{"id":440524,"date":"2026-08-22T15:52:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/440524\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T15:52:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T15:52:59","slug":"struggling-dodgers-outfielder-kyle-tucker-needs-to-relax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/440524\/","title":{"rendered":"Struggling Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker needs to relax"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s as though Kyle Tucker<\/a> accidentally became important at work and it ruined his life.<\/p>\n

He just so happened to be the best available right fielder on the free agent market at the moment in time that the Dodgers<\/a> were craving an uptick in right field and another functional bat to further fortify their lineup.<\/p>\n

Basically, they wanted just another cog in the machine to help clear a path to a third consecutive World Series championship.<\/p>\n

And because money is no object \u2014 to the objection of the rest of baseball \u2014 instead of offering Tucker a long-term deal with annual pay more in line with his talents, the Dodgers slapped a four-year, $240-million deal<\/a> on the table.<\/p>\n

\"Dodger <\/p>\n

Dodger Kyle Tucker talks with manager Dave Roberts in the dugout on Aug. 15.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Said, essentially: Hey, guy, how would you like a Major League Baseball record for average annual value \u2014 about $57.1 million per year \u2014 not to be the man, but to be a guy?<\/p>\n

Not to outshine Shohei Ohtani<\/a> and his starry pals, not to move merch off the field or do huge numbers on it. Just to quietly do what he did the previous season as a Chicago Cub, when he slashed .266\/.377\/.464 with 22 home runs, 73 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 136 games.<\/p>\n

It must have felt like winning the lottery. All the introverted Tucker had to do was be his normal self with the understanding that no one expected him to live up to that Ohtani-type contract, that Juan Soto-esque dough, that Aaron Judge-level cheddar.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t that too much was expected of Tucker, it was that only so much was.<\/p>\n

That was a weird place to start. And it obviously didn\u2019t help him find his footing as a Dodger, because he still hasn\u2019t gained traction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it\u2019s been a struggle in the sense that I\u2019d like to help our team win and perform better for the guys in the clubhouse and the fans that come to the games,\u201d Tucker said Friday. \u201cIn that aspect, I wish I would\u2019ve done better this year. But like I said, we\u2019ve still got a month and a half left and the playoffs coming up, so it\u2019s not over yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t, of course, say \u201cpoor Kyle Tucker\u201d as he strains \u2014 less stoically now \u2014 to figure it out with the postseason closing in.<\/p>\n

But we can wonder if it was a poor decision by the Dodgers, with all of their top-flight minor league outfield prospects, to splurge so steeply?<\/p>\n

We can ask whether they should have taken into account the mental makeup of a man who they were asking to carry the weight of a contract so unwieldy he should be embarrassed by it \u2014 which is how Tucker looks when he does his inhibited version of the hip-lock, arm wiggle-and-wave dance moves all the Dodgers do when they reach base.<\/p>\n

Tucker just hasn\u2019t looked like a true blue Dodger yet; he hasn\u2019t been able to cut loose \u2014 especially not here in L.A.<\/p>\n

\"Brandon <\/p>\n

Brandon Gomes, Dodgers executive president and general manager, helps new signee Kyle Tucker put on a Dodgers jersey during a news conference at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 21.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

After going 0-for-4 in Friday\u2019s 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tucker is hitting .186 with a .552 OPS at Dodger Stadium. He went 0-for-19 in the Dodgers\u2019 last homestand, when even a game off did nothing to unscramble his mind.<\/p>\n

Overall, he\u2019s had it rough in the outfield too, where Statcast\u2019s Fielding Run Value (FRV) measuring a player\u2019s overall defensive value has him rated 96th of 97 right fielders this season.<\/p>\n

At present, it doesn\u2019t help that Tucker is one of two high-profile Dodger free-agent busts-so-far.<\/p>\n

All-Star closer Edwin D\u00edaz<\/a> has blown four saves while saving just seven games this season in between stints on the injured list \u2014 Tucker and D\u00edaz, insult to injury. For the high-high price of a combined $309 million.<\/p>\n

Still, the Dodgers are 78-51. They have the second-best record in baseball, with two fewer wins than the Milwaukee Brewers.<\/p>\n

And on the road, Tucker has given the Dodgers more of their money\u2019s worth, hitting.272 with a .820 OPS.<\/p>\n

So after Wednesday\u2019s two-hit game to close out a sweep in Colorado, Tucker came home and tried the slump-busting tactic of taking batting practice outside on the field Friday for the first as a Dodger.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to put up good swings tonight, good at-bats,\u201d he said. \u201cJust trying to move guys over, get guys in, do my part to try to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crowd participated too Friday, giving Tucker ovations more befitting a hitter on a heater than one on ice each time he stepped to the plate, where he put up a fight all night.<\/p>\n

He saw 31 pitches, walked and hit into a 10th-inning fielder\u2019s choice that moved Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez to third base before he scored on Tommy Edman\u2019s walk-off single.<\/p>\n

Moral victories for $240 million, Alex? That\u2019s not what the Dodgers bargained for.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019ll take it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved his at-bats,\u201d said Roberts after Friday\u2019s victory<\/a>, picking up where the Dodgers\u2019 crowd left off. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things I\u2019m going to make sure I do, is encourage him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because one magic moment in October will make it all worth it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s as though Kyle Tucker accidentally became important at work and it ruined his life. He just so…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[174641,7203,2135,3560,426,2424,423,6135,48,52,51,32721,47,50,49,4263,105136,315,26336,8934,316],"class_list":["post-440524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-available-right-fielder","tag-base","tag-baseball","tag-dodger","tag-dodgers","tag-friday","tag-game","tag-guy","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-long-term-deal","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-money","tag-previous-season","tag-time","tag-tucker","tag-victory","tag-wednesday"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}