Phillies reportedly 'overwhelming' favorites to outbid Blue Jays for $200M, 2-time AL hits leader

The Los Angeles Dodgers are once again the villains of the offseason after somehow getting Kyle Tucker to agree to a deal to play in LA. The Dodgers are now huge favorites to win the World Series for three consecutive seasons. For Tucker, he secures a deal that allows him to opt out after the second season.

“Kyle Tucker, the consensus best player available in free agency, agreed to join the Dodgers on Thursday, sources told ESPN, a little more than a month after star closer Edwin Diaz did the same. Tucker's deal is for four years at $240 million and includes opt-outs after the second and third seasons, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers,” ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez wrote.

While this is bad news for the rest of the league, it opens the door for the Philadelphia Phillies to make a strong push for Bo Bichette. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, they are now the favorites.

“The Phillies are the overwhelming favorites to sign infielder Bo Bichette,” Nightengale posted.

Philadelphia wasn’t considered a strong candidate for Bichette until last week, when it was announced that he would have a meeting with the team.

“Bichette/Phillies meeting is said to have gone very well fwiw. Bichette admires ‘first class’ organization. Other pluses: roster, park, Mattinglys link, spring proximity to home. Would Phils need to deal Bohm, do lesser C than JT? Other Bo suitors: Jays, Red Sox, NYY, LAD, more,” MLB insider Jon Heyman posted.

Now, with Tucker heading to LA, the only team that seemingly stands in the Phillies’ way is the Toronto Blue Jays. However, there is growing belief that the Blue Jays hurt their chances at a reunion when they signed Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto.

While the Blue Jays are not completely out of the running, the Phillies have done nothing this winter to harm their relationship with Bichette. Philadelphia appears to be very close to getting a deal done.

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