Dodgers Interview: Roberts has high praise for Tucker, who will play on Sunday

CAMELBACK RANCH, AZ– It didn’t take long for Dave Roberts to see the appeal of one Kyle Tucker. The Dodgers’ new acquisition is still learning the rhythms of a new clubhouse, but Doc made it clear he likes what he’s seen so far. Tucker even addressed the team early on, and the Dodgers’ skipper described him as a pretty straightforward fit.

“I like Tuck,” Roberts said. “I think he’s learning the landscape of what we do. He knows what he needs to do to get ready. Very simple. He just wants to play baseball. So I think it’s a pretty easy player to manage from what I’ve seen so far.”

The early plan is measured, the same way the Dodgers handle most established regulars this time of year. Roberts said Tucker will get a start soon, get a couple at-bats, then another game a few days later, and they’ll build from there.

“Early in camp he’ll probably start on Sunday and take a couple at-bats and then play on Tuesday and then we’ll kind of go from there,” Roberts said.

Asked what stands out up close, Roberts went right to the swing. He described it as unique, but mostly because it covers so many bases. Power, all-fields approach, contact against both lefties and righties, and a swing that stays through the zone.

“It’s unique in the sense of he can hit with power. He can hit to all fields,” Roberts said. “He stays on plane. He hits lefties and righties. It’s a simple swing and he controls the hitting zone really well. He really knows how to conduct in the bat and knows what it takes to get him ready. He’s a pro hitter and he’s one of the best hitters in the game, so we’re lucky to have him.”

Roberts also offered a snapshot of how the early spring lineups will start to take shape around the veterans. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is lined up to start Saturday’s opener on that Texas League-style schedule, and Roberts mentioned a handful of regulars he expects to be in that game.

“Yeah, Yamamoto is going to start,” Roberts said. “I would expect Will Smith to be in there. I would expect Freddie to be in there. I expect Teoscar to be in there and probably Andy, and then I think that’s safe and then we’ll go from there.”

The broader theme, though, is pacing. Roberts talked about “slow playing” the established guys early, with built-in rest between Cactus League games and some key names starting a little later than this first weekend. It’s a long spring, and he wants the ramp-up to match that.

“I think that’s part of it,” Roberts said. “But also, guys like Mookie and Muncy, I’m going to kind of start those guys a little bit later than this weekend and see where we go. And then once they get going, then we’ll stagger and give them the ample time in between. You still got to appreciate that it’s a longer spring and so if they’re going to be here for six weeks, those guys, then I want to kind of pace it out a little bit.”

The bullpen conversation also pointed toward opportunity, especially with early camp health questions creating innings to cover. Roberts kept it simple: competition helps, health decides a lot, and the door is open for relievers who come in ready to take advantage.

“It’s an opportunity,” Roberts said. “I think that competition is healthy. Health is the most important thing as we look out to the season and who’s going to be healthy and who’s going to be ready. But yeah, Henriquez, Klein, those guys are all in the mix. We have a lot of viable candidates and for me it’s just build up, compete, get better each day and then once we ultimately got to make a decision, hopefully we have some great options.”

Roberts also briefly reacted to pitcher Yency Almonte coming back into the fold, saying he’d heard the news and was happy to have him back, with the understanding that the player is still working his way back. “I heard we signed him and I’m happy to have him back,” Roberts said. “He’s still kind of working his way back. But yeah, I’m excited about it.”

Almonte had the best year of his career in Dodger blue in 2022, posting a miniscule 1.02 ERA across 33 appearances. Things never got off right the following season, and after a disappointing campaign, he was traded to the Cubs in the Michael Busch deal and was off the Dodgers’ radar. Until now. He comes back on a minor league deal, but it’s another flyer on a player that might still have some value, a kind of deal that the deep-pocketed Dodgers seem to specialize in.

Whether Almonte or any of the other longshots ever make it to Chavez Ravine remains to be seen. But one thing you can be sure of. Come Opening Day, Kyle Tucker’s going to be near the top of the Dodgers’ lineup. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!