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The Dodgers made the signing of free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker official Wednesday, capped off with an introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium.
Tucker’s four-year, $240-million deal included a $64-million signing bonus, and the $60-million average annual value is the second-highest in baseball history, without factoring in deferred money, behind Shohei Ohtani’s $70 million in his 10-year deal with the Dodgers.
Despite lucrative offers from the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays, Tucker went with the two-time defending World Series champions, who made room on their 40-man roster by designating outfielder Michael Siani for assignment.
“It’s a big decision, so you still got to weigh out everything,” Tucker told reporters, “but this team and this city and the fan base kind of makes it a little bit easier to make some decisions. That is just ultimately what we wanted to do, is come here and be part of that and try to win another World Series.”
With Tucker firmly in place, here are three takeaways from Wednesday:
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Where does Tucker slot in the lineup?
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Manager Dave Roberts said Tucker will play right field, with Teoscar Hernández sliding back to left field, the position he held down in his first season with the team in 2024.
It was not a surprising announcement, coming on the heels of Mookie Betts establishing himself as Gold Glove finalist at shortstop and Hernández struggling in right field last season.
As far as where Tucker will bat in the lineup, Roberts indicated he’d likely bat second or third.
“I don’t want you guys to hold me to it right now,” Roberts said jokingly, “but second or third seems to make sense.”
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What about Tucker’s demeanor?
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Tucker was asked about his perceived casual playing style, which he acknowledged is a reputation that’s lingered because of “a little bit of my demeanor.”
“I try to do my best out there regardless of how I feel or what the situation is,” he told reporters.
Dodgers team officials said they sought out clubhouse personnel, training staff, teammates and coaches to find out about Tucker’s competitive makeup and work ethic.
“His demeanor is such that it’s not an outward exuberant personality and so I think that can be misconstrued,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters. “For us, it’s about how does he compete, how does he work? For that we got very comfortable that when he’s in the box, when he’s in the outfield, he competes as well as anybody.”
Roberts, who said he did his own vetting of Tucker with other managers and coaches, believes the 29-year-old is a potential most valuable player candidate with the ability to win another Gold Glove.
“There’s an inner fire that I’ve seen,” Roberts said.
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Are the Dodgers done dealing?
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After addressing their two biggest needs this offseason, the bullpen and outfield, via free agency, the Dodgers appear to be relatively set with their roster a little more than three weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Arizona.
“There’s still some things we’re kicking around and some conversations that have been ongoing for a little bit that we’re going to continue to enhance and build up depth,” Friedman told reporters.
Asked if the Dodgers still are in the market for starting pitching, Friedman said: “We are not.”
That appeared to play out Wednesday night when the Mets acquired starting pitcher Freddy Peralta in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 29-year-old right-hander had been someone the Dodgers were interested in, the Athletic reported this week. Considering their rotation already projected to feature Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki, the reported interest in Peralta was surprising.
But coming off a grueling postseason in which the starters, Yamamoto in particular, carried a heavy load, the Dodgers already were thinking about ways to navigate next season — especially with the World Baseball Classic in March.
Last month during winter meetings, Roberts hinted at a six-man rotation as a way to give starters extra rest over a long season. Among the Dodgers’ four starting pitchers during the postseason — Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani — only Yamamoto pitched the entire season. Snell and Glasnow spent significant time on the injured list, and Ohtani didn’t make his pitching debut until June.
The Dodgers have plenty of young pitchers who could step in, from ascendant minor-league prospect Jackson Ferris, to returning 2024 breakout rookies River Ryan and Gavin Stone, to the more-established Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan.
The post What position will Kyle Tucker play? Three takeaways from his Dodgers introduction appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
