The Los Angeles Dodgers not only filled their last remaining need by signing Kyle Tucker to strengthen the outfield, but they did it with one of the best available bats on the market.
Tucker will provide a steadying presence in the outfield for the Dodgers after they had 12 different players log innings in that position group last season.
During an introductory press conference for the Dodgers’ newest signing, manager Dave Roberts revealed Tucker will be taking over right field. Teoscar Hernández will move back to left field, where he spent the majority of his first season in L.A.
Roberts also gave a tentative answer to where the left-hander will bat in the lineup.
“Kyle’s in the hot box, the hopper right now. So I think for me, I was talking to Gomer and Andrew recently, it’s just fun to kind of think about where Kyle is going to hit in the lineup,” Roberts said. “Obviously, he’ll be in right field and Teo is excited about playing left field. He’ll be in the top third. I don’t want you guys to hold me to it right now, but second or third seems to make sense.”
Based on the Dodgers lineup from last season, Roberts’ plan would involve dropping either Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman down in the order. There really isn’t a wrong answer when choosing how to sequence players of Freeman, Betts and Tucker’s caliber.
Dropping Betts down to the cleanup spot seems like it would be the logical path forward considering his subpar 2025 season. That construction would give the Dodgers three straight left-handed hitters at the top of the lineup, but Tucker’s unique skillset would mitigate that issue somewhat.
“And I think for Kyle, anytime you can add a guy to your lineup that is arguably better against same-side pitching, there’s just really no holes in what he does offensively,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
“Really balanced splits versus right and left, incredible decision making, really good bat-to-ball skills. The way that will complement and help further round out our offense, was something we thought would be significant in terms of the odds increased for our championship quest.”
Last season, Tucker had a .269 batting average with six doubles and eight home runs in 167 at-bats against left-handed pitching. Against right-handers, he had a .264 batting average with 19 doubles and 14 homers in 333 at-bats.
He has a .268 batting average and 113 extra-base hits in 978 at-bats against left-handers in his career.
Kyle Tucker contract details
The Dodgers signed Tucker to a four-year, $240 million contract that includes deferred salary and two opt-outs. Tucker will earn an average annual value record $57.1 million per season over the life of his Dodgers contract.
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