The Los Angeles Dodgers signed All-Star free agent Kyle Tucker on Thursday, prompting current players to react via social media.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani made one of the first moves, immediately following the All-Star on Instagram. Tucker and Ohtani are very familiar with each other, having played against each other often during their respective times in the AL West.
Starting pitcher Blake Snell also sent a simple message, sharing a post of the report of Tucker’s move to his story and adding an emoji.
He wasn’t the only one to add to their story, though, as reliever Brock Stewart also added an emoji to his along with a post of the Dodgers’ projected lineup next season.
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What Does Kyle Tucker’s Move Mean for the Dodgers?
Tucker, the best bat available in free agency this offseason, instantly slots into the Dodgers’ lineup and addresses their biggest remaining need this offseason: The outfield.
The four-time All-Star has proven his ability to hit over the past handful of years, making each of the last four All-Star Games and hitting 20 or more home runs in each of his last five seasons. Even while playing through injury in 2025, Tucker managed 22 home runs and 73 RBIs over the course of the season while maintaining an OPS of .841.
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The outfielder will likely take his preferred position in right field from Teoscar Hernández, moving the veteran back to left field should he remain with the team through the offseason.
With Tucker entering the fold, all nine players in the Dodgers’ projected lineup for the upcoming season have posted a campaign with an fWAR higher than 4.0.
Tucker’s four-year, $240 million contract shoots the Dodgers’ payroll to $413 million in 2026, giving them a luxury tax bill of $161.8 million for the upcoming season — a number higher than 12 MLB teams’ payrolls.
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L.A. will likely remain at the top of the payroll charts for another season after their big-money signing, and are surely doing so with a single goal in mind: Winning the World Series for a third consecutive season.
Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
5 Responses
Well, I’m Happy The Dodgers Have Addressed The Outfield Issue From Last Season However I Do Think They Could Have Signed Bellinger And Addressed The Outfield Issue And Had A Gold Glove Quality Player To Spell Freeman At First When Needed And Signed Bichette To Play Second Base Adding 2 High Quality Younger Hitters To Our Lineup For Probably The Similar Money That Tucker Is Costing.
I would have preferred the Dodgers give their kids a runway. Love Tucker, but not happy with what the Dodgers are doing.
Relax, he might be gone in two year and by then De Paula and the rest will have moved inro Double A and triple A and then the DOdgers will know if they have the chops to play in the majors, In A ball, everyone has potential. It is only in the higher levels where they prove it. DePaula, Hope, Sirota and Quintero won’t be hurt by a little more seasoning in the minors. All four will still be less than 25 yrs and Hope, at least, needs to learn more discipline at the plate if he doesn’t want to set the Dodger MLB Strikeout record when he finally does make the MLB roster. Less than 10 percent of the minor leaguers will make a Big league club and be successful so there is no need to rush. They will be playing everyday and that might nit happen with the Dodgers, as Daulton Rushing found out. Patience grasshopper, Patience.
Best Wishes to Kyle Tucker and the Entire 2026 Dodgers . We always Win with a Full Team Effort.
Thanks Dodgers Ownership and Staff also. Looking forwards to A Fantastic 2026 says TripAdvisor Top 1 per cent World.
There will be runway for the prospects after the 2027 season when Teoscar’s contract is up (and Freddie Freeman’s contract is up after the 2027 season, too). None of the prospects are MLB ready this year, they are not even in AAA yet. Give them 2 years to grow and mature and maybe one or two of them will be MLB ready and good enough for the Dodgers. Maybe, we hope. Cartaya was supposed to be a great major leaguer. What happened to him? Lux, the number 1 prospect in of the minor leagues when he came up has never been more than a 100 OPS+ player. But some do pan out [Jordan Alvarez, Michael Busch]. As trade chips they may be valuable.