Kyle Tucker, Dodgers Agree to Deal
Image Credit (Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press)
It happened again! The Los Angeles Dodgers swoop in and sign Kyle Tucker to a 4-year, $240 Million deal–the top free agent is off the board. What this means for the future of baseball is hard to know. The Dodgers have a huge ownership group, and a bunch of them have deep pockets–they are paying the price for championships, and are winning them. It is a top destination for free agents not only because they pay top dollar for the players they sign, but also because they are a class-act franchise. They treat the players well, have a great coaching staff, and develop players well.
The Dodgers do not have many holes on their roster, but they desperately need outfield help. Tucker, who is going into his age-29 season, will fill that gap. The Dodgers are getting a top-tier player who, when healthy, will be able to average around 30 home runs and close to 100 RBI every season. He is most definitely an above-average hitter. The only concern is Tucker's injury history. When the Dodgers are at full strength, Kyle Tucker makes the Dodgers much scarier to face. This contract, which includes a $64 million signing bonus and $30 million in deferred payments, only creates more concerns for MLB’s future, with a ton of commentary coming from fans.
Some fans are calling for a salary cap amid the upcoming, possibly pending lockout, once the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after the 2026 season. These fans think teams like the Dodgers aren’t getting penalized for signing these star free agents–except they are–but not in the way most fans would think of. The Dodgers have currently lost their second, third, fifth, and sixth highest draft picks for the 2026 MLB Draft after signing Kyle Tucker and closer Edwin Diaz, who fills another huge hole for the boys in blue. The Dodgers don’t care about losing those picks. Right now, they are in win-now mode–they are at their peak. They already have a top farm system, if not the best one. So losing a few top draft picks for one season won’t matter too much. Dodgers fans are pleased with the money the team is spending, because for years Frank McCourt, who bankrupted the team, spent none at all and didn’t see the success we see now. When Guggenheim Baseball Management, a group led by Mark Walter, bought the team in 2012, he turned it around instantly, and we started seeing the Dodgers win. The team excelled in drafting and scouting, and the willingness to spend money on free agents was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
Kyle Tucker will help the Dodgers win, but at what cost to the future of baseball? Will there be a salary cap when league-wide revenues are high, and MLB is getting recognition on the global stage? The Dodgers are already paying well over $100 million in luxury tax every year, and are more than happy to do so because they are peaking as a franchise and keep winning. If there is a salary cap because of the Dodgers’ spending, wouldn’t there also need to be a salary floor to incentivize spending on putting a great product on the field? Because I would love to see teams spend to make baseball more competitive, even if that means extending their homegrown superstars, there should be an incentive for extending a homegrown player who, after an extension, wins an MVP award or something similar. Maybe an extra draft pick for that?
We are living in an interesting time of baseball history, and I’m excited to see where it goes.
