Many are speculating that Bryce Harper is the Los Angeles Dodgers number one target after a massive salary dump, but there’s plenty of other ways they can take advantage of their new financial flexibility.
After a massive seven player trade that sent Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Dodgers have effectively moved an estimated $16 million of salary off the books. This does a ton to increase the team’s financial flexibility, and there’s a lot of speculation that the move was made to free up both roster and cap space for free agent outfielder Bryce Harper.
Harper would be a great addition to the Dodgers (or any team for that matter), but when looked at closely him joining the team after this deal still doesn’t quite add up. Earlier this year he turned down a 10-year $300 million contract offered by the Nationals, meaning he likely won’t feel moved to sign any contract that pays less than $30 million annually. The Dodgers could still sign Harper and bite the luxury tax bullet on a long term contract, but it would undo a lot of the good that was done by moving Puig and Kemp this season.
If the Dodgers really want to take advantage of their recent moves and stay the course on their plan to curtail spending there are quite a few non-Harper options out there that can still do a lot to improve the team. This year’s offseason has been somewhat slow moving, and there’s plenty of impressive free agents that are still without contracts. The Dodgers also have a great farm system, ranked in the top 10 on last year’s MiLB preseason list, meaning they have assets to send to rebuilding teams in exchange for whatever superstar is on the block.
So, with all that in mind let’s take a look at some non-Bryce Harper options that will strengthen an already dominant Dodgers roster.