Examining the contract: A.J. Pollock, Los Angeles Dodgers, four years, $55 million
In retrospect, it’s a fair question why the Dodgers gave Pollock four years and $55 million. With the Diamondbacks, his previous employer, he was a .281 hitter with 15-to 20-homer power. That made him a nice complementary piece, but hardly a star.
Through three seasons in L.A., that’s almost exactly what he’s been: a .282 hitter averaging 17 home runs.
Pollock was a three-win player, as measured by WAR, in 2021, statistically his best season since 2015.
On the stacked Dodger roster, his 3.1 WAR ranked eighth-best.
If you’re a Dodger free agent, you’re probably being paid mostly for your postseason play. With respect to Pollock, that criteria is spotty at best.
He had a great 2021 NLCS, with eight hits in 21 at-bats, a .381 average, two home runs, and seven RBI.
He delivered a key hit in the eighth inning of L.A.’s Game 3 victory, and drove in four runs in his team’s Game 5 win.
Aside from the 2021 NLCS, however, Pollock’s postseason contributions have been modest at best. He’s 15-for-84 (.179) with no homers and four RBI in seven previous postseason series with L.A., including .220, 0 homers, and a pair of RBI in the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series run. It’s pretty safe to say the Dodgers won the 2020 postseason despite Pollock, not because of him.