Yankees Never Stood a Chance Against Dodgers' Kyle Tucker Offer

For MLB fans wanting a salary cap, the latest Kyle Tucker contract likely was the final straw, and the New York Yankees were on the wrong side of it.

The Yankees had long been in the mix for Tucker, though they never seemed to take it super seriously.

With Cody Bellinger still on the table, New York pushed Tucker to the side until it was far too late. Even then, the New York Mets had an offer on the table that was going to be hard to beat.

Now, it's a four-year, $240 million deal that sees Tucker head to the back-to-back World Series Champions. Looking at that number, it's clear the Yankees never stood a chance.

Kyle Tucker's Deal Is Outrageous

The Dodgers just signed Kyle Tucker for $60 million a year, $240 million total. Baseball can’t continue like this. I don’t blame the Dodgers for exploiting their competitive advantage — or players for taking advantage of the big money — but it’s awful for MLB.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 16, 2026

The luxury tax the Dodgers are paying on Tucker's deal alone is more than the Yankees would've liked to spend on him. It's not like they were cheap in his negotiations, this is just the sad state that baseball is in.

Only Shohei Ohtani has a higher AAV than Tucker and somehow those two are now on the same team. Los Angeles somehow added Edwin Diaz as well this offseason while the only thing the Yankees were able to do is acquire Ryan Weathers for a boatload of prospects.

They say money isn't everything, but that's far from the truth. There's no loyalty in this sport anymore. No matter how much a team offers, it seems like players always go to the highest bidder. Until there's a way to change that, a team like the Dodgers is always going to have their way.

Tucker is great, no doubt, but in no world is he worth that kind of money. Now, more than ever, the Bellinger contract talks are going to stall. New York is refusing to meet his demands for a seven-year deal, but who knows what is going to happen after looking at this monstrous deal for the four-time All-Star.

Yankees Stood No Chance

Kyle Tucker is going to make $20M more annually per season than Aaron Judge.

Aaron Judge is VERY UNDERPAID. pic.twitter.com/T1ZzSjjq6A
— Everything Yankees (@eyyankees) January 16, 2026

Baseball is seemingly the only sport in the world with this problem, and it's a big one at that. The Yankees, who are in one of the biggest markets in baseball, are still having a hard time competing to sign top players.

The Yankees have missed on seemingly every top free agent this offseason, so now they have no choice but to pay Bellinger whatever he wants as they have no other options. Bo Bichette's name is still being floated around, but that doesn't seem like a deal that is going to be finalized in New York anytime soon.

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