Kyle Tucker to sign with Dodgers

Kyle Tucker has made his decision. The outfielder is heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a short-term deal, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. Passan added that the deal has opt outs after the second and third years. There’s no word yet on whether or not the deal includes significant deferrals. The Dodgers are known to shell out big contracts with massive amounts of differed money.

The top player on the free agent market is now off the board. The New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays were reportedly also in the mix for Tucker. How those two teams pivot will impact the Phillies in their pursuit of free agent infielder Bo Bichette.

The rival New York Mets acquired second baseman Marcus Semien in a trade with the Texas Rangers earlier this offseason. If they like Bichette as a third baseman, they could pursue him and look to trade Brett Baty and or Mark Vientos.

The Blue Jays, who signed third baseman Kazuma Okamoto from Japan earlier this month, could respond with a pivot back to Bichette.

Tucker, 28, spent the 2025 season with the Chicago Cubs after seven seasons with the Houston Astros. Tucker batted .266 with 22 home runs and an .841 OPS in his lone season with the Cubs.

The Dodgers are loading up for a chance at back-to-back-to-back World Series titles. They addressed two of their biggest holes in adding closer Edwin Diaz and signing a big bat in the outfield in Tucker.