Want a potent, left-handed hitter with postseason experience who’s also great with the glove? If so, then you’re in luck, because outfielder Kyle Tucker is a free agent.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old Tucker is among the best all-around players in the sport. He has a long, powerful swing from the left side, seldom strikes out and is a terrific right fielder.
After acquiring him from the Houston Astros last fall, one figures that the Chicago Cubs will try to keep Tucker in the Windy City. At the same time, Tucker will likely have a dozen, if not more, teams trying to lock him down on a long-term deal. Here are three best fits for Tucker should he depart Chicago.
Kyle Tucker posted 4.6 wins above replacement in 136 games last season, (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)
Cleveland needs power wherever it can get it, and Tucker would be a substantial pickup for its sake.
At the moment, the Guardians’ outfield rotation is choppy. Steven Kwan is a steady, Gold Glover in left field, but Lane Thomas is a free agent; Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry are coming off injury-plagued seasons; Angel Martinez has had his moments but still hit just .224 last season. Tucker would provide Cleveland with its new everyday right fielder, likely moving former first-rounder Chase DeLauter to center field when he’s a full-time member of the Guardians’ roster.
With the bat, Tucker would add an elite hitter to an offense that was last in MLB in hits (1,199), 29th in on-base percentage (.296), tied for 28th in slugging percentage (.373) and 28th outright in runs (643) last season. Moreover, Tucker would give manager Stephen Vogt somebody who can do major damage in his lineup outside of Jose Ramirez. Tucker’s a proven, well-rounded hitter with reputable plate discipline who’s battle-tested in postseason play. He’s precisely what Cleveland needs.
The hindrance in Cleveland’s way of potentially signing Tucker? The Guardians, who have been in the bottom-third of MLB in payroll in each of the last five years, have never dished out a nine-figure contract that begins with the No. 2, with a five-year, $124 million extension given to the previously mentioned Ramirez in 2022 being the largest total contract in franchise history.
Kyle Tucker won a Gold Glove in 2022. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
A team that’s been more than willing to throw nine-figure contracts at players? The Rangers – e.g. Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom and Marcus Semien – who would benefit greatly from Tucker’s theoretical arrival.
The Rangers’ offense needs help across the board, as they were 26th in slugging percentage (.381), 24th in hits (1,275) and 22nd in runs (684) last season. Left fielder Wyatt Langford is coming into his own, but Adolis Garcia‘s offensive production has dipped over the past two years, and Texas received scattered production from its outfield rotation in 2025.
Tucker would provide an element of stability and arguably give new manager Skip Schumaker his new best all-around player. deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter, among others, headlined a Texas starting rotation that posted the best ERA in baseball last season (3.41). With a mere mid-level offensive attack, the Rangers can contend with the Seattle Mariners and Astros for the American League West.
Now, Tucker’s arrival would likely mean that Garcia would have to move from right field to center field, but the latter has 130 MLB starts at the position under his belt and the opportunity to add a proven hitter of Tucker’s caliber is difficult for Texas to pass up on.
Tucker could lift Texas back into playoff contention. There’s just a team that’s more desperate than the Rangers.
Kyle Tucker has been an All-Star in each of the past four seasons. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
On June 15, the Giants acquired star third baseman Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox. Six weeks later, they were sellers at the MLB trade deadline. In other words, San Francisco has flip-flopped on a dime of late, but it has shown more willingness to operate as a contender than a rebuilding team, also exemplified by giving Willy Adames a $182 million contract last offseason. Tucker should be the next major addition to the Giants’ depth chart.
Outside of Heliot Ramos, who has become one of the faces of San Francisco’s operation, the Giants’ outfield is severely lacking in production. Tucker would take over in right field, with Ramos in left, Jung Hoo Lee in center and Drew Gilbert, a 2022 first-round pick who was acquired as part of San Francisco’s return from the New York Mets for reliever Tyler Rogers, as the team’s fourth outfielder.
Throw Tucker in a lineup that includes Devers, Adames and Matt Chapman and the Giants have something cooking in the batter’s box. They’ve already gone down the rabbit hole of making substantial investments in the aforementioned hitters; they might as well keep going.
On that note, the Giants’ division, the NL West, includes the back-to-back World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers, a perennial playoff contender in the San Diego Padres and the competitive Arizona Diamondbacks; San Francisco is closer in talent to those teams than the Colorado Rockies, who won just 43 games in 2025, and adding Tucker would make it reasonable to place playoff expectations on the Giants in 2026.
The Giants need the star bat, and Tucker presumably wants the bag. This is a match.
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