Free agent Kyle Tucker visits Blue Jays Dunedin training facility

It wouldn’t be December without a high-profile baseball free agent visiting the Blue Jays Dunedin spring headquarters now, would it?

Two years after Japanese shortstop Shohei Ohtani made a celebrated – and secretive – visit to the Jays player development complex while in full courtship from the Toronto brass, Kyle Tucker was reportedly at the facility on Wednesday.

This year’s consensus top free agent prize, who grew up nearby in the Tampa area, has been on the Jays radar as the team looks to add an impact bat this off-season.

And according to Fansided’s Robert Murray, who cited “sources familiar with the situation” Tucker was spotted at the complex on Wednesday. The Murray report was confirmed by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, who said the Wednesday visit made it clear that the Jays are making a serious push at landing Tucker.

So far in a busy off-season, the Jays have made a couple of key additions on the pitching side – acquiring free agent starters Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to upgrade the rotation – but it is clear that the team is intent on adding offence as well.

Tucker and former Jays shortstop Bo Bichette are reportedly at the top of general manager Ross Atkins list, which would explain the reported Wednesday visit.

Atkins was said to have a “scheduling conflict” on Wednesday when he had to pass on the annual December meeting of the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, an event he usually attends.

It’s also important to note that visits to the complex are relatively normal for high-profile free agents and it’s highly likely that Tucker would visit the training facilities of any number of teams he’s seriously interested in.

The pursuit of Tucker is in keeping with the way Atkins has attacked the off-season during recent winters. With plenty of Rogers money at his disposal, the Jays have routinely shopped at the high end of the market.

But there’s a sense around baseball that the Jays are seen as an even more serious player now after the team shone in the sport’s brightest lights through its spirited post-season run in October. Rogers CEO Edward Rogers has made it clear that the team will continue to spend to be a contender and riding the momentum attached to this season’s success, top tier free agents are certainly taking a serious look.

Tucker’s reported visit to Dunedin is certainly noteworthy, but not quite as sensational as the cloak and dagger cover that accompanied Ohtani’s trip to the Jays facility two years ago. During that trip Ohtani, who insisted on the utmost secrecy of all his movements, made sure the Jays cleared out the facility of all but essential management types when he made his business.

Not long after, of course, the two-way star ended up signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The development on Wednesday doesn’t imply that the Jays – or anyone – is near landing the all star outfielder. The Tucker sweepstakes are expected to continue to heat up as the focal point of baseball’s off-season arrives next week when the annual Winter Meetings get under way in Orlando.