Of course, there’s still the question of if the Dodgers actually would be inclined to pay whatever it costs. Just since a franchise can afford to sign someone does not always mean it makes the most sense, from a financial standpoint or roster structure.
Even the Dodgers, as stated earlier, have more money than God. According to Spotrac, their Opening Day payrolls in the last few seasons are outrageous.
2018 – $199.5 million (3rd in baseball)
2017 – $259.1 million (1st)
2016 – $268.7 million (1st)
2015 – $301.7 million (1st)
2014 – $246.3 million (1st)
2013 – $239.8 million (1st)
Those numbers are only plain absurd. In 2015, the Dodgers spent more than two times as far on taxpayers than most but five groups. Exterior of a flukey”low” spending year last year, they have not just lead the league for five straight seasons, however, have run off with this year in and year out. Spending more than $300 million in a year is rampant.
So, evidently, that the Dodgers can throw money at any issue (or participant ). They’re probably itching to get back on top of the heap after not even cracking $200 million in 2018. But does it make sense from a team-building perspective?
Not one of the team’s pending free agents on Spotrac are outfielders, so there is no clear hole to fill. Among the advantages of the Dodgers is their positional flexibility, which adds to their thickness but makes it more challenging to assess their offseason outlook. Cody Bellinger started 50 games in the outfield at 2018, and seemed in 81, but while his flexibility is a wonderful bonus, he’s finally an athletic first baseman, and he surely would not get in the way of Harper playing for that reason.
That said, if the Dodgers retain Brian Dozier at second, then Max Muncy would have to play with first, which pushes Bellinger to the outfield. Plus, Chris Taylor can play second, shortstop, third, and the outfield. You can see where the headache comes from.
Still, for the purposes of this exercise, we’ll suppose Bellinger is off the table for outfield playing time, but bear in mind that Taylor could find his way out there occasionally.
Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Kik?? Hernandez, and Matt Kemp would be the staying outfielders. Puig, Pederson and Hernandez are in their arbitration years, and almost certainly will be kept around at affordable deals. It is difficult to evaluate the three of them relative to one another. Each hit 20-25 home runs, and each hit involving .248 and .267. Pederson has fought to fulfill his immense abilities, and the same may be said for Puig. Hernandez is yet another Dodger who plays throughout the diamond.
Then you have Kemp, who would have been simple to rule out entering 2018 but then proceeded to have one of the best comeback seasons in baseball. He hit .290 and forced his first All-Star game since 2012, and he’s owed a whole lot of cash next season.
None of that includes Alex Verdugo, the Dodgers’ best potential and one of the top 25 prospects in all of baseball. He should have been a regular Major League outfielder at 2018, and there’s no method Los Angeles can continue to keep him in the minors next year. He wants to play every day, and certainly will get this opportunity.
In the end, the Dodgers have a ton of bodies to perform the outfield already. That said, Puig and Kemp will no more be under contract after next season, and out of Verdugo there are no clear-cut future standouts in the Dodgers outfield. The fit for Harper, position-wise, is rather weak in comparison with the other contenders.
At the conclusion of the afternoon, however, none of their current men are always better than Harper, also when the Dodgers are willing to take care of a crowded outfield for one season, matters shore up nicely in 2020 and beyond. A future outfield using Verdugo and Harper are fairly appealing to any team, particularly considering how relatively cheap Verdugo will be until he hits free agency.
Read more here: http://test5.cmweb.hk/2019/09/26/why-legalizing-sports-betting-still-faces-such-long-odds-at-the-legislature-this-year/