This past offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed another big name to a big-time contract, this of course being Kyle Tucker and his $60-million-a-year contract. But this one is one that has not worked out much at all, aside from for Tucker’s bank account.
His current .240 batting average is 30 points less than he typically has, and he’s on pace to only hit 11 homers. He has so far only amassed a 0.9 WAR.
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While fans watch Tucker fail to deliver night after night, on what looks like a hugely failed contract, Bill Shaikin of the L.A.Times argues that this gamble hasn’t really cost the Dodgers anything.
Because Tucker is just another big contract, all of the spotlight and heavy lifting doesn’t fall on him. He has Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for that. But still, that leads one to think a player could thrive if the pressure to do so isn’t as intense as for others.
Said Tucker: “Everyone here is very talented. Everyone is here to help each other out. Everyone here just wants to get back to another World Series, and win it. So I’m trying to do my part and just play baseball.”
The truth is, he could be terrible all season and a big hit or three in the playoffs would erase all of that. And for his part, Tucker is working on getting himself into a place where he’s able to do that. Manager Dave Roberts feels that his at-bats have gotten better, even if the results are yet to come.
“The thing that I’ve appreciated since Day 1 is, he hasn’t run from his struggles,” Roberts said. “He’s owned it.”
Time will tell if Tucker gets to a place where he’s contributing to his team’s success. As for now, he is lucky he has a team and coaching staff that will carry him along until he does.
Two weeks out, the rumors are running rampant about the upcoming trade deadline. Katie Woo of The Athletic writes about what she’s hearing as far as the Dodgers front office goes. She states that multiple sources have said that injuries to both Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith will not impact how president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Co go about making the team World Series ready.
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Improving around the edges has been the calling card of the last few seasons for the Dodgers front office, and there’s not much pointing to that thought process changing this season. The team will have players joining the club on or around the deadline, but those are their own that are injured and are working their way back.
It remains to be seen what the front office actually does by August 3rd, but one shouldn’t get their hopes up about a Tarik Skubal or a catcher to fill in for Smith until he returns. But then again with this front office one just never knows.
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