Dave Roberts cant put a finger on it, but believes Kyle Tucker turned a corner

Kyle Tucker took a few beats to consider the question.In recent weeks, there has been rampant speculation about the outfielder’s mental state, amid a career-worst season in his debut campaign with the Dodgers.From fans to broadcasters to even his own manager, the $240 million outfielder has been seen as short on confidence and boiling with frustration.This weekend, however, the four-time All-Star paused when asked whether he felt his disappointing season had taken a mental toll.“I mean, it’s been a struggle,” he finally conceded, “in the sense that I’d like to help our team win and perform better for the guys in the clubhouse and the fans that come to the games.

In that aspect, I wish I would’ve done better this year.”But then, despite his personal lows in batting average (.231), OPS (.689) and even wins above replacement (an even 0.0, according to Baseball-Reference), the 29-year-old did something almost unexpected.He looked to the future, and saw reasons to remain optimistic.“We’ve still got a month and a half left and the playoffs coming up, so it’s not over yet,” he said.“Just gotta keep grinding every single day and just keep moving forward and just try to get better every single day.

Our team’s phenomenal.I have a lot of respect for the guys in here.

And they’ve been supportive of me along with everyone else on the team.So, just looking forward to finishing out the year strong.”Indeed, for all the renewed scrutiny that has come with joining the Dodgers this year, playing for the two-time defending champions comes with a unique blessing.If Tucker can contribute in October, and aid the team’s chase for an historic three-peat, much of his regular-season struggles will be forgiven, or at least forgotten.For as ugly as this first chapter has been, his story with the Dodgers is far from complete.That’s why, this past weekend, manager Dave Roberts struck a similarly upbeat tone when asked about Tucker’s progress, even after a...