Kyle Tucker Signs With Dodgers
Outfielder Kyle Tucker, the biggest prize of this offseason’s free agency, is headed to the Dodgers. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Tucker received a short-term contract.
Tucker, 28, is a four-time All-Star with power and speed who hit .266/.377/.464 with 22 homers, 73 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 136 games for the Cubs last year, his only season in Chicago after seven in Houston. He will now fit nicely into a batting order featuring MVP winners Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman.
Tucker has hit 22 to 30 home runs for five consecutive seasons, led the American League in RBIs in 2023 with 112, won a Gold Glove in 2022 and Silver Sluggers in 2023 and 2025. He has three top 20 MVP finishes, coming in as high as fifth in 2023. He has posted 4.2 to 4.9 fWAR in each of the last five years as well.
While in the big picture, Tucker has been a model of consistency, it was an uneven year in Chicago.
He looked like an MVP candidate for three months, even playing through and hitting well despite suffering a fracture between his ring finger and pinky on a stolen base attempt on June 1. But the second half was rough; maybe the injury caught up with him. From June 29 to Aug. 21, Tucker hit one home run. The home crowd booed him in August. He was given a couple of days off for a mental reset.
“The fans are frustrated and Kyle’s frustrated,” manager Craig Counsell said on Aug. 18. “And it’s unfortunate, because Kyle, when you make outs, it doesn’t look great. But he’s trying. It’s just not clicking. We’re going to have to take a little step back here, for sure, and just give him some days off to reset him, hopefully.”
Tucker responded well after returning, with five multi-hit games and four home runs in a dozen games after the mental reset. But in early September, he went on the injured list with a calf strain and missed several weeks. He returned on the regular season’s final weekend and went 7-for-27 with a home run in the playoffs.
Tucker has played in 72 playoff games, slashing .233/.317/.376 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs in 279 plate appearances. He won a ring with the 2022 Astros.
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