The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to begin a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Dodger Stadium at 7:10 p.m. PDT on Monday.
The Dodgers announced their lineup for Monday night’s game, and the club made an interesting decision regarding outfielder Kyle Tucker.
Los Angeles Dodgers Announce Kyle Tucker News
Tucker is not in the Dodgers’ Monday night lineup.
Here is Los Angeles’ full lineup for tonight:
- Shohei Ohtani DH
- Andy Pages CF
- Freddie Freeman 1B
- Tommy Edman LF
- Mookie Betts SS
- Miguel Rojas 2B
- Teoscar Hernandez RF
- Max Muncy 3B
- Hunter Feduccia C
Left-handed ace Tarik Skubal is slated to pitch for Los Angeles tonight. Left-hander Noah Cameron will pitch for Kansas City.
Since Cameron is a southpaw and Tucker bats from the left side, that may be why manager Dave Roberts decided to give Tucker the day off.
However, Tucker has actually been better against left-handers this year. The outfielder has a .263 batting average and .779 OPS vs. southpaws in 2026. Meanwhile, he is hitting just .236 with a .706 OPS vs. right-handers.
Looking at Los Angeles Dodgers OF Kyle Tucker
Per annual value, Tucker is the highest-paid player in MLB. He signed a four-year, $240 million deal with the Dodgers in January.
It’s safe to say that Tucker hasn’t lived up to his contract so far. In 111 games this season, Tucker has been worth just 0.7 bWAR with a .244/.339/.338 slash line, 11 home runs and 54 RBI.
Tucker made his MLB debut with the Houston Astros in 2018. He played for Houston through the 2024 season. The Astros traded him to the Chicago Cubs in the 2024-25 offseason.
Tucker posted 22.7 bWAR and a .274/.353/.516 slash line with 125 home runs and 417 RBI in his seven seasons with the Astros.
The outfielder posted 4.5 bWAR and a .266/.377/.464 slash line with 22 home runs and 73 RBI with the Cubs last season before becoming a free agent.
We’ll see if Tucker can return to form with the Dodgers later this season. It’s remarkable that the Dodgers still have a commanding lead in the NL West despite their highest-paid player drastically underperforming.
Los Angeles Dodgers Announce Interesting Kyle Tucker Decision Before Royals Series