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Kyle Tucker was held out of the Dodgers lineup on Saturday against the Brewers, sitting against Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski, per DodgerBlue.com. It marked the second time in the last six days that Tucker has been on the bench, and Alex Call got the start in his place. Tucker has been open about his frustration with how his first season in Los Angeles has gone — particularly at Dodger Stadium.

Tucker came to the Dodgers as one of the most coveted bats in baseball. He built his reputation in Houston as a consistently elite hitter — a lefty with power, patience, and the ability to hit in any part of the lineup. His track record with the Astros made him one of the more complete outfielders in the game, combining above-average defense with a bat that produced year after year at an All-Star level. The expectation when he arrived in Los Angeles was that he’d slot seamlessly into the middle of this lineup and be a cornerstone piece. That hasn’t happened yet.

The struggles at Dodger Stadium specifically are worth paying attention to. Home-road splits aren’t always meaningful over short samples, but Tucker has clearly noticed a difference in his comfort level at the plate at home versus on the road. For a hitter as accomplished as Tucker, this kind of frustration usually signals a mechanical or timing issue he’s working through rather than anything environmental. He’s a self-aware player. He knows what he’s capable of, and the gap between that standard and his current production is eating at him.

Sitting Tucker against a power arm like Misiorowski makes sense on paper. Misiorowski is one of the nastiest young pitchers in the National League, and giving Tucker a breather against that kind of stuff isn’t unusual lineup management. But the fact that this is the second time in six days he’s been on the bench tells you the Dodgers are being proactive about managing his workload and mental state during a rough stretch. They’re not panicking, but they’re not ignoring it either.

Call stepping in is a reasonable stopgap. He’s a right-handed bat who can handle all three outfield spots, and against a tough righty like Misiorowski, he provides a different look. He’s not a long-term answer, but he doesn’t need to be. The Dodgers need Tucker right — not right now.

I think the bigger picture here is pretty straightforward. Tucker is too good a hitter to stay in this kind of funk. His mechanics, his eye, his approach — all of that is proven over hundreds of major league games. But adjustments to a new ballpark, a new league, and new pitching staffs seeing him differently can take time. The Dodgers have the roster depth to be patient with him, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. If Tucker can find his swing at home over the next few weeks heading into September, this will be a footnote. If the struggles linger deeper into the stretch run, the conversation changes. For now, the team is handling it the right way — giving him days when the matchup warrants it and trusting that the talent will win out.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue.com) | First reported: August 16, 2026 4:22 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers