Hours after president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman mentioned he was concentrating on an outfielder that crushed left-handed pitching, the Dodgers agreed to phrases with Teoscar Hernández on a 1-year, $23.5 million contract.
The signing holds implications for different gamers on the Dodgers’ roster, and alters the entrance workplace’s offseason wants.
Liberating up the 40-man roster
To make the signing official, the Dodgers have to clear a spot on their 40-man roster. The Dodgers agreed to phrases with pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Dec. 21, however it could be one other week earlier than they designated pitcher Bryan Hudson for task and introduced the transaction.
Pitchers Ricky Vanasco and Gus Varland are the most probably DFA candidates. Vanasco, 25, signed a serious league contract in November. Varland, 27, presents six years of crew management and is coming off an impressive season at Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis. Releasing both right-hander comes with some danger that the Dodgers would have a tough time changing them internally.
The Dodgers might additionally liberate a 40-man roster spot by buying and selling somebody off it. With a glut of younger, controllable pitchers, Friedman might put collectively an attractive bundle to get a high quality prospect or one other MLB participant.
A much less possible route would contain consuming some wage and buying and selling Chris Taylor. Learn extra about that chance right here.
Supplementing the Dodgers roster
After making the Teoscar Hernández signing official, the place participant facet of the 26-man roster appears set. Probably, the Dodgers wouldn’t signal extra place gamers — together with fan favourite Kiké Hernández — until Taylor is traded.
Friedman might look so as to add one other arm in both the beginning rotation or the bullpen. Given their predilection to offer their beginning pitchers 5 days’ relaxation, they is likely to be extra aggressive in including to the rotation.
Though Evan Phillips has earned the title on advantage, the Dodgers didn’t use him as their designated nearer final season. Consequently, Josh Hader and Emmanuel Clase have been linked to the Dodgers in offseason rumors.
Hader reportedly needs a contract bigger than the 5-year, $102 million deal the Mets gave Edwin Diaz final yr. The Guardians won’t quit Clase, the 2022 Mariano Rivera Award winner, with out receiving a big haul in return.
Except each pitchers’ markets come down considerably, bringing them to Los Angeles appears troublesome. Left-hander Tanner Scott of the Miami Marlins is somebody to keep watch over. Scott solely has one yr left of arbitration, so he won’t command as excessive of prospect capital as Clase.
As of proper now, Emmet Sheehan seems to be the fifth man within the beginning rotation. As final yr demonstrated, beginning pitcher depth can develop into an undervalued asset rapidly.
The Dodgers have been linked to a number of beginning pitchers obtainable in trades this offseason, together with Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber, and Dylan Stop. All are good choices on the proper worth. The best choice is likely to be franchise icon Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw, coming off important shoulder surgical procedure, doesn’t count on to pitch till later this summer season — if he pitches in any respect. Friedman and the Dodgers may wait till Spring Coaching begins, signal Kershaw and add him to the 60-day injured checklist, thereby circumventing the 40-man roster restrict.
Within the best-case state of affairs, Kershaw appears to be like like his regular self upon his return, and is totally wholesome come October after a gradual ramp-up interval. If not, he might give the crew some high quality begins to maintain Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller contemporary heading into the postseason. In that state of affairs, Kershaw would successfully be a back-of-the-rotation pitcher with Corridor of Fame upside.
With the core of the crew set, Friedman simply has to work across the edges to complement the roster. Traditionally, Friedman has performed his finest work on the margins.
Photograph Credit score: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports activities
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