The Philadelphia Phillies suddenly are cautiously optimistic about their hopes of signing free agent infielder Bo Bichette.
The New York Yankees are growing pessimistic about re-signing free agent outfielder Cody Bellinger.
And the New York Mets are hoping that their stunning short-term, up-front offer can be the ultimate influencer for free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker.
It has taken 10 weeks for the market to develop for the marquee free-agent class, and now with Alex Bregman’s five-year, $175 million contract expected to become official Wednesday with a Thursday morning press conference scheduled in Chicago, the attention turns to the Big 3: Tucker, Bellinger and Bichette.
Tucker, 28, who is also being courted by the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, has been offered a three- or four-year contract by the Mets that will pay him an average of $50 million a season. It would be the third-highest AAV in baseball history behind Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers ($70 million AAV) and Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets ($51 million AAV). The Blue Jays have discussed a long-term contract with Tucker that pays him less money per season, while the Dodgers also are lurking with a huge short-term deal.
Bellinger, 30, and the Yankees have been negotiating all winter, with the Yankees calling him a priority, but their talks have hit a stalemate. The Yankees have offered a five-year deal worth $155 million to $160 million, according to two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations, with no deferrals and potential opt-outs. Bellinger, however, is seeking a seven-year contract.
The Yankees’ argument is that no position player this winter has received longer than a five-year contract, and their offer to Bellinger would make him the fourth-highest paid outfielder in baseball. Bellinger argues that since he’s younger than Kyle Schwarber (33 in March), Bregman (32 in March) and Pete Alonso (31), who received five-year deals this winter, he should receive a longer deal.
While the Yankees and Bellinger are at a stalemate, with the Yankees starting to question how badly he wants to return to New York, Bellinger could be the ideal back-up plan for the teams that don’t land Tucker. The Blue Jays, Mets and Dodgers have all expressed varying degrees of interest in Bellinger.
Bichette, 27, and the Phillies, meanwhile, had their first meeting Monday in a zoom call with both sides expressing strong interest in the other. The two sides came away from the meeting believing that there was genuine interest in one another.
The Red Sox, who believed their five-year, $165 million offer would lure Bregman back to Boston, now are expected to aggressively pursue Bichette. The Blue Jays remain in the hunt, and the Dodgers continue to hang around.
We’ll see how it plays out, but after 10 weeks of a deep free-agent freeze, suddenly, we’re starting to see a little thawing in the marketplace.
Who gets burned before breaking out that sunscreen in spring training?
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