The rich get richer: Dodgers sign Kyle Tucker to stunning contract
USA TODAY Sports’ Gabe Lux explains Kyle Tucker’s surprising contract with the Dodgers.
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Kyle Tucker, the top slugger and the most coveted player on this year’s free agent market, surprised the baseball world with a move that has become all too familiar for players who have exhausted their player paychecks: the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tucker declined to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets, instead agreeing to a four-year, $240 million contract with the Dodgers on January 15, a person familiar with the deal confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by ESPN, has not yet been finalized. Tucker’s contract includes opt-outs after the second and third years.
Tucker, who turns 29 in January, is arguably the top free agent this winter after first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed a 14-year, $500 million extension with the Blue Jays. And after the Blue Jays reached Game 7 of the World Series and demonstrated their intention to remain aggressive, they appeared to be the frontrunners for Tucker’s services.
Instead, the Dodgers, who defeated the Blue Jays in an unforgettable World Series Game 7 just over two months ago, won again.
It took two months for Tucker to find a home as a free agent, but he had no shortage of options as the bidding process wound down. The Mets offered him an estimated annual salary of $50 million, but the Dodgers apparently preferred the terms as well, giving him a short-term deal. Despite having a $500 million roster, the Dodgers needed outfield punch and couldn’t make the cut.
And now they will pay him the second-highest average salary after new teammate Shohei Ohtani’s long-delayed 10-year, $700 million contract.
Tucker becomes the eighth Dodger with a nine-figure contract, and with the offseason not yet over, his estimated 2026 salary commitment will be pushed to $334 million, with a competitive balance tax salary of well over $400 million.
Tucker, a four-time All-Star, has made the playoffs in every season since 2019, and after a stint with the Houston Astros that included a World Series championship in 2022, he led the Chicago Cubs to a wild-card berth in 2025.
He has been one of the most consistent offensive producers in the game during this period.
Since 2021, Tucker has amassed 25.3 wins over his replacement and posted an adjusted OPS of 145 over that span. He posted a slash line of .277/.365/.514 and averaged 27 home runs a season.
Drafted fifth overall by the Astros in 2015, Tucker, a four-time All-Star, was one of the last remaining links to a rebuild and flourish when Houston traded him to the Cubs over the winter.
In his one year in Chicago, he anchored a batting lineup that jumped out of 12 games.th In the major leagues, players like Pete Crowe Armstrong, Dansby Swanson, and Nico Horner enjoyed significant increases in production and ranked among the top five in scoring.
Many factors have contributed to the development of these players, but it’s also hard to deny the downstream impact of Tucker’s presence. The Astros received praise for their comeback game in the trade with the Cubs, but their streak of consecutive playoff appearances ended at eight without Tucker.
Asked about Chicago keeping Tucker, Swanson told USA TODAY Sports in June, “I think that speaks for itself, right? We all know what he brings to this team.” “He’s the carrier of a guy in the lineup.
“He’s such a good guy. How could you not want that?”
The Dodgers agreed.
And now he’s the linchpin of a lineup that boasts a former MVP, a future Hall of Famer and a nine-figure contract. The Dodgers will blitz opposing pitchers with Ohtani ($700 million contract) batting first, Mookie Betts ($365 million contract) at second base, and likely Tucker and Freddie Freeman ($162 million) following.
Heck, if they want to maintain a left-to-right-to-left rhythm, All-Star catcher Will Smith (who makes a paltry $140 million) could slot in between Tucker and Freeman. Either way, the best team in the game got even better, leaving a hole in the lineup for the team that just barely came close.
