LAS VEGAS – Here’s a question that can be hard to make sense of as the MLB off-season unfolds: How can a team like a player enough to offer them hundreds of millions but still be fine if he goes elsewhere?

For team officials, the answer is routine – a part of daily life that requires little to no thought. Yet for some fans observing the off-season and others who work within the baseball industry, the question persists.

Take Kyle Tucker for example. A phenomenal hitter who’s just 28 years old, he’ll make someone a far better team in 2026 and beyond, but it’s rare for teams to go all-in on a player, even ones as talented as top free agents like Tucker, Bo Bichette and Cody Bellinger.

Instead, teams typically have thresholds past which they don’t engage anymore, their so-called walkaways.

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