He was taken again by the same team. From the Toronto Blue Jays' perspective, it could create trauma. Toronto had another top-tier player taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Canadian outlet Toronto Sun published an article on the 17th (Korea time) credit entry representing the Toronto Blue Jays' position after once again losing the bidding to the Dodgers.
Kyle Tucker, who was the biggest prize of this free-agent market, signed a historic four-year, $240 million contract with the Dodgers, averaging $60 million a year. The contract includes an opt-out after the second or third year, and the signing bonus is $64 million. About $30 million will be deferred. It far exceeded the average annual value of the Mets' 15-year, $765 million deal with Juan Soto last year. In terms of average annual value, Tucker is now the highest ever.
The final candidates remaining in the Tucker sweepstakes were the Dodgers, the New York Mets and Toronto. In December last year, Tucker visited Toronto's training facility in Dunedin, Florida, and based on financial capability and other factors, Toronto seemed to be ahead in the race to acquire Tucker.
But in the end Toronto lost to the Dodgers again. Toronto Sun described the situation by saying, "On the field and in the free-agent sweepstakes, Toronto could not overcome the Dodgers' wall," and "the Dodgers made a surprise move and snatched Tucker. Tucker had been cultivated as an All-Star-level player intended to become a core asset for Toronto in the future. Toronto fans will be disappointed. For Toronto, a situation arose that made them ask, 'What on earth is going on?'" Toronto had offered Tucker a long-term contract of more than 10 years, but the Dodgers' short-term deal was more attractive.
This is not the first time Toronto has lost to the Dodgers in the sweepstakes. After the 2023 season, Toronto did everything possible in the bidding for Shohei Ohtani but tasted defeat to the Dodgers. Toronto had also offered more than $600 million at the time, but the Dodgers surpassed it. In addition, last year Toronto made full preparations to bring over the monster Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki from Nippon Professional Baseball, but that also failed. The outlet recalled, "It brings back memories of Toronto finishing second to the Dodgers in the race for superstar Ohtani two years ago. For Toronto, which had aggressively pursued Tucker from the early offseason, this is a painful defeat. In the end, the Dodgers were always waiting there to inflict a crushing defeat on Toronto in the late stages of the game," describing Toronto's miserable feelings.
Toronto again played the role of big spender in the offseason by signing KBO League MVP Cody Ponce (three years, $30 million), ace-level asset Dylan Cease (seven years, $210 million), late-inning reliever Tyler Rogers (three years, $37 million), and Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto (four years, $60 million). However, they missed the top free agent, and franchise star Bo Bichette, who was an internal free agent, also left for the New York Mets (three years, $126 million), leaving the offseason looking like a disappointing conclusion.
Toronto Sun reported, "Had they also signed Tucker, they could have completed the greatest retooling in club history and stood tall as the dominant force in the American League," adding, "They missed Tucker, but the roster was strengthened."
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