The Los Angeles Dodgers have spent most of the offseason to this point adding to their bullpen, acquiring Corey Knebel from the Milwaukee Brewers and signing the likes of Brandon Morrow, Brock Stewart and Jimmy Nelson to Minor League contracts.
With Pedro Baez and Blake Treinen still unsigned in free agency, the club has remained active in the reliever market, inking former New York Yankees right-hander Tommy Kahnle to a two-year contract.
The decision to bring in Kahnle was with an eye on the future. He is expected to be sidelined for the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery this past August.
The hope is that once Kahnle gets back to full health, he will be able to pick up where he left off as one of baseball’s best middle relievers. His two-year pact with the Dodgers reportedly includes a signing bonus and performance incentives, via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
The contract is worth $4.75 million guaranteed plus incentives and includes a $550,000 signing bonus. Kahnle could make $750,000 in incentives in 2021 and an additional $3.45 million in 2022.
Kahle only appeared in one game for the Yankees this year, throwing 20 pitches in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals on July 26. He felt discomfort two days later during a bullpen session and didn’t pitch again.
Before that, Kahnle had established himself as a key member of the Yankees bullpen. In 2019 — his last full season — he pitched to a 3.67 ERA, 3.33 FIP and 1.06 WHIP with 88 strikeouts and 20 walks over 61.1 innings (72 appearances).
While there’s no guarantee Kahnle will return to that level, he at the very least provides the Dodgers insurance with Knebel, Kenley Jansen and Joe Kelly set to reach free agency at the end of the 2021 season.
Even with Kahnle now on board, the expectation is that L.A. will continue to search for bullpen reinforcements. The club is among the teams pursuing top free agent Liam Hendriks, and they have also shown interest in Ryne Stanek.
Kahnle reportedly chose Dodgers over Red Sox
Prior to signing with the Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox reportedly made a strong push to add Kahnle to their relief corps.
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