Los Angeles Dodgers add a trio of intriguing depth pieces

The Los Angeles Dodgers have added some veteran options to the roster over the last few days.

While fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers await to see who the big offseason acquisition is, the defending World Series champions are shoring up the fringes of their roster, bringing in a handful of intriguing players on minor league deals this week.

One of those signings is RHP Jimmy Nelson, who was with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, but did not pitch in a single game after finally undergoing surgery on his back. Nelson has a $2 million option for 2021, but was bought out for $500,000 and now returns on a minor league deal.

He didn’t pitch in 2018, logged just 22 innings in 2019, and didn’t pitch one inning in 2020, but the 31-year-old righty, if healthy, can provide some much-needed pitching depth for the Dodgers.

In his last full season in the majors, Nelson went 12-6 with a 3.05 FIP and a 10.21 K/9 rate with the Milwaukee Brewers, finishing ninth in NL Cy Young voting. He was worth 4.8 Wins Above Replacement through his 29 starts.

With a rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, David Price, Dustin May, and Julio Urias, Nelson won’t be needed to start very many games for the Dodgers, but can be a valuable multi-inning reliever to occasionally help lighten the load for some of these starters.

Nelson isn’t the only bounce-back candidate the Los Angeles Dodgers are turning to as they see if they can find cheap bullpen help, bringing in Brandon Morrow on a minor league as well.

Morrow had one of his best seasons as a major leaguer back in 2017 with the Dodgers, going 6-0 with a 1.55 FIP and near 30% strikeout rate in 45 relief appearances before getting $21 million to join the Chicago Cubs.

The 36-year-old hasn’t pitched since saving 22 games with a 1.47 ERA in 2018 due to elbow and back injuries.

Morrow may not have the potential upside that Nelson does to contribute in 2021, but both moves are good minor league signings as the Dodgers try to find more consistent production out of their bullpen.

They also don’t prevent LA from going out and landing one of the top bullpen arms on the market, like a Brand Hand for example, who can be a reliable ninth-inning arm.

Lastly, the Dodgers also brought in infielder Carlos Asuaje on a minor league deal to add infield depth to the system.

Asuaje very likely won’t make the major league roster out of camp, but the 29-year-old, left-handed hitter was once a highly-regarded prospect who appeared to be ready to break out with the San Diego Padres in 2017, but never could fully get it going.

In 89 games with the Friars in 2017, Asuaje hit .270 with a .334 OBP and 19 extra-base hits. Playing primarily second base, Asuaje also saw some time at third base in 2018, a season in which he drew an 11% walk rate in 79 games, but hit just .190.

Asuaje last played in 2019 with the Lotte Giants of the KBO, where he continued to showcase his ability to draw walks and get on base.

They aren’t moves that are going to sell a lot of tickets when fans hopefully return to the ballpark, but these minor league signings are good veteran depth additions for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they look to shore up the fringes of their roster.