Dodgers' Kyle Tucker Earns Award Nobody Wants

After winning their second consecutive World Series title, excitement surged around the Los Angeles Dodgers over the offseason with the signing of All-Star slugger Kyle Tucker.

The former Houston Astro and Chicago Cub hit 134 home runs in the five seasons prior to 2026, and his lofty four-year, $240 million contract was a sign that the Dodgers weren't backing down from their quest to earn a third straight championship.

With roughly half of the 2026 season behind him, Tucker has struggled to live up to his hefty paycheck. Tucker has hit just seven home runs in 88 games, hitting .249 at the plate with a .382 slugging percentage.

"Throughout the first half I just haven't been able to put good swings," Tucker said recently. "That's where I'll foul it off or swing through it. And then I'm just in worse counts, and they end up having more freedom to be able to throw whatever they want.

"And then you'll just naturally start chasing, to where if I hit the ball in the first place and hit it for a single or double or whatever, just barrel something, I won't even get in those counts to have to chase something."

Tucker's performance has been so disappointing that it's drawn a rather unpleasant award from the New York Post's Jon Heyman, who named him the National League Least Valuable Player of the first half.

"The Mets may have dodged a $60M-a-year bullet," Heyman wrote of Tucker.

The Dodgers have been working tirelessly with the 29-year-old as he tries to get back the swing that earned him one of the largest contracts in MLB history.

"No player wants to not perform up to their capabilities," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said recently. "For me, it's just wanting him to get back to being who he is as a hitter. And who he is as a hitter is a guy that really controls the strike zone. His swing rate has been much higher, his chase rate much higher.

"If we can get him back to being who he is, then we'll bet on the results."

Tucker has seen some improvement in July, with a .375 batting percentage and a .500 on-base percentage through eight games. As he works to get back into form, Tucker assured reporters that his struggles have nothing to do with the pressure of signing such a massive deal.

"I don't care about that," Tucker said. "I'll play regardless of what my contract is or anything else. I'll play the same regardless of any outside stuff."

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