Dave Roberts takes action with Kyle Tucker after Dodgers lineup change vs Giants

So far, the Dodgers' superstar offseason signings have been rather significant letdowns. Edwin Díaz went onto the IL and then underwent surgery just one month into his Dodgers tenure, and Kyle Tucker is LA's least-valuable qualified position player by bWAR.

It's not that Tucker has been entirely unproductive. He has three homers and 13 RBI, the latter of which ties him for third most among Dodgers hitters with Dalton Rushing and Teoscar Hernández. He's walked the second-most of any Dodgers batter.

But he's still hitting .233 with a .676 OPS overall (that's a 92 OPS+), and just isn't living up to his $240 million contract.

He's spent all but three starts batting behind Shohei Ohtani so far, but Dave Roberts made a change ahead of the Dodgers' finale against the Giants on Thursday, moving Freddie Freeman up to second and Tucker down to fourth in the lineup.

And it looks like it's going to stay that way until further notice. Roberts said of the change, "I do feel [Tucker] is trying to do too much. I definitely expect him to come out of it." He added that he wants to give Tucker "a different look" in the order.

Dave Roberts bumps Kyle Tucker down to fourth in Dodgers' lineup amid slow start

Since 2024, Tucker has registered most of his starts at second in the order, but he has better career numbers hitting lower down — particularly in the five-spot, where he's played 187 games. The Dodgers' decision to bat him second to start the year and stack two lefties was a little curious, given they did have the option to go left-right all the way down, but they're sticking to that strategy with Freeman moving up to second in Mookie Betts' absence.

Before Shohei Ohtani's arrival to the Dodgers, Freeman spent most of his time batting second behind Betts, but he shuffled down to third with Ohtani on board, and then down another spot with Tucker in the mix.

Freeman is, as always, batting well. He's hitting .299 with a .877 OPS. He's hit .318 with a .941 batting second in his career.

Of course, the change isn't about Freeman; it's about Tucker. The weight of his contract and the expectations that have come with it may be getting to him, but maybe the change will offer the fresh perspective Roberts hopes it will.

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