Boomer & Gio
Full Show - Kyle Tucker Fallout, Head Coach Carousel, Divisional Round Thoughts
16 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What are the implications of Kyle Tucker's contract with the Dodgers?
It's the Boomer and Geo podcast from WFAN. Good Friday morning, a feel-good football Friday. We will make this a feel-good football Friday, even though we got news last night that Mets fans do not like, and that is Kyle Tucker getting this huge deal, $60 million a year from the L.A. Dodgers, who continue to build, continue to take what seems like every single free agent contract.
So now the Mets have lost Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers and they wanted to bring in Kyle Tucker. He goes to the Dodgers and they made a big legitimate offer at $55 million a year. So I don't want to hear anybody complaining that Steve Cohen and David Stearns don't want to spend the money and they're only concerned with the casino. They made an offer to Kyle Tucker that was absurd. And the L.A.
Dodgers made a more absurd offer, and he's out there because they win and the weather's better and they make deferments to make them not pay as many taxes. Boomer's been telling you that for years. Good morning, Boomer. How are you? Flabbergasted, actually. And the reason I am is because this is why Major League Baseball is going to have a lockout. I mean, it's ridiculous.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and complain that the Dodgers are spending money because I wanted my owner to spend money. Exactly. So I'm not going to complain about that. But what I'm trying to get to is I'm trying to get to this is the huge problem in Major League Baseball. There are literally about seven or eight teams that are the haves and the rest are the have-nots.
And the players are happy and giddy. They love this. They're in a good situation. They make a lot of money. The Dodgers are spending money like crazy. They're deferring a ton of this money to stay away from some of those local income taxes. But the...
What's happening here is that if you aren't the owner, and I know you don't like the guy, but I always use that as an example because it's a small market team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, you're sitting there going, we have no shot. Yeah, but hold on, though. Guys like that. I heard Al and Jerry talking about this, like how do the Minnesota Twins survive? How do the Pirates survive? Because the L.A.
Dodgers spent last year CBT tax, competitive balance tax, $169 million. And it's going to be more next year. And it goes to all the other teams. So these owners, they don't have a shot, but they don't care because they're taking that money, putting it in their pocket, and not reinvesting it because there's no salary for it.
But the problem is that Kyle Tucker's not going to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He's not going to play for the Kansas City Royals. He's not going to play for the Cincinnati Reds. he's going to one of the big three, if you will. And the same thing with Cody Bellinger. He's not going to the Reds. He's not going to Tampa Bay. He's just not.
And they're not going to make offers because they know that that's not where they want to go. They want to go where they believe they have a chance to win a championship. And right now, number one, that is the Dodgers. That's obvious to all of us. And this is why there's going to be a lockout. And again, remember, the lockout has nothing to do with the players.
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Chapter 2: What does the Mets' spending strategy reveal about MLB dynamics?
And the other thing the Yankees have, their best player and the best player in baseball, or second best player, depending on how you view Shohei Otani and his contribution to the Dodgers and to Major League Baseball, is Aaron Judge, and he's only making $36 million a year. So it's almost like they have an internal stop. They're not paying Kyle Tucker more money than they're paying Aaron Judge.
It's just not going to happen. Well, the Mets offered, at least for AAV, more for Kyle Tucker than they did for Juan Soto. But the years. The years is different. And the total is different. So Juan Soto is still making three times what Kyle Tucker is making. Sure. But the fact is that they went up to $60 million. And what is it? $200 million deferred? Yeah. Something like that? I mean, it's crazy.
And you take a look at some of these numbers. I mean, it's just... It just blows you away. But I understand why a lockout is looming.
Chapter 3: How is the competitive balance in Major League Baseball affected by team spending?
I totally understand it. And again, it has really nothing to do with the players. I mean, the lockout will just be to force the players to the bargaining table to try to get a new CBA that's going to have to somehow, some way, the players are going to have to agree to some sort of I guess, salary or some sort of thing to balance the league out even more so than what they have now.
And I don't... Look, if I'm the players, I'm not saying anything. My guys are getting paid. Well, yeah, but don't you think, though, that... If they limit teams like the Dodgers, the Mets, and I don't even know if you can put the Yankees in there anymore, but the Dodgers and the Mets, the players are going to balk at that because if there's a salary cap, you can't go over.
Like the competitive balance act is a soft cap, but if it's a salary cap, you can't go over, then Kyle Tucker's not getting that money. If Juan Soto, there's a salary cap, you can't go over, maybe Juan Soto isn't getting that money. So if I'm the players and I'm thinking, you have a hard cap, then these contracts are going to go away. I know, but that's my point.
The players are not going to agree to this. Yeah, but you said they're not really involved. It's not about them. Well, but they have to agree to a new CBA. If the owners want to be able to put something in to control costs somehow and give them cost certainty... The players have to agree to it. I'm just telling you, it's looming now.
I will say that if I were a player and I were making $60 million a year, I would not want to be a part of a lockout. I don't want to lose my salary. I don't want to lose the amount of money that I now have guaranteed. This is a Deshaun Watson contract. It's nuts. Four years, $240 million? Yeah. That is insane. I mean, but good for him. I mean, good for him. But I still say bad for baseball.
And I heard Evan, I think, yesterday talking about, and he made a very good point. He goes, you know, the Dodgers barely won the World Series. You know, Toronto should have probably won the World Series. But my point back to that would be, but the Dodgers were in the World Series. Right, and they also won the previous year. Exactly, and they're probably going to make it again this year.
Yeah, I mean, it's like, I don't, that's a funny argument to me. Like, I'd love to barely win a World Series. Like, what are you talking about? I know, but he was just, all he was saying is that, and by the way, the Blue Jays are a big money, big spending team too. So you had two of your big money spending teams. I mean, give me the year when the Dodgers have to play the Rays.
You know, give me the year when they play the White Sox. Give me the year when they play, I don't know. Yeah, so this is where I look at who really needs to fix baseball. And to me, it's Major League Baseball itself. Because a lot of these owners are okay with making money because of these tax bills. And they're not putting it on the team.
Some of them are pissed off because they can't compete financially. And they want to have players and they want to be able to sign players and trying to build from within is tougher than doing what the Dodgers are doing. But I think a lot of them are okay with just pocketing this money if these teams are going to overspend.
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Chapter 4: What are the potential consequences of a lockout in MLB?
Right, and when you're Skeens, you go to a team that is the worst in baseball, whether it's the Pirates or the Nationals or whomever, the Orioles, and then you're stuck in that place, and you have to go through all these arbitration years and all this stuff, and then you don't hit free agency, and then if you're a pitcher, you get Tommy John, maybe. It sucks for the player.
But the amazing thing for those two players in particular, I mean, they're giving... If you look at what the top pitchers in baseball are making, they're already giving those teams $35 to $40 million appearances. You know what I'm saying? They are the draw. When they're pitching, people want to come and see them. And they are so far out kicking their contracts. Yeah, but Scoble, he is now... 29.
So he just turned 29. So he's going to get traded. He's going to sign a big deal. Or he's going to just go to free agency and then... They have to trade him. They're not trading him in the offseason, so I guess it would have to be at the trade deadline because it seems like there's no noise around him getting traded right now. I know that, but that would be like the Islanders allowing...
John Tavares to leave without getting something in return. You've got to remember, this team was really good last year. It's like allowing Saquon Barkley to walk out of the building and get nothing in return. That was different because the Giants stunk, but the Tigers were good last year. I know, but I'm saying I pointed to them as being they were relevant last year. More than relevant.
At one point, we were looking at them as the best team in baseball because they had the best record. Think about it. If they are winning their division next year at The trade deadline, they're trading them? You can't. You've got to try to go into the playoffs and take it as far as you can. Because what's the most lucrative thing that you can have in sports? Playoff money. Yeah, you have to.
You've got to do it. So that's what's a tough spot. Now, if they're terrible, yeah, you trade them. So his arbitration number for this upcoming year is going to be $22.5 million. Which is a reasonable amount of money for him, but he's thinking he's worth $35-40 million. And he'll get it. Whatever team either trades for him or signs him in the offseason, he's going to get it.
As long as he doesn't get hurt. I didn't want to get my hopes up that Kyle Tucker was coming here. Again, I think they were using the Mets as leverage. That's what I believe, and to get the Dodgers up to the number that they got to.
So the Mets are basically, unless somebody really wants to come here or really wants to be traded here, let's say the Angels call up the Mets and say, Mike Trout's available. Or the Yankees, Mike Trout's available. Could you imagine him running around in a Yankee uniform? For how many games? That's the point.
I mean, I... I'm like, there's not much left on the bone here for either one of these teams to do. It means Cody Bellinger. Or it's a trade that we haven't heard about yet. That's what it comes down to. And Cody Bellinger, his demands have sounded crazy. Now it feels like after this Tucker deal that he's probably going to get closer to it if that's the market.
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Chapter 5: What is the significance of Kyle Tucker's signing with the Dodgers?
And then, you know, you had to blow them up. and identify the receiver he's talking about. No wonder why the guy doesn't want to share his source in his story about the Mets locker room. Yeah, so I've heard that story. He's told it on the air. He's talked about the Johnny Mitchell stuff before.
He's also talked about Johnny Mitchell's family being in the stands and Boomer's family being in the stands. So it was one of these things where this morning, Anthony, thanks for being a fan. I know you're kind of ball-busting and not really serious, but I'm explaining myself. It was one of those things where it was a long time ago now. I feel like he's told the story.
And, by the way, I just ā He's one of my most memorable teammates, by the way. Yeah, in a good way. And I said, well, you know, so when did Johnny Mitchell figure it out? I mean, you could have been like, no, no, no, it wasn't him. And then give him a wink. But, you know, so whatever. It's fine. It's all good. Well, you heard me do his accent, how I heard his voice in my ear at night.
Chapter 6: What are the implications of the MLB offseason for teams like the Mets?
Yep, that's right. When I laid down on the bed.
Eyes open!
Yeah, and by the way, if this were one of those things that I knew had ended horribly, then I wouldn't have brought it up. But the fact that boomers talked about how it ended good and they were on good terms and all that stuff. So it was all good, man. It was funny, man. I'm telling you. That last year with the Richie Kotite offense and there was no tight end coach.
And we drafted Kyle Brady as a rookie. So we had these tight ends that really were going back and forth between the offensive line room and the wide receiver room. Mm-hmm. It was rough on those guys.
It was really rough on those guys because I always believe tight end coach is like an extension of the offensive line and the wide receiver room, and that's why they need a guy that is looking over them to make sure that they're on top of everything that they need to know.
And unfortunately, I don't necessarily know that that was the case when we were trying to decipher the hieroglyphics that were the jet offense that year. It's a good way of putting it. A lot of people not understanding it. A lot of people not knowing what any of it meant, including you, who had been through so much NFL football up until that point. Everything was backwards for you.
That's why I roomed with Johnny on Saturday nights before the games.
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Chapter 7: How are coaching searches impacting teams in the NFL?
Yeah. And just to go over everything, just to help him and help me. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page because he was going to be a big part of what we were doing because he was so talented. Let's go to Rocco in New Jersey. What's going on, Rocco? Hey, guys.
How are you?
Good, Rocco. What's up? Not much. So I've been talking about the Mets and, you know, and Pete Goe and all that, and he isn't that favorite. My problem with the whole situation is if you're going to talk about doing it because of run prevention, then you can't slate pencil in two guys that have never played first base as your first baseman. Yeah, listen, I agree with that.
I actually said it at the time that, you know, if you're someone who has based your entire take on Pete Alonzo being someone who can't play defense and then you've basically given the first base job to someone who's never played first base, you're right. It's hypocritical up until this point, yes.
Well, you don't know whether Mark Vientos is going to be playing first base, Polanco's going to be playing first base. It's probably going to be Polanco right now. Yeah, but he's not going to play 162 games there. No, you wouldn't think. And look, I don't think necessarily all of this is done yet.
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Chapter 8: What are the key takeaways from the divisional playoff predictions?
We've got to wait until we get the pitchers and catchers, and then we can make a determination as to what this team is going to look like. There's still some free agency out there. There's also trades available. So you just... You don't know what they're going to do. You don't know how they're going to do it. They may go the cheap route. Could you see like a Paul Goldschmidt coming here? Maybe.
I mean, you know, for a year, like the Yankees ended up doing. And then it becomes part of a DH, first base kind of situation. You don't know. I mean, like, we're not sure yet. And we don't know until we get there. All we know is that Dodgers just keep outspending them, except for when it came to Juan Soto. Yeah, because they weren't in on Juan Soto. They would have been in on Juan Soto.
Well, actually, they were. They were, but they just didn't. I don't know. I don't know what happened with that. Is there a potential trade for Tatis Jr. still in the works? Maybe. I mean, that was something that was for the Yankees or the Mets or both. Both? Yeah. But that could be a fallback for both of these teams, possibly. You know, again... I don't want to go all John Heyman on everybody.
Maybe, could be, should be. Maybe, I don't know. I just... Well, we don't. We just don't. But that's the point. And we have to wait until we get to pitchers and catchers to look at the team and see what they have and what they're trying to do and how they're trying to build this. But I'll tell you one thing. The good news for me, I kind of want to see these young pitchers pitch.
Well, you're going to see them because they have an antibody to the rotation.
But that's the point.
I mean, and they still may add somebody to the rotation, but... You know, this Nolan McClain, I'm telling you. Going to be the opening day starter, right? Well, it's like Jackson Dart. It's like Matthew Schaefer. Like, I want to see these kids, man. I want to see these kids come up, and I want to see them do something, especially when they are uber talented and seem like they can handle it.
It's like Cam Schlittler for the Yankees. Yeah, no, those two guys are going to be front and center, obviously. Like, you forget the Yankees are getting Garrett Cole back. Cam Schlittler showed that he belonged here. You know, I mean.
Max Freed.
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