LAS VEGAS — If, and when, the Los Angeles Dodgers are tied to Kyle Tucker this offseason, it should come as no surprise. The reigning back-to-back World Series champions have the financial wherewithal to keep going and keep pressing their advantage ahead of the looming labor strife, and their biggest need, conveniently enough, is probably outfield — Tucker’s position.
They could also just run back what they did with their outfield last winter, seeking a stopgap option or turning to even some internal choices, according to multiple people familiar with the team’s thinking. Among the options: Ryan Ward, who the Dodgers surprisingly added to their 40-man roster last week after a torrid offensive season at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Dodgers are always looming over the biggest free agents, and this will likely be no exception. No free agent is truly out of reach for them, as they showed last winter by remaining in the bidding process for Juan Soto until he signed a record $765 million deal with the New York Mets.
The Dodgers’ $17 million signing of Michael Conforto last winter proved to be a disastrous one, as he wound up producing the 10th-worst OPS (.637) of any hitter with at least 450 plate appearances in 2025 and was left off each of the team’s postseason rosters.
They could be motivated to go with a short-term solution anyway, with an eye towards their future. Arguably, the four best prospects in the Dodgers’ well-regarded farm systems are all outfielders, headlined by Futures Game MVP Josue De Paula, who finished the season in Double A and is the closest of the bunch to the majors.
Zyhir Hope, acquired from the Chicago Cubs ahead of the 2024 season, also closed out this past season at Double A and has exploded onto prospect lists. Eduardo Quintero, a converted former catcher from the 2023 international class, had perhaps the best season of the bunch, with a .923 OPS at High A at just 19 years old. Then there’s Mike Sirota, acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in the Gavin Lux trade, who raked in High A at 22 years old and could move up quickly.
None of those four figures to help the Dodgers in 2025, however, which made their decision to add Ward to their 40-man roster this past week an intriguing one. The 27-year-old minor league veteran was set to hit minor league free agency after a dominant year at the plate, winning Pacific Coast MVP honors with 36 home runs and a .937 OPS with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
His defense has raised some concerns, and this was his third time performing at the level, which raised skepticism about his big-league fit. That skepticism was further fueled in 2025, when the Dodgers’ paltry corner outfield production — led by Conforto, with an array of different options mixing in at left field — was not enough for Ward to warrant a call-up.
With Ward now on the 40-man roster, at least one potential configuration could be a platoon with a left-handed hitting Ward and the right-handed hitting Alex Call, who the Dodgers acquired at the trade deadline and is entering his first year of arbitration. Call logged just 15 plate appearances during the Dodgers’ World Series run and just 85 plate appearances after the trade during the regular season.
There are other alternatives. Tommy Edman, with a healthier right ankle, could play more center field and kick Andy Pages towards a corner. Should the Dodgers bring back Kiké Hernández, he could fit into that left field mix as well. The Dodgers could also look at short-term free agent possibilities, such as Harrison Bader, who they had interest in at the trade deadline, or even Trent Grisham. The trade market could be a possibility, as it was when they heavily explored a Steven Kwan trade in July.
All seem like reasonable, feasible possibilities, even for a Dodgers team that still has cash to burn as they seek baseball’s first threepeat since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.
Or, they can do the thing that the Dodgers certainly can do, and sign Kyle Tucker.