Dodgers: Five Non-Tender Candidates That Could Be Interesting
Baseball is in a strange offseason filled with unknowns. One of those unknowns is what the budgets will be for all the teams. Given those factors, teams are believed to be less likely to offer contracts to some of their arbitration eligible players. With that, the wealthier teams like the Dodgers will have an opportunity to grab some players for just the cost of a contract. They won’t have to trade for them or give up any draft picks.
Last offseason, Blake Treinen was non-tendered by the A’s and the Dodgers came in and signed him. I wrote an article about looking to sign Treinen over a year ago and I’m glad he worked out. This article will take a look at five candidates that might be non-tendered and could be interesting for the Dodgers.
Needs For The Dodgers
From a previous Dodgers Nation article:
“Adding a reliever or two is something that we’re going to keep an eye on and kind of sift through. Really for us, it’s about identifying the talent in a vacuum but also then trying to get as many diversified looks as you can in the pen. This year, we really liked our pen and our pen was a big part of our success…and then I think a right-handed bat. With our positional versatility and flexibility, we have some options on where that possible could fit.” – Andrew Friedman on MLB Radio
As is well known, the Dodgers have seven free agents that played on the World Series roster. The pitchers are Pedro Baez, Treinen, Alex Wood and Jake McGee. There are three key position players that are free agents: Justin Turner, Enrique Hernandez and Joc Pederson.
Even without Pederson, the club is in good shape with left-handed hitters to fill in those at-bats. However, playoff Joctober would be tough to replace.
Additionally, if Turner or Hernandez leave, there would be a need for a right-handed bat. The only right-handed batter that is on the 40-man roster that was not on the playoff roster is DJ Peters. Other right-handed batters on the roster are Mookie Betts, AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor. Will Smith and Austin Barnes are right-handed hitting catchers while Keibert Ruiz is a switch-hitter.
Replacing Turner and Hernandez (or re-signing them) seems urgent.
The four free agent bullpen arms will also need to be addressed. The Dodgers are in a better position to replace some of them from the farm system but the non-tender market could provide some options.
Let’s take a look at five interesting non-tender candidates.
LHP Alex Claudio
It’s always desirable to have a strange throwing left-hander coming out of the bullpen and Alex Claudio fulfills that desire.
Alex Claudio’s changeup had the third-most absolute fade and the second most absolute drop in baseball last year. The fastball makes him only okay, but that change. #Brewers pic.twitter.com/ddEYPfcZnx
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) December 14, 2018
He seems to be durable as he appeared in 83 games for the Brewers in 2019. Given the three batter minimum, Claudio is one of those guys you bring into a game with one out left to go in an inning. That was a strategy Dave Roberts used a lot in 2020. I’d much prefer to keep Alex Wood but I believe he will want an opportunity to start again.
INF Johan Camargo
As a possible replacement if Kiké Hernandez leaves, how about switch-hitter Johan Camargo from the Braves? His lifetime slash line against left-handed pitching is .237/.286/.506 (AVG/OBP/SLG). He can also play almost any position on the field. Let’s be honest, he will not be as good defensively as Kiké but he has some decent upside and is cheaper. One added bonus is he has two options remaining to be sent down to the minors.
Braves Johan Camargo making it look effortless, what a snag! #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/fbFAIC3ETs
— Kayla Anderson (@KaylaAndersonTV) August 24, 2020
DH Jose Martinez
There were rumors a couple years ago that the Dodgers were interested in righty slugger Jose Martinez. Now it looks like he can be had for a pretty low cost. He’s a defensive liability, so he’s more of a pinch hitting candidate or a designated hitter, if the universal DH returns in 2021.
Given Andrew Friedman’s desire to add a right-handed bat, the offensive upside at a likely small cost might make sense for LA.
3B Kris Bryant
It’s looking like more of a long shot that Kris Bryant would be non-tendered by the Cubs, but there is still a chance. If Turner doesn’t return then Bryant would be a nice option if he only costs money. I wrote extensively about Bryant recently. He seems like a prime bounce-back candidate and if he clicks again he could be a great addition.
Kris Bryant’s first Major League home run, for no particular reason. pic.twitter.com/09pEOaq7Gt
— Cub Style (@OldStyleChiTown) December 1, 2020
RHP Matt Barnes
Considering someone from the awful Red Sox bullpen seems strange but I would love to see the Dodgers coaching staff get ahold of Matt Barnes. He relies on a 95-96 MPH fastball and a plus curveball. After the 2017 season, he abandoned the slider but I’d like to see if that could be brought back. Over the last three years, he has an excellent strikeout rate but his walk rate is not good.
Final Thoughts
The non-tender players are just one option for filling in holes for the Dodgers. They did well last year with Blake Treinen and there are some interesting possibilities this season. However, I’d much prefer the team re-sign most of their own free agents. That may not be possible as some players want more playing time opportunities. The deadline for tendering a contract is Wednesday, December 2nd so make sure to keep your eyes on all the Dodgers Nation social media accounts for updates.
Do you have any non-tender candidates you like for the Dodgers? Please use the comments with your ideas.
Tim thanks for the information on non-tendered players. I always appreciate your knowledgeable articles. Do you think the Dodgers are interested in Hand?
With the financial losses of 2020 and the uncertainty of 2021 will teams be very hesitant financially? We all saw Kasten’s comment that the Dodgers lost north of $100 Million and they had a lay-off recently. The Dodgers are one of the most financially stable clubs. How did the other clubs do financially?
I thought the Dodgers would sign Turner to an incentive-laden contract with perhaps mutual options. Let Kike go as McKinstry is in the wings. Same with Joc they have guys like Reks, Raley, Peters, etc. ready to play.
Rios and Beaty make Joc expendable, Reks and Raley aren’t even top 30 prospects, and Peters profiles as a guy who won’t make much contact against major league pitchers. I think McKinstry can fill Kiki’s role, he could even turn out to be an upgrade, and we have Taylor anyway, so no worries. That means zero payroll to replace Joc and Kiki, with little or no hit on productivity.
Hand is such an interesting guy. Velocity is down but you’d think they’d have grabbed him for $10M. The budgets are the big question.
Must keep Kike.
Fans of the Dodgers should check out your Dodger 20-80 website dodgers2080.com for great Dodger prospect coverage.
Thanks for all of the news of what is happening at the Minor League level.
The non-tendered list is likely to be vast league wide. The huge elephant in the room is the universal DH status in the air. Most MLB Franchises are tied to Wall Streeters or Silicon Valley Money, so they take the Left approach to Business Modelling. Don’t quite know exactly where to put LAD Ownership as it touches both Left & Right positions. The left thinking will more likely bail on excess player spending, while the right think will be cautious with aggressive & some timid. My bet is Friedman etal will have a concise plan and will cease at the right opportunities! 2 quality adds to bullpen & a top quality(not top priced!) RH bat. They resign a few of their own FAs to fulfill the plan! I like Turner with DH set up and Run from Arenado due to cost(contract & assets!). Curious to se who Friedman non-tenders Tom! Alexander is gone plus whom?
Dodgers simply should first re- sign JT and Treinen. Then weigh in on the non tender players.
Get Whit!
Whole lotta questions lots of options. I think every fan wants Turner, and Hernandez back for sure. First of all those are probably two of the biggest clubhouse guys on the team. If Turner is gone. I sure would hope to keep Kike’ but might not happen. Also Seager is FA next year. More questions. I would like to us use our prospects if guys like Turner, Hernandez are gone. Lux deserves to have a role. Rios I think is a definite option at 3b, but I would definitely consider a non tender Kris Bryant if Turner is gone. I think Trienen is good back up re-sign for Jansen. If Wood will sign for cheap he is a good long relief option. McKinstry I think would be an excellent option to replace Hernandez. A Bryant deal if non tender value wise would make far more sense than Arenado. I love the guy but seriously if I am going to give up the farm it better be for Snell, or Bauer just saying.
I love Kike but truth be told, losing him is NOT losing a right handed bat because he doesn’t hit much. Losing him is losing a gold glove.