Kyle Tucker’s struggles have become impossible to ignore in Los Angeles, and now even his locker-room habits are part of the conversation.
According to 97.1 The Fan LA host Doug McKain, Tucker is “rarely at his locker,” and his media availability has been limited compared with the rest of the Dodgers. For a player who arrived as the club’s biggest offseason addition and is earning $60 million a year, that kind of absence only adds fuel to the scrutiny.
Tucker is in the middle of one of the roughest seasons he’s had in years during his first year with the Dodgers, and McKain argued that staying out of view is only making things harder on him. In his view, leaning into the media and connecting with the fanbase could actually help Tucker start turning things around.
The underlying issue is simple: Tucker is struggling, and there are plenty of ways to try to fix that. But the easiest path may be the most straightforward one - being open, being visible, and showing the Dodgers’ fanbase that he’s fully invested.
That message seemed to get a quick reaction. Miguel Rojas posted a photo on Instagram story of Tucker at his locker with the caption “Tuck in his locker.” He followed it with a shoulder shrugging emoji.
The picture showed Tucker smiling and flashing two thumbs up, and it came shortly after McKain’s comments. The post looked like a clear joke at the reporter’s expense.
There’s nothing unusual about a player having a little fun with the media. But Tucker’s bigger problem isn’t whether he’s standing at his locker.
It’s whether he can prove he was worth the Dodgers’ $240 million investment over four years. Until he does, everything around him - on the field and off it - is going to get picked apart.
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