Bo Bichette vs. Kyle Tucker: Which Free Agent Best Fits in Boston?

[Alex Mayes]

Alex Bregman is no longer a member of the Boston Red Sox. While there's a lot to discuss in terms of the impact of him signing with the Chicago Cubs, there’s still reason for optimism as we inch our way toward the start of spring training. Bregman leaving this organization isn’t the end of the world, even though some fans and analysts would have you believe it is. Bregman turns 32 during the 2026 season and has been a steady (if not declining) offensive player over the last few years. His quad injury in 2025, an injury he also sustained earlier in his career, doesn’t paint the picture of health that a team looking to invest long-term in a player is likely looking for. Especially a team who has the most recent medicals on that individual. Maybe I’m grasping at straws here, but I don’t like this deal for the Cubs and I’m glad the Red Sox didn’t go to that number to retain Bregman’s services for the next five years.

None of that is the reason for optimism though. That comes in the form of the free agents still available. Both Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette remain in the pool as of this writing. Section 10 Podcast’s Coley Mick posted this interesting bit of information the morning after Bregman’s signing was announced:

Well, that’s certainly something. Like Coley, I’m not expecting Tucker to the Red Sox to be announced any time soon, or at all really. There’s been nothing connecting Tucker to Boston all that tangibly, so it would be incredibly shocking to have him land with the Red Sox, especially after Craig Breslow made comments at Fenway Fest indicating a trade of an outfielder wasn’t incredibly likely. Just in case though, let’s take a look at both Bichette and Tucker to see what impacts they could offer to the Red Sox in 2026 and beyond.

First, Tucker is a year older, 28, than Bichette, 27. Both are looking for long-term contracts that will keep them in whatever city they sign with for the bulk of their career. You’d have to imagine that both will likely also look for an opt-out or two with a limited or no-trade clause built into this deal. Positionally, they couldn’t be more different. Bichette is a shortstop who is open to moving to second base as quickly as this season, whereas Tucker is an outfielder who could slot in either corner outfield spots with ease in Boston, although he played right field exclusively for the Cubs last season. Both would provide stability at their respective positions, but Bichette’s skill set is much more needed in Boston than Tucker’s, even though the latter is a far superior defender. Following Bregman’s exit, there are now two open holes in the infield for Boston: second and third base. Marcelo Mayer will take one of them over, without a doubt, but that still leaves an opening. Signing Bichette to play second and shifting Mayer to third makes a lot of sense for the organization. 

Offensively, both players offer upgrades. They both played roughly the same amount of games in '25, 136 for Bichette and 139 for Tucker. Tucker slashed .266/.377/.464 with a 136 wRC+ and a 4.5 fWAR. Bichette slashed .311/.357/.483 with a 134 wRC+ and a 3.8 fWAR. Both of these free agents would provide positive offensive impacts for the Red Sox. Bichette comes with the pedigree of leading the league in hits twice in his career, but Tucker offers more power. The Red Sox are surely counting on another productive season from the likes of Trevor Story while hoping that Roman Anthony becomes the superstar he is destined to be. They'll also crossing their fingers that Carlos Narvaez, Ceddanne Rafaela, Willson Contreras, and eventually Triston Casas all have impactful seasons. Adding either Bichette or Tucker to that lineup makes them even deeper and gives the team a legitimate threat to get on base every time they are at the plate. Notably, Boston is left-handed heavy (Anthony, Casas, Mayer, Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida), which could give an edge to Bichette.

ESPN’s Kylie McDaniel has drastically different contract projections for Bichette and Tucker. His most recent projections, where he absolutely nailed the Bregman contract, has Tucker receiving a contract of $418 million over 11 years, with potential deferrals. After the Bregman signing, I still think this number could be in play for Tucker. I really don’t see the Red Sox doing anything like this, but the closer we get to spring training without Tucker signing could mean he’s willing to take a short-term, high AAV pillow deal to reenter free agency in the next few seasons (á la what Bregman did last year). For Bichette, McDaniel projects $150 million over five years. To be frank, there’s no way this is the number anymore. Bichette should push well past the $200 million mark now that Bregman has signed for $175 million. The best hope that the Red Sox have for Bichette is that their deferral plan pays more up front than on the back end, thus making it more enticing for the player. A $200+ million dollar player in Boston shouldn’t be a rarity, but Breslow has yet to prove he can get a long-term deal done for a marquee free agent. Both Bichette and Tucker check those boxes, so we’re now just waiting to see if the Red Sox are actual players in the deep end of the pool.

I’ve been pretty vocal here on Talk Sox for the Red Sox to pivot away from Bregman and sign Bichette for a while. Now, Bregman is forcing them to do that by signing with the Cubs. I would love to see someone of Kyle Tucker’s caliber in Boston but there’s already a big enough logjam in the outfield as we speak, so bringing him in on a long-term deal would be tricky in multiple ways. But in either case, the Red Sox now have to dive in with both feet to prove to the fan base that they actually want to compete in a loaded American League East, lest they will just tread water and waste the peak years of youngsters Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony. Let's hope that's an unacceptable outcome for the front office.

View full article