It seems like second baseman Brian Dozier had been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a handful of years as they attempted to trade for him before the 2017 season when he was with the Minnesota Twins.
Talks ended up falling through though and the Dodgers acquired Logan Forsythe from the Tampa Bay Rays instead, and Dozier remained in Minnesota. Forsythe struggled in his tenure with the Dodgers, so when the non-waiver trade deadline rolled around in 2018, Los Angeles once again looked to make an upgrade at second base.
With the deadline quickly approaching, the Dodgers front office circled back to their old friends in Minnesota and were able to complete a deal to finally acquire Dozier in exchange for Forsythe and prospects Devin Smeltzer and Luke Raley.
Dozier wasn’t having his best offensive season in Minnesota, hitting just .227/.307/.405 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI in 104 games. He is a notorious second-half hitter though, so the Dodgers were hoping that he would turn it around.
Dozier got off to a good start in Los Angeles but quickly cooled and was never able to heat back up again. In 47 games with the Dodgers, Dozier batted .182/.300/.350 with five home runs and 20 RBI.
He played in a total of 151 games in 2018 and had one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, hitting .215/.305/.391 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI. Those struggles continued into the postseason when he slashed just .125/.364/.125 without an extra-base hit in 11 games.
2018 Highlight
Dozier made his presence felt immediately after being traded by the Twins. In his Dodgers debut against the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 1, he went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double, earning himself his first Dodger Stadium curtain call.
Dozier then came back the very next night and went deep again, going 2-for-5 with four RBI.
2019 Outlook
It was revealed shortly after the World Series concluded that Dozier was playing through a knee injury for pretty much the entire season, which was a factor in him having a down year.
Dozier is now a free agent, and given that he is 31 years old and coming off his worst season in a while, it is unlikely that he will receive a long-term contract. It would make sense for him to sign a one- or two-year deal to help reestablish his value before hitting the open market again.
The Dodgers are currently without a second baseman. They are reportedly pursuing D.J. LeMahieu, but Dozier could be a solid fallback option.
