By Ian Miller

Copyright outkick

The 2025 regular season for the Los Angeles Dodgers has been a learning experience. That goes for the front office, the players, and the fans who, before the season started, rushed to say that L.A. had ruined baseball and made it not worth watching. Since an 8-0 start, the season has been one long comedy of errors. This slide culminated in a disastrous road trip against two last-place teams over the past week. It started with a sweep by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then the Dodgers went to Baltimore, where high-priced closer Tanner Scott gave up a walk-off home run to rookie Samuel Basallo to lose Game 1, 2-1. Game 2 was much worse. Yoshinobu Yamamoto carried a no-hitter for 8 2/3 innings against the Orioles and looked in complete control. Jackson Holliday, though, got just enough of a 95 mph pitch to break up his bid for history with a home run. Then Blake Treinen, making $11 million, failed to record an out, loading the bases and walking in a run to make it 3-2. Tanner Scott came in again—for some reason—and surrendered a walk-off single, cementing one of the worst regular-season losses in baseball history. The Dodgers have recovered to win two in a row, but despite their massive payroll and preseason expectations, they’re just one game ahead of the second-place San Diego Padres (two with the tiebreaker) in the NL West and four games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. Since July 3, they’re 24-32—one of the worst marks in baseball, worse than the Pirates or Chicago White Sox. How will the front office respond? By targeting the biggest free agent on the market, according to a new report. Dodgers Targeting Kyle Tucker, Per New Report Despite a second-half slump with the Chicago Cubs, Kyle Tucker is expected to be the most sought-after free agent this winter, and USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale reports the Dodgers are the runaway favorites. “Rival executives still believe he’ll be the highest-paid player in free agency,” Nightengale wrote on Monday. “Their prediction where he’ll land? The Dodgers, who badly could use outfield help.” Tucker has been one of baseball’s best and most consistent hitters since 2021. His weighted runs created plus (wRC+), a measure of offense where 100 is league average, has been exceptional since moving into a full-time role. In a rarity for modern baseball, Tucker has 86 walks against 86 strikeouts, combining power with contact. He’ll also be entering his age-29 season, relatively young for a first-time free agent. All of that makes him the most desirable hitter—and, believe it or not, the Dodgers need more offense. Michael Conforto, on a one-year, $17 million deal, has struggled, with an 80 wRC+. Teoscar Hernandez, re-signed for three years after an exceptional, “clutch”-filled 2024, is having the worst offensive season of his career. After launching 33 homers with a 132 wRC+ last year, his on-base percentage has dropped to .277 this season, and he’s been a below-average hitter. While Andy Pages has had a breakout 2025, his poor plate discipline makes him less valuable than his batting average and home run totals would suggest. Enter Kyle Tucker. Believe it or not, the Dodgers can afford him. Los Angeles has nearly $100 million less committed for 2026 as Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes, Conforto, Kirby Yates, Miguel Rojas and others come off the books. Other teams—the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants and, of course, the Cubs—will be involved, but as the Dodgers have shown, when they want a player, it’s hard to outbid them. Tucker would immediately make the Dodgers’ lineup more formidable—and give fans even more reason to be upset about the Dodgers trying to win, even if they don’t. For an organization that’s made it clear it expects to win as many games as possible each year, 2025 has been a failure. Barring a late-season surge, the Dodgers could come up short of 90 wins (in a non-lockdown shortened season) for the first time since 2012. If they were willing to spend after winning a World Series, how much more will they add if they win 89 games and play in a Wild Card series?