At this point last year, the baseball world had all but collectively agreed that Kyle Tucker and the Chicago Cubs were likely to part ways come the offseason. Tucker struggled throughout the second half of his lone year with the Cubs, and Craig Counsell even benched the All-Star outfielder at one point for a lack of hustle. But few expected the Dodgers to add Tucker to an already dangerous lineup fresh off its second consecutive championship.
If anyone around Wrigley Field is feeling buyer’s remorse, then it’s the Dodgers themselves. Tucker is on pace to set career lows in most categories, and his .722 OPS is considerably below his lifetime .847 average. He’s seen a drastic lack of power and has failed to properly elevate the Dodgers amid Shohei Ohtani’s knee issues.
Not even the analytics work in Tucker’s favor. He's striking out in 18.1% of his plate appearances, his highest since the 2020 COVID season, and his 2.3% home run rate is easily a career worst.
Jed Hoyer and the Cubs look great for passing on Kyle Tucker
Granted, none of this truly matters if Tucker and the Dodgers win the World Series. Championships cure all, and Tucker’s lack of productivity will be forgiven and forgotten if he’s hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy in November. There’s a reason why Yankees fans never dwell on A.J. Burnett or the Red Sox moving past the David Price era.
But for the sake of conversation, let’s say that the Dodgers fall short and miss the World Series for the first time since 2023. Entering Aug. 5, Tucker hasn’t even cleared the 1 bWAR threshold, and he averaged 5.1 bWAR over the previous five years. This isn’t an instance of a power-heavy hitter’s Wins Above Replacement dropping when their lack of defensive value and high strikeout rate were already working against them.
There is no clear reason for Tucker’s struggles. He’s not injured, at least that we know of, and he didn’t participate in the World Baseball Classic, robbing him of the excuse that Cal Raleigh recently used. Neither Tucker nor the Dodgers have suggested that he’s running into a mental block and would benefit from a brief reprieve.
Only a World Series can cure what ails Kyle Tucker and the Dodgers
The one thing working in Tucker’s favor is that he plays for the Dodgers, who have a commanding nine-game advantage in the NL West. But imagine if he were playing like this in Chicago while the Cubs try to overtake the NL Central-leading Brewers? The Friendly Confines would be sending quite a few harshly worded messages his way from the bleachers.
Tucker has less than two months to right the ship and enter the postseason with at least some type of momentum. The Dodgers are still fighting for home-field advantage, and last year’s World Series proved that nothing is guaranteed come October. Dave Roberts is already dealing with Mookie Betts’ regression and an injured Ohtani, whose return to the mound remains unclear.
Now is the time for Tucker to validate why the Dodgers gave him a $240 million contract and a $64 million signing bonus. Otherwise, not even the Tarik Skubal trade could be enough for the Dodgers’ latest title hopes.
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