Kyle Tucker, Edwin Daz need to produce more than pretty good outcome for Dodgers
I guess it could have been worse.Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz could have stunk in the regular season and the playoffs.So, maybe Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes had a point when he offered an extremely charitable evaluation of their seasons at a news conference last month.Gomes hailed the money-suck tandem’s improved play in two postseason series as a major triumph for the Dodgers.“That’s a pretty good outcome for us,” Gomes said.The Dodgers committed $240 million to Tucker, only for the right fielder to finish the regular season with a .233 average.They spent $69 million on Díaz, only for him to register an 8.68 ERA in an injury-ravaged season.To be fair to Gomes, part of his argument was that the Dodgers were able to win their division and secure a first-round bye in the playoffs with Tucker and Díaz performing like bargain-bin free agent signings.He pointed to how their contributions helped the Dodgers advance to the National League Championship Series.Regardless, shouldn’t the Dodgers have expected more in return from their $309 million investment?They will certainly need more next year.Tucker and Díaz weren’t signed to be complementary players or players who would be pleasant surprises if they performed well.
They were signed to be part of the team’s foundation.Especially next year.Whenever the upcoming lockout ends, teams expect greater cost-control measures to be in place, whether it’s with a salary cap or some other mechanism.In theory, the new financial restrictions would prevent the Dodgers from spending their way out of their problems.
Under the current rules, they could upgrade their roster by signing another high-priced hitter or reliever.But if the next collective-bargaining agreement doesn’t permit that, Tucker and Díaz will have to do what they are being paid to do.Gomes pointed to October as why he thinks they can serve their intended purposes.Tucker was the Dodgers’ leading hitter in the playoffs with a .333 average.
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