What’s the Next Chapter in this Dodgers’ Fantasy Novel?

Is this real life? Or could it be fantasy? Los Angeles has assembled a walking death star to man the field in Chavez Ravine that has owners and baseball fans demanding a leveling of the playing field. 

Aaron Gash/MLB Photos via Getty Images

On January 15, 2026, the Dodgers and Kyle Tucker agreed to a four-year, $240 million deal ($60 million average annual value, or AAV). Of course, with deferrals. Tucker, 29, has been one of the premier hitters in baseball since his first real opportunity in the shortened 2020 season. Last season, the outfielder produced 4.6 WAR and an OPS+ of 143. Adding that kind of output to an already deadly Dodger lineup is beyond comprehension to the average fan or analyst. Los Angeles has truly rewired the system. 

If it were any other team, the signing of Tucker would likely be the one true highlight of the offseason. However, this isn’t just any team; these are Andrew Friedman’s Dodgers. The baseball genius has created a pipeline of consistent, homegrown talent that is either traded for All-Star talent or consistently produces All-Stars on its own. He pairs this with near-unlimited funding from ownership. What could possibly be NEXT for the big, bad Dodgers? 

Well, do these two names ring a bell? Freddy Peralta (SP) and Tarik Skubal (SP). These two arms have been circling the figurative Dodger drain throughout the entirety of the offseason. Peralta, 29, is coming off a career year where he posted a 2.70 ERA in 176.2 innings while sitting down 202 batters by way of the K. He may have been a bit of smoke and mirrors in 2025 (xERA of 3.43), but teaming him with the pitching coordinators and coaches in Los Angeles could do wonders for his already successful approach to attacking hitters. Peralta is set to earn a mere $8 million in 2026, and the Brewers have made it clear they want to cut payroll. With the right-hander likely departing from Milwaukee when his deal expires at the end of 2026, the Brew Crew’s front office might want to move on at peak value from a business vantage point. 

Skubal, on the other hand, may be the best pitcher in the game. Only rivaled by the likes of Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes, Skubal is coming off back-to-back Cy Young seasons. An addition of back-to-back Cy Youngs to a roster full of back-to-back world champions? Yeah, sign me up. Skubal does everything well. Everything. His changeup might be the best pitch in baseball, his fastball touches 102mph from the left side, and he strikes hitters out at an absurd rate while limiting walks to a minimum. 

The Tigers and agent Scott Boras are in the midst of a groundbreaking arbitration case centered around Skubal. Detroit filed to pay $19 million, and Boras and Skubal filed for $32 million. This represents the largest gap in arbitration history and will likely be a landmark case in sports to look back on. With that being said, you’d expect Skubal to feel a bit slighted and even more likely to depart in free agency for an astronomical amount of money. The Dodgers have the prospects to get the deal done; the only question is, will Detroit let go of one of baseball’s true aces before they absolutely have to? 

With a potential lockout looming over the heads of owners and players alike, Skubal and Peralta may want certainty as it pertains to their baseball futures. Milwaukee and Detroit are unlikely to provide certainty in any facet and are also able to recoup some value in this moment ahead of their imminent departures. 

The Dodgers are doing something that baseball has never seen before. The team we are witnessing being built before our eyes may be the greatest roster ever assembled. Los Angeles hasn’t broken baseball; they’ve revolutionized it. 

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