The Dodgers Have Lost Cody Bellinger and Trea Turner. Now What?
L.A. needs a shortstop and a centerfielder. But unlike in years past, the club might not be able to outspend the field to land the best options.
A lot of baseball news has happened over the last 24 hours, so let’s get into it.
Since the sun rose in San Diego on Tuesday morning, five recent (and now former) Dodgers have increased their collective net worth by $386 million. The bulk of that money was promised to shortstop Trea Turner, who secured a $300 million bag from the Phillies for a contract that will run for 11 years. The Dodgers also officially lost centerfielder Cody Bellinger, who signed a one-year deal worth $17.5 million with the Cubs. L.A. had a chance to bring him back for roughly the same amount earlier this month but declined.
Kenley Jansen—whom the Dodgers should not have let leave Los Angeles before the 2022 season—signed with Boston for two years and $32 million. Starting pitcher Andrew Heaney earned $25 million over two years from the Texas Rangers. Reliever Tommy Kahnle got $11.5 million for two years with the Yankees.
All of these players were key contributors to the Dodgers’ success over the last five seasons, and now they’ll all be playing for other teams. It didn’t really seem like the Dodgers were ever serious about bringing Turner or Bellinger back for the money it would require.
As for the other three pitchers, the Dodgers are probably content to go out and find cost-effective fixer-uppers and let pitching coach Mark Prior work his magic. You know how when a player falls to the ground in agony in the World Cup and some trainer runs out and sprays their leg with some kind of magic substance and suddenly they’re good to go? Prior does that, but on people’s arms. Kahnle was injured when he got to L.A. and Heaney was inconsistent. Now they’re both a lot richer. But Prior’s finest most recent work is Tyler Anderson, who came to the Dodgers last year on a one-year deal worth $9 million, pitched like a superstar, then signed with Anaheim for three years and $39 million last month.
The great thing about the Dodgers’ pitching staff is I’m sure they will probably locate, sign and fix another high-ceiling guy who hasn’t clicked yet, for whatever reason, and he will flourish. The bad part? He will then leave. The Dodgers have become like an auto repair shop for arms, and the entire league is benefiting from it.
Losing these players is not as big a concern as the fact that so far, the Dodgers haven’t done anything to replace them. So let’s look at some options.
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