Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani praised new All-Star teammate Kyle Tucker ahead of the 2026 season.
Tucker signed with the Dodgers during the offseason, inking a four-year, $240 million deal in Jan. He was perhaps the best free agent available this offseason, and immediately solved the Dodgers’ glaring hole in the outfield.
“He’s a great batter, and he’s a great defender as well,” Ohtani said on Dodger Talk with David Vassegh.
He’s truly a player that has everything. He can hit, he can run, he can play defense, he’s got it all.”
How Good is Kyle Tucker?
As far as hitters in MLB go, very few are better than Tucker.
The slugger has been ripping up MLB pitchers since 2021, when he broke out with a 30-homer, 92-RBI season. He has made the All-Star Game in every season since, and has also hit 20 or more homers in each of those campaigns, as well as at least 4.0 bWAR. He also has two Silver Sluggers to his name, which he won in 2023 and 2025.
Tucker struggled with injury in 2025, as he played through a hairline fracture in his hand, but still managed to produce at the plate
The outfielder hit 22 home runs and logged 73 RBIs, posting an .841 OPS through 136 games played.
He earned MVP votes in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and also won the 2022 World Series with the Houston Astros.
Tucker and Ohtani will make a formidable duo towards the top of the Dodgers’ lineup in the coming season, as manager Dave Roberts revealed the new arrival would bat second or third in 2026.
On top of his hitting, though, Tucker has proven himself as an elite fielder during his MLB career.
While he hovered around league average in 2025, he had only finished a season with a negative fielding run value once since becoming an everyday player in 2021. He also won a Gold Glove in 2022, the year he made his first All-Star appearance.
With an addition like Tucker to their lineup, the Dodgers have set themselves up nicely to defend their World Series title and earn the franchise’s first three-peat.
How do you think Kyle Tucker will perform in 2026?
4 Responses
If people will leave him alone and not pester him, I think he will do as well as he always has and maybe even a little better. He knows the NL pitchers now and has ginormous protection around him at the plate. And unless he hots the ball to straight away center field all the time, the outfield dimensions are nominal for a slugger like him. I believe he will answer a lot of questions for the Dodgers at bat and in the outfield and those who have pooh poohed his signing will come around by seasons end.
Kyle is solid, he has plenty of protection with the other hitters on this roster. If the Dodgers are healthy through the season they can dominate this year.??
Shouldn’t be an issue at all if they stay healthy. The quality is definitely there
I agree that Tucker is a nice addition to the Dodgers but is, in no way, worth the $60M/year contract the Dodgers gave him to procure his services. I would hope that this would at least put Shoehei a few places deeper in the batting order so that he can knock in some more runs! His RBI to HR ratio needs to be higher!