While the Los Angeles Dodgers made a splash prior to this season’s July 31 non-waiver trade deadline by acquiring Yu Darvish, the club continued to tinker with their roster in August by trading for Curtis Granderson once he cleared waivers.
He’d gotten off to a slow start with the New York Mets but swung the bat well leading up to the trade. Granderson brought with him a strong clubhouse presence and plenty of postseason experience. The expectation was he would he provide a needed boost in the outfield.
But Granderson struggled mightily in his brief time with the Dodgers. He and manager Dave Roberts regularly expressed optimism the pendulum would swing in the opposite direction.
While that never came to be, Granderson intends to continue playing in 2018 rather than retire, according to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:
source: curtis granderson has no intention to retire now. he will play in 2018.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 7, 2017
Granderson batted a lowly .161/.288/.366 with two doubles, seven home runs and 12 RBI in 36 games with the Dodgers. Overall, the 36-year-old hit .212/.323/.452 with 24 doubles, 26 home runs, 64 RBI, a .330 wOBA and 105 wRC+ in 147 games.
Granderson slumped to the tune of going 1-for-15 with eight strikeouts over eight combined games in the National League Division Series and Championship Series. As a result, he was not included on the Dodgers roster for the World Series.
The morning after that included, Granderson was among the team’s six players who officially became a free agent. Considering his struggles and the Dodgers’ depth in the outfield, he doesn’t figure to be a likely candidate to return with Los Angeles.
