The Chicago Cubs traded for former Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker this winter, and the move has paid off in a big way. Tucker is one of the best outfielders in the National League, with a .932 OPS and well on his way to another All-Star appearance. The bad news is that Tucker is a free agent at the end of this season, meaning there is only so much the Cubs can do to keep him around. Enter the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Much was made this past offseason about the Dodgers ruining baseball. While that verbiage is filled with a little too much drama for my liking, Los Angeles has added a ton of young talent over the past few winters, and offers one of the best clubhouse cultures in the game. Much of that goes back to an investment in winning, which no one can fault the Dodgers for. However, Los Angeles has enough star-caliber talent on their roster as-is. Signing a player of Tucker’s caliber is always nice, but not necessary for LA.

For the Cubs and other potential suitors around baseball, however, adding Tucker means a whole lot more.

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Dodgers could make a play for Kyle Tucker in free agency

From the front office to the scouting department, the Dodgers rivals are spending the vast majority of their time catching up. The Dodgers know this, and hope to slow them down, which is what makes a recent report from Bob Nightengale all the more infuriating.

“The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to jump into the free-agent fray for Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker this winter. They may not be the high bidder, but they’ll surely keep everyone honest just as they did when they were in the Juan Soto sweepstakes,” Nightengale wrote.

The Dodgers are baseball’s death star. They know it. We all know it. Andrew Friedman’s operation is genius, with the only possible flaw being the National League postseason, where anything that can go wrong, has for LA. Even all that history didn’t stop the Dodgers last season, though, when they won the World Series.

The key to defeating a dynasty like Los Angeles is keeping players like Tucker away from them. Much like Soto, Friedman understands the Dodgers are unlikely to come away winners of the Tucker sweepstakes. But if making a competitive offer raises Tucker’s asking price, or even better takes an NL rival out of the chase entirely, then it’ll prove worthwhile.