The Los Angeles Dodgers invested $240 million in Kyle Tucker, hoping to replicate his success with the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs. However, Tucker has yet to fire up the expected numbers. He is currently hitting .242 with 4 homers, even lower than the Dodgers’ $790,000 slugger Dalton Rushing, who’s hitting .253 with 7 homers. Fans are frustrated, and so is Dave Roberts.

While Roberts gets honest about Tucker, he also hints at how the team perceives his slump.

“The performance was much better; the month of May was really good. For me, it still didn’t look right. It speaks to his toughness,” Dodgers Nation quoted Roberts.

This offseason, Tucker’s LA contract sparked huge discussion because it set an all-time MLB record for AAV at $60 million. The short-term, high-dollar structure sent shockwaves across the league, reigniting intense debates about baseball’s financial landscape. The Dodgers were called out for “ruining” baseball.

The price was historic, and a huge risk, too. Tucker had a bad injury history.

He missed 88 games over the last two years with a broken shin and hand. In 2024, he played only 78 games due to a right shin fracture. Tucker played 136 games in 2025, while experiencing a hairline fracture in his right hand (played through it) and severe left calf strain, missing nearly the entire final month of the regular season.

But the Dodgers needed an everyday outfielder, so they took the chance.

While Kyle Tucker is having a harder time adjusting this year, his slow start is normal in baseball.

Other top players on huge contracts, like Francisco Lindor with the New York Mets or Trea Turner with the Philadelphia Phillies, also took months to get comfortable and play well for their new teams. For Lindor, it was around 2 to 3 months, while for Turner, it took about 3.5 months.

The Dodgers lacked an elite, everyday presence in the outfield. Hence, adding a Gold Glover and four-time All-Star like Tucker significantly upgraded both their defensive coverage and offensive production. But after playing 55 games, Tucker has yet to meet expectations.

His defense has also been mixed.

Stats show his range to catch balls is very low. According to Baseball Savant, Tucker has a Fielding Run Value of -2 and an OAA of -4, placing his defensive range in the bottom 7th percentile of the league. However, his arm remains an elite asset, sporting an Arm Value of 2 (95th percentile) and an army strength of 84.7 mph.

His hitting, though, is the biggest problem.

Although Roberts shared an optimistic view about Tucker’s stats in May, the numbers say otherwise.

Kyle Tucker batted .230 in May and scored only 1 homer. In comparison, he scored 3 homers in April at .247. For reference, Tucker batted .274 with 123 HRs, 396 RBI, and a .876 OPS in his seven seasons with the Astros. He then had a solid 22-homer season for the Cubs last year.

The Dodgers expected the same, but nothing so far.

Roberts, though, is still betting on Tucker’s toughness. And 2025 was the proof that Tucker could rebound from his slump.

After breaking his hand in 2025, Tucker fell into a brutal slump in August. He batted just .182 during an extended stretch, posting a meager .560 OPS over 38 games. However, during a late August weekend series in Anaheim, Tucker snapped out of it by going 5-for-12 with four extra-base hits and seven RBIs.

Now, hopefully, Dave Roberts’ pep talk will work with Kyle Tucker, and he finds his rhythm back. However, not all of the Dodgers’ gambles are failing, at least for Roki Sasaki.

The Dodgers are finally getting the best of Sasaki

Roki Sasaki has had a roller coaster ride since he debuted with the Dodgers last year. He entered MLB with a huge hype, but his right shoulder injury sidelined him for over three months. To compensate for the pain, he developed bad mechanics, which temporarily caused him to drop his slider and lose fastball velocity. This caused him to struggle in the rotation.

The Dodgers shifted Sasaki to the bullpen late in the 2025 season.

The transition was wildly successful as he allowed only one run over 10 2/3 innings, earning three saves and helping LA secure the World Series. Finally, Sasaki is back in the rotation this year, and he is doing the expected stuff.

On Saturday, his fastball averaged 98.5 mph. That’s an increase of about 1.5 mph from his season average. In addition, his diverse pitches, including slider, forkball, and splitter, are all back with elevated velocities.

“I’ve been making adjustments the last couple of days, and it felt like my velo was going to tick up a little bit, but I didn’t even imagine this much,” Sasaki remarked.

With Tyler Glasnow’s return delayed because his recovery is taking time, Sasaki’s rebound comes at the right moment for the Dodgers. The team is currently leading the NL West and is 5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres. All guns started firing, and once Tucker comes back to his best, a three-peat record might not be an exaggeration anymore.