MLB insider Buster Olney: Toronto Blue Jays will land Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette
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As free agent rumors heat up, ESPN's Buster Olney believes the Toronto Blue Jays will land either Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette in the near future.
According to ESPN's Buster Olney, teams and agents are at the grind-it-out phase of the winter where each side tends to digs in their heels and wait for terms to break favorably in their direction.
But when the dust settles, Olney believes the Blue Jays will end up with one of Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette, two players who have been connected to the team all off-season.
«I think that where the Blue Jays are, they're going to get one of these two guys at a price - either Bichette or Tucker - at a price that they're comfortable with. One of the two,» Olney told TSN 1050 Toronto's First Up Friday with Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo.
Olney likened the free-agent hitter situation to a game of musical chairs. As the off-season drags on, players and teams are going to want resolutions to the free agency of the top players, which he believes is a position the Blue Jays can operate from.
" I think that the Blue Jays are in a great position to get one of the two. And because of the way this has played out, I think that they can just sit back and wait until they get the player at their price,» Olney said.
Olney indicated the Blue Jays have been pushing hard for Tucker, a left-handed hitting outfielder who was the consensus top free agent available this winter.
«Based on the conversations I've had with teams and with agents, I think that the Blue Jays have the most money offered to Kyle Tucker. Or they've indicated that. Teams and the agents will play semantics and say, well, we never formally made an offer. Well, they've made an overture to where they said we're thinking in this range and Tucker's camp might be saying, well, we're thinking in this range,» Olney explained.
Olney believes the Blue Jays will be Tucker's top bidder when it's all said and done.
«I think the Blue Jays, by the end of the winter, whether or not Tucker signs there, will have made the highest volume offer for him. The most amount of money,» he said.
Olney also indicated that free agents might have a diminished market this winter due to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement on Dec. 1, 2026 that has many bracing for labor uncertainty and a potential lockout in 2027.
«Based on my conversations, there are definitely teams that have been reluctant to spend because the owners are not sure about the start of 2027 with the impending labour situation. So they don't want to extend themselves until they have more certainty,» Olney said.
Toronto has made the biggest free agent splash of the winter thus far, signing right hander Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million deal.
The Blue Jays also signed righty starter Cody Ponce out of the Korea Baseball Organization and had Shane Bieber opt into a one-year, $16 million player option.
Also read on Blue Jays Central :
Toronto Blue Jays sign former New York Yankees outfielder
Toronto Blue Jays sign former New York Yankees outfielder
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 2 | 206 ANSWERS MLB insider Buster Olney: Toronto Blue Jays will land Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette Would you rather the Blue Jays sign Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette? | ||
| Kyle Tucker | 90 | 43.7 % |
| Bo Bichette | 116 | 56.3 % |
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