A “very telling” move. That’s how manager Dave Roberts described Kyle Tucker’s move to Dodger Stadium this season. Naturally, considering the numbers Tucker put up during seven seasons with the Houston Astros and one with the Chicago Cubs, expectations were high. To some degree, he delivered, hitting .297 with a .910 OPS in the three weeks after being dropped from the No. 2 spot in the lineup. But has he been able to sustain that? Not quite, and that’s where the criticism comes in. The latest critic is a Red Sox veteran.

“$60,000,000! 🤦‍♂️” Jeff Frye wrote in reply to an X post that was captioned, “Incredible at bat here from Kyle Tucker. One of the more competitive at-bats you’ll see.”

Given how the 29-year-old has been performing lately, it’s not just Jeff Fyre who is questioning the contract he signed. Back in free agency, Kyle Tucker was one of the names who saw himself linked to quite a few clubhouses. Not only that, but he also rejected a qualifying offer from the Cubs. So, it was eventually the Dodgers and their ambition for a three-peat bid that brought him to Dodger Stadium.

He signed a four-year, $240 million contract, which includes an opt-out after the second and third years. It also comes with a $64 million signing bonus and $30 million deferred. That was the number the Dodgers saw fit to bring in one of the game’s most complete offensive players with impeccable contact skills and power. In fact, since 2022, the right fielder has ranked ninth in the Majors with a 143 OPS+ (minimum 500 games played).

Additionally, he is also one of the six players to clock in at least 100 home runs, 100 stolen bases, and 300 walks in that span, and did so with the second-lowest strikeout rate (15.4%) of anyone in the group. That’s the history Tucker carries, but has it paid off with the Dodgers? Well, let’s find out.

After a 4-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday, Tucker’s stat line reads: seven home runs, 44 RBIs, and a .239 batting average. In fact, he entered Sunday’s matchup with a .719 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, the lowest he’d posted through 77 games of any season in his career. He went 1-for-4 in the game, recording a single. But if anything, that’s simply not the level of production the Dodgers were expecting from him.

As per Dave Roberts before Sunday’s game, the biggest “red flag” happened to be Tucker’s elevated rate of chasing pitches (24% this year, compared to 17.5% the last two years) and whiffing on swings (22.7% this year, compared to 20.2% and 19% the past two seasons). To put things in perspective, in his first 69 games with the team, Tucker hit a career-worst .239 with six home runs and 39 runs batted in. Despite this, Roberts continues to have faith in Tucker.

Back in mid-April, Kyle Tucker homered twice in three games, including a three-hit performance. Then, early in the following month, he went on a six-game hitting streak. Now, in June, he has hit .303 over a nine-game stretch. As a matter of fact, on Friday, he was lifted as a pinch-hitter after going 0-for-3 with a strikeout versus the Padres. And it’s not like Tucker isn’t aware of the performances he’s been putting in.

“I feel fine coming to the field and everything, it’s just not being as productive as I normally am, or as I want to be, kind of sucks,” Tucker said in a conversation with The Times a couple of weeks ago. “But I’ve just got to come back for the next at-bat, or the next day, and whatever, and just move on.”

Amidst these struggles, this Saturday’s win against the Padres (15-3), he showed glimpses of his old self as he brought in three hits, including a home run. He even nitpicked the nine-pitch at-bat that ended in the pull-side homer.

While Tucker continues to struggle, the Dodgers are still thriving, currently sitting atop the NL West with a 50-34 record.

The Dodgers continue to be on a roll

After sweeping the series against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Minnesota Twins, the Dodgers have now defeated the Padres. And with Sunday’s victory, they have now stretched their division lead to 10 games, reinforcing MLB’s best record. But who made this win possible?

Well, it was no other than Emmet Sheehan. The right-hander had a bounce-back start where he held the Padres to just one run on Manny Machado’s fourth-inning homer through five innings. This also happened to be the first time the 26-year-old held an opponent to a single run since May 8, when he threw 4⅔ innings against the Atlanta Braves.

Then came Mookie Betts, who also contributed to the firepower with his two-run single off Padres starter Michael King to lead a three-run rally in the fifth. Two innings later, he also singled.

Even Freedie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani showed up with an RBI on a nine-pitch walk in the fifth and the Dodgers’ first run with a single in the third, respectively.

With that, the Dodgers outscored the Padres 20-12, and they will now face the Athletics in a three-game series starting on June 30. Do you think they can deliver another sweep? Let us know in the comments.