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The rich get richer.
Star outfielder Kyle Tucker has agreed to a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Thursday. Tucker’s deal is reportedly worth $240 million over four years with an Average Annual Value of $60 million, which is the second-highest AAV in MLB history.
The highest? Tucker’s new teammate Shohei Ohtani, who has a $70 million AAV in his 10-year deal with the Dodgers that runs through 2033.
But according to Ken Rosenthal, Tucker’s deal – which has deferrals of $30 million ($10 million in the last three seasons) — will have a net present value of $57 million per season, beating New York Mets star Juan Soto’s previous record by more than $6 million.
Tucker can reportedly opt out of the deal after years two and three.
Tucker becomes the latest accomplished veteran scooped up by the deep-pocketed Dodgers, who will have seven of the majors’ 29 biggest contracts by AAV in 2026. Los Angeles’ previous big move of the offseason was signing former New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz, widely considered to be the best reliever on the free agent market, to bolster their subpar bullpen.
The Dodgers will welcome Tucker’s exceptional bat for the heart of their order, but he also fixes one of their few roster deficiencies as an everyday corner outfielder after Michael Conforto and several others largely struggled last season in left field. Tucker seems likely to play right field for Los Angeles, allowing the club to move Teoscar Hernandez back to left.
Tucker took meetings with the Dodgers, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays before deciding to sign with the two-time defending champions.
Tucker spent the 2025 season with the Chicago Cubs, where he hit 22 home runs and slashed .266/.377/.464 in 136 regular-season games. He spent two stints on the injured list — for a left calf strain in September and a right-hand hairline fracture in June that tanked his much stronger start to the year, which had earned him an All-Star berth. He, ultimately, returned from the latter injury but played through pain during the last three games of the regular season and in the postseason for the Cubs. Chicago’s year ended in the National League Division Series, losing in five games to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Before a one-year stint with the Cubs, Tucker spent the first seven years of his career with the Houston Astros; he was part of their 2022 World Series triumph. Tucker earned three All-Star nods, totaled an American League-best 112 RBIs in 2023 and had two 30-plus-home run seasons in 2021 and 2022. Following the 2024 season, the Astros traded Tucker to the Cubs for infielder Isaac Paredes, outfielder Cam Smith and right-hander Hayden Wesneski.
Tucker has averaged over 5 wins above replacement per year since becoming a full-time player in 2021, owing to his combination of power, patience and defense: Tucker has won both Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove. Despite that level of success, he will now play his age-29 season for his third team in the last three years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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