Cubs Star Might Not Fit Yankees

The one person who may disagree with this sentiment is Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman was on MLB Network talking about the various fits for Tucker, and he ruled out both the Mets and Yankees.

For all the reasons why Tucker should hit behind Judge, Heyman cites the superstar as a reason why they shouldn't get him.

"You hear speculation about the New York teams. I don't see that. You know, the New York teams have pretty good right fielders. They have Juan Soto and Aaron Judge," Heyman said of Tucker on the MLB Network. "I'm not seeing that. I don't know. Maybe somebody knows something I don't know."

It's hard to say what the New York Mets need, but behind Soto, there is Francisco Lindor. They will also most likely go out and get either Cody Bellinger or re-sign Pete Alonso. Not to mention Brandon Nimmo, who had a down year with a 114 wRC+, is not so shabby. The Yankees don't have experienced vets they can plug in and know they will produce.

Giancarlo Stanton hasn't played in more than 130 games since 2021, and Ben Rice had a great year, but he doesn't yet have the track record of a Lindor or Nimmo. Rice absolutely can, and the offensive metrics suggest a player on the rise, but young players have historically proven to be volatile in baseball. Those Mets can speak for that with Mark Vientos, who looked like a world beater in 2024 between the regular season and postseason. He struggled in 2025.

Signing Tucker takes a load off of Rice and doesn't force them to rely on Stanton so much. If they avoid Tucker, the middle of that lineup could end up being Judge, Rice, Stanton, and the aforementioned Bellinger. On paper, it appears to be great, but there are some red flags. What if Rice struggles? What if Stanton's regularly scheduled IL stint ends up being longer than usual? What if Bellinger, who was good last year but is notoriously inconsistent, has himself a down year?

For all the reasons to suggest Rice will have a big year, with elite peripheral numbers in xw0BA, xBA, xSLG, exit velocity, barrel rate, hard hit rate, and launch angle sweet-spot rate all in the 90th percentile and above, Bellinger's peripherals tell a different story. He is either at or well below the 50th percentile mark in baseball in all those areas outside of launch angle sweet-spot, and there he is in the 76th percentile.

What's to say the year before heading into free agency was fluky, and Bellinger becomes the guy from 2024, where he had a 108 wRC+ in 2024, or worse, the 83 wRC+ player from 2022 who was eventually cut from the Dodgers. Is it worth taking that risk on Bellinger, all because Tucker will command a higher price tag?

The excuse will be the defensive fit, but Bellinger will cost significantly less, and this era of the Yankees under Steinbrenner is always prioritizing price over everything else. If the roles were reversed and Tucker were the less pricey option, you can bet anything that he would be the big offseason link.

For once, the Yankees should take the risk. How many more big-name bats will they pass up on in Judge's window? Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, and Soto all had the pedigree to hit behind Judge, being the proper sidekick to one of the great Yankees. In each instance, the price was too high for their blood, and they sometimes used the excuse of defense, like with Harper.

They shouldn't do that with Tucker. They probably will, though.

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!

• Yankees Aaron Judge's Greatness Has Reached Historic Status
• Yankees' Aaron Judge Wins AL MVP Award
• Jeff Passan Reveals Best Offseason Move for Yankees
• Yankees Predicted to Land Padres All-Star
• Yankees Rising Prospect Could Be Trade Bait