With the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, MLB free agency has been slow-moving this winter as a number of the top options remain available with less than a month until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.
Included in that is the best starting pitcher on the market, Trevor Bauer, though a number of teams have reportedly shown interest in the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams that have been linked to Bauer this offseason. Considering he will likely receive a long-term contract for more than $30 million annually, it seems unlikely that the Dodgers would sign Bauer.
It appears that Bauer is turning to fans to help him make his free agency decisions as he recently posted a video to his official YouTube page, talking with Dodgers fans on FaceTime as they pitched him on playing for the team.
Bauer is coming off a career season with the Cincinnati Reds, going 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA, 2.88 FIP and 0.80 WHIP with 100 strikeouts and 17 walks in 73 innings across 11 starts.
He is one of the more active players on social media, so if he is looking to build his brand then signing with a big-market team like the Dodgers would make a ton of sense.
As previously mentioned though, it remains to be seen if L.A. will be willing to meet his salary demands. If Bauer is willing to sign a short-term deal as he has discussed throughout his career, then the Dodgers could be a perfect match, adding him to a rotation that already included Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Julio Urias, etc.
Price planning to play in 2021
Whether or not the Dodgers need to add a starter in free agency would likely depend on if Price plans to play in 2021 after opting out of the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns.
Price recently indicated that his plan is to report to Spring Training and play this season though, so if that is the case then the team would likely not view adding Bauer or another starter as a necessity.
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