PEORIA, Ariz. -- The early days of spring are usually a time for hitters to ease back into their swings on the backfields. That's not necessarily the case in Dodgers camp, as Kyle Tucker has learned.
Tucker has taken live at-bats against the likes of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow this spring, three members of a rotation with potential to rank among the best in Dodgers history when all is said and done. That's just scratching the surface of all the pitching talent in the Majors, but perhaps Tucker is getting some of the hard part out of the way early.
"It's a little tough. Glad they're on our side," Tucker said. "But especially early on in camp, and you haven't necessarily had a ton of at-bats going into it … I faced Glasnow the other day. He was throwing 98 [mph], but it felt like 200."
In his first Spring Training with the Dodgers after signing a four-year, $240 million contract this past offseason, Tucker has been seen more than he's been heard. He's a steady presence on the backfields, taking at-bats while getting to know his fellow outfielders and other new teammates, but rarely idles in the clubhouse.
Normally, a star who signs a massive contract with a new team would be the centerpiece of that team's spring. In that sense, Tucker has flown under the radar. When he made his spring debut in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Padres, Dodgers fans at Peoria Sports Complex gave him a warm ovation, but it wasn't quite as loud as the ones World Series heroes Will Smith, Miguel Rojas and Will Klein got.
Tucker doesn't mind. He prefers to let his play do the talking.
During the offseason, when Tucker was the consensus top free agent on the market, reports emerged that organizations were concerned about his passion for the game and desire to play. Back when he was introduced as a Dodger, Tucker said his understated personality may be part of the reason for that perception, a sentiment that the team agrees with.
"His demeanor is such that it's not an outward, exuberant personality," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at Tucker's introduction. "So I think that can be misconstrued. … For us it's about, how does he compete? How does he work? For that, we got very comfortable that when he's in the box, when he's in the outfield, he competes as well as anybody."
So far this spring, that has been the Dodgers' experience. He's not a vocal leader by nature, but on the first day of full-squad workouts, Tucker and fellow new addition Edwin Díaz shared a few words with the team explaining what about L.A. was attractive to them during free agency. Since then, Tucker’s actions have spoken louder than his words.
"I love guys who just come to work and value playing and love playing and competing," manager Dave Roberts said. "He just wants to win. He’s not a self-promoter. He’s not going to give you guys a lot of great sound bites. He wants to play to win. I love guys like that."
The Dodgers and Tucker still have plenty to learn about one another. Roberts knows how many at-bats Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy like to have under their belt by the end of spring, but he's finding out what Tucker needs to feel prepared for a season in real time.
On Sunday, a pair of plate appearances sufficed for Tucker's first taste of Cactus League action. He grounded out to second base in the first inning, then walked and scored in the third inning. For Tucker, like most established Major Leaguers, spring is about regaining feel rather than getting results. He cares more about whether he's making good swing decisions than how many balls fall.
Like his teammates, Tucker's ultimate goal for this season is to help bring another World Series trophy back to L.A. But he's also looking for the little victories, starting in the weeks leading up to Opening Day.
"Well, last year, I got one hit in spring," Tucker said. "So hopefully I get more than that. That's the goal."