Although the Los Angeles Dodgers had been very active in the starting pitching market, little had been done to address their bullpen with external options.
J.P. Howell exercised his player option for 2016 back in November, while the Dodgers declined their team option on Joel Peralta that same month.
Los Angeles did attempt to trade for Aroldis Chapman and reportedly had interest in free-agent relievers Darren O’Day and Ryan Madson, only for O’Day to re-sign with the Baltimore Orioles and Madson to join the Oakland Athletics.
Holdovers Luis Avilan, Chris Hatcher and Kenley Jansen all re-signed on one-year contracts to avoid arbitration.
Then on Tuesday, the Dodgers announced the signing of Joe Blanton to a one-year, $4 million deal. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Blanton’s deal includes incentives:
Source: Blanton also gets $250K for 50 and 60 IP and $500 K for 70 IP. Structured for a reliever.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 19, 2016
Blanton previously pitched for the Dodgers during the 2012 season and largely struggled as he went 2-4 with a 4.99 ERA, 3.74 FIP and 1.42 WHIP in 10 starts. However, those numbers may not be indicative of what’s to be expected from the 35 year old.
Last season Blanton had success out of the bullpen for the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates. As a reliever Blanton had a 2.04 ERA, 2.56 FIP, 62 strikeouts and issued only 12 walks in 32 relief appearances.
He was particularly effective against right-handed batters, allowing them to hit just .203/.231/.327 while posting a 30.4 percent strikeout rate. For the season, Blaton went 7-2 with a 2.84 ERA, 2.92 FIP and 1.12 WHIP in 36 games.
