Hey, so after an elongated quiet period to start 2026, everybody finally got what they wanted in something to write about and react to. Surely baseball fans were all happy about it, right?
Right.
https://t.co/dJk185B67i pic.twitter.com/PAdqPOMFOo
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) January 16, 2026
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Baseball Prospectus: Patrick Dubuque wrote about the Dodgers signing Kyle Tucker and how round he is.
One of the reasons it’s so easy to talk about money when one talks about Kyle Tucker is that it’s surprisingly difficult to talk about anything else. That’s not to say that Tucker isn’t good—with a projected 136 DRC+, he is obviously very, very good—but his image and his numbers are pure polish. One of the most well-rounded players in the game, the four-time All Star doesn’t have any flashing weak points to expose and manipulate, nor has he generated the sort of highlights one would expect from The Man Who Earned the Biggest Contract Ever™.
MLB: Will Leitch mentions what nobody wants to hear but is plainly true: the Dodgers probably needed Tucker (or some kind of big outfield upgrade).
If you’re looking to defend your title (again), going into the season with the 18th-best outfield in baseball isn’t the best way to do it. Tucker slots perfectly into right field for the Dodgers, and at age 28 (if just until his birthday on Saturday), he actually becomes one of the younger guys in that lineup. The Dodgers have a lot of strengths, but before this signing, the outfield wasn’t one of them. It is now.
FanGraphs: Jay Jaffe talks some about the likely aftereffects of Tucker’s deal.
Given that it’s the two-time champions adding the number one free agent on the market, setting a record for AAV, and using some amount of deferred money to flex their muscle, this isn’t likely to reduce anyone’s ire towards the Dodgers, or rival fans’ and executives’ discomfort with their combination of spending and success. On the contrary, it will add to the din regarding the game’s financial inequities and the seeming inevitability of a lockout next winter, renew calls for a salary cap, and probably boost sales of fainting couches among team owners. It’s likely that the next Collective Bargaining Agreement will create even stiffer penalties for the crime of trying to win. Until then, the Dodgers are gunning for a three-peat.
He also mentions it’s an overpay on paper, which I’m sure is true by $/WAR or whatever. In reality, though, it’s only an actual overpay if the move limits the Dodgers elsewhere. There’s no evidence that would be the case, so it’s hard to care.
ESPN: Bradford Doolittle gives the Tucker deal an A-, similarly alluding to an overpay…
From a pure actuarial perspective, I don’t think Tucker will be worth $60 million per season. If we go with $10 million as the cost of a win in free agency these days, the simple math says Tucker would have to average six WAR per season for L.A. to break even on the deal. It’s way more complicated than that, but let’s go with that framework. Tucker, as good as he has been, has never had a six-WAR season.
…but ultimately concluding it doesn’t matter and that being on the Dodgers could prime him for a career year of sorts.
What remains intact — in a most Dodgers-like fashion — are Tucker’s indicators in plate discipline, contact rates and getting the barrel on the ball. Now he gets plugged into the Dodgers’ machine, one of a crowded cast of stars on a team of champions, and it’s easy to envision a career renaissance in the offing.
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FanGraphs: This being left out of the last Dodgers Roundup was an oversight, but here’s their Top 52 prospects for the Dodgers, led by Josue De Paula. Notable ranking placements are Emil Morales at #4, Christian Zazueta at #7, Marlon Nieves at #12, Luis Carias at #17, Oliver Gonzalez at #18, and Kyle Hurt at #28 — the first five for being high and the last one for being low. There were also 22 other prospects mentioned for a whopping 74 total.
As much as any one org can box out entire continents, the Dodgers are doing that. Their global clout tends to give them better access to the best Taiwanese, Korean, and Japanese players, and they’re also operating a facility in Africa without much competition there. Few teams would be able to bankroll some of this stuff, let alone execute it well. The Dodgers do both and are arguably the best overall franchise in American sports right now. This system is awesome and one of the best handful in the game despite lacking much polished impact pitching.
Neato.
Baseball America: The publication ranked the top prospects at every position, which included five Dodgers prospects: Chase Harlan at #5 for 3B, Eduardo Quintero at #4 and Mike Sirota at #5 for CF, and De Paula at #3 and Zyhir Hope at #10 for LF/RF. System is a tad outfield heavy.
Baseball America: 21-year-old outfielder Samuel Munoz was chosen as a breakout hitting prospect whose potential was masked by an unassuming stat line — .239/.347/.389/.736 in A/A+.
The 21-year-old Munoz has strong underlying contact metrics, but his impact ability remains to be seen. His 79% contact rate and 16% in-zone whiff rate are solid for his age and level, and he makes quality swing decisions, as evidenced by his 18% chase rate. Munoz’s exit velocities are more of a mixed bag. His 112 mph max EV is intriguing, but his 101.7 mph 90th percentile mark is more average.If Munoz can combine improved quality of contact with his feel to hit, he could take a step forward in 2026.
Baseball America: 23-year-old right-handed starting pitcher Aidan Foeller was chosen as a breakout pitching prospect whose potential was masked by an unassuming stat line — 4.65 ERA/4.80 FIP over 98.2 innings in A/A+.
Foeller has a sturdy frame at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, and his stuff pops in models. He has one of the highest stuff grades in the Dodgers’ system, led by his fastball, which has a strong combination of outlier release traits and shape. His fastball averages 93.9 mph with over 19 inches of induced vertical break. He pairs that velocity and shape with just under seven feet of extension and a higher release height. This combination allows his fastball to play above its velocity and up in the zone. His command of the pitch is a work in progress, but it had an excellent 38% whiff rate, which ranked second in the Dodgers’ system in 2025. Foeller’s secondary offerings are more of a work in progress. All have below-average control metrics but flash bat-missing potential.Because of the quality of his fastball, Foeller has major league upside, especially if his velocity takes a step forward in shorter stints.
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Dodger Insider: About all those “Clayton Kershaw has thrown his final pitch” posts … well, he’s decided to pitch for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
“I learned a long time ago, you just want to be a part of great things,” Kershaw told MLB Network on Thursday. “And this team seems like a really fun, awesome group.”
For the vibes, baby.
Sportico: Shohei Ohtani made a whopping ~$100 million in endorsements for 2025. That comical figure leads all athletes and puts him up with all-timers.
Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers is all deferred outside of $2 million per year, but the Japanese superstar earned an estimated $100 million from sponsors and memorabilia during the 2025 season, when he won his fourth MVP. He also pocketed a $485,000 postseason bonus for the Dodgers’ second straight World Series title.Going into the 2025 season, Ohtani added a half-dozen companies to his endorsement portfolio after his first season with the Dodgers in 2024 elevated his global standing even further. Ohtani’s $100 million in endorsement earnings in a single year is a threshold reached by only three athletes ever: Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Curry, who each did it one time.
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Anyway, remember to enjoy this.
Rival fans rooting for the sport they love to collapse because your favorite team is owning so hard is truly the pinnacle of sports fandom.
