Kyle Tucker booed at Dodger Stadium: Why everything’s going wrong for the $240M man

Kyle Tucker’s rough first season with the Dodgers might have hit its nadir. At least, that’s what Tucker and the Dodgers are hoping. He just went an entire homestand without a hit — he was 0 for 19 in the seven-gamer, though he only played in six after sitting on Saturday. He was also booed after not catching a perfectly catchable fly ball in Sunday’s finale against the Brewers. 

Tucker is in the first year of a four-year, $240 million pact with the Dodgers. Overall, he’s hitting .232/.330/.370 (95 OPS+) with 0.3 WAR. The struggles at Dodger Stadium in particular are baffling: he’s hitting .189/.286/.272 at home.

On Saturday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts even gave Tucker the day off against Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski. 

“I don’t think he even realized it until recently, when I think people brought it to light,” Roberts said (via MLB.com). “But the fact is, the splits are stark. I don’t think we have a reason behind it. But I wouldn’t say (he is) fixated on it, but certainly, now he’s conscious of it.”

“I think more for Kyle, just being at home right now, I see kind of the frustration,” Roberts continued. “I felt that it was best for him to use today as a work day, and then he’ll be back in there tomorrow and he’ll play all three in Denver (next week). Gives me a chance to get Alex (Call) in there.”

Tucker was indeed back in the lineup on Sunday, when he went 0 for 3 with the aforementioned missed catch.

Kyle Tucker

LAD • RF • #23

BA0.232

R66

HR11

RBI54

SB7

View Profile

The former All-Star’s slumping can be traced back to last season, including a 37-game stretch with the Cubs during which he hit .180 with a .227 slugging percentage and only one home run. There was speculation that he was still dealing with a lingering injury, but he and the Cubs were insistent that he was fully healthy — plus, the injury to his finger happened about a month before the slump started. 

In Tucker’s last four seasons for the Astros (2021-24), he was one of the most productive hitters in all of baseball. He hit .280 with a 145 OPS+ and carried 162-game averages of 36 doubles, 35 home runs, 111 RBI and 95 runs along with 6.4 WAR. Since early July of last season, however, things have come off the rails a bit. 

Now he’s getting booed at home, where he hasn’t hit a lick all season, and the Dodgers have lost 10 of their last 15 games. And he’s under contract through 2029.