Dodgers All-Star Sends Kyle Tucker-Related Warning to Rest of MLB

The Los Angeles Dodgers paid a heavy price to land All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker this past offseason, giving him a four-year deal that is worth $240 million.

With this large number, the Dodgers were expecting big things from Tucker. However, through the first couple of months of his first season in LA, the team may already be having some buyer's remorse.

Tucker has struggled to replicate the success he saw with other teams throughout his career on both sides of the ball. Through 88 games played, the slugger has hit .249 with seven home runs and 47 runs batted in, while posting an OPS of .731. Defensively, he ranks in the 7th percentile in terms of Outs Above Average.

These aren't the type of numbers that the Dodgers believed they would be getting when they signed Tucker. However, the veteran has been putting in the work behind the scenes to get himself going, with one team official telling ESPN's Alden Gonzalez that Tucker has been doing more work over the last few months than he's ever done in his career.

The Dodgers aren't giving up on Tucker, and the coaching staff has continued to work with him to get his swing going.

Tucker's teammates haven't given up on him either, with outfielder Teoscar Hernandez sending a warning to the rest of the league on Tucker's behalf.

"This team is going to be a problem [if Tucker gets going]," Hernandez said. "For real."

One of the bigger reasons for the struggles at the plate has been Tucker's aggressiveness getting the better of him, with manager Dave Roberts discussing this at length.

At times, he has looked lost with the bat, with the veteran appearing to be trying to do too much. Tucker has chased the ball a ton, with some believing that he's been trying to live up to the massive contract he received. He says that hasn't been the case, though.

Before this season, Tucker had never finished June with a batting average below .254 or an OPS below .811. This year, he was well below both numbers.

However, July has been much better for the slugger so far, with Tucker hitting .375 with nine hits, three runs batted in and six walks. This could be the sign of a breakout that the Dodgers have been looking for, and the All-Star break could offer him a reset.

"Throughout the first half I just haven't been able to put good swings," Tucker said. "That's where I'll foul it off or swing through it. And then I'm just in worse counts, and they end up having more freedom to be able to throw whatever they want. And then you'll just naturally start chasing, to where if I hit the ball in the first place and hit it for a single or double or whatever, just barrel something, I won't even get in those counts to have to chase something."

The Dodgers will hope the first half of 2026 was just an outlier, and Tucker gets back to being the above-average player they were expecting to get sooner rather than later.

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