The Los Angeles Dodgers received some clarity with their starting rotation as Clayton Kershaw has reportedly agreed to re-sign with the team, however, they still have work to do as they prepare for the 2022 season.
L.A. could use an additional bat to help replace the production lost when Corey Seager signed with the Texas Rangers, and they have been heavily connected to Freddie Freeman.
The team also needs to add depth to their roster, specifically in the rotation and on the bench. One name already surfacing as a potential bench option is utilityman Jonathan Villar, who the Dodgers have shown interest in, according to Hector Gomez of Z101 Digital:
Blue Jays, Cubs, Red Sox and Dodgers have shown interest in INF Jonathan Villar.@z101digital @ZDeportes
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) March 11, 2022
The 30-year-old has spent nine seasons at the Major League level with six different teams. In 2021, Villar appeared in 142 games for the New York Mets and hit .249/.322/.416 with 18 home runs, 14 stolen bases, a 105 wRC+ and 2.1 WAR.
Although Villar only spent time at third base, shortstop and second base last year, he also has some experience in center field and left field.
Villar has had two very strong seasons in his career, the first in 2016 while he was with the Milwaukee Brewers. He stole 62 bases while hitting .285/.369/.457 with 19 home runs, a 120 wRC+ and producing a 3.0 WAR.
His other great season came in 2019 with the Baltimore Orioles, when Villar batted .274/.339/.453 with 24 home runs, 40 stolen bases, a 107 wRC+ and 3.9 WAR.
Villar is a career .258/.326/.403 hitter with 98 home runs, 232 stolen bases, a 97 wRC+ and 10.3 WAR in just shy of 1,000 games.
Dave Roberts expects Dodgers roster moves
While the Dodgers have already officially signed Chris Taylor, Andrew Heaney and Daniel Hudson, along with the reported signing of Kershaw, manager Dave Roberts continues to expect the organization to improve their roster in the coming days.
“Definitely expecting additions,” Roberts said. “I think a little bit is trying to understand the structure of the roster as far as what we’re able to have. I think that’s one thing that’s still being ironed out as far as how many players you can have on a roster as far as position players and pitchers.
“I don’t think that’s completely ironed out, so that will kind of help dictate how we go about things. But I think it’s easy to look at our roster and say we need to focus on starting pitching and some depth on the position player side.
“I like our ‘pen; can we get better? Certainly. Is there something that might happen in the ‘pen? Certainly. But I think on the position player side, the bench, we can add there as well.”
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