How Big of a Mistake Was it for the Dodgers to Let Corey Seager Leave in Free Agency?
The Dodgers’ postseason offense once again went missing in action for the second straight NLDS against a divisional opponent in 2023.
If the Padres’ 3-1 shocker was the trailer in 2022, what Arizona did to my favorite team in sweeping fashion turned out to be a horror movie that seemingly didn’t end.
Hindsight is obviously 20/20 but fans like me wonder to this day just what would have happened if Andrew Friedman bucked up to pay Corey Seager his desired contract.
Seager broke out as 2016 NL Rookie of the Year and has developed into an MVP candidate as a Texas Ranger.
2020’s NLCS and World Series MVP, LA doesn’t have a championship in the Dave Roberts era without the hulking shortstop’s performance over that magical postseason.
Many of Seager’s former teammates at Chavez are watching him dominate the postseason stage from their couches after LA’s front office didn’t deliver his desired price point in the 2022 offseason.
Many remember Seager’s heroics from the bubble championship run but the majority of my memories from Seager’s career are frustration and heartbreak.
I don’t think of Seager’s 2017’s home run off Justin Verlander in Game 2 of the World Series but instead I remember him rolling over to Jose Altuve as the final out in the crushing seven-game series loss.
I remember LA trading for Manny Machado in Seager’s stead due to his elbow injury that forced him out of the entire 2018 playoff run.
Instead of Seager’s fresh bat in the lineup it was Machado who embarrassed himself in his respective final at-bat that sealed a title for the Boston Red Sox at Chavez Ravine once again.
I remember every bat, but especially Seager’s, falling flatter than a deflated balloon to the Nationals as LA collectively broke my heart after their 106-win domination in the 2019 regular season.
Even in 2021 with his looming free agency, I resigned myself to a possible life without Seager after Andrew Friedman dealt for both Trea Turner and Max Scherzer at the trade deadline.
Every part of me said that the move made sense but plenty of Dodgers fans unlike me wished he was still with the team.
Reports all read that Seager wanted to join Texas due to connections with Chris Woodward as the former Dodger third base coach and no state tax for the massive contract he’d earn.
All of those things made sense but what never did to me is why some people thought Seager was some world beater in the postseason outside of 2020.
Seager recorded eight strikeouts in each postseason run outside of 2020 and failed to hit above .237 in any run in addition to that mark.
The injury history and high price tag into Seager’s thirties also remained concerns for me on a potential deal and I thought it was smart to keep Trea Turner instead for 2022.
Now after another poor postseason in LA there aren’t as many excuses after the middle infield remained an issue all season long.
Mookie Betts kicked out to second base to make way for Jason Heyward and David Peralta in the postseason and every single one of their bats failed to impress this playoffs.
Seager meanwhile has picked up where he left off in 2020 as he became the first man to walk five times in a postseason game during his series with the Orioles.
LA’s former top prospect seems all too comfortable in his new home where the Dodgers are now scrambling for options across the board.
Veteran reclamation projects and Gavin Lux’s delayed recovery leave me quite skeptical about the future of LA’s plans especially in the postseason.
Texas has their next superstar face to lead them into the national spotlight only this time they don’t appear likely to move on a la Alex Rodriguez 20 years ago.
In his absence, LA’s options across the board all look like worse options than their former shortstop.
Shohei Ohtani appears a great free agent for the franchise, but continuity with their old shortstop wouldn’t have necessitated the move.
Even if 2020 appeared fluky in all senses of the word, the memories from that championship run largely washed away sins of years past.
All those complications lead me to but one conclusion for that question.
Seager should’ve retired a Dodger. Plain and simple.
Dodgers Fans Believe Seager Should Have Stayed in LA
A poll ran recently on X.com (formerly Twitter) shows that the overwhelming majority of fans also believe Seager should have remained in Dodger blue.
Where do you stand? Should the Dodgers have ponied up an extra $30-40 million to keep him in LA? Sound off in the comments below.
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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2015: .188 avg with a .485 OPS
2016: .205 avg with a .619 OPS
2017: .237 avg with a .743 OPS
2018: injured
2019: .150 avg with a .390 OPS
2020: .328 avg with a 1.171 OPS
2021: .188 with a .639 OPS
This needs to stop already. Seager had ONE good Postseason for us which was held at a neutral field. Please stop.
He was as good as gone. There is loyalty with his “strongly disliked” agent. It’s Beltre all over again. For these guys it’s all about the almighty $.
Rodriguez’s transition from baseball to business is truly remarkable. He’s proven that athletes can excel in multiple fields.
I believe water under the bridge. Seager’s numbers were not impressive and was always on the IL. Granted 2020 was a break out season. Dodgers offered him a excellent contract and turned it down. Don’t blame the Dodgers, it was his choice.
If the Dodgers wanted him they would have paid him. In the real world you’re not a soldier, you’re a mercenary. There’s no loyalty to any corporation. If the organization had loyalty they would have paid JT, Seager and kept Belly.
One of the reasons against seager was Friedman doesn’t like contracts above 5 years, enter Freddie Freeman. If Friedman gets ohtani he owes Turner and seager big apologies
Guys, you’re missing the point….. the problem isn’t that LA should have resigned him in 2020….. they SHOULD have given him a big deal in 2017 or 2018…. lock him up, earlier for much cheaper, get his best years out of him before the contract becomes an albatross.
I agree! This is the absolute correct answer!!!
Dodgers always let the wrong people go and keep the player/ Manager that would be better off moving on (Kershaw).The best thing for Seager was getting out of LA and away from terrible management (Friedman/ and Robert’s). Seager is hall of Fame Material and is best and performs best under great Management. Learn from Bruce B.
Just one more big Dodger mistake, but what good does it do to respond to this issue?
Just as bad, if not worse, was losing Trea Turner to the Phillies.
When healthy Seager is one of the best, maybe the best swing in all of baseball.
How many guys hit for very respectable average and power?
He will be around a long time!!
One thing I always wondered but have failed to find an answer is did Seager really want to leave L.A.? Was it really the big contract? Would he have really have stayed if he got the big payday contract like the one from Texas?
Would, coulda, shouda…he’s gone. Why reimagine the past.
I agree with a lot of the folks above. Time to move on from the Seager talk. Other than 2020, he was a no show in the playoffs. Same with Bellinger.
I’ll take Corey Seager at shortstop for the past two years and the future at half the price they are gonna pay Ohtani to DH, that’s for sure.