'Character assassination' of Kyle Tucker might be the thing that drove him to Dodgers

Back in early December, Joel Sherman compared and contrasted the two top free agent outfielders on the market — Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger — and wondered aloud if Tucker "burns to play" baseball the same way Bellinger does.

Fans called it Scott Boras propaganda and a blatant attempt at character assassination to try to boost Bellinger's market, which it very well could've been. But the idea persisted, even if it was in milder forms.

Insiders wrote that Tucker might not be suited for a place like New York, and Dodgers writers speculated that LA could sell Tucker on the idea that he wouldn't have to be "the man." As good as Tucker is, it'd be impossible for him to get out from under Shohei Ohtani's shadow even if he wanted to.

Alden Gonzalez of ESPN sort of confirmed that theory in his breaking piece on Tucker's agreement with the Dodgers on a four-year, $240 million contract on Thursday night.

He wrote, "Sources throughout the industry were skeptical that Tucker wanted to play in Toronto. The Mets offered a deal in the $50 million-a-year range, but many were skeptical he wanted to play in New York. Los Angeles, where Tucker can play on a contender without having to carry a franchise, ultimately became the ideal landing spot."

Worries about Kyle Tucker's commitment to baseball might hold some water — but the Dodgers don't have to care

Of course, there may be a myriad of reasons Tucker was put off by either Toronto or New York. Signing with the Blue Jays would've meant moving to an entirely different country, and New York is notorious for its unkind media landscape.

But if it was about being able to hide between the Dodgers' star power, that shouldn't much concern the Dodgers. Tucker isn't going to turn into Anthony Rendon overnight, even if he really isn't as locked in with baseball as some other players might be. His 78-game 2024 season was an outlier, and he played through an injury last year with the Cubs (which proved to be stupidly inadvisable for all involved).

If Tucker shows up to work every day and does his job, which we already knows he does well, do the Dodgers care if he burns to play?

The Dodgers see a guy who's going to be able to give them at least 20 extra homers a season and plays a good right field (better than Teoscar Hernández, that much is for certain). They see him helping them to a third consecutive World Series title. Nothing else really matters beyond that.