With the Winter Meetings coming to an end earlier this week, many fans found themselves a bit disappointed that the Dodgers weren’t able to bring home any of the big 3 free agents, which as we all know by now were Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, and Anthony Rendon. However, to actually place blame on the Dodgers ownership and Andrew Friedman is a mistake and here is why:
- Stephen Strasburg was the first of the three to sign. He would re-sign with the Nationals for a contract that worth what many initially believed would be what Cole would be signing for, but that was to put to rest quickly. It turned out the Nationals were prioritizing their World Series MVP, while from Strasburg’s end – D.C. felt like home to him. Both parties had nearly an unbreakable bond, and I’m ok with the Dodgers not topping 7 years, $245 million for a 31 year-old pitcher who’s had numerous IL stints.
- Many outlets reported the Dodgers were actively pursing Gerrit Cole and as it turns out this was very true. Not only did the Dodgers reduce payroll in order to sign Cole, but they offered the pitcher 8 years, and $300 million.
The Dodgers' offer for Gerrit Cole was eight years for $300 million, per sources. It included deferrals.
The Angels' offer was south of $300 million over eight years with deferrals.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) December 11, 2019
- Not only did the Dodgers offer more money than the Angels, but they were willing to offer Cole $37.5 million annually – granted a large portion of that money would actually be deferred, but point being the Yankees won Cole over with that 9th year of $324 total and $36 million annually. Boras didn’t even allow the Dodgers to up their offer since they chose to accept from the Yankees almost immediately. Last time I checked, New York isn’t exactly cheap to live in either, so not sure how much of that extra money he will actually be saving out there. Maybe the Yankees get a ring or two out of it, but 9 years invested in one pitcher is a lot of risk, and he will be 38 by the time that deal ends. It’s not as if the Dodgers don’t already have a quality pitching staff and aren’t close to winning themselves. With Urias, May, and Gonsolin all poised for big things, I think we will be ok. Hitting in key situations seems to be their bigger weakness.
- Finally Anthony Rendon was another star that the Dodgers were eyeing, but turns out he was against moving to Los Angeles and didn’t want the “Hollywood lifestyle,” so don’t be mad at the Dodgers for not revealing their cards and letting it be released what they were willing to pay Rendon. He chose the Angels, which is not much different than Los Angeles, so hopefully he learns the hard way.
New #Angels 3B Anthony Rendon on #Dodgers: “It’s not that we didn’t want to play for them, they’re a great organization that’s built to win. But what we heard about how the organization is, the Hollywood lifestyle, it didn’t seem like it would be a fit for me and my family.”
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) December 14, 2019
- The Dodgers made a move that could be more impactful than any of those signings anyways, which was signing RHP Blake Treinen to a 1 year, $10 million to fill a role that has been a huge hole for the Dodgers for many seasons, which is the 8th inning set-up job. We saw it cost the Dodgers once again in Game 5 of the NLDS. If Treinen does what he’s suppose to do, then their should be a lot less fear as the game gets into the later stage. For years, Dodgers fans have been mad at the fact that they wouldn’t spend on quality relievers, well they finally did it with Treinen.
- Lastly, their seems to be a whole obsession with the idea of trading for Francisco Lindor, when the team already has a better SS named Corey Seager. Would Lindor be a nice addition? Sure. But do not get mad at Friedman when he’s not willing to part ways with both Gavin Lux and Dustin May who have as much upside as any other prospect out there right now. See my Tweet below to reference how Lindor compares to Seager in clutch situations.
Hitter A was Francisco Lindor with RISP, while hitter B was Corey Seager with RISP. Just 2019. Imagine wanting to trade Corey Seager 🤭 https://t.co/8VpZmaMq98
— Klein25 (@Klein25) December 10, 2019
The Dodgers are still in the top 6 in total team payroll, which can be seen here: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/ ,
and there is still a lot of free agency left, so be patient.
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