Kyle Tucker, the guy the Dodgers shelled out $240 million for, just got booed at Dodger Stadium. Yeah, you read that right. The former All-Star went a brutal 0 for 19 over a seven-game homestand, topping it off by failing to snag a perfectly catchable fly ball in Sunday’s game against the Brewers. This isn’t just a slump; it’s a full-blown crisis for a player signed to a massive four-year deal, and Dodger fans are letting him hear it.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: Home-Field Horror
The dude’s hitting a pathetic .232 overall this season, and his WAR is barely registering at 0.3. But get this: his struggles at home in Dodger Stadium are straight-up baffling. He’s batting a cringe-worthy .189 with a .286 on-base and .272 slugging percentage when playing in front of his own fans. Manager Dave Roberts even benched Tucker on Saturday against Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, trying to shake things up. Roberts straight-up told MLB.com that Tucker didn’t even realize how bad his home splits were until recently, saying, “The splits are stark. I don’t think we have a reason behind it.” You can tell Roberts sees the frustration in Kyle, and honestly, who wouldn’t be frustrated? This isn’t what anyone expected from a guy getting paid like that.
A Stunning Freefall for the Former All-Star
It’s not like this came completely out of nowhere, though. Tucker’s slump actually started last season during a 37-game stint with the Cubs, where he hit just .180 with a .227 slugging percentage and only one home run. Everyone was wondering if he was secretly playing hurt, but both he and the Cubs insisted he was totally healthy, even though a finger injury happened about a month before that collapse began. This is wild because from 2021-2024, when he was with the Astros, Tucker was a hitting machine, one of the best in baseball. He mashed .280 with a 145 OPS+, averaging 35 dingers, 111 RBI, and 6.4 WAR per 162 games. But since early July of last season, it feels like everything’s just gone off the rails. Now, he’s getting booed in his own stadium, a place where he hasn’t hit squat all season, and the Dodgers themselves have dropped 10 of their last 15 games. This is a mess, and he’s locked in through 2029.
Tucker was back in the lineup Sunday, going 0 for 3 with that missed catch. The team’s headed to Denver next week for a three-game series, and Roberts says Tucker will play all three. Man, the pressure is real. Can he find anything, *anything*, on the road to turn this around? Because right now, for a $240 million player and a team losing games, it’s not looking good, not good at all.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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