Editorials

Brandon Beachy’s Signing With Dodgers Offers Plenty Of Upside

David Mannin-USA TODAY Sports
David Mannin-USA TODAY Sports

If there’s one thing the Los Angeles Dodgers have heading into the 2015 season, it’s depth — especially among pitchers. Saturday morning, that depth got even stronger as they signed Brandon Beachy to a one-year contract with a club option for a second year.

For me, this move is brilliant.



Beachy is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery and won’t be ready until midway through the upcoming season (hopefully). However, for the Dodgers, this isn’t a problem, as they already boast a clear group of five starters plus Mike Bolsinger, Carlos Frias, Juan Nicasio and Joe Wieland (all of whom started a game at the major league level last season).

Of course, they’ve also got prospects like Zach Lee and Chris Reed who are on the verge of breaking into the Majors.

So why Beachy?

Because if he can return to the form —- or even close to it — that he flashed in Atlanta, then he could very easily break his way into the rotation in the second half of the season and beyond.

As a rookie in 2011, Beachy made 25 starts and posted a 3.68 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 141 innings. In 13 starts in 2012, he posted a 2.00 ERA. After looking a bit deeper into his numbers, things get even better.

In 2011, Beachy’s xFIP (3.16) was the 10th-best mark in the Majors, while his K/9 (10.74) was the best in all of baseball.

Of course, with Beachy the question is durability. Since making 13 starts in 2012, he’s made just five starts (plus seven more at the Minor League level) — all of which were in 2013. He then missed the entire 2014 season after undergoing the aforementioned Tommy John surgery.

The signing comes with some risk for the Dodgers, but it’s a risk worth taking. If Beachy gets healthy for the second half of the season, he’ll quickly become the best option they have for a No. 6 starter.

Moreover, if he does come back healthy and perform well, Beachy also offers the Dodgers a solid option heading into 2016, when both Brett Anderson and Zack Greinke could be gone.
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Dodgers 2015 FanFest


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Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

One Comment

  1. It’s a no brainer on a no armer but Beachy’s arm could be reborn while Mattingly’s brain is a lost cause – as cool a dude as he might otherwise be.

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