Around Baseball 2026

[GoBlue41]

4 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Tucker to the Dodgers , huh

I hate those bastards!

[Hipfan]

13 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Tucker to the Dodgers , huh

4 years @ 240. Crazy!!!

[Waylanderz]

Wow, Dodgers are killing baseballs again.

[philly30]

I am ready to quit baseball, this is disgusting

[Nexii]

240/4 is literally bonkers.

[Gen.Disarray]

I can only laugh. Like cmon...

[John_Havok]

Hahahahshahs thats utterly ridiculous 

4/260... 30 million deferred...opt out after 2028. 

 

[GoBlue41]

For the Dodgers, it's like going into the trophy shop and buying the biggest trophy that they have and then showing it off as if you actually accomplished something and should be admired. 

[Pendleton]

Tucker - 57.1M per season (when factoring in deferrals)

 

Marlins projected team payroll - $69M

 

Dude almost makes as much as an entire team 

[Sorrow]

The difference in payroll between the first place Dodgers at 413 or 434 million and the second place Mets at 293 is the same gap between the Mets and 12th place Angels.

 

I don’t see anyway there isn’t probably 15-18 owners demanding a hard cap on the next CBA. I honestly would not be surprised if 2027 is a lost season.

[Laika]

Bo and Bellinger are salivating but the last thing you want is to see your team panic and overpay one of them 

[Jimcanuck]

Gonna be poetic when Glasnow, Snell, Ohtani are injured and out for season, and Sasaki continues to suck.

[mphenhef]

8 hours ago, Hipfan said:

4 years @ 240. Crazy!!!

Whelp...there goes baseball in 2027 I guess.

[mphenhef]

If Tucker is getting 60 million a year, did the Jays actually get a good deal on Vlad?  I don't think this postseason run would have happened without the extension but say it did, how much would he have commanded?

[mphenhef]

At the Dodgers tax rate, this contract will cost them ~120 million this year.  That's more than the payroll of 11 teams at the moment.

[jaysblue]

10 hours ago, GoBlue41 said:

For the Dodgers, it's like going into the trophy shop and buying the biggest trophy that they have and then showing it off as if you actually accomplished something and should be admired. 

I mean, didn't we all want the Blue Jays to spend huge money this offseason as well?

Let's not pretend the Blue Jays are a small market team. 

[jaysblue]

10 hours ago, philly30 said:

I am ready to quit baseball, this is disgusting

What if the Blue Jays signed Tucker to a 10-year deal as were the rumours of what he was being offered? Would other fans quit baseball as well? 

[jaysblue]

5 hours ago, Jimcanuck said:

Gonna be poetic when Glasnow, Snell, Ohtani are injured and out for season, and Sasaki continues to suck.

They don't need Glasnow, Snell or Ohtani to pitch a full season. They just need to get 15-20 season starts from them and then all hands on deck in the Postseason. Like pretty much what they did last season. 

[jaysblue]

5 hours ago, Laika said:

Bo and Bellinger are salivating but the last thing you want is to see your team panic and overpay one of them 

Both would be icing on the cake, but one is definitely needed. 

Need to replace Bo's 4 WAR somehow on the positional player front. Whether that's bringing Bo back or signing Bellinger, or trading for Marte. 

[L54]

9 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

What if the Blue Jays signed Tucker to a 10-year deal as were the rumours of what he was being offered? Would other fans quit baseball as well? 

You’re missing the forrest through the trees 

The argument that any other team can or will or should act like the Dodgers is pure lunacy. There are maybe two other teams who in theory could operate the same way. That leaves 27 other teams competing with one hand tied behind their back 

[jaysblue]

17 minutes ago, L54 said:

You’re missing the forrest through the trees 

The argument that any other team can or will or should act like the Dodgers is pure lunacy. There are maybe two other teams who in theory could operate the same way. That leaves 27 other teams competing with one hand tied behind their back 

At the start of the offseason after the Cease signing, a lot of posters on here were salivating that the Blue Jays could sign both Bo and Kyle Tucker possibly, including myself. If the Jays did, nobody on here would be complaining. That would have likely brought the Jays payroll to around $370-$380M for 2026 also, which would be second in all of baseball and not too far behind the Dodgers. 

Sure, the Yankees, Mets, and possibly the Red Sox, Jays and Phillies could operate that same way if they wanted to. They might not go to the extremes of the Dodgers, will agree. 

[Stangstag]

10 hours ago, Sorrow said:

The difference in payroll between the first place Dodgers at 413 or 434 million and the second place Mets at 293 is the same gap between the Mets and 12th place Angels.

 

I don’t see anyway there isn’t probably 15-18 owners demanding a hard cap on the next CBA. I honestly would not be surprised if 2027 is a lost season.

But i was told the Dodgers are good for baseball!!!

[Brownie19]

This is why we jumped at the opportunity to sign Okamoto.  

I wonder if these short term, high AAV contracts will become the new norm.  Personally,  I'd rather pay Tucker 4 years @ $60M AAV than pay him 10 years @ $35M.

I'd rather not pay him the extra 6 years at @ $18.3M for his age 33-38 seasons.

Give me Bo for 5 years @ $45M AAV and let someone else deal with the declining phase of his career.

[jaysblue]

8 minutes ago, Stangstag said:

But i was told the Dodgers are good for baseball!!!

Outside of North America, the Dodgers are great for baseball. 

[Laika]

The weird thing about this, and why it sits so poorly with MLB fans other than Dodgers fans, is that Kyle Tucker is NOT A SUPERSTAR. 

Why should a 4 win player with below average bat speed and average corner OF defense be setting AAV records? 

If someone like Soto or Ohtani took a bonkers AAV on a short term deal, sure fine, but this is just WEIRD. 

Much easier to wrap your head around a 10 year deal for a normal AAV like $35M, since he is young and should be solid for a while. But this contract is WEIRD. 

[Laika]

27 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

Both would be icing on the cake, but one is definitely needed. 

Need to replace Bo's 4 WAR somehow on the positional player front. Whether that's bringing Bo back or signing Bellinger, or trading for Marte. 

Would not say needed. Here are the team fWAR projections:

The Jays are already slight favourites in the AL. It would be nice to add 1 or 2 WAR there and become the favourites by a bit more, but I am not sure they need to be desperate to add those wins. The team is already solid and the depth chart is solid. 

Dodgers	32.6	21.9	54.4
Blue Jays	28.1	18.6	46.7
Braves	28.1	18.1	46.1
Yankees	29.8	16.3	46.1
Mariners	27.9	17.1	45.0
Red Sox	21.8	22.4	44.2
Mets	28.6	14.8	43.4
Orioles	29.1	14.0	43.1
Phillies	22.9	20.2	43.0
Astros	27.4	14.9	42.3
Cubs	27.4	13.9	41.3
Padres	26.4	14.6	41.0
Royals	24.0	16.8	40.9
Tigers	21.6	19.1	40.7
Brewers	23.7	16.7	40.4
Rangers	24.4	14.7	39.1
Twins	22.8	16.0	38.8
Diamondbacks	26.3	11.8	38.2
Rays	21.4	15.6	37.0
Athletics	24.9	10.7	35.6
Reds	19.4	15.9	35.4
Giants	23.6	11.3	34.9
Pirates	17.9	16.7	34.6
Guardians	22.3	12.0	34.3
Cardinals	23.8	9.4	33.2
Marlins	17.8	14.6	32.3
Angels	17.7	13.3	31.0
Nationals	17.8	11.5	29.2
White Sox	18.6	10.0	28.6
Rockies	12.3	7.1	19.4

 

 

[glory]

10 minutes ago, Laika said:

The weird thing about this, and why it sits so poorly with MLB fans other than Dodgers fans, is that Kyle Tucker is NOT A SUPERSTAR. 

Why should a 4 win player with below average bat speed and average corner OF defense be setting AAV records? 

If someone like Soto or Ohtani took a bonkers AAV on a short term deal, sure fine, but this is just WEIRD. 

Much easier to wrap your head around a 10 year deal for a normal AAV like $35M, since he is young and should be solid for a while. But this contract is WEIRD. 

Does Tucker have one elite skill? Like he has good power, not great. Defense used to be good, now it’s declined (possibly due to injury). Good baserunner but not fast. Good exit velocity, not great. He’s like a really good “jack of all trades, master of none” player that is now one of the highest paid players in league history. It’s actually baffling. I don’t want to undersell him, a 4-5 WAR player is really good, but he’s still a corner OF at age 29. 

This feels like someone with Steve Cohen’s wealth going to an auction and outbidding everyone by overpaying for a car he doesn’t need. It just feels off.

[jaysblue]

3 minutes ago, Laika said:

Would not say needed. Here are the team fWAR projections:

The Jays are already slight favourites in the AL. It would be nice to add 1 or 2 WAR there and become the favourites by a bit more, but I am not sure they need to be desperate to add those wins. The team is already solid and the depth chart is solid. 

Dodgers	32.6	21.9	54.4
Blue Jays	28.1	18.6	46.7
Braves	28.1	18.1	46.1
Yankees	29.8	16.3	46.1
Mariners	27.9	17.1	45.0
Red Sox	21.8	22.4	44.2
Mets	28.6	14.8	43.4
Orioles	29.1	14.0	43.1
Phillies	22.9	20.2	43.0
Astros	27.4	14.9	42.3
Cubs	27.4	13.9	41.3
Padres	26.4	14.6	41.0
Royals	24.0	16.8	40.9
Tigers	21.6	19.1	40.7
Brewers	23.7	16.7	40.4
Rangers	24.4	14.7	39.1
Twins	22.8	16.0	38.8
Diamondbacks	26.3	11.8	38.2
Rays	21.4	15.6	37.0
Athletics	24.9	10.7	35.6
Reds	19.4	15.9	35.4
Giants	23.6	11.3	34.9
Pirates	17.9	16.7	34.6
Guardians	22.3	12.0	34.3
Cardinals	23.8	9.4	33.2
Marlins	17.8	14.6	32.3
Angels	17.7	13.3	31.0
Nationals	17.8	11.5	29.2
White Sox	18.6	10.0	28.6
Rockies	12.3	7.1	19.4

 

 

It would definitely be nice to see them become clearer favourites 🙂

The Blue Jays have a lot of solid depth, and their position-player core is already strong - I agree there. Offensively, though, it would be ideal to add one more proven bat. Otherwise, the lineup is largely relying on Vladdy to carry the load, along with Springer playing close to a 2025-level version of himself, Barger continuing his upward trajectory, and contributions from players who broke out in their late 20s but aren’t traditionally known for their offense (Lukes, Clement, Giménez).

[Jays24]

Ya getting Bo is important.  We need top tier offensive talent, which is why many, including the Jays themselves wanted Tucker. 

We have elite level depth but sometimes its just about having your best players carry you in moments.  Cant expect only Vladdy and an aging Springer to be those guys.  

[Omar]

If him signing with the Dodgers means the Jays could not sign him to the alleged 10 year deal then no problem. Signing or not signing Tucker wasn't going to determine the trajectory of this team. Sure he would have been great but I wonder how Jays fans would have reacted to seeing him jog half heartedly to first on groundouts like he doesn't care much like he did half of last season?