Los Angeles Dodgers: Four possible additions that are not Bryce Harper
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.
Corey Kluber
the Indians have been trying to move Corey Kluber since the beginning of the offseason, and the fact that he’s yet to be traded isn’t due to lack of interest. The 2017 Cy Young Award winner is an attractive trade target for pretty obvious reasons, coming off of his fifth straight season with over 200 strikeouts and 200 innings pitched.
Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers had an embarrassment of riches offensively, but their pitching was pretty thin. Clayton Kershaw can still be effective, but he’s getting up there in age and is coming of his third straight sub 30 start season.
By the end of the year, Walker Buehler had emerged as the Dodgers probable ace of the future, but he can certainly use another durable arm to help him out at the top of the rotation; Kluber certainly fits this bill, and would be under contract through 2021. Kluber’s stats from last year wipe the floor with those of anyone on the current Dodgers staff, though he did play in a much weaker division.
When it comes to a possible deal between the Indians and Dodgers, the Indians have the upper hand, because in reality they don’t need to trade Kluber. They’ve made a bevy of moves to help themselves out financially, and are not in the same situation they were when the Kluber rumors first start floating around in November. Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers might be willing to trade top prospect Alex Verdugo in a package for Kluber, and it will likely take them moving a player of that caliber to make any Kluber deal work. If the Indians aren’t satisfied with their half of the bargain they have plenty of other suitors.
Nick Markakis
Before we talk about Markakis, who made his first All Star team last year and hasn’t had much free agent buzz going, let’s talk about Alex Verdugo. As mentioned earlier, Verdugo isn’t off limits when it comes to trading with the Dodgers, but maybe he should be. The 22 year old Verdugo looked OK in limited big league experience last year, but he crushed AAA, slashing .329/.391/.472 in 91 games for the Oklahoma City Dodgers. He might not be ready to be a big league star quite yet, but we have every indication that he’s getting there.
Which leads us to Nick Markakis, who is the best option for a team that’s looking for a strong veteran outfielder to supplement an up and coming talent. For most of his career Markakis has been at best a fringe all star and at worst league average; he’s never been a real MVP candidate but his all star appearance last year was long over due. He slashed .297/.366/.440 in 2018, and played in every single Braves game. Markakis will be 35 next year, so he’s getting up there in age, but it doesn’t seem in anyway to be an issue as far as durability is concerned.
Right now, the Dodgers look like they’re going to split time between Verdugo and Andrew Toles in right field; this might be a good duo to use in 2022, but for now they’re a bit too raw. This creates a sort of complex situation for the Dodgers, who want to put a strong player in right this year but don’t want to block their young players in the not too distant future.
Markakis is a great choice for this role because he brings consistent play without the kind of playing time expectations a perennial all star might have. He’d also bring a veteran presence to an extremely young outfield that’s currently anchored by Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson. Markakis made just over $11 million with the Braves last year, so it’s unlikely that his contract demands for the future will be high enough to cause concerns for a Los Angeles Dodgers team looking to avoid luxury tax trouble. He’s the perfect stop gap option that will keep them contending while they wait for the outfield of the future to mature.
J.T. Realmuto
The Marlins have been trying to trade J.T. Realmuto in the same way the Indians have been trying to move Kluber; their intentions were made clear pretty early in the offseason, and there are plenty of takers.
Yasmani Grandal is now a free agent, and it doesn’t seem likely that the Los Angeles Dodgers will try and retain him. Grandal’s rep took a hit after a few very high profile playoff gaffs, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that in general he was a very solid catcher on both sides of the ball. Realmuto would be a defense downgrade from Grandal, but he would more than make up for it with his bat. Last year he received his first Silver Slugger, and with 21 homeruns he can certainly provide a little pop in a position where offense is often an afterthought.
Realmuto’s contract is another factor that makes him pretty attractive; he’ll be under team control until 2021, and will likely provide value that far exceeds his cost. If he wanted to stay in Miami it would be silly to let him go, but he’s made it clear that he wouldn’t sign an extension there.
It’s not entirely clear what a Los Angeles Dodgers trade for Realmuto might look like; the Marlins strategy is at times murky, and the timeline for their rebuild is still up in the air. Realmuto is one of the few things that kept fans coming out to the ballpark in Miami, so the front office needs to make sure to get a decent return on him, or they risk further alienating an already angry fanbase. The Dodgers’ need for Realmuto is less than their need for Kluber, so Verdugo likely isn’t on the table, but they have plenty of other prospects that could be packaged together to create something that is fairly fair for both sides.
A.J. Pollock
Players in smaller markets often don’t get the praise they deserve, which is something that free agent outfielder A.J. Pollock knowns all too well. Pollock and former Diamondbacks teammate Paul Goldschmidt have spent the last few years putting up great numbers with little fanfare in Phoenix, so it wouldn’t surprising if he wants to head towards a big market now that he’s a free agent.
Pollock slashed .257/.316/.484 last year with 21 homeruns, and was above average defensively in center field; it was far from his best season, but he was consistent and put up numbers that indicate he can make up for a decent amount of the offensive production the Dodgers lost by trading Kemp and Puig, whose offensive numbers were very volatile last season.
The fact that Pollock didn’t put up superstar numbers last year will help keep his cost down a little, which is something else that would make him attractive to the now-trying-to-be-sort-of-frugal Los Angeles Dodgers. He likely won’t make much more than $10 million annually.
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The fact that Mets were also pursuing him might have given him a bit more bargaining power with the Dodgers, but they have not been willing to guarantee him the playing time he wants, a chip the Dodgers can use when trying to coax him.