Saturday Bantering: Bo and Tucker’s Unexpected Twist That Will Leave You Speechless

When it comes to big-money contracts in baseball, Kyle Tucker’s recent decision offers plenty to chew on. The Blue Jays dangled a colossal $350 million over 10 years, only for Tucker to ink a shorter, yet eye-popping $240 million, four-year deal with the Dodgers instead. That raises intriguing questions: will he snag a decent six-year, $110 million extension when he hits 33? There’s something to be said for cashing in earlier, especially with tax quirks that most of us can’t decode. The Dodgers’ contract might just be the smarter move, though time—four years of it—will tell. But for now, Tucker’s future looks secure; the man won’t be hunting for work post-baseball anytime soon. Intrigued? Dive deeper here: LEARN MORE.

Jon Heyman tells us that the Jays offer to Kyle Tucker was $350 million for 10 years. He signed a 4-year, $240 million contract with the Dodgers. So I guess the question is will he be able to find a 6-year, $110 million contract at age 33.

I guess it is best to get the money now. And there are likely tax issues that I wouldn’t know about, but I guess the Dodger contact would be the better one. We’ll have to see what happens in four years.

Either way, he won’t have to look for a job after baseball.

Jeff Passan has the information on Tucker’s contract:

Full details on Kyle Tucker’s Dodgers contract, per ESPN sources:

– 4 years, $240 million guaranteed
– Opt-outs after Years 2 and 3
– $64M signing bonus
– $30M deferred
– $57.1M a year in net present value after factoring in deferrals — a record by $6M+

A staggering deal.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 16, 2026

Bo getting the three-year, $126 million contract is interesting, too. I’ve long thought he wouldn’t age well, that his impressive batting ability is mostly reflexes and that players who tend to age well are the ones who control the strike zone better. I didn’t expect anyone to offer him $40+ a season. It will take him to his age 31 season and he’ll likely be able to get a pretty good contract after that.

I’m not sure I think that third base is the right spot for him, but he’ll likely be fine there. I think second or left would have been better fit.

It will be strange seeing Vlad without Bo, we’ve had seven seasons with the pair of them. Between the two, they had a 46.9 bWAR and 294 home runs. They’ve made seven All-Star teams. By bWAR they are the 7th (Vlad) and 13th (Bo) best positions players in team history.

Jesse Barfield and George Bell came up the same season (1981, though Bell was back in the minors for the 1982 season). They played together until Barfield was traded in 1989. Thought the 1988 season Barfield had a 29.3 bWAR, Bell 17.1.

Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green came up about the same time, but we traded Green before he built up a lot of WAR.

I’m sure there are other pairings that came up at the same time for the Jays, I just can’t think of them at the moment.