After days of rumors heavily linking outfielder Kyle Tucker to the New York Mets, the free agent star agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, ESPN and The Athletic reported Thursday night.
According to reports, the contract is for four years and worth $240 million, with Tucker enjoying the right to opt out after the second and third years of the pact.
The Mets reportedly offered Tucker a pact that would have cost him $50 million per year.
Tucker, a four-time All-Star, could be entering the prime years of his career. He will turn 29 on Saturday.
The Tampa native spent seven years with the Houston Astros before being traded to the Cubs last winter. In his only season in Chicago, he made the National League All-Star team after a strong first half in which he hit .280 with 17 home runs, 56 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 95 games.
In an injury-plagued second half, the left-handed hitter hit .231 with five home runs, 17 RBIs and three steals in 41 games.
Over 769 career games, Tucker has a .273 batting average, .358 on-base percentage, .507 slugging percentage, 147 home runs, 490 RBIs and 119 steals. He twice hit more than 30 home runs in a season and twice drove in more than 100 runs. Tucker won a Gold Glove award as a right fielder in 2022 and a Silver Slugger award the following season.
Tucker is set to join a loaded lineup for the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers that also includes Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy.
–Field level media
