by Cary Osborne
During the conversations with free agent Kyle Tucker, the Dodgers felt there was a real chance that he would end up in Los Angeles, even if they were to go shorter-term.
Arguably the most coveted position player on the market, Tucker had his choice of multiple destinations and reportedly at least one long-term deal.
But what the Dodgers had to offer in terms of giving Tucker an immediate opportunity to play in front of 50,000-plus nightly, win another World Series, having a winning culture in place where he can thrive personally and professionally and continue his community-minded efforts off the field ended up making Los Angeles the destination.
Tucker finalized a four-year deal with the Dodgers on Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of great ball clubs out there, and they all have unique things that make them great,” Tucker said. “I think this organization from top down is first class. And the team that these guys put together and assemble to give a great product for the fan base in the city, to go out there and compete for a championship kind of speaks for itself. So just kind of taking everything into account, wanting to be a part of that, I think, is very special. You don’t really get that very often. So it’ll be a lot of fun playing with these guys and competing for hopefully a three-peat here.”
The Dodgers expressed their interest in the four-time All-Star outfielder throughout the offseason and stayed in contact with him. The resources the Dodgers have and the desire to never settle — and an outfield need — propelled to make the pursuit and finally make an offer.
“If there was something that made sense for both sides, we’d have the ability to bring him on board,” said Dodger Vice President and General Manager Brandon Gomes. “(There was) incredible support from our ownership group to give back to the fans that are coming out in packs of 4 million last year. So I think we felt like let’s continue to pour into them and into the team. And when we had the opportunity to do it, and this was a real chance to fill a hole that would really impact our team, we did it. So it was one of those things where we were kind of waiting around and being in contact, and then it came together pretty quickly over probably five to seven days.”
From the beginning of the offseason, there was one player who was the biggest potential needle mover for the back-to-back World Series champions. Tucker is 29 years old. He is a two-time Silver Slugger, a 2022 Gold Glove Award winner, and as manager Dave Roberts said on Wednesday, a potential MVP candidate.
“When we started the offseason and talking about various fits, trade market, free-agent market, there was really nobody that moved our World Series odds for 2026 more than Kyle Tucker, both because of his ability and talent and also just need,” said Andrew Friedman, Dodger president of baseball operations.
The Dodgers went into the offseason with Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages as sure things in the outfield and a question mark for the third outfield position. The Dodger starting outfield in Game 7 of the World Series was Teoscar Hernández in right field, Tommy Edman in center and Kiké Hernández in left.
Edman had ankle surgery in the offseason and was mostly a second baseman in the postseason to protect the ankle. He’s also a Gold Glove infielder. The super-utilityman Kiké Hernández is a free agent and also had offseason surgery.
Tucker’s addition moves Teoscar Hernández to left field, keeps Pages in center field and gives the Dodgers a new right fielder. Edman now slots into second base.
Tucker’s 162-game average over the last five seasons is 33 home runs, 106 RBI, 26 stolen bases and an .878 OPS. There’s that potential and more.
“I think there’s another Gold Glove in there,” Roberts said. “I think that having a lot of people around him, I think there’s more runs scored in there. I think he’s going to have the ability to drive in runs. He’s a five-tool player. He loves to compete. He loves to play the game. He pours into the community. He’s a smart player. We talked a lot about having smart players. He likes to play. He posts, has enthusiasm, and there’s an inner fire that I’ve seen. I’ve vetted him with other coaches and managers about him, which made me personally excited when Andrew, the organization, and Gomer said that this might be a possibility.”
Tucker is looking forward to the opportunity.
“In baseball, same thing with everything in life, you can always get better at the little things,” Tucker said. “And I think that’s what this team is really good at, the little things that kind of separates themselves from other teams and other players, and can really make a difference throughout the course of the season, the course of the playoffs. So I’m just trying to get better in every aspect — whether it’s baserunning, defense, offense. You’re never going to be perfect, but if you can strive to get better at any aspect of game, just to contribute to wins or runs or preventing runs, I’m going to try and do that and do my part.”
Kyle Tucker and Dodgers come together to make a perfect fit was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.