Two straight trips to the World Series might not mean the Los Angeles Dodgers are done building their superteam.
The Dodgers are expected to pursue All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker in free agency after the 2025 season, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported Saturday.
According to Heyman, “Dodgers people are said to love Tucker, and outfield is their one area of less than great strength.”
Tucker batted .266 with 22 home runs and 73 RBI through 136 games with the Chicago Cubs in 2025.
He was particularly dominant before the All-Star break, when he slashed .280/.384/.499 with 17 home runs and 56 RBI in 95 games before multiple trips to the injured list impacted the latter half of his campaign.
Heyman suggested that the Dodgers could potentially decide to slot in Tucker at right field while shifting Teoscar Hernández to the left.
That could allow the Dodgers to move on from former starting left fielder Michael Conforto, who fell out of the lineup against of Los Angeles’ latest postseason run.
Hernández’s production has declined this season, but he still hit 25 home runs and 89 RBI and could combine with Tucker to give the Dodgers one of the most productive outfields in MLB.
Heyman wrote Saturday that although Tucker’s 2024 numbers could keep him from matching stars like Juan Soto as a $500 million player, he could still ask for $300 to $400 million on his next contract.
The Cubs gave up Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski and third baseman prospect Cam Smith in order to acquire the final year of Tucker’s previous deal from the Astros.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said after the Cubs were eliminated from the NLDS by the Milwaukee Brewers that he knew his club might be losing Tucker after a single season despite giving up that haul.
“Kyle, I think he had a good experience here, for sure… But ultimately, I think Kyle has a big decision and I think that he’s earned the right to not only be a free agent, but to be a coveted free agent,” Hoyer said Wednesday, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.
Tucker meanwhile said he didn’t “know what the future is going to hold” and that he wished the Cubs luck “whether it’s playing next year or not with them,” per Bastian.
The Dodgers reportedly bid at least $600 million on Juan Soto last offseason before he signed with the New York Mets. Fielding a record-breaking payroll in 2025 might not stop the franchise from spending a second straight offseason bidding on the most sought-after free agent in baseball.