Source: Kyle Tucker, Dodgers agree to 4-year, $240M deal -

The world champion Dodgers added another big stick to their already-potential team on Thursday night, agreeing to a $240 million, four-year deal with free agent Kyle Tucker, sources told ESPN.

LOS ANGELES — After another run that made them the first team in Major League Baseball to repeat in the quarter, the Los Angeles Dodgers have largely downplayed their ability to dominate another season.They believed their roster was good enough, and vowed to let the market come to them instead of aggressively chasing stars.

They got them anyway.

Kyle Tucker, the consensus best player available in free agency, agreed to join the Dodgers on Thursday, sources said, more than a month after star closer Edwin Diaz did the same.Tucker's contract is for four years at $240 million and includes an opt-out after the second and third seasons, sources told Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers.

The Dodgers paid almost no cash under director of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.But they made a similar deal two seasons ago for Japanese starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and eventually did the same for Tucker, a pitcher who helped them beat out the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays for his services.

Tucker, who turns 29 on Saturday, serves as the everyday right fielder and joins a star-studded group that includes Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Max Munsey.The addition of Tucker could ultimately prompt the Dodgers to trade cornerback Teoscar Hernandez, but sources familiar with the team's thinking say that is unlikely to happen.Conclusion The team could easily move Hernandez from right field to left field, with Andy Paige remaining the everyday center fielder and Tommy Edman, coming off ankle surgery, as the second baseman.

Tucker's contract comes with $30 million, a source said, confirming multiple reports.That gives him a current average annual value of $57.1 million, a record, higher than Juan Soto's $51 million AAV with the Mets.Since the Dodgers are already on track to exceed MLB's highest luxury tax threshold in 2026, which triggers a 110% average, the hit will cost them $119.9 million annually.

To offset these claims, the Dodgers also offered Tucker a signing bonus of $64 million, of which $54 million will be paid upfront, according to sources.

According to sources, this is not a problem.Dodgers owner Mark Walter has reaped huge dividends from Ohtani's presence over the past two seasons, benefiting from a lucrative and solid local media deal at a time when many teams are seeing revenue declines.Walter has been adamant about pumping that money back into the roster, especially with a possible triple play and shutout after that.

The Dodgers paid about $170 million in luxury taxes last year.Their Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) payroll was $417 million.According to Cotto's contract, Tucker's CBT salary is expected to reach just over $400 million by the end of the season.

When healthy, Tucker is one of the most versatile players in the game — a complete hitter who plays great defense and can be a threat on the bases.Tucker showed that with the Houston Astros, the team that drafted him in the fifth round out of high school from 2021 to 2023, slashing .278/.353/.517 with 89 home runs and 69 stolen bases and compiling a 16.3 baseball reference, glove over S.

The 2024 season looked even better.As of June 3, Tucker had a .979 OPS and appeared on track to make an MVP case.But he missed three months with a broken leg and was traded to the Chicago Cubs the following season, entering his final year before free agency.

Tucker hit .266/.377/.464 with 22 home runs, 73 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 136 games for a Cubs team that had one of the best offenses in the sport, though he missed most of September with a calf strain.For the third year in a row, his range in the field was below par, though his arm strength remained above average.

Tucker made headlines this offseason among free agents who lacked legitimate star power.

Kelly McDaniel offered an 11-year, $418 million contract, but the market for the piece was limited.In the end, only the Blue Jays agreed to go long-term, and sources throughout the industry were skeptical that Tucker wanted to play in Toronto.Sources said the Mets offered a deal in the $50 million-a-year range, but many doubted he wanted to play in New York.Being able to play with the competition eventually became the best landing spot – a continuation of the theme.

Three seasons ago the Dodgers signed Otani to a $700 million deal with deferred action and lavished Yamamoto with $680 million, with the largest contract given to a starting pitcher. A 12-year, $325 million deal, a year later they signed Blake Snell to a 5-year, $182 million deal, now they have Tucker. This represents their eighth player on a nine-figure deal (including Tyler Glasnow, Betts, Freeman and Smith).That doesn't include Diaz, who spurned the Mets on a three-year, $69 million deal on Dec. 9.

Last year, the Dodgers won the World Series despite a terrible bullpen, doing so with the help of an array of starters — including Rocky Sasaki, who made a late-season conversion to closer — in an effort to hold on to the lead until the end.By signing Diaz, the Dodgers addressed their biggest roster weakness and balanced out a star-studded pitching staff.Tucker, they filled a need for a left-handed outfielder.Instead of going the conservative route and trading for one, they signed the best player available.

Diaz and Tucker both signed offers after declining qualifying offers, meaning the Dodgers will lose the second, third, fifth and sixth picks in this summer's draft.They will both pay more than double the taxes.And in the end, it doesn't matter.

For the Dodgers, only winning matters.

Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers contributed to this report.