The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off another surprising move as they signed top free agent Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract.
When taking deferrals into account, Tucker is set to earn a record $57.1 million per season over the life of his Dodgers deal.
L.A. is now projected to have a luxury tax payroll of well over $400 million for the second consecutive season.
Dodgers president of baseball Andrew Friedman recently said the organization is in an excellent financial position and believes the Tucker signing reflects that.
“Obviously we started lower,” Friedman said of contract negotiations with Tucker. “I think when we’ve seen these shorter-term, higher AAV deals, I don’t think they’ve ever come when they also had a really long, significant deal. Not that I can remember.
“Usually guys take those shorter-term deals because the longer-term deal hasn’t materialized, so it’s a chance to kind of reset and go back out to the market. He had that opportunity.
“So for us, it was about selling the opportunity to play with these guys, to play in front of these fans, to play in this city, to connect with this community. Who knows? It doesn’t mean it has to be two, three, four years here. It could be longer than that.
“I think for him to choose us when he had other longer-term and other shorter-term, I think speaks to the growth and progress we’ve made on creating a destination spot.”
Tucker repeatedly turned down lucrative offers from the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets in favor of helping the Dodgers chase a third consecutive World Series title.
Among other factors, Tucker said getting to complement a star-studded lineup that features Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, among others, was too good to pass up.
Andrew Friedman: Dodgers’ culture attractive to free agents
While the Dodgers’ signing of Tucker has sparked more calls for a salary cap, Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper recently defended the team and believes their aggressive spending is good for baseball.
Friedman isn’t worried about the noise and said players want to sign with the Dodgers for the winning culture they have built.
“I think so,” Friedman said. “Again, the reputation around the league with other players, kind of gets back to the destination spot. This isn’t just about, let’s spend a lot of money.
“It’s also about, let’s cultivate a really strong farm system, let’s be really strong organizationally. Not just at the Major League level, but doing everything we can to have a really strong farm system, which in turn gives us more confidence about how good we’ll be in two, three, four, five years.
“It’s all encompassing in terms of our organization, and a destination spot where our players and families feel incredibly well taken care of. If they’re playing in front of 7,000 people, they don’t feel that as much.
“Playing in front of 50,000 people and seeing the passion, and how much people live and die with the Dodgers each summer and each October, I think adds to the experience and allure of playing here.”
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