The Los Angeles Dodgers declined their $7 million team option on Danny Duffy for the 2023 season, which made him a free agent. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman revealed the Dodgers’ intentions to do so while speaking with media from the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas.
Duffy had been part of the Dodgers organization since being acquired from the Kansas City Royals at the 2021 trade deadline in exchange for Minor League pitcher Zach Willeman.
Duffy was on the 10-day injured list at the time of the trade, but he and the Dodgers anticipated a return from a left flexor tendon strain during the second half of the season. That never came to fruition, and the veteran southpaw underwent offseason surgery.
The Dodgers re-signed Duffy this past March to a one-year contract with a team option for next season. They believed he was going to return around the midway point of 2022 and would be a valuable option out of the bullpen.
Like he expressed after the trade, Duffy was open to any role with the Dodgers and looked forward to contributing for his hometown team. Though, elbow trouble returned during the recovery process and prevented him from ever throwing a pitch for the Dodgers.
Duffy did get to a point of throwing pain-free in May but three months later was ruled out for the season. However, that wound up being elbow soreness that Duffy initially overcame and it allowed him to begin a rehab assignment with the Arizona Complex League Dodgers before joining Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The 33-year-old pitched in seven games for OKC, throwing 6.2 innings with a 5.40 ERA before the rehab assignment was halted in the middle of September because Duffy was not recovering well between appearances.
Dodgers contract option decisions
Along with Duffy, the Dodgers declined team options on Hanser Alberto and Jimmy Nelson. Alberto’s deal included a $250,000 buyout.
That’s left only Justin Turner’s option as the final decision looming for the Dodgers as the 2 p.m. PT deadline approaches on Thursday.
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