Could the New York Yankees add both a Cy Young award winner and an All-Star bat this winter?
The New York Yankees will almost surely be making some changes this winter, but the extent of those alterations remains to be seen.
The Yankees' top priority appears to be re-signing Cody Bellinger, but if that fails, they could turn to Kyle Tucker who, while universally regarded as the better player, is less versatile, would cost draft capital and would drain New York of international bonus pool money.
So you can see why the Yanks prefer the more familiar Bellinger, even if Tucker may actually be the superior talent.
The Yankees are evidently viewing Tucker as a backup plan in the even that Bellinger — who has aw wide array of potential suitors — signs elsewhere, and former MLB general manager Jim Bowden actually feels that New York can land Tucker while also completing a trade for Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara.
How? Because the hypothetical signing of Tucker would give the Yanks flexibility to trade top outfield prospect Spencer Jones, whose inclusion in a possible trade package could convince the Marlins to part with their former Cy Young award winner.
"I think if the Yankees decided that they would give up Spencer Jones ... they could sign Kyle Tucker in free agency and then trade Spencer Jones for Alcantara," Bowden said on MLB Network Radio.
Alcantara's surface-level numbers from 2025 don't look all that great, as he posted a 5.36 ERA. However, he missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery and was clearly still gathering his bearings during the first half of this past season.
Over his final 13 starts, Alcantara went 7-3 with a 3.33 ERA, managing a 1.040 WHIP over 83.2 innings of work. He also went six or more innings 11 times during that stretch and completed seven frames on seven occasions.
Back in 2022, the 30-year-old logged a 2.28 ERA and 0.980 WHIP en route to a unanimous NL Cy Young award. When healthy, he has proven to be one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and he would fit very well into a Yankees starting rotation that is already incredibly solid as it is.
Plus, in Bowden's scenario, New York would be adding Tucker, a four-time All-Star who owns a career .865 OPS and would be a phenomenal addition to a Yankees lineup that could use another big bat.
New York has been very hesitant to include Jones in any trade packages in the past, but if the Yanks sign Tucker, they may finally have a reason to part with the 24-year-old, especially with Jasson Dominguez also on the roster.