Smash or Pass: Kyle Tucker

Welcome back to the 2025-26 edition of Smash or Pass, in which we examine potential free agent and trade targets to determine whether the Red Sox should pursue them and what it would take to land them. Today we look at the single biggest name on the market.

Kyle Tucker is a good player who might be a great player at times and who needs a good nickname. Baseball Reference lists him as King Tuck, leaning into the King Tut aspect but I don’t like it. One, Tut died tragically young. Two, Friar Tuck is right there! He hung out with Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor (unlike Friar Lawrence who helped kill Romeo and Juliet and ruins the good names of friars everywhere). There’s more to say in this regard about John Henry, but this isn’t the place.

Who is he and where does he come from?

Kyle Tucker was selected fifth overall by the Houston Astros in 2015. He got a taste of the majors in 50 games across 2018 and 2019 before playing a ”full season” of 58 games in 2020. But that was his real welcome to the major leagues. From the start of 2020 onward he would slash .276/.362/.513 while averaging 24 home runs and 19 steal per season. After the 2024 season the Astros decided to trade him to the Chicago Cubs for a package centered around Isaac Paredes. Peredes himself had only joined Chicago from the Tampa Bay Rays earlier that season but, always on the hunt for new talent, GM Jed Hoyer flipped him away. For reasons unknown (and NOT because of Scott Boras, as Tucker’s represented by CAA Sports agency) the Cubs didn’t make a trade with a strong contact extension in hand. Tucker turns 29 in January so 2026 will be his age 29 season, on the younger side when looking at Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber. Even at 9 years he’d be about the same age as Schwarber at the end of his deal in Philadelphia.

Is he any good?

This is another “of course” player. Tucker is rated as the best free agent this year by both MLB Trade Rumors and FanGraphs. He’s good, but his flaw is injury issues that have popped up in the last two seasons. At 78 games in 2024 and 136 in 2025, Tucker really seemed to want to hit free agency strong but it didn’t quite happen.

TLDR; just give me his 2025 stats

Tucker hit .266/.377/.464 in his first (only?) season with the Cubs while chipping in 22 home runs and 25 steals along with 25 doubles and 4 triples. That works out to be his second-worst batting average in a full season, second best OBP, and worst slugging percentage. This mostly breaks down into first-half/second half splits .882 OPS vs .738 OPS. He was bad in July and August and went on the IL after just two games in September (and would return for 9/26-28). But was he hurt after the All-Star Break? Banged up and didn’t want to miss time heading into free agency? The months are all in the books now but on the final day of June he was slashing .291/.395/.537.

Why would he be a good fit on the Red Sox?

Tucker is a veteran at 29 looking for a deal about a decade long for somewhere near $400 million. That’s not Soto and Ohtani level, but it’s more than Devers was making, which was a contract the Sox were happy to rid themselves of. But Tucker is also a more well rounded a player than Devers, so it’s a bit of a wash from that perspective. He’d be the organization’s superstar contract, even if there’s a reasonable chance he wouldn’t be the best player on the Red Sox for the length of it

Why wouldn’t he be a good fit on the Red Sox?

That contract will be eating at John Henry the moment the ink dries. Manny, Adrian Gonzalez (I know it was an extension) Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, David Price, Chris Sale. Long-term deals don’t seem to be long-term in Boston. But you never know. Tucker might be the next Big Papi and no one can remember a time he wasn’t around.

He’s also an outfielder. And hits from the left side. That’s not a reason not to sign him, but it does create real urgency to move Duran or Abreu or both. With Craig Breslow mentioning that teams don’t want to trade good players, that might create a lot of work. How much better are the Sox with Tucker but minus Duran and Abreu if they are more-or-less forced to take less or receive players that need to be traded themselves to fill needs? Also he costs a draft pick. Honestly none of these reasons should eliminate him as a strong addition to the team. Tucker might cost about the same as Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval every year for a decade. They can find other reclamation projects that are cheaper. That’s even more rewarding isn’t it?

Show me a cool highlight.

Smash or pass?

Smash! I don’t care that he has nowhere to play, that it’s a huge contract, or that he’ll probably be terrible for three years and miss another year on the IL. Actually, those are good reasons to pass. But if you have about a decade of Kyle Tucker and a decade of Roman Anthony plus Ceddanne “Nuf Cedd” Rafaela, then that’s your outfield. It’s not quite Mookie-JBJ-Benintendi for a decade — partly because we don’t yet know if Anthony is a Hall of Famer — but that’s one-third if your lineup taken care of for a long time. The cost is steep. But ideally you’ve moved Jarren Duran and maybe even Wilyer Abreu for young infield help or pitching. And there you have it. The vault of King Tuck. (I still prefer Friar)