Dodgers To Make Qualifying Offers To Anderson, Kendrick, Greinke

The Dodgers will make the one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offer to left-hander Brett Anderson, second baseman Howie Kendrick and right-hander Zack Greinke, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles (via Twitter).

Greinke was among the easiest calls for qualifying offers, as the potential NL Cy Young winner is likely to more than double the $71MM that remained on his contract at the time he opted out. Kendrick was a bit less likely, but considering the number of clubs that could look at him as a second base option this winter, a lucrative multi-year deal was likely enough to call the decision widely expected.

Anderson, though, was on the fringes of the potential QO market. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported last month that the plan was to extend him the QO despite his spotty track record of health, and he’ll now be faced with the tough decision of whether to try for the security of a multi-year deal on the open market or the immediate benefit of a $15.8MM salary.

Anderson has youth on his side but threw just over 200 innings combined in the four seasons prior to his most recent 180-inning campaign with the Dodgers. Formerly a top prospect and one of the most promising young arms in baseball, Anderson’s career has been throttled by injuries that have kept him from taking the mound with anything resembling regularity. That changed in 2015, and he led the Majors with a ground-ball rate north of 66 percent when he was finally healthy enough to stick on the field for a full year. He doesn’t miss many bats, but teams in smaller parks or teams that highly value ground-balls will be intrigued by the upside still present in Anderson’s 27-year-old arm.