Toronto’s Best Move Might Be a Ruthless One: Stealing a Free-Agent Star from the Yankees .MH
The Toronto Blue Jays should be shifting their focus to a free agent from their most hated rival.
The Toronto Blue Jays have come into this offseason swinging as it relates to spending on big name free agents, and they have not been afraid to open up the checkbook.
Fans found out just how serious general manager Ross Atkins and Toronto ownership are about luring serious talent north of the border with the seven-year contract for Dylan Cease, and they were not even close to done there.
Signing both Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers to lucrative contracts addressed the pitching staff aggressively, but the Blue Jays have been linked to even bigger names on the offensive side of the ball. Of course much of the attention there has been on a Bo Bichette reunion, but that’s not all.
Toronto has been linked all offseason long to the top free agent available in Kyle Tucker, but they should pivot if they are determined to land a star outfielder. The best move from there is to steal New York Yankees slugger Cody Bellinger and keep him within the division.
Blue Jays Should Turn Focus from Tucker to Bellinger
There’s a few factors which make Bellinger a better signing than Tucker. To state the obvious right out of the gate, the former is going to be a whole lot more affordable than the latter. Tucker will command likely 10 years and at least $350 million barring a surprising slow market.
Bellinger, who is less than two years older than Tucker at the age of 30, likely won’t crack the $200 million mark and may wind up wind up with a contract that is half the length of the younger Tucker. Beyond the contract numbers though, there’s a ton of reasons to prefer Bellinger.
Chief among those reasons is weakening the division rival Yankees, who Toronto had to hang on by a thread to take the division from back in September. The Blue Jays want to run this division, and this starts by handling New York.
Taking Bellinger from them would be the first way for Toronto to step on their rival’s throats and establish the AL East as theirs to lose.
Bellinger May Be Better Fit for Blue Jays Than Tucker
Though Tucker gets the credit as a five-tool player who is elite on defense, his numbers with a glove have trended in the wrong direction over the last couple of years, and just about every advanced metric points to Bellinger as the better defender at this stage of their careers.
Bellinger slashed .272/.334/.480 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI this year over 152 games, accounting for an incredible bWAR of 5.1 to become one of the more valuable outfielders in baseball. Though Tucker was putting up MVP numbers in the first half, he faded down the stretch and has dealt with numerous injuries in recent years.
Committing for a decade to someone lime that is a lot to ask and could prove to bite Toronto in the end, while a shorter term deal for Bellinger could make them better both now and in the future.
Between affordability, defense, current level of play and taking from a rival, the Blue Jays need to let go of the Tucker pursuit and move to an all-out onslaught on Bellinger.
