Dodgers: A Very Difficult Season for Kyle Tucker

As we know, the Los Angeles Dodgers have no limits when it comes to digging deep into their pockets. But usually, it's worth it for the California team. Except perhaps in the case of Kyle Tucker—at least for now.

Including the luxury tax penalty, the Dodgers are paying $119.7 million to have Tucker play this season—more than the payrolls of eleven Major League Baseball teams.

But so far, the first 94 games of the outfielder's $240 million contract have been a huge disappointment.

In addition to Tucker's lack of power at the plate (kudos to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., by the way), he has posted the worst numbers of his career in several categories, including swing speed, hard-hit percentage, hits with two strikes, and batting average with runners in scoring position.

And I've spared you several other disastrous offensive statistics.

But that's not all. What's concerning about Tucker is that he seems to be bringing his bat with him to the field and on the bases. In fact, his defensive play has dropped from the 52nd percentile last year to the 22^nd percentile in 2026, and his baserunning value and sprint speed continue to decline gradually. He hasn't attempted a stolen base in over a month.

Even though his manager, Dave Roberts, believes the 29-year-old's at-bats over the past two weeks have been his best of the entire year, that's nowhere near enough to justify Tucker's salary under the hot California sun.

But no one will shed a tear.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.