Photo Credit: Los Dodgers
With the conclusion of the offseason awards, the free agent frenzy can officially begin, with every team in need of improvement and looking for help. As for the Dodgers, it’s always hard for teams to repeat as champions, but here are key free agents they need to sign in order to get back there.
Justin Turner
The Dodgers’ offseason should start with bringing back the third baseman that helped them win their first World Series since 1988.
In the 2020 season, Turner had a slash line of .307/.400/.460 with an OPS+ of 135, which is solid considering the average OPS+ is 100, meaning Turner is batting 35 points above average.
After being let go by the Mets, the Dodgers signed him to a minor-league deal, a great decision by the Dodgers, as he was able to find himself as a player. Turner was able to turn his entire career around with the Dodgers, as he took a great leap forward with the team with a slash line of .340/.404/.493 in his first season with the team in 2014. He would then carry on from that and be one of the faces of the team for the next six seasons, with an All-Star nod in 2017 and a slash line of .322/.415/.530 and a OPS+ of 150, which are no doubt worthy of his All-Star selection.
Turner has been a man of interest after it was reported he tested positive for COVID-19 during the World Series. He would go on to celebrate with the team after they won it all.
Major League Baseball then went on to launch an investigation about what went on after the Dodgers won the World Series and Justin Turner’s actions of going onto the field to celebrate with the team.
Roaring support for Turner came out from Dodgers players and staff as this was going on as they believed that Turner was part of the team that helped them win it all and believed he deserved to be with them after all they’ve been through.
It was decided by MLB that he wouldn’t be punished. However, there are media members that have already made up their minds on the situation, so we’ll have to see how it plays out with the mainstream media.
Regardless of what comes of the situation, Turner’s age is the only thing that could negatively affect his free agency as he’ll be going into his age 36 season. His defense has come into question as he’s had slight regression and there are questions about how durable he can be throughout the rest of his career.
But for the Dodgers, what he’s meant to the organization is truly special and he’s become a staple in the Dodgers franchise, so the team should do whatever it takes to bring him back and finish out his career in Los Angeles.
Trevor Bauer
After locking up their trusted third baseman, the Dodgers could then use help in their rotation and help settle everyone into their own role. The Dodgers mixed and matched guys in and out of their bullpen and starting rotation last season with some uncertainty.
With only two certain pitchers in the starting rotation in Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer would be the third certain option, which would no doubt help in solidifying a 1-2-3 combo in their rotation and it would leave Dave Roberts some room to go through the other spots in the rotation.
Bauer comes off the best season of his career, winning the NL Cy Young Award after having an ERA of 1.73 in 73 innings pitched and having 100 strikeouts in the short 60-game season. He’s from the Los Angeles area which is an added bonus for the Dodgers as they can bring him closer to his family as long as they can meet his terms of money.
He’s has been known to be one of the most vocal players in the Major Leagues and is not afraid of saying what’s on his mind, which is a reason some teams may be cautious of acquiring him. But there’s no doubt in his talent, as he worked with the baseball development company, Driveline, which helped him use statistical data and video to help improve his skill and correct any wrongdoing in his pitching.
While it’s unconventional to do what Bauer is doing as far as getting better, the Dodgers are an analytically-driven team that have embraced statistics and data, which could benefit Bauer’s motives for signing with the team. As far as being vocal, that is a different issue in itself entirely.
His YouTube channel documents his life in baseball, as well as features content he has produced for fans of the sport to see. He also has a team that helps him with the channel, so whatever team gets Bauer, would essentially be getting that production team as well. This would fit the narrative of Los Angeles being a movie city with Hollywood being nearby, and his team could definitely make it feel like it with the content they produce.
Should the Dodgers feel comfortable with Bauer having a camera on him constantly? Would the players be OK with him producing his content? If yes, then it should be a perfect match.
The Dodgers should definitely be in the running for Bauer based on his talent alone, and if they can work with his off-the-field stuff, then it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in a Dodgers uniform.
Liam Hendriks
Hendriks is possibly the most coveted relief pitcher on the market this year, as he was dominant for the A’s with his electric stuff and competitive spirit.
He posted a 1.78 ERA in 25.1 innings pitched, while also getting 37 strikeouts in the shortened season.
Something must have changed for Hendriks in his fourth season with the A’s as in 2018 he had an ERA of 4.13 while giving up 25 hits. The season after that in 2019 he had an ERA of 1.80 in 85 innings pitched while also getting 124 strikeouts.
The Dodgers had a solid bullpen that carried them to the World Series, however, closer Kenley Jansen had got into too many jams during the 2020 season for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts remove him from the closer role and have him figure things out.
Signing Hendriks will only make the Dodgers’ bullpen even stronger and in theory improve the team overall as it would add more pitching depth and help out the starting rotation.
The one thing that stands in the way of the Dodgers making this type of aggressive move is the multiple suitors that Hendriks is likely to have. With his dominant displays of pitching on the mound in Oakland, it also opened up the eyes of many teams that might be willing to shell out the cash for him.
While the Dodgers have flexed their financial muscles before, this is a move that needs to be carefully looked at due to the amount of interest he has and whether the team is willing to overpay for his usage.
MLB Trade Rumors projects him to get a contract in the range of three years at $30 million, which is a respectable amount given his recent success. It will be up to the Dodgers front office, however, to determine if their willing to spend that kind of money.
Kirby Yates
If Hendriks is a little too expensive for the Dodgers, they might want to look at picking up a former division rival, Kirby Yates, who was lost for the season in August with elbow inflammation.
In 2019 Yates was lights out talent for the Padres, and if the team was as competitive as they were this season, he would be one of the main reasons why. He finished with a 1.19 ERA and a league-leading 41 saves in 60.2 innings of work, which helped give him an All-Star selection for the first half of the season.
He ended up having surgery to remove bone chips which were the cause of the inflammation, something that the Dodgers may want to see how he recovers from. Although this type of surgery shouldn’t affect his ability too much and he could go back to where he left off. He will definitely have to build up trust with whichever team he signs with, as he probably won’t be a lock for the closer role until he starts putting up consistent numbers again.
MLB Trade Rumors has him projected to sign for a one-year deal worth $5 million, which is understandable given his season-ending surgery and him wanting to go back out on the market next off-season.
This is why the Dodgers are one of the perfect teams to sign him as they won’t have to financially commit long-term to him and he would be a huge help for their bullpen if he returns to form like in the 2019 season. The Dodgers bolstering up their bullpen is a great way for them to return back to the World Series as they clearly already have the pieces to get there, but every team can improve and this move can be a sneaky way for them to keep their success.
Jacob Cisneros is a writer for Dodgers-LowDown. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @_JacobCisneros.