Dodgers land outfielder Kyle Tucker on reported 4-year, $240M deal

Bill Plunkett, The Orange County Register on Jan 15, 2026

Published in Baseball

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LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are ruining baseball again.

The two-time defending World Series champions went into this winter with two glaring needs at closer and in the outfield. They filled the needs by simply signing the best free agent available at each position, adding outfielder Kyle Tucker to last month’s signing of closer Edwin Diaz. Tucker and the Dodgers reached agreement on a contract Thursday that will bring the winter’s top target to Los Angeles.

Tucker had originally sought a long-term deal and reportedly had an offer from the Toronto Blue Jays possibly for as long as seven years. But the New York Mets tried to lure Tucker with a short-term deal with a much higher average annual value, reportedly $50 million for each of three seasons.

The Dodgers simply blew the competition out of the water, reportedly giving Tucker a four-year contract for $240 million. The $60 million AAV (average annual value) is topped only by the 10-year, $700 million deal that two-way star Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers two winters ago.

Ohtani’s deal includes $680 million in deferred money. It is not clear yet whether Tucker’s deal is also heavily deferred. But Tucker’s contract does include opt-out clauses after the second and third years.

The contract agreement with the Dodgers is an early birthday present for Tucker, who will turn 29 on Saturday. A four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and one-time Gold Glove winner — and a member of the Houston Astros’ 2022 World Series championship team — Tucker spent just one season with the Chicago Cubs after being traded by the Astros in December 2024. He hit .266 with an .841 OPS and missed time with a hairline fracture in his right hand suffered in June.

Over his past five seasons, Tucker was a .277 hitter with an .878 OPS, 134 home runs and two 100-RBI seasons including an American League-leading 112 in 2023 when he finished fifth in the AL Most Valuable Player voting.