San Francisco) Giants and (Philadelphia) Phillies would be great fits, but it sounds like the Giants are directing their money toward pitching and the Phillies are trying to retain their own free agents before looking at Tucker.”
Is the implication here that the Royals could be trying to sign Tucker to a super-expensive deal for the next, say, two years? That’s the window in which Bobby Witt Jr. will jump from making $14.1 million this year, to $20.1 million next year, to $31.1 million and then two years of $36.1 million.
But the Witt deal, a landmark contract for the Royals, is still small potatoes compared to what a short-term AAV would have to look like for Tucker. We’re talking $50 million per season, bare minimum, to get him to consider. Plus, there would almost certainly have to be an opt-out after the first year.
Ask yourselves: Does it really sound like the Royals to pay a free agent more than double what their face of the franchise makes, and still be prepared for the strong possibility he leaves in a year’s time?
We won’t rule out the Royals-Tucker possibility offhand, but needless to say, we’re skeptical.
More MLB: Royals All-Star Has Multiple Suitors, Could Be Traded: Report
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