NEW YORK – Trevor Bauer. Andruw Jones. Jason Schmidt. Scott Kazmir.
If something doesn’t change, Kyle Tucker’s name will be alongside theirs on the list of the worst free-agent additions in Dodgers’ history.
When the Dodgers return from the All-Star break on Friday to open a three-game series at Yankee Stadium, they will do so with an 11 ½-game advantage in the National League West. With the most substantial division lead in baseball, they should be able to cruise into the postseason, very likely as one of the two NL teams with a bye in the wild-card round.
No such margin for error exists for Tucker individually, the 29-year-old right fielder batting .244 with seven home runs and 47 runs batted in.
As much as the Dodgers are willing to invest in their roster, making Tucker the most expensive No. 6 or 7 hitter to ever play the game couldn’t be what Andrew Friedman envisioned when he signed him to a four-year, $240-million contract over the winter.
Tucker hasn’t accepted his fate as an all-time bust, with manager Dave Roberts revealing the four-time All-Star has worked overtime with the team’s hitting coaches.
“I’ve tried basically everything,” Tucker said last month.
This feeling is why the Dodgers won’t be the hare in the race against the tortoise. As comfortably positioned as the team might be, Tucker has something to prove.
In that regard, he’s not alone on this team.
The Dodgers have underperformers who are determined to return to the levels at which they’re used to being. They have older players who want to show they will remain useful beyond this season. They have players returning from injuries who know the time they missed won’t be held against them if they perform in October.
So, don’t be concerned about them falling into a slumber. They might not have the Arizona Diamondbacks or San Diego Padres breathing down their necks, but they have very real incentives to continue playing hard over the final 10 weeks of the regular season.
Dodgers Issues Beyond Kyle Tucker
After various injuries limited his offensive production over the previous season and a half, Mookie Betts reported to spring training saying he believed he would once again be a MVP-caliber hitter.
Another injury set him back, an oblique strain sidelining him for five weeks early this season. He slumped upon his return, only to finally start looking like his old self last month.
Teoscar Hernández’s situation is similar. Like Betts, Hernández reported to spring training with an improved physique. And like Betts, he went down early in the season with an injury, in his case a hamstring strain that cost him about a month.
With his numbers down across the board, Hernández has practical reasons to want to salvage his season. His contract expires after next season.
Freddie Freeman is also under contract for just one more season after this one. He was an All-Star this year, but he will also be 37 in September.
Freeman has been open about wanting to finish his career with the Dodgers and said there’s one thing he could do to make sure that happens: Continue hitting.
In the coming weeks, closer Edwin Diaz is expected to return from the injured list. Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Will Smith should follow, in some order.
A $69-million offseason addition, Diaz saved only four games before he underwent a procedure to remove bone chips from his elbow. He is on a minor league rehabilitation assignment.
Snell, who started only one game before he underwent his own elbow operation, is also expected to start pitching in the minors in the coming days. Glasnow, who has been sidelined for more than two months with back problems, has finally resumed mound work.
Smith, the team’s All-Star catcher, has missed more than a month with a lingering neck problem.
The return of each player will break up the monotony of a long season, providing the team with a sense of renewal.
And it’s not as if these Dodgers are short on motivation.
Considering what hasn’t worked out for them up to this point, their major-league-best 61-36 record is more a reflection of their consistent professionalism rather than their overwhelming talent.
They have won as many games as they have because they don’t beat themselves.
Even after piling up errors in the week leading up to the All-Star break, the Dodgers lead baseball in fielding percentage and defensive efficiency. Their pitchers have the third-lowest walk rate in the National League.
“Something that we’ve been really good at is not giving away games because of our defense,” Roberts said.
If winning the World Series in each of the last two years didn’t make them complacent, 3 ½ months of steady but unspectacular play won’t either.
They have something to play for as a group. They also have something at stake as individuals.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
