Does Kyle Tucker love baseball? Ranking the Yankees excuses for passing on a star

This year's MLB offseason might not feature a Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto type of free agent, but Kyle Tucker, the crown jewel of the class, is undoubtedly a superstar. He's recorded at least 4.2 fWAR in each of the last five seasons, and his 143 wRC+ since the start of 2021 is tied with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for ninth highest among qualified position players. He's one of the best hitters in the game, full stop, and at just 28 years of age he should have several more elite seasons in him.

Despite this, the New York Yankees, a team that could really use another big bat who happens to play the outfield, appear to inexplicably be all but out of the running. Sure, I can understand not getting him if his price is just outrageous, but beyond that, why aren't the Yankees more involved here? While some of you may assume it has something to do with Hal Steinbrenner's complacency or Brian Cashman's unwillingness to cede control, the Yankees and assorted New York media are here to set the record straight.

4. Kyle Tucker doesn't love the game

The craziest thing about this excuse is that it isn't even hypothetical. Joel Sherman of the New York Post is actually questioning whether Tucker "burns to play," and whether "the motor" and "the desire" are where they should be.

We're talking about the same Kyle Tucker who is better than Cody Bellinger at the game he supposedly doesn't love. We're talking about the same Kyle Tucker who played through a right-hand fracture in his contract year for a month, trying to will the Chicago Cubs to the playoffs.

I'd love to know what's causing these questions. Is it because Tucker is more stoic than other stars? It's not as if Bellinger is the fieriest guy when he's on the field; heck, even Aaron Judge rarely shows much emotion whether things are going well or poorly. Just because Tucker is even-keeled, that means he doesn't love the game enough?

It goes without saying that if the Yankees choose not to sign Tucker because they question his love for the game, the same game he's played through injury for and striven to become one of the best in the world at, that's the worst possible excuse they can come up with.

3. Kyle Tucker is not cut out to play on the biggest stage

There are some who might question whether Tucker has what it takes to play in a big market like New York, nevermind for the Yankees. Those who'd wonder this would conceivably point to his second-half struggles in 2025 (.738 OPS) and his career-long postseason struggles (.692 postseason OPS) as reasons why he might not be the best fit to play in pressure-packed games in pinstripes.

Sure, Tucker didn't perform well in the second half when the pressure was on the Cubs, but again, he played a month with a hand fracture and then missed time with another injury. Tucker was never close to fully healthy, and that undoubtedly impacted his play. As for his postseason numbers, sure, he's never been great in October, but can we talk about Cody Bellinger's postseason resume?

Bellinger has a .660 postseason OPS in his career, and had a .651 OPS in this past year's postseason with the Yankees. Is that going to stop the team from signing him? Judge hadn't performed like Aaron Judge in October until this past postseason, yet that didn't stop the Yankees from paying him $360 million.

I'm not saying Tucker is Judge, but his postseason numbers do not mean he's a bad fit in a big market and will always flounder under pressure. As we've seen with Judge, all it takes is one hot stretch to change the narrative. The Yankees should want that great October performance to come in pinstripes.

2. Kyle Tucker will cost too much money

Now we're starting to reach somewhat acceptable excuses for passing on Kyle Tucker. It's entirely possible that the Yankees will decide that he's out of their price range. To be clear, this would not be an acceptable excuse, as these are the literal New York Yankees we're talking about here, but there would be a point where a Tucker deal gets truly insane.

Now, I'd definitely be comfortable giving Tucker, a soon-to-be 29-year-old superstar, a $300 million deal that covers the next decade, and can probably be talked into giving him $400 million. Going beyond that, though, would be a harder sell.

As great a player as Tucker is, his defense isn't what it once was, and he's never finished a full season with more than 4.9 fWAR. There is a point where Tucker can be asking for too much. However, it's unlikely that we'll actually get to that point, so this still isn't much of a valid excuse at the end of the day.

1. The Yankees are too left-handed to sign Kyle Tucker

The only somewhat sensible baseball argument for not signing Tucker would be that the Yankees would be too left-handed. This is a concern Brian Cashman has raised already this offseason, and it's a valid one. This would presumably be the team's Opening Day lineup with Tucker.

Yankee Stadium might be a great park for lefties, but it'd be ridiculously easy for any team with left-handed options to pitch against the Yankees. Tucker happens to be elite against left-handed pitching, so seeing lefties might not bother him, but the same can't be said for the other lefties in this lineup.

The Yankees should sign Tucker and figure out this issue by trading one or two of their left-handed hitters, but this, at the very least, is a real baseball issue that would negatively impact the team if not addressed, so I can somewhat understand passing on Tucker for this reason.

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