{"id":413168,"date":"2026-01-16T13:05:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T13:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413168\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T13:05:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T13:05:24","slug":"dodgers-to-sign-kyle-tucker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/413168\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers To Sign Kyle Tucker"},"content":{"rendered":"

The two-time defending champions have done it again. The Dodgers are reportedly in agreement with Kyle<\/a> Tucker<\/a> on a four-year, $240MM contract. The deal includes $30MM in deferrals and will come with an approximate $57.1MM annual value for luxury tax purposes. Tucker, a client of Excel Sports Management, receives a $64MM signing bonus \u2014 all but $10MM of which is paid upfront \u2014 and can opt out after the second or third seasons. The team has not officially announced the signing, which is pending a physical, and will need to create a 40-man roster spot once it\u2019s official.<\/p>\n

Tucker, who turns 29 on Saturday, is the latest superstar addition to what was already MLB\u2019s most feared offense. He slots into a lineup alongside Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, Freddie Freeman<\/a>,\u00a0Mookie Betts<\/a>,\u00a0Will Smith<\/a>,\u00a0Max Muncy<\/a>,\u00a0Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> and\u00a0Tommy Edman<\/a>. He\u2019ll join Hern\u00e1ndez and\u00a0Andy Pages<\/a> as the primary outfielders, with Edman capable of logging center field action when he\u2019s not at second base.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles has four outfield prospects who rank prominently near the top of their farm system. They reportedly wanted to avoid locking in long-term commitments as a result. They\u2019ve accomplished that with arguably the biggest annual value in the sport\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a $60MM average on the surface. Without adjusting for deferrals, Tucker\u2019s deal would be the second-highest AAV ever. Ohtani landed a $70MM AAV on his 10-year, $700MM guarantee, though the massive deferrals meant it had a \u201ctrue\u201d annual value closer to $46MM. One should therefore view the $51MM annual salary on Juan Soto\u2019s<\/a> 15-year, $765M deal as the more accurate record holder until tonight. Tucker\u2019s adjusted AAV beats that by more than $6MM.<\/p>\n

Although Tucker was this offseason\u2019s top free agent, he\u2019s a clear step below the likes of Aaron Judge<\/a>, Ohtani and Soto of the previous three winters. Tucker has been a consistent All-Star who\u2019s a little outside the top tier of superstars. The fifth overall pick by the Astros in 2015, he broke out in the shortened 2020 season after logging limited big league action in the two preceding years. He connected on 29 or 30 home runs in each of his first three full campaigns, improving his approach along the way.<\/p>\n

Tucker was already a great hitter and seemed to be on his way to pulling closer to Judge, Soto and Ohtani with a monster start to the 2024 season. He was out to a .266\/.395\/.584 slash with more walks than strikeouts through the first two months. He fouled a ball off his right leg and was placed on the injured list with what the Astros initially termed a shin contusion. It turned out to be more serious, as subsequent testing revealed a fracture that kept him out for three months.<\/p>\n

The four-time All-Star returned no worse for wear and had a fantastic September. The Astros nevertheless decided to field trade calls after the season. They were never going to meet Tucker\u2019s asking price on an extension and felt they could cash him in for help elsewhere on the roster. They lined up a deal with the Cubs around the Winter Meetings that sent Isaac Paredes<\/a>,\u00a0Hayden Wesneski<\/a>, and prospect\u00a0Cam Smith<\/a> to Houston for Tucker\u2019s final year of arbitration.<\/p>\n

Tucker\u2019s lone season in Chicago had its ups and downs. He got out to another blistering start, running a .284\/.359\/.524 slash with 12 homers through the first day of June. He jammed his right thumb diving into second on a stolen base attempt that day. He avoided the injured list, but subsequent testing revealed that he sustained a tiny fracture at the top of his hand between his ring finger and pinky.<\/p>\n

The hand injury wasn\u2019t viewed as a serious issue until Tucker\u2019s performance began to suffer. That didn\u2019t occur right away. His next few weeks were the finest of the season, in fact. Tucker slashed .311\/.404\/.578 across 25 games that month. Things went off the rails in July, as he batted .189\/.325\/.235 with just one home run over the next six weeks.<\/p>\n

The existence of the hairline fracture wasn\u2019t reported until the middle of August. Cubs officials acknowledged that Tucker had been injured in June but said that he was fully healthy by the time the injury was revealed publicly. Maybe the thumb became a retroactive explanation for what was actually a simple slump, though it\u2019s possible he developed some subtle bad habits in June as he tried to mitigate the pain of hitting through the break. Manager Craig Counsell gave Tucker a three-game mental reset towards the end of August before plugging him back into the middle of the order.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tucker appeared to be getting back into a groove when he hit another speed bump. He strained his left calf in early September and landed on the injured list, costing him three weeks in the season\u2019s final month. He finished the regular season with a .266\/.377\/.464 slash line in a little under 600 trips to the plate. He hit .259 with one homer in eight postseason games as the Cubs advanced to the NL Division Series.<\/p>\n

The uneven second half soured some Cubs fans on the Tucker acquisition. His overall numbers were in line with his career marks. The offense was 36 percentage points better than league average by wRC+. His lifetime .273\/.358\/.507 batting line is 38 points above par. Tucker has been in that range in four of the past five seasons. The only exception is his .289\/.408\/.585 showing over 78 games two years ago.<\/p>\n

The \u201924 season is probably an outlier, but the Dodgers should feel they\u2019re adding one of the top 10-15 hitters in MLB. He doesn\u2019t expand the strike zone and has a rare blend of plus contact skills and above-average power. Tucker has no issue hitting pitchers of either handedness. He doesn\u2019t have the huge exit velocities of the sport\u2019s premier sluggers, yet he\u2019s a safe bet for 25-30 homers in a healthy season.<\/p>\n

Tucker\u2019s glove isn\u2019t as strong at this stage of his career. He won a Gold Glove with Houston in 2022. His defensive grades and sprint speed have declined as he\u2019s gotten into his late-20s. That presumably gave teams pause when considering a long-term investment. Tucker\u2019s defense should remain serviceable in the short term. The Dodgers can comfortably plug him into right field and kick Hern\u00e1ndez over to left if they don\u2019t trade him.<\/p>\n

The Cubs issued Tucker a qualifying offer but made little effort to retain him. The bidding seemingly came down to the Dodgers, Mets and Blue Jays. New York was similarly hesitant to make a long-term commitment, as they reportedly offered<\/a> a four-year deal at $55MM per season. Toronto was seemingly willing to entertain a longer term at a lower annual value.<\/p>\n

Tucker is L.A.\u2019s second qualified free agent signing of the offseason. They added\u00a0Edwin D\u00edaz<\/a> on a three-year, $69MM deal around the Winter Meetings. They surrendered their second- and fifth-round draft choices this summer, plus $1MM from their 2027 international bonus pool, to sign D\u00edaz. They\u2019ll forfeit their third- and sixth-round picks for Tucker. The Cubs receive a compensatory pick between Competitive Balance Round B and the start of the third round (currently slated to land 77th overall).<\/p>\n

MLBTR had predicted an 11-year, $400MM deal for Tucker at the beginning of the offseason. It\u2019s unclear if any team would have been willing to go to those lengths. He\u2019s giving up some measure of long-term security in exchange for massive salaries over the next couple seasons and the chance to return to free agency at the tail end of his prime.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll have the option of retesting the market before his age-31 and age-32 campaigns \u2014 and without being attached to draft compensation barring a change to the qualifying offer rules in the intervening CBA. A five- or six-year guarantee could be well within range at that point. He\u2019ll collect a huge signing bonus, essentially shatter the record for average annual value, and join the team with the best chance to win the World Series in the interim.<\/p>\n

While the specific salary breakdown hasn\u2019t been reported, the Dodgers are reportedly paying $54MM of the signing bonus right away. RosterResource<\/a> estimates their cash payroll obligations close to $428MM for the upcoming season. Tucker\u2019s $57.1MM AAV will push their competitive balance tax projection north of $395MM.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re taxed at a 110% rate on spending above $304MM, so Tucker\u2019s deal comes with a staggering $62.81MM tax hit in the first season. The Dodgers are essentially valuing Tucker\u2019s 2026 season alone at $120MM. L.A. ended last season with a luxury tax payroll of $417MM, costing them another $169.4MM in taxes. Their tax bill alone was higher than the final payroll calculations of 12 teams. They\u2019re trending towards a similar or potentially even greater amount in 2026 depending on what else they do this offseason and at the trade deadline. The aggressiveness continues as they aim for the first three-peat in MLB since the 1998-2000 Yankees.<\/p>\n

Tucker\u2019s deal is going to be the latest example for many fans and smaller-market owners who will argue for a salary cap in the upcoming round of collective bargaining negotiations. This level of spending also reaffirms why the MLB Players Association has steadfastly maintained that a cap is a non-starter. Next offseason\u2019s CBA talks are expected to be similarly or even more contentious than those that froze the sport for 99 days during the 2022-23 lockout.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the concern of the Dodgers or their fans, who\u2019ll be thrilled to add another star as they try to cement their dynastic run. They\u2019ll be heavy favorites in the NL West, and it\u2019s difficult to imagine a scenario in which this team doesn\u2019t make the playoffs. A championship is far from guaranteed, however. The Jays were one swing away from beating them in Games 6 and 7 of last year\u2019s World Series. An extra quarter-second on Isiah Kiner-Falefa\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0dash home or another few feet on\u00a0Ernie Clement\u2019s<\/a> fly ball in the bottom of the ninth would have flipped the outcome. L.A. ownership and the front office aren\u2019t getting complacent.<\/p>\n

After missing on Tucker, the Jays seem likely to reengage with\u00a0Bo Bichette<\/a>. Their longtime shortstop is now the top unsigned player. He has reportedly had a productive meeting with the Phillies, but the Jays and Bichette have long expressed mutual interest in a reunion. Bichette wouldn\u2019t be a great fit for the Mets, but they could conceivably pivot to challenging the Yankees for\u00a0Cody Bellinger<\/a>. The Mets still don\u2019t have a left fielder after swapping\u00a0Brandon Nimmo<\/a> for\u00a0Marcus Semien<\/a>. Their reported offer to Tucker demonstrates there\u2019s plenty of room for short-term spending, but president of baseball operations David Stearns has shied away from lengthy commitments this winter.<\/p>\n

Jeff Passan of ESPN<\/a> first reported that Tucker was signing with the Dodgers. Jon Heyman of the New York Post<\/a> had it as a short-term contract, while Robert Murray of FanSided<\/a> was first on the four-year, $240MM guarantee. Murray reported the opt-out after the second season, and Passan<\/a> had the third-year out. Heyman<\/a> reported the $30MM in deferrals. Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News<\/a> was first on the $57.1MM post-deferral AAV. ESPN\u2019s Jesse Rogers<\/a> had the signing bonus details.<\/p>\n

Image courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel, Imagn Images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The two-time defending champions have done it again. The Dodgers are reportedly in agreement with Kyle Tucker on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,510,462,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-413168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-kyle-tucker","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}