By Jackson RobertsShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSay you're a Major League Baseball team with $450 million lying around. (Must be nice.) Would you rather spend it on Dylan Cease and Bo Bichette, or just on Kyle Tucker?
We can't say with certainty what the two position players in that group will sign for, but based on every projection we've seen so far, it's reasonable to think Tucker will sign for close to $200 million more than Bichette does. And on Wednesday, the Toronto Blue Jays (Bichette's long-time team) reportedly spent $210 million on a seven-year contract for Cease.
Perhaps the Blue Jays truly have an unlimited budget, so the math equation we're lining up here doesn't stand as gospel. But logically, it would make complete sense if signing Cease meant the Blue Jays were more inclined to focus on a deal to keep Bichette than to lure Tucker up north.
...On Wednesday, in the wake of the reports of Cease's deal, MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand backed the notion that Toronto had signaled its preference for Bichette, while noting that any chances of Toronto adding both All-Star position players are likely negligible at this stage.
"Now that the Jays have handed out a $210 million deal to Cease, it seems unlikely that there’s room for both Bichette and Tucker," wrote Feinsand.
"Bichette is probably still the No. 1 priority for Toronto, and given that many in the industry expect Tucker to sign for considerably more than Bichette, it’s possible that Cease’s deal is a sign that Bichette is their preference among the hitters."
The Athletic's Tim Britton projects Tucker for a 12-year, $460 million deal and Bichette for eight years, $212 million. We may not have a concrete answer even after the Blue Jays officially announce the Cease signing, but the decision very well may have already been made to focus their efforts on two big signings, while ruling out one name in particular.
And if the Blue Jays are out early on Tucker, it will be interesting to see whether other teams see an opportunity to pounce or wait for the market to keep shrinking.
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