The Mets are eyeing Kyle Tucker in what could be a $50 million per year deal, but The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal isn’t buying it as a fit.
Rosenthal’s got some fair points. The biggest one? This move doesn’t match what David Stearns has been saying all offseason.
The Mets’ president of baseball operations has talked repeatedly about improving the defense. That’s a tough sell when you’re looking at Tucker, who’s been declining in right field, and you’ve already got Juan Soto struggling out there.
“Tucker, who turns 29 on Saturday, surely would deepen the Mets’ lineup. He was a Gold Glove finalist in 2020 and ’21 and a winner in ’22. But he has since declined in right field, and according to Outs Above Average, was a worse defensive outfielder last season than Brandon Nimmo.”
Let’s put that in perspective. Brandon Nimmo isn’t exactly known for his defensive prowess. And Soto? He ranked as the worst defensive right fielder in baseball last season by the same metric.
So you’d be adding another questionable defender to an outfield that already has issues.
There’s another concern Rosenthal raises that’s worth considering:
“His low-key personality might not be an ideal fit for the New York market either.”
That’s not necessarily a deal-breaker, but it’s something to think about when you’re talking about committing $50 million per year to a guy.
The Competition
The Mets aren’t the only team in on Tucker. The Red Sox and Diamondbacks are also making pushes, which explains why the price keeps climbing.
But here’s what makes this interesting – Tucker’s offensive production could absolutely justify that kind of money. The guy can hit, there’s no question about that.
It’s just that the Mets have spent months talking about defense and building a more well-rounded team. Adding Tucker would be going the other direction entirely.
Maybe Stearns has changed his approach. Maybe the opportunity to land a hitter of Tucker’s caliber trumps the defensive concerns. That’s not unreasonable thinking, especially when you’re trying to build around Soto and Francisco Lindor.
The way I see it, the Mets are in a tough spot. They need offensive production, and Tucker brings that in spades. But they’re also trying to build a complete team, and this move doesn’t really fit that narrative.
We’ll see how it plays out. If the Mets do land Tucker at that price, it’ll tell us a lot about how they’re really prioritizing their roster construction going forward.
