Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers & A Three-Team Trade!
Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball
The Athletic
4.7 • 874 Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In an emergency bonus pod, Eno and DVR discuss Kyle Tucker's move to the Dodgers on a four-year, $240M deal. While the deal breaks the previous record for Average Annual Value, it also affords Tucker the opportunity to return to free agency with opt-outs after Years 2 and 3. They also discuss the potential risk of building an older, star-filled roster.
Plus, they Angels, Rays and Reds make a three-team trade giving Gavin Lux a fresh start in Tampa Bay, and the Rockies add Willi Castro to the mix.
Rundown
0:52 Kyle Tucker Agrees to Four-Year, $240M Deal with Dodgers
6:16 Comps For Tucker After Age-28
15:30 Taking on More Risk is a Luxury, But Injuries Can Bite in October
19:01 Three-Team Trade: Rays-Reds-Angels
28:36 When the Rays a Free-Agent Deal, You Have to Pay Attention
34:55 Willi Castro Joins the Rockies (Two-Year Deal)
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Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.social
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Hosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno Sarris
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to rates and barrels. |
| 0:16.3 | It was late in the evening, Thursday, January 15th. |
| 0:20.1 | Derek Van Riper here with Enosaris. |
| 0:21.7 | It is a bonus emergency pod because the Dodgers have signed Kyle Tucker. |
| 0:28.7 | And that was kind of a huge deal because it quickly overshadowed a three-team trade between |
| 0:34.6 | the Angels, Rays, and Red. |
| 0:35.9 | So we're going to talk about both of those moves and the implications of |
| 0:39.2 | all of that in this bonus pod. |
| 0:41.2 | We figured this couldn't really wait until after the |
| 0:43.3 | weekend. We're kind of in the middle of our |
| 0:44.8 | position preview series right now, so we're still going to |
| 0:47.2 | drop that episode Friday |
| 0:49.0 | afternoon. We're going to get to second basement |
| 0:51.0 | on that. Eno, let's start |
| 0:53.2 | with the huge signing Kyle Tucker. |
| 0:55.6 | Four years. |
| 0:57.7 | $240 million. |
| 0:59.4 | $30 million of that is deferred. |
| 1:02.0 | Hold on. |
| 1:02.4 | It's after year two and year three. |
| 1:06.3 | Let me see, doing some math here real quick. |
| 1:09.1 | That's only four years and $228 million, sir. |
... |
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