Bullet point summary by AI
- Despite heavy financial investments, several underperforming players on the Los Angeles Dodgers roster are quickly losing fan patience.
- High-priced Kyle Tucker, outfielder Alex Call, closer Edwin Diaz, and young starter Roki Sasaki have all suffered significant slumps.
- These ongoing struggles expose key roster and bullpen vulnerabilities, putting overall postseason expectations at risk.
You mean to tell me the most expensive roster in MLB still has underperforming players? I guess money doesn’t always yield to success. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been active every year trying to build the best and most expensive roster, but it doesn’t absolve the players that, for the lack of another word, are disappointing. Kyle Tucker is atop that list — even if he realistically isn’t going anywhere.
This winter Kyle Tucker inked a four-year deal, worth $240 million, meaning he’s around Southern California for some time. Though his 0.9 WAR tells one story, he’s had his moments of simply not living up to the moment. Maybe LA fans need to be patient with him, but for how long? Tucker and these underperforming players aren’t in good graces with Dodgers fans.
Alex Call
Los Angeles doesn’t have a lot of outfield depth, but if they did, they might have felt inclined to trade Alex Call before Monday’s trade deadline. Though the front office met with Call and decided to keep him despite some Dodgers fans’ hopes, it might not be the best decision. He has a 0.5 WAR and while his slashline isn’t terrible, his OPS says otherwise. He has a .671 OPS, which is the third-lowest of any Dodger that has at least 145 plate appearances this season.
Eric Lauer & Alex Call both talked to the Dodgers front office as trade rumors swirled last week, and expressed how much they wanted to stay in LA (even in smaller roles)
It might’ve helped them survive the deadline
“I think they took that to heart.”https://t.co/RSfqgRyWOl
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) August 5, 2026
Call pleaded to the front office to not be traded at the deadline, and the Dodgers obliged. That doesn’t make it a good decision, though. Maybe in the second half of the season, he’ll prove he was worth keeping. Dodgers fans won’t be optimistic about it, but it might just pay off in the end.
Kyle Tucker
Dodgers fans, you’re stuck with Kyle Tucker for now, but I know the Chicago Cubs sweeping the Dodgers didn’t sit right well with you. Especially when you look at the small impact Tucker had in the series. He had five hits in eight plate appearances, which isn’t bad at all, but he had just one RBI. Getting swept wasn’t entirely his fault, but it certainly wasn’t a good look. First seasons with new teams are always interesting because it could either be the season the player lives up to the expectations or spends the rest of their contract fighting to earn the fan base’s respect. Tucker is on the latter end of that, but it’s not impossible to get back in Dodgers fans’ good graces.
Edwin Diaz
Edwin Diaz rose to fame for his trumpetted entrance to the field as his introduction song when he was in Queens. That viral moment and now song might be the only thing he’s known for at this point because his play as a closer has been abysmal. Just Tuesday night, he got exposed yet again, giving up a homerun, a single and a walk in just ⅔ innings pitched. This has been the season from hell for Diaz.
Not only is he statistically having his worst season since 2019, he’s part of a bullpen collapse that’s exposing a weakness for the Dodgers. He has a -0.5 WAR and a severely inflated 9.35 ERA. The worst part is he has just 8.2 innings pitched in 10 games. His 13 strikeouts isn’t horrible considering the amount of games he’s played, but it’s not exactly what the Dodgers were expecting from him this year.
Roki Sasaki
Dodgers fans have every right to be mad about Roki Sasaki’s development to this point. He was a highly touted addition, but the Dodgers rushing him to the MLB side and then rushing him into the starting rotation is starting to slow him down rather than ramp up his production. Though he’s shown moments of promise, he ultimately just isn’t living up to the expectations. He’s been a strikeout machine this year. He just hasn’t been consistent.
Realistically, the Dodgers probably want to be patient with him, and with a one-year loan (for now) of Tarik Skubal, gutting this starting rotation probably isn’t wise. I think if the Dodgers see value in Sasaki, they use him as one of their top relievers in the bullpen. This takes the pressure off of him while also giving them a depth pitcher for the postseason. With Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell making their returns in the near future, it might not be a bad idea to send Sasaki to the bullpen to see if that helps.
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