Already with a talented roster, the Los Angeles Dodgers made the biggest free-agent splash of the offseason by agreeing to sign Trevor Bauer.
Bauer is coming off a Cy Young season with the Cincinnati Reds, and he cashed in on a three-year, $102 million contract with his hometown team. The deal includes opt outs after each of the first two seasons.
The 30-year-old joins a starting rotation that was already arguably the best in baseball, including the likes of Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Julio Urias, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin.
Not only are the Dodgers getting a top-of-the-rotation starter, but they also add one of the bright minds in the game. Bauer is known for his work ethic and essentially is a posterboy for Driveline Baseball, which has helped a number of pitchers improve throughout the league.
In an interview on MLB Network Radio, Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen expressed his excitement to add Bauer to the pitching staff, and pointed out his knowledge as a big reason why:
“I’m pumped. … The way he approaches the game on a mental aspect, developing pitches aspect, because that fits perfectly into what the Dodgers are doing. I got to see a piece of that last year, which helped me get back to where I want to be as a pitcher.”
Bauer is a former No. 3 overall pick out on UCLA in 2011 and due to the uniqueness of his workouts, has been able to improve every year of his big league career with the exception of 2019.
Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen are among other Dodgers pitchers to work with Driveline in recent years as well. As a team, the Dodgers had the best ERA in baseball in 2020, and now with the addition of Bauer, there is a good chance that will again be the case in 2021.
Price and Bellinger react to Bauer signing
When the Dodgers first showed interest in Bauer, there were some question marks regarding his fit in the clubhouse, which is already a tight-knit unit.
David Price and Cody Bellingerwere among those to react positively to the signing in addition to Treinen, so it seems that he will fit in just fine.
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