After losing Zack Greinke to the Arizona Diamondbacks in stunning fashion, the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly turned their attention to Jeff Samardzjia as they pressed forward with their search for a starting pitcher.
However, Samardzija wound up quickly agreeing to a five-year, $90 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, who were also in the Greinke sweepstakes.
Next up for the Dodgers was Johnny Cueto. The 29-year-old righty was arguably the top free-agent starter still available at the time.
Again, the Dodgers watched a pitcher join their rival as Cueto agreed to a six-year, $130 million contract with the Giants.
A report indicated Los Angeles had some reservations during their chase of Cueto, namely in approaching the reported six-year, $126 million contract offer from the Diamondbacks which he rejected.
Cueto’s agent, Bryce Dixon, said the Dodgers were involved late in the process and believes the club would have been a good fit for his client, via Jon Morosi of FOX Sports:
Bryce Dixon on #Dodgers interest in Johnny Cueto: “They were definitely in play up until the last couple days.” @MLBNetworkRadio #SFGiants
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 20, 2015
More Bryce Dixon on #Dodgers and Cueto: “I thought they’d be a real good fit. The Giants made a stronger offer in the end.” @MLBNetworkRadio
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 20, 2015
The Dodgers lost another starter recently when Hisashi Iwakuma failed a physical and rather than potentially renegotiate with the Dodgers, re-signed with the Seattle Mariners. Iwakuma agreed to a three-year, $45 million contract with Los Angeles.
He received a one-year contract from the Mariners with vesting options for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. While the likes of Scott Kazmir, Mike Leake and others have yet to sign, the Dodgers also appear likely to trade for a starting pitcher.
Los Angeles certainly could benefit from acquiring two pitchers as their rotation currently projects as Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Wood, and either Mike Bolsinger or Carlos Frias.
