If you were looking for Kyle Tucker to make a huge splash for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his Cactus League debut, then you were sorely misguided.<\/p>\n
Tucker did get onto the lineup card on Sunday, walking and also scoring a run as the Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres<\/a> 5-1.<\/p>\n But the Dodgers faithful who showed up for the contest were respectful in their applause for Tucker, according to an MLB.com<\/a> story.<\/p>\n Tucker, along with fire-balling reliever Edwin D\u00edaz, were the big pick-ups for the Dodgers on the free agent market. The Dodgers knew that Tucker, who previously played for the Houston Astros<\/a> and Chicago Cubs<\/a>, had a history of just not being a guy who talked a lot.<\/p>\n Nope, Tucker reportedly has just been quietly going about his work at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman understood the type of player that his organization was getting in Tucker, too.<\/p>\n “His demeanor is such that it’s not an outward, exuberant personality,” Friedman told Dodgers beat reporter Sonja Chen on Sunday. “So I think that can be misconstrued. \u2026 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.”<\/p>\n Reportedly,\u00a0Tucker and D\u00edaz spoke at the beginning of camp about their reasons in joining the defending World Series champions. Obviously, both players want to win a World Series, but they reportedly shared what other things lured them to the West Coast.<\/p>\n As for what Tucker thought of his outing on Sunday?<\/p>\n “Well, last year, I got one hit in spring,” Tucker said. “So hopefully I get more than that. That’s the goal.”<\/p>\n Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn’t seem to be too worried that Tucker doesn’t vocally dominate conversations in camp. He’s just happy to see him get his whacks in the batting cage or work in the outfield.<\/p>\n “I love guys who just come to work and value playing and love playing and competing,” Roberts said. “He just wants to win. He\u2019s not a self-promoter. He\u2019s not going to give you guys a lot of great sound bites. He wants to play to win. I love guys like that.”<\/p>\n Tucker, much like his Dodgers teammates, still have a lot of work to do ahead of Opening Day. Don’t be surprised if Tucker takes some more whacks in a Spring Training game and ends up making a highlight-reel catch in the outfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n King Tuck is here to claim his spot in the Dodgers’ lineup.<\/p>\n Don’t miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!<\/p>\n It’s completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.<\/p>\n Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!<\/p>\nJoin the Community<\/h1>\n