Los Angeles Dodgers star outfielder Kyle Tucker is the latest member of the squad to get a bobblehead this season, though it comes at a rough time.
Tucker signed a massive $240 million contract over the winter, hoping to solve the Dodgers’ corner outfield problems.
Before him, Michael Conforto came on a high-average-annual-value deal for one year and was flat-out awful at the plate.
Teoscar Hernandez has proven to be a good addition, but for the second regular season, he is not hitting all that great, while his defense remains a liability at times.
Tucker was meant to be a long-term solution, finally fixing the outfield and providing some relative youth to an aging, veteran team.
However, through 102 regular-season games, he has failed on both counts. Tucker is hitting .235/.332/.369 with a 97 wRC+ and a 0.7 fWAR.
He is slightly below average as a run creator and less than a whole win of value to the team.
His numbers have been nothing short of disappointing, and now, as he struggles, Tucker is going to be at the center of attention on Friday against the Boston Red Sox.
The Dodgers are giving away a Kyle Tucker bobblehead for the first 40,000 fans, an event meant to celebrate a multi-time All-Star and top 10 hitter in baseball joining the squad for a three-peat push.
Instead, it is an event celebrating the idea and potential of a player rather than what he has been.
Is the pressure of being a Dodger getting to Kyle Tucker?
Notably, Tucker is hitting just .204 at home, with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 51 games and more than 200 plate appearances.
Away from Dodger Stadium, he is hitting .265 and has seven home runs with 34 RBIs.
To Kyle Tucker, there is no additional pressure of being a Dodger or regarding his contract.
“I don’t take it like that, I just go out and play regardless. No matter where I’m at or what I’m doing, I just go out there and try and play well,” Tucker said back in June.
As Dodger fans have come to learn about Tucker, he is not necessarily an excitable guy who will show much emotion during good or bad times.
In fact, he has always remained relatively calm despite his struggles when talking to the media.
However, it would be impossible to hide frustration like the kind he certainly has over his current level of play. In the dugout, things are starting to boil over.
While things look grim for Tucker on the whole this year, he had back-to-back home runs for the first time all year during the road trip at Citi Field against the Mets.
Manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers still believe he can figure things out.
“For me, it stems from I think he’s starting to become more open and talk about his feels, thoughts; specifically with the hitting guys. That’s a good sign for me,” Roberts said a few days ago.
“And I see a lot more back-and-forth dialogue with the hitting guys, which I didn’t see before. And also I think the swings, the hard contact, has been better. The at-bats, he’s getting some more walks recently.
“So all those things, for me, the arrow is pointing up. Yeah. He’s very internal. So I think a lot of it, he was trying to figure out on his own.”
There is still plenty of time for him to be a worthwhile signing for the Dodgers if he comes through in the playoffs, but he has less than 60 games to get into a rhythm.
If he fails to get things going after September, it will be all or nothing come October, where he will need to believe in himself despite the lack of production.
One Response
Dodgers should trade him if they can. They have plenty of talent in the minors.