The Los Angeles Dodgers have made an enormous splash again and this time have snagged the 2020 Cy Young Award winner and best free agent pitcher available, Trevor Bauer. Just like last season, the Dodgers added one of the best players in the game in Mookie Betts to an already stacked team and now their rotation is going to be absolutely next-level. There are few if any holes on this team and the only thing fans of other teams, especially those in the National West, can hope for is a serious World Series Hangover Season.
Getting into the details of the deal, Bauer and the Dodgers have agreed on a three-year, $102 million deal that has opt-outs after Years 1 and 2. Bauer is set to make a ridiculous $40 million in 2021 and $45 million in 2022, sources said. He is projected to make more money next season than the entire 26-man rosters of the Orioles, Pirates and Indians.
With this move, the Reds will get an extra draft pick from the Dodgers but the Dodgers don’t care – they wanted the best and they got the best – again. We will get into the monster of a rotation the Dodgers have shortly but let’s take a look at Bauer’s career numbers and talk about this contract a little bit. Bauer became a strikeout machine around 2017, averaging at least 10 strikeouts per nine every season since. 2018 was his best season until last year when he 12-6 with a 2.21 ERA and made his first All Star Team. Then in 2019, he between the Indians and Reds, he had a 4.48 ERA, 4.34 FIP and an 11-13 record, not numbers you would expect from a guy getting $102 over 3 years. However, he earned that money in 2020 when he won the Cy Young, threw 2 shutouts, had a 1.73 ERA and somehow struck out 100 batters in only 73 innings.
While he may be getting “overpaid,” the truth of the matter is pretty much every superstar who enters free agency gets paid what he has to get paid to land the player. I certainly would not have wanted to pay that much for a guy who could easily revert back to his 2019 performance where he was serviceable but not Cy Young material. However ,the Dodgers have never been shy about doing whatever it takes to get who they want and making sure they are in a position to go all the way. They will be looking to repeat in 2021 and I’m not sure anyone can stop them.
Additions
Trevor Bauer P
Brandon Morrow P (Minor League Deal)
Blake Treinen P
Other than Bauer, the Dodgers have also brought back excellent reliever Blake Treinen and have penned Brandon Morrow to a minor league contract and that’s a nice low-risk high-reward signing because last time we saw Morrow, he was excellent for the Cubs and the Dodgers before that keeping an ERA under 2 before getting sidelined due to injuries. If he is even a shadow of his former self, he could add some nice pitching depth for the Dodgers.
Lineup
1. Mookie Betts CF
2. Corey Seager SS
3. Max Muncy 1B
4. Will Smith C
5. Cody Bellinger LF
6. A.J. Pollock RF
7. Edwin Rios 3B
8. Chris Taylor/Gavin Lux 2B
Looking at the lineup, it’s still pretty freaking scary although Justin Taylor is likely gone in free agency and Joc Pederson is heading to Chicago. Still, Mookie Betts starts things off and proved to be worth every penny last season when he hit 16 home runs in the shortened season and made too many amazing catches to count, helping the Dodgers win a World Series ring. Corey Seager was only the World Series MVP and also had a fantastic season, hitting .307 with 15 home runs. Max Muncy is always a threat to go deep, makes hard contact frequently although some of his totals are hurt by the shift. Next at catcher is Will Smith, a super exciting young catcher with power and on-base ability. He wont the Will Smith vs Will Smith match-up hands down.
Gavin Lux
Cody Bellinger is a beast of course who only won the National League MVP in 2019. Then finally things lighten up a little bit with A.J. Pollock, who is a former All Star who can barrel up just about any fastball but isn’t the best defender or baserunner. Edwin Rios is awesome and deserving of an every day opportunity. He has amazing left handed power and a great barrel rate. Finally, Chris Taylor could be the second baseman and but if Gavin Lux impresses in Spring Training, I wouldn’t be surprised to him in there either. Either way, this is a seriously legit lineup just like last season. It gets an A.
Rotation
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Walker Buehler
3. Trevor Bauer
4. Julio Urias
5. David Price
6. Dustin May
This rotation is straight up not fair. Clayton Kershaw is a future Hall of Famer who showed last season that he’s not slowing down much. He even showed some improvement in his velocity. Buehler is a superstar who produces soft contact, and crappy fly balls. Of course, his 97 MPH high-spin fastball produces a few swing and misses too. Trevor Bauer is the reigning Cy Young Award winner and could be third in the rotation. I think that’s all you have to say about that. But just to be complete, Julio Urias is a weapon who figured out that curveball and was huge in the playoffs, striking out 13 hitters in 7 World Series innings last season. Daiv dPrice should be back and may even be better after resting his wrist for another year after surgery. He is a big name and the fact that he’s the 5th man in a rotation is telling. Dustin May, who can bring 100 MPH heat, may not even be in the rotation. This rotation is simply ridiculous and gets an A+.
Bullpen
Kenley Jansen
Blake Treinen
Dustin May
Brusdar Graterol
Tony Gonsolin
Dylan Floro
Adam Kolarek
Victor Gonzalez
Joe Kelly
Caleb Ferguson
Mitch White
Tommy Kahnle
Corey Knebel
Garrett Cleavinger
As far as the bullpen, which should be well rested almost every night looking at that rotation, there are plenty of weapons here as well. Kenley Jansen may not be one of the elite closers in the game anymore, but he is still effective. He has blown 14 saves in the past 3 seasons, however and his velocity has gradually dropped. There is still Brusdar Graterol, whose triple-digit heaters and nasty sliders make him a scary sight out of the pen. Blake Treinen will be back and he also has a great slider producing garbage contact. That was a huge signing for L.A. As mentioned earlier, some guys who can start may end up in the bullpen just because of the overstock of talent in the rotation. This includes guys like Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May. Adam Kolarek and Joe Kelly are other big names out of the bullpen. Amazingly, this may be the weakest area of the team and it’s still legit. I’m going to give the Dodgers bullpen an A.
So, that pretty much covers the scariest team in baseball. I said they looked like an All Star Team last year and I stand by that this year. There are multiple MVP’s and multiple Cy Young Award winners. It doesn’t even seem fair. The Dodgers as a team get an A.