The Los Angeles Dodgers have at least one hole to fill in their outfield, and according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, they could choose to swoop in and land the best free agent available.
Rosenthal laid out the plan for the Dodgers to land Kyle Tucker, a former rival with the Houston Astros who is now the consensus No. 1 position player available in free agency.
The Dodgers, of course, are the two-time reigning World Series champs yet have an unfilled spot in left field that could use a massive upgrade. Michael Conforto was the team’s primary left fielder in 2025, and he slashed just .199/.301/.333 with a minus-0.7 bWAR in his lone season in LA, did not make an appearance in the postseason and will not be retained.
Tucker has a career .865 OPS with the Astros and Chicago Cubs and slashed .266/.377/.464 in his lone season with the Cubs in 2025.
Ken Rosenthal: The Dodgers Signing Kyle Tucker ‘Would Be A Classic Add’ By Andrew Friedman
The Dodgers are always linked to the top free agents, since they have inked free agents like Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Teoscar Hernandez and made trades to land superstars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Tyler Glasnow.
So Rosenthal laid the case for the Dodgers to land Tucker, who could slide right into the outfield at Dodger Stadium.
“Tucker on, say, a four-year deal with opt-outs and a massive AAV would be a classic Friedman add,” Rosenthal wrote. “The idea also might appeal to Tucker’s low-key personality. Rather than the center of attention, he would be perhaps the Dodgers’ fifth- or sixth-biggest star.”
This is the final offseason before the MLB collective-bargaining agreement expires, and the Dodgers are seeking to become the first team since the 1998-00 New York Yankees to win three straight titles.
If not now, then there may not be another shot for LA to go all-out for free agents, without a hard salary cap in place, even though Rosenthal suggested a deal with Tucker, two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal or Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta is “a long shot.”
“The whole thing still sounds like a long shot — as does any chance of trading for Peralta or the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal,” Rosenthal wrote. “But when Friedman is hanging around the backboard, it’s best to stay attentive.”
The Dodgers Still Have Holes To Fill
A deal involving Skubal or Peralta seems especially unlikely since the Dodgers starting rotation is a clear strength, even with Clayton Kershaw’s retirement.
Ohtani, Snell, Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are the clear Nos. 1-4, with Emmet Sheehan and playoff hero Roki Sasaki providing depth — though most Dodgers fans understand you can never have too much pitching with the injuries the starting staff has gone through in recent years.
But Friedman still has some deals to make, since the Dodgers only have 16 players on major-league contracts at the moment. Sure, the core is in tact, and some of those spots will be filled by arbitration-eligible players and others under team control.
But you can bet Friedman hasn’t stopped trying to upgrade the Dodgers roster even though they still are the clear favorites to win the World Series again in 2026.
Insider Lays Out Plan For Dodgers To Land Prized Free Agent Outfielder