PHOENIX — Kyle Tucker slipped into the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse early Monday morning, quietly dressed in front of his locker and was virtually unnoticed.
This is the highest-paid player in baseball this season.
This was the most sought-after free agent all winter.
And this is the player who’ll be blamed for Major League Baseball’s lockout on Dec. 1.
Tucker, the Dodgers’ new right fielder, hears it, smiles uneasily at the mere mention of the notion, and shakes his head.
What did he ever do to deserve this unwanted attention except sign a contract like thousands of free agents before him?
The difference, of course, is that he not only signed a four-year, $240 million contract that pays him $60 million a year – the greatest present-day annual salary in baseball history – but it’s with the mighty Dodgers.
The rich gets richer, the powerful get more powerful and the angry fans get angrier.
Welcome to life as a Dodger.
“It doesn’t bother me, it really doesn’t,’’ Tucker tells USA TODAY Sports. “I’m sure it would have probably happened in some aspect regardless of where I would have went. But I think with this team, winning the last two years, probably made it bigger.’’
You think?
The moment Tucker signed his stunning deal Armageddon sirens screamed throughout Major League Baseball. Owners immediately decried that his signing is Exhibit 1-A why a salary cap is needed. And the union argued that this is why a salary cap would completely ruin the fair market.
Tucker is a four-time All Star, two-time Silver Slugger and World Series champion, but he has only one top 10 MVP finish (fifth in 2023) in his career.
The Dodgers, who just won two World Series without him, are paying $119.9 million alone this season for Tucker’s services when you consider the 110% penalty for signing him while being over the highest luxury tax threshold.
That expenditure just so happens to be equal or greater than the entire payroll for nine of the 30 MLB teams.
Really.
If Tucker had just signed the 10-year, $350 million contract that the Toronto Blue Jays offered, no one would have blinked. If he had accepted the New York Mets’ four-year, $220 million deal, there would have been angst among owners, but not a seismic uproar.
The Dodgers were the only team that could trigger a reaction so furious that the signing could threaten to shut down the game once the collective bargaining agreement expires in December.
“I just happen to be on the team this front office assembled,’’ Tucker says. “I mean, obviously, every team would want to get the best players on their own team, but it doesn’t always work out like that. But this team does a pretty good job trying to put the best product out on the field for the fans.
“They’ve done that the last couple of years, putting themselves in a position to win a World Series.’’
And succeeding.
For Tucker, it’s a colossal win-win.
He not only joins the best team in the land, becoming the highest-paid player in the game, but he also can squeeze in quietly, and ever so comfortably, in a sea of All-Stars, MVPs and future Hall of Famers. The Dodgers’ clubhouse attendants and batboys may get more air time and exposure than Tucker this season, which perfectly fits his personality.
“They make it pretty easy to come into this clubhouse and just be yourself and enjoy baseball,’’ Tucker said. “This organization is first class. We do have some really great players and great people on this team, so I’ve felt comfortable ever since I got here. I’m just going to do my thing regardless of where I’m at.’’
It’s the ideal scenario for Tucker and his low-key personality where he could go hitless for a week as the Dodgers’ starting right fielder and perhaps no one would even notice.
“When you come to a new team like this, you don’t have to be the main guy,’’ said Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who moved from right field to left field to accommodate Tucker. “So it will be great him because he won’t have that extra pressure on him. He can just be himself.’’
The Dodgers couldn’t care less if he makes the media’s job easier with quotes and sound bites as long as his bat does the talking for him. He averaged 30 homers and 104 RBI for three consecutive seasons before enduring calf, shin and hand injuries the last two years with the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs, but still has a career .865 OPS – 40 points above the league average.
“I love guys who just come to work and value playing and love playing and competing,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says. “He just wants to win. He’s not a self-promoter. He’s not going to give you guys a lot of great sound bites. He wants to play to win.
“I love guys like that.’’
While four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani left the Dodgers’ camp Sunday night for the WBC, with about a dozen reporters departing too and leaving perhaps the fewest reporters in the Dodgers’ camp since 2003, Tucker went about his business as usual.
No one bothered him. Perhaps no one really noticed him. And in about a week, there won’t be a single reporter stopping their Dodgers coverage with his absence.
Tucker’s wife, Samantha, is expecting their first child in a week.
Samantha’s pregnancy is the reason Tucker declined Team USA’s offer to play in the World Baseball Classic beginning March 6. He hopes to play in the international tournament one day, but this is not the time to be away from the birth of his son.
“I’m going to miss out on this WBC experience,’’ Tucker said, “but for good reason. Believe me, I wanted to do it. So hopefully, if something pops again next time, I’ll do it for sure.’’
For now, he has a World Series championship to win.
“It’ll be cool watching those guys get their World Series rings this year,’’ Tucker said of the scheduled March 27 ceremony. “These guys deserve it. They worked their asses off to be in the position they are. So, it’s going to be fun to watch and hopefully be part of the [ring] ceremony next year.’’
Well, whenever that likely lockout ends and the 2027 season begins.
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