A Dodgers contract for Kyle Tucker can happen, but only if star free agent wants L.A.'s different approach

Billy Heyen

A Dodgers contract for Kyle Tucker can happen, but only if star free agent wants L.A.'s different approach image

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in on everyone until proven otherwise.

The back-to-back World Series champions have a tendency to always be adding to their team, even when it's already the best in the league.

That's expected to be true again this offseason, and they've already landed Edwin Diaz.

They could go after an even bigger fish in free agency, though: Kyle Tucker.

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Tucker is the consensus top free agent available, expected to leave the Chicago Cubs after just one season, and likely looking at one of the richest contracts in baseball history.

The Dodgers wouldn't mind adding Tucker, of course. They'd just want to do it their way.

The Athletic reports that if Tucker goes to the Dodgers, it would be on a shorter deal than he'd likely expect elsewhere.

"Los Angeles is unlikely to offer Kyle Tucker a six- or seven-year deal, according to a person briefed on the team’s plans," writes The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. "The club, however, would entertain a shorter three-to-four-year deal with a high annual average value, similar to what Alex Bregman landed last spring when he signed a three-year, $120 million contract with the Boston Red Sox."

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Structuring a contract like that would align Tucker with some of the Dodgers' other veteran stars, like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, while also giving L.A. The chance to eventually retool a few years down the road.

It's not clear whether Tucker would entertain such a deal. This is likely his best chance at a massive payday. The Dodgers would probably have to, on a per-year basis, blow the other offers out of the water.

But really, you can't count the Dodgers out. They have a way of getting who they want.

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