Kyle Tucker’s first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers keeps finding fresh ways to go sideways, and his latest rough patch has Cubs fans sounding a familiar alarm.
Tucker was benched Saturday in the Dodgers’ loss to the Milwaukee Brewers after struggling badly at Dodger Stadium all year. His numbers there are brutal: a .186/.286/.272 slash line and a 60 wRC+. On the road, he’s been far better, with a 131 wRC+, but that split has been one of the few bright spots in a season that has otherwise gone nowhere fast.
Sunday didn’t bring much relief. Tucker was back in the lineup, went hitless, and then added a shaky defensive moment in right field that looked all too familiar to anyone who watched him last year with the Cubs.
He misplayed a ball off the wall and didn’t exactly make up ground with his recovery. Dodgers fans responded the way fans usually do in that spot: with boos.
Fans booed Kyle Tucker after he failed to make this catch in right field.
Tucker went hitless on the Dodgers' seven-game homestand. pic.twitter.com/oS7qqqCAHS
- Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 16, 2026
For Cubs followers, the whole thing has reopened old frustrations. Tucker’s finish in Chicago last season already felt off by the end of 2025, even if some were quick to chalk it up to injury and the hot start he had earlier in the year. By October, the fit had become hard to ignore.
Now that the same questions are bubbling up in Los Angeles, the criticism has gotten louder - and stranger. One executive, relayed through a Diamondbacks fan, reportedly compared Tucker’s situation to Kris Bryant.
Fun fact - before the season I asked an exec what he thought of Tucker's signing because I thought it was devastating for us.
His paraphrased response: I think he's the next Kris Bryant. I don't think he loves baseball.
He got paid. He's going to suck.
🤯 https://t.co/zAQCDg9E22
- Neil Kucera (@NWKMF) August 17, 2026
That comparison has not gone over well with Cubs fans, and for good reason. Bryant’s situation with the Rockies is entirely different.
This is not about motivation or effort. Bryant is dealing with a degenerative back issue that has kept him from playing.
Comparing Kris Bryant who physically has been unable to play to Kyle Tucker is wild. https://t.co/6Xd7ZOXQ5V
- Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) August 17, 2026
Bryant is dealing with chronic lumbar degenerative disk disease, and there is serious doubt about whether he plays another game for Colorado. His career could be over. That’s a very different story from Tucker’s collapse in Los Angeles.
A Kyle Tucker to Kris Bryant comparison is absolutely nasty work by this exec. Totally different scenarios.
Feels like Anthony Rendon is the comparison he’s looking for https://t.co/GM1IGxYXGJ
- Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) August 17, 2026
Still, Tucker’s latest stumble is another reminder of the headache the Cubs no longer have to carry. He was once good enough to be viewed as one of the best bats in baseball. That version of Tucker hasn’t shown up since the first half of the 2025 season, and the longer this goes on, the harder it is to believe he’s coming back.
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