Kyle Tucker is 100% realistic for the NY Mets if one group did their job in 2025

The New York Mets could find ways to get Kyle Tucker into their lineup. Let’s say he’s feeling extra charitable and money is no concern. He’s coming to the Mets to hit homers, steal runs, and win championships.

The fit would take some maneuvering even without subtraction. Tucker goes to right field. Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo share left field and the DH spot. Bada-bing! The Mets lineup is stacked beyond belief. The true power of having the richest owner in the sport shines.

No one seriously expects them to actually sign Tucker this offseason. However, if we change one important aspect of last year’s team, it becomes a reasonable next step.

If the Mets starting pitchers did their jobs in 2025, Kyle Tucker is a realistic offseason target

The Mets are going to need to spend in some way to improve their rotation. Sean Manaea is a $25 million question mark. Kodai Senga, with a more modest $15 million salary, has some of those same concerns and others flipped upside down. The $17 million that’ll go to waste paying Frankie Montas is a hurdle to jump over. Steve Cohen can feel the hole in his pocket leaking cash.

That’s $47 million on three pitchers the rotation was built around for this coming year. Surely, Manaea and Senga have a chance to prove doubters wrong. If just one of them was coming into this year with more reliability, maybe the Mets would forgo their offseason mission of adding to the rotation with such aggressiveness. After all, they have a complete five.

David Stearns wasn’t throwing out words when he said run prevention was a major part of what he intended to improve in the winter. In a different scenario, Tucker’s more consistent right field defense would fit this model. He’d be the immediate alternative to Pete Alonso, allowing the club to pay someone a whole lot less than what the Polar Bear is asking to play first base for them.

Alas, things didn’t go this way. The starting pitching staff was the bane of our existence in the final months. The bullpen doesn’t get off scot free either. While moves there are inevitable because of the shortness of contracts and lack of consistency relievers tend to bring, they’re not too far off from having a strong enough relief core as long as they bring back Edwin Diaz.

Mets rumors about the possibility of signing Tucker aren’t buried in a coffin. They’re more so lying in a ditch holding their guts. No reasonable person thinks it’ll actually happen. The main reason is it’s not the biggest need for the club. Starting pitching is. Their failures in 2025 made the idea of Tucker completely out of reach.