While we’re all fired up about our Mariners here in the Emerald City, there’s some absolutely wild stuff happening down south with the supposed World Series favorites, the Los Angeles Dodgers. You’d think with Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell back in the rotation, and Shohei Ohtani potentially joining them soon, they’d be invincible, right? But hold onto your hats, because despite all that, their outfield is turning into a full-blown disaster, and it’s thanks mainly to Kyle Tucker’s brutal season and the recent injury to Andy Pages. Even the big dogs have huge problems.
This Outfield is Looking “Mighty Bleak”
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller didn’t pull any punches, straight-up highlighting their outfield as the team’s biggest problem. Miller even titled a piece, “Los Angeles Dodgers: Outfield Is Looking Mighty Bleak These Days.” And honestly, when you dig into the details, you can totally see why. Their normal starting center fielder, Andy Pages, is now sidelined with a nasty hand fracture. We’re talking out until deep in the regular season, possibly even the playoffs, for a guy who was actually getting things done, posting a solid 5.4 bWAR before he went down. So, who’s left to carry the load? That’s where the wheels really come off. Kyle Tucker, who’s supposed to be a cornerstone, is sitting at a mind-boggling 0.0 bWAR through 124 games. Teoscar Hernandez? Same deal, 0.0 bWAR in 96 games. These are the guys stuck out there in the corners.
$300 Million for 0.0 bWAR? You Gotta Be Kidding Me
Here’s the real kicker, and it’s a bad look for anyone, let alone a juggernaut. They had to call up Alek Thomas to replace Pages in center field. Thomas, who’s pulling in a mere $1.96 million this season, has already put up 0.1 bWAR. That’s more than Tucker and Hernandez *combined*! Those two veteran outfielders? They’re raking in a combined $300 million on massive contracts, with Tucker himself accounting for a stunning $240 million of that pie. Does that math add up? This is an “incredibly bad look” for two guys making that kind of coin to be playing so badly. If Pages misses the entire rest of the season, it’s not some obscure stat that’s gonna bite them; their outfield production “could be the main thing holding them back from making it a third-straight World Series title.” You know the blame game will be real if the season falls apart; it’ll land squarely on those two.
What’s Next For The Big Blue Machine?
The Dodgers need answers, and they need them yesterday. Tucker and Hernandez absolutely “need to figure things out” if they want to live up to those ridiculous expectations and massive paychecks. Can they flip the switch? Or is this colossal outfield mess going to derail a team that everyone pegged as unstoppable? While we watch that drama unfold, here’s some other wild baseball news: our very own Cal Raleigh is on a path to make some weird history, potentially hitting the fewest home runs ever after a 60+ homer season. What a game, right?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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