The offseason has been a quiet one for the Los Angeles Dodgers in terms of free agency, as reliever Tom Koehler has been their only Major League signing to this point.
While the main reason for that is that they have a desire to remain below the luxury tax threshold this season, it also has a lot to do with the players and depth currently on the roster.
Other than losing Brandon Morrow to the Chicago Cubs and potentially losing both Yu Darvish and Tony Watson, who are still free agents, the Dodgers return their entire core nucleus of players that won 104 games and helped the team advance to their first World Series since 1988.
While Morrow leaves a significant void, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes the team’s bullpen in 2018 can compare to last year’s group.
“People are going to be quick to point out the ‘pen with the loss of (Brandon) Morrow, but we’ve got guys like (Scott) Alexander, you can bring Tommy Koehler in, and you’ve got Yimi Garcia coming back,” he said at Dodgers Fan Fest.
“And obviously, then you have the best closer in baseball. Position-player side, the pitching, I think we’re covered. Depth has really proven to be the thing that’s kept us consistent.”
Scott Alexander, who was acquired from the Kansas City Royals in a three-team trade, was one of the best left-handed relievers in all of baseball last season. He presumably will off set the expected loss of Watson.
Yimi Garcia missed all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but his last healthy season in 2015 he pitched to a 3.34 ERA in 56.2 innings. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman also expressed optimism and excitement over Garcia being a candidate to contribute.
As for their position players, the Dodgers aren’t seeing much change. Adrian Gonzalez was packaged to the Atlanta Braves in a trade that was a salary dump for both teams, but all it officially did was cement Cody Bellinger at first base.
