Of the nine Los Angeles Dodgers who became free agents at the conclusion of the World Series, Rich Hill, Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner were widely identified as players the club must re-sign.
Jansen faces the most competition on the open market, with fellow closers Aroldis Chapman and Mark Melancon also free agents. Hill and Turner are in a much more advantageous position, as each are the top player available in their position group.
The Dodgers extended the one-year, $17.2 million qualifying offer to Jansen and Turner. Both are expected to reject it, and have until 2 p.m. PT on Monday to formally decide. Hill wasn’t eligible to be tendered a qualifying offer since he was a midseason acquisition.
Although depth has the Dodgers in better position to offset losing Hill, general manager Farhan Zaidi suggested the team has placed importance on re-signing the southpaw and relief pitcher Joe Blanton, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Speaking at the General Managers Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday, Zaidi hinted that retaining starting pitcher Rich Hill and reliever Joe Blanton are also priorities.
“The first part of our offseason is going to be driven by retaining our own guys,” Zaidi said.
The Dodgers acquired Hill and Josh Reddick in a five-player trade with the Oakland Athletics in the hours prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver deadline. Lingering blister issues prevent Hill from starting for the Dodgers until Aug. 24.
He went on to go 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA in six starts with Los Angeles. Hill struggled in the National League Division Series, but rebounded with a strong outing against the Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series.
Hill held the eventual World Series champions to just two hits and had six strikeouts in six innings in Game 3. The Dodgers reportedly wanted to re-sign Hill to a multiyear contract prior to free agency commencing.
In his first season as a full-time reliever, Blanton pitched to a 2.48 ERA, 3.33 FIP and 1.01 WHIP while leading Dodgers pitchers with 75 appearances. He threw five shutout innings with five strikeouts in four appearances during the NLDS.
However, the NLCS was a much different story. In just three innings pitched over three appearances, the Cubs tagged Blanton for seven runs on seven hits, three of which were homers, including a go-ahead grand slam in Game 1.
Blanton developed into a setup man and emerged as the Dodgers’ best reliever during the regular season outside of Jansen. Blanton and Hill make for interesting cases, considering their age, 35 and 36, respectively, and the likelihood each will capitalize on a weak market of pitchers.
