Dodgers must send Kyle Tucker to IL following back injury but more for a mental reset

MINNEAPOLIS – Kyle Tucker wants to play.He wants to play right away.He wants to play as soon as possible after lower-back spasms forced him to be removed from the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday at Target Field.“Hopefully I can feel good, wake up tomorrow, feel fine and get in there,” he said.Tucker cares, but caring is not the issue.If anything, his problem is that he cares too much.Which is why Tucker and the Dodgers have to take advantage of this situation. Regardless of how Tucker’s feels over the next couple of days, they have to give him a break.Let him step away from the batter’s box, from his underwhelming numbers.

Let him clear his head.Place him on the injured list.Tucker won’t want this if he feels his injury isn’t severe, but this is a case in which the Dodgers have to take the decision out of the player’s hands and do what’s right for him.They need to let him mentally reset.That much is obvious.It’s obvious in how often he uncharacteristically swings at pitches that aren’t in the strike zone.It’s obvious in how quickly he passes through the clubhouse or returns to the dugout after grounding out, almost as if he doesn’t want to be seen.And it’s not as if the Dodgers shouldn’t be careful with him from a physical standpoint anyway.“Obviously, with the back, you gotta be mindful,” manager Dave Roberts said.The four-time All-Star is hitting just .234 this season.

In 75 games, he has six home runs and 40 runs batted in.The Dodgers haven’t been hurt by his underwhelming performance, as their series-opening win over the Twins made them the first team in baseball to win 50 games.His numbers aren’t that awful for a No.

6 hitter, which is usually what he is these days.But he’s a No.6 hitter with an annual salary of $60 million, which makes it important that his early-season slump doesn’t snowball into something that would, say, lead him to be excluded from a postseason roster.To his credit, T...