The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker to a massive deal in free agency, hoping he would continue to dominate as he had in the last five seasons.
Even though he struggled in the second half of last season, playing through some injuries, he was expected to be a 30-homer threat and potentially an MVP candidate. Instead, he is hitting .230, has been terrible at Dodger Stadium and has even been booed by fans as of late.
At this point, he is not helping the team win games, and his season is approaching a new low every night. It raises the question of whether the Dodgers should flat-out bench him, but to do that, they need to be able to replace him. The Dodgers could start Alex Call every day or start giving Kike Hernandez some time in right field.
Another option is bringing Hyeseong Kim up from Triple-A and trying him out in right field. He has played left field and center field in the big leagues before. However, neither Call, Kim nor Hernandez are really massive upgrades over what Tucker is giving them right now. An unconventional option may be bringing up top prospect Josue De Paula from Double-A.
While fans may be desperate to see Tucker lose his spot, calling up De Paula could really be costly. Rushing him up from Double-A could really hurt his development or shatter his confidence if he struggles. Additionally, the Dodgers really need to be at the point of benching Tucker before they even consider that.
Benching Tucker is easier said than done, and for De Paula to be called up, all of the other aforementioned options would also have to have been tried out and failed. De Paula is hitting .312 with a .962 OPS in Tulsa this season. He is having a good season, but has never seen anything close to big-league pitching. If the Dodgers are going to dip into the minor leagues to replace Tucker, James Tibbs III is the most realistic option.