The Los Angeles Dodgers front office has begun wheeling and dealing this offseason, acquiring low-cost pitching help over the past two weeks.
New President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman went the familiar route with his first move, trading for former Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta and Rays minor league left-hander Adam Liberatore.
Los Angeles then announced it had acquired pitchers Mike Bolsinger from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Juan Nicasio from the Colorado Rockies in low-risk deals. The hope with these trades is that by removing the aforementioned hurlers from hitter-friendly parks in Phoenix and Denver, respectively, perhaps they will be able to find more success pitching in spacious Dodger Stadium.
There have also been a few moves that the Dodgers could have made but didn’t.
Andrew Bailey
Relief pitching was the Dodgers’ biggest weakness last season, and the team had an opportunity to buy low on a bullpen arm who was dominant enough to win Rookie of the Year as recently as 2009. Not only was Andrew Bailey the American League‘s best rookie five years ago, but the right-hander has also been a two-time All-Star.
The New York Yankees inked the 30-year-old Bailey to a minor league contract earlier this month, realizing that he has the potential to be a dominant pitcher when healthy. Bailey posted a 2.07 ERA over 174 innings between 2009-2011 but has undergone two surgeries since then and hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 2013.
Although injuries will now always be a concern with Bailey, the Dodgers could have taken a flier on the reliever to help shore up their mediocre bullpen. He probably would have come at a very affordable price, too.
Zach Duke
Zach Duke is another quality relief pitcher that Los Angeles decided against signing. Instead, the White Sox acquired the left-hander’s services when he accepted their three-year, $15 million offer, per Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com.
Duke turned in the best season of his career in 2014 with the Milwaukee Brewers, compiling a 2.45 ERA in just over 58 innings of work. His 74 strikeouts were nearly double the amount he recorded during the previous three seasons combined.
The Dodgers could use all the bullpen help they can get at this point, and they may have been able to nab Duke for less than what the White Sox paid simply because they are positioned to win now while Chicago is rebuilding.
Duke, who limited opposing hitters to a .223 average last season, would have made a nice left-handed addition to the Dodgers bullpen to complement J.P. Howell.
The argument could be made that Los Angeles needs an upgrade at catcher after A.J. Ellis mustered a measly .191/.323/.254 slash at the plate last season.
One of the biggest names on the free-agent market was Russell Martin, but the Dodgers were not prepared to take the financial plunge necessary to bring the backstop back to Los Angeles.
Instead, Martin followed the money home to Toronto, where the Blue Jays welcomed him with a five-year, $82 million contract, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick and The Associated Press.
Martin’s 5.5 wins above replacement (WAR) with Pittsburgh in 2014 were the most among all projected free-agent position players. He also led major league catchers by throwing out 37 base stealers a season ago, and his caught stealing percentage of 38.5 was much higher than Ellis’ 25 percent.
The Dodgers’ new front office has shown a commitment to cost-saving strategies so far this offseason, so signing Martin was almost completely out of the question because of the type of contract that the catcher and his agent were demanding.
All statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise linked/noted.
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