Dodgers loom large over MLB offseason as Kyle Tucker sweepstakes, potential lockout fears await

Fresh off their World Series championship in 2024, the Dodgers used their reputation, location and various resources to wrangle Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki and used their bursting wallet to lock up another ace in Blake Snell and the best reliever on the market in Tanner Scott. The best team in baseball had further distanced itself from the pack, which became evident this October.

“Before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said after they swept through this year’s NL Championship Series. “Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball.”

After getting those four more wins, will the Dodgers further embrace the ruination?

A team that spends like few others and wins like no others can afford to keep adding to what is a juggernaut and what might be a dynasty. The Dodgers will attempt to make it four World Series championships in six years with the same nucleus — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, a rotation filled with No. 1s, etc. Could they add Kyle Tucker to replace Michael Conforto? How about Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami taking over third base from Max Muncy? What about plucking Edwin Díaz or Devin Williams out of New York to plug into the back of their bullpen?

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There were fears and hopes that the 2025 Dodgers, as star-studded an outfit as baseball has ever seen, could challenge the regular-season record of 116 wins. They could not, so they had to settle for a mere title.

There is real reason to believe that next year’s Dodgers, who print money, will be even better. In a related offseason storyline to follow …

Will a pending lockout be felt?

Looming over the 2025-26 offseason will be the uncertainties to come.

There almost certainly will be a lockout when the current collective bargaining agreement ends Dec. 1, 2026, as owners are expected to push for a salary cap.

If one is implemented — or if the luxury-tax thresholds are adjusted or if the penalties associated with surpassing those thresholds are harshened — teams and players will be affected and would like to be prepared.

Ahead of the unknown, will teams seek one-year deals that would not influence their theoretical 2027 payrolls? Will players seek multiyear deals, ensuring they would not have to re-enter free agency amid so much uncertainty?

There will be some players, of course, whose appeal outweighs any concerns.

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The Tucker sweepstakes

Last winter, it was Juan Soto’s $765 million jaw-dropper. The previous offseason, it was Ohtani’s $700 million stunner. Before that was the Yankees winning the Aaron Judge tug-of-war for $360 million.

This year’s edition of the unfathomable free-agent contract will belong to Tucker, who is the most enticing bat available.

The 28-year-old outfielder has been an All-Star the past four years. Since 2019, his .875 OPS is 10th best in baseball. He has 30-homer power, stole 25 bases last season, makes consistent contact and has loads of October experience.

He will be the biggest prize won, at least with money, this winter, though there will be alternatives.

Free agents cashing in on a second (or third) chance

Among the best free agents — non-Tucker edition — are hitters who have left the market disappointed in the past.

Pete Alonso’s first foray into free agency lingered into February before re-upping with the Mets, essentially on a one-year deal. Alex Bregman also was not thrilled with his market and, thus, took an opt-out-heavy pact with the Red Sox. Cody Bellinger was pessimistic enough about his free-agency outlook that he declined to use his own opt-out for 2025, playing the season for $27.5 million.

All are expected to find larger and longer deals after excellent walk years and, in Alonso’s and Bregman’s cases, with no qualifying offers this time around.

At this point, MLB knows what kind of players these are. More unknown will be …

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Intriguing Japanese free agents

There will be a crowded market for Murakami, a 25-year-old corner infielder who NPB’s Yakult Swallows are expected to post and who can go to the highest bidder (unlike Sasaki, who came over to MLB while viewed as an amateur). Murakami brings plenty of power — he slugged 56 home runs in 2022 — plenty of strikeout issues — 180 in 610 plate appearances in 2024 — and plenty of intrigue.

Yomiuri Giants star Kazuma Okamoto, another corner infielder who has drawn comparisons to Seiya Suzuki, and Seibu Lions righty Tatsuya Imai, who pitched to a 1.92 ERA last season, also are expected to be posted.

There also will be options for teams unhappy with free-agency prices, which prompts the question:

Which potential aces will be on the move?

Will the Tigers, who have not come close to locking up the likely AL Cy Young Award winner ahead of his walk year, cash in on Tarik Skubal and land a haul of prospects?

Will the Brewers do the same with Freddy Peralta? Will the Reds shop Hunter Greene, who is signed through at least 2028? What will the new Nationals regime do with MacKenzie Gore? Will the Marlins finally move Sandy Alcantara? How about the Twins and Joe Ryan?

The free-agent market will contain the likes of Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Dylan Cease, Michael King and Zac Gallen. There will be game-changing talents available, though none of the caliber of …

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Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh

Who will be the AL MVP?

Is it the Yankees captain, who is seeking his third such award in four years, who led the game in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457), slugging percentage (.688) and who is the undisputed best hitter in the world?

Or is it the Mariners slugger, who took a massive leap offensively in launching 60 home runs, carried Seattle to within one victory of the World Series and did all of this while catching — an astounding achievement for a defensive position that occupies so much time and energy?

The world will find out Nov. 13.

Hall of Fame watch

Will this be Carlos Beltrán’s year? The former Yankees and Mets star and Andruw Jones, who also spent time in The Bronx, return to the ballot as the most likely members of the Class of 2026, which the Baseball Writers’ Association of America will vote on before a January announcement.

After Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia sailed through last winter, the first-timers on the ballot this year — led by Cole Hamels and Ryan Braun — will face a steeper climb.

Will the Yankees break through?

The 2024 Plan A, featuring Soto, ultimately did not work. Neither did the 2025 Plan B, which featured Max Fried, Bellinger, Williams and Paul Goldschmidt.

Will Hal Steinbrenner greenlight a run at Tucker? Will Bellinger’s defensive flexibility make him the top target? Does an injury-filled rotation demand greater focus on an available starting pitcher? Do Anthony Volpe’s shoulder and inconsistency lead to shortstop insurance more notable than José Caballero?

Will the Mets rebound?

After a disastrous season in which around $340 million did not result in any playoff games, the Mets have work to do.

Will owner Steve Cohen show more restraint after such an expensive roster proved nothing in baseball is certain? Will Cohen throw even more money into his roster considering the possibility that this could be his final winter of spending without a salary cap or more severe penalties? Will president of baseball operations David Stearns, whose hesitancy to spend significantly on an ace via prospects or dollars burned him last season, show more urgency in acquiring a star pitcher? What about Alonso and Díaz?