The Los Angeles Dodgers assured during the early days of free agency they didn’t feel a need for splashy additions coming off back-to-back World Series titles, but that quickly fell by the wayside with the signings of Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker.
Both players received a record-setting contract, with Díaz’s $69 million deal setting a new high mark for relief pitchers at a $23 million average annual value. Similarly, Tucker’s $240 million contract set a present-day AAV record at $57.1 million when factoring in deferred salary.
Kyle Tucker’s Dodgers contract going to cause lockout?
Shortly after Tucker signed with the Dodgers, it was reported as being the final straw for some owners in their expected pursuit of an MLB lockout and overhauled collective bargaining agreement (CBA) after the 2026 season.
According to Maddie Lee of the L.A. Times, Ian Happ, a former Chicago Cubs teammate of Tucker’s and someone who previously served on the MLB Players Association executive subcommittee, that sentiment isn’t one that carries much weight.
“I don’t see that as like the one thing or the last thing,” Happ said. “You could have made that argument however many years ago when a bunch of guys signed over 10-year, $300-million deals that it was like, ‘This is out of control.’ And you see how the market’s moved.”
While Happ points to prior long-term contracts now giving way to shorter-term deals at higher AAV, the reality is a lockout once the current CBA expires was all but guaranteed, regardless of what unfolded with Tucker in free agency.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has often discussed the Dodgers’ financial might over recent years, and while he’s expressed some concern that other fanbases feel a sense of defeat, there also was praise put on the organization.
Like Happ, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman also struggled to reconcile with the notion that Tucker’s contract was a tipping.
“For us, we just don’t pay much attention to that because we operate within the rules and we do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position, both short-term and longterm,” Friedman said after Tucker’s introductory press conference.
“We’re not thinking about more macro things outside of that. It is about, how can we win as many games and put ourselves in the best position to win a championship in 2026 without really compromising ourselves in the future and falling off that proverbial cliff. So it’s the balance and maintaining of those two things that are our sole focus.”
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