Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Tucker Chances May Have New Life

Heading into the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies were floated as one of the top potential landing spots for Kyle Tucker in free agency, but it seems like the Phillies have not even been involved on the four-time All-Star.

Tucker was said to be seeking a $400 million contract going into the winter, and with Philadelphia having re-signed Kyle Schwarber for $150 million over five years, adding the star outfielder just didn't seem all that financially feasible.

Especially not after the Phillies were hammered with a $56 million luxury tax bill.

But is there a chance that Philadelphia could still sign Tucker after all?

The new buzz surrounding Tucker is that he may have to settle for a short-term deal and then re-test the open market in a year or two.

It's becoming increasingly obvious that teams around baseball do not exactly value Tucker in the way he anticipated, and the looming labor stoppage next winter could also be playing a factor in the reluctance surrounding him.

So let's say Tucker is forced to take a one or two-year deal somewhere. Could the Phillies enter the fray and potentially steal the 29-year-old?

It's not completely out of the realm of possibility.

Philadelphia could seek to give Tucker $45-50 million annually over the course of one or two seasons, which could be enticing for him.

Yes, the Phillies have already signed Adolis Garcia to man right field, but they could always just move Garcia over to left, stick Tucker in right and then place Brandon Marsh in center field. It would delay Justin Crawford's big-league debut, but this is Kyle Tucker we're talking about.

Philadelphia definitely needs some more offensive pop, and it has yet to add any. There has been speculation that the Phillies could pursue Bo Bichette, but I'm just not sure how plausible that would be given his defensive deficiencies.

Alex Bregman is also an option, but he seems more likely to re-sign with the Boston Red Sox on a rather lucrative long-term deal.

So back to Tucker. Would the Phillies be all that opposed to paying him to be a mercenary? Adding Tucker into a lineup that already includes Schwarber and Bryce Harper would be scary, and it could potentially give Philadelphia what it needs to make a World Series run.

Because right now, the Phillies are essentially running it back after getting bounced from the NLDS in back-to-back campaigns. Garcia is not significant enough of an addition to move the needle.

Signing Tucker, however, would drastically change things for Philadelphia.

Is it probable? Not given the Phillies' seemingly firm stance on their payroll, but Tucker definitely appears to be more realistic now than he was a month ago.