Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers outmaneuvered rival teams to sign free agent outfielder Kyle Tucker. With a generous investment to acquire Tucker, the Dodgers surged past the New York Yankees to reach unprecedentedly high World Series win dividends for the 2026 season.
U.S. outlets including ESPN reported on the 16th (Korean time) that the Dodgers agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract with Tucker (about 353.5 billion won). The average annual $60 million (about 88.4 billion won) is the highest ever for a major league position player. The Dodgers prevailed in the bidding against the New York Mets, the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees.
U.S. publication the New York Post reported on the 17th, The Dodgers have become the No. 1 pick in World Series win dividends after acquiring the best free agent, and said, The Dodgers were already considered a championship contender before signing Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract. Tucker's acquisition has made the championship dividends an all-time number.
According to U.S. sportsbook BetMGM Sportsbook, the Dodgers' World Series win dividend is +225. The +225 dividend number means that a $100 bet would return $325 if the Dodgers win. That is the highest preseason dividend since the 2003 New York Yankees, whose World Series win dividend was +200 at the season opener.
Converting the +225 dividend to probability gives the Dodgers about a 31% chance of winning the World Series. In recent seasons, the preseason No. 1 contender's probability was usually 10%–15%. It is a figure that shows how dominant the Dodgers' roster is for the 2026 season.
In 2025, Tucker played 136 games for the Chicago Cubs, posting a .266 batting average with 22 home runs, 73 RBIs, an OPS of .841, a wOBA of .363 and a WAR of 4.5. The Dodgers have reinforced the previously weak outfield position, assembling a powerful top of the order of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Tucker.
Toronto, the Yankees and the Mets worked in the off-season to close the gap with the Dodgers, who won back-to-back World Series titles, but the gap widened further after the Dodgers signed Tucker.
The New York Post reported, Tucker made a decision that makes the rich even richer, and the Yankees' World Series win dividend fell from +750 to 10/1.
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