Brewers' path to the World Series gets even tougher as Dodgers land Kyle Tucker

After sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS last October, and proceeding to win their second-consecutive World Series with a bloated payroll that led to many discussions about the competitive balance of Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to an insane four-year, $240 million contract with the top bat on the free agent market this winter: Kyle Tucker. ESPN's Jeff Passan was first to report the signing, and FanSided's own Robert Murray quickly followed with the contract details.

Tucker, who along with his 2025 Chicago Cubs team, lost to the Brewers in five games during the NLDS, was seemingly nearing a deal with the New York Mets. New York's owner Steve Cohen made several posts on the social media platform X this afternoon claiming that Tucker was nearing a decision, suggesting that his choice would end up being the Mets. However, rather than dive head-first into the scrutiny that comes along with playing in New York, Tucker made the easy decision to join the best, and most expensive, team ever assembled in Los Angeles. The $60 million salary that he was offered probably aided his decision too.

Dodgers land Kyle Tucker on eye-popping four-year, $240 million deal, complicating the Brewers' path back to the World Series

Fans might be quick to forget that Tucker's contract isn't the only record-breaking one the Dodgers dished out this offseason. Los Angeles also made Edwin Díaz the highest-paid relief pitcher in MLB history (by average annual value), with a $23 million salary over the next three seasons. In the two expensive moves, Los Angeles has shored up two of the weakest parts of their 2025 roster.

It's certainly difficult news to stomach for the entire National League, but especially a team like the Brewers who were the second-to-last team standing in the league last season and now have to watch the Dodgers spend roughly half of Milwaukee's annual payroll on the salary of one player. Paired with Dave Roberts' commitment to "ruining baseball" following the Dodgers' NLCS win over the Brewers, today's news is even more difficult to process.

But this is baseball, and anything can happen. As William Contreras noted in a letter to Brewers fans last year, "the ball is round" and sometimes it bounces your way. Yes, the Dodgers just added a four-time All-Star and perennial MVP candidate to their already loaded roster, but that will only make it that much sweeter when the Milwaukee knocks them out of the postseason in 2026...right?