Last offseason the Los Angeles Dodgers decided not to hand out any mega contracts to free agents like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, instead signing a familiar face in A.J. Pollock.
Pollock spent the first seven years of his career tormenting the Dodgers in the National League West as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. With L.A. having a need for a right-handed bat, they wound up inking the then-31-year-old to a four-year, $55 million deal.
The contract came with some criticism considering how many injuries Pollock has had in his career. But a lot of them were fluke accidents, so Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was confident that Pollock would be able to stay healthy throughout the length of the deal.
That didn’t end up being the case, unfortunately, as after being mired in a slow start, Pollock wound up getting an infection in his previously surgically repaired elbow which cost him almost half of the 2019 season.
Pollock returned after the All-Star break and actually was a productive player, hitting .288/.348/.537 in 58 second-half games. Overall in 86 total regular-season games, Pollock batted .266/.327/.468 with 15 home runs, 15 doubles, 49 runs scored, 47 RBI and five stolen bases.
A big reason why Pollock was brought in was the mitigate the team’s struggles against left-handed pitching, and he was able to do exactly that by slashing .323/.370/.535 against southpaws.
The former Gold Glove winner saw his defense diminish a bit throughout the course of the season, which forced him to move from center field. He played a big part in L.A. winning a franchise-record 106 games and went into the postseason as the team’s starter in left field.
It was in the postseason that everything came crashing down for Pollock and the Dodgers, however. He went 0-for-13 with 11 strikeouts and a walk in the NL Division Series, and the Dodgers eventually saw their season come to an end after being defeated by the Washington Nationals in five games.
2019 highlight
Pollock had a three-homer game against the Dodgers as a member of the Diamondbacks in 2018, so L.A. fans are well-aware that he can hit them out of the ballpark in a hurry. That is what he did on Sept. 6 against the San Francisco Giants, going 3-for-4 with three solo home runs in the Dodgers’ 5-4 loss at Dodger Stadium.
2020 outlook
There currently are a ton of moving parts on the Dodgers’ roster, so it is hard to say at the moment what Pollock’s exact role will be.
If he is not traded, which is the likely scenario, then he projects as the team’s starter in left field once again although he could see his playing time drop a bit against right-handed pitching if L.A. has a solid platoon partner to place with him.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events and more!
