After days of the rumor mill strongly linking outfielder Kyle Tucker with the New York Mets, the free agent star agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, ESPN and The Athletic reported Thursday night.
Per the reports, the contract is for four years and $240 million, with Tucker receiving the right to opt out after the second and third years of the pact.
The Mets reportedly were offering Tucker a pact that would have paid $50 million a year.
Tucker, a four-time All-Star, could be entering the prime
years of his career. He turns 29 on Saturday.
The Tampa native spent seven years with the Houston Astros before he was traded to the Cubs last winter. During his lone season in Chicago, he made the National League All-Star team after a strong first half in which he hit .280 with 17 homers, 56 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 95 games.
In an injury-plagued second half, the left-handed hitter batted .231 with five homers, 17 RBIs and three steals in 41 games.
Across 769 career games, Tucker has a .273 batting average, a .358 on-base percentage, a .507 slugging percentage, 147 homers, 490 RBIs and 119 steals. He has twice hit 30-plus homers in a season and twice driven in 100-plus 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 features Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy.
--Field Level Media
