The Dodgers have an agreement in place to sign utilityman Hanser Alberto, per Robert Murray of FanSided (via Twitter). Junior Matrillé (via Twitter) first broke news of the deal as a Major League contract with a club option for 2023. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter) seconded the club option, confirming that the Dodgers will have two years of team control over Alberto. Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers locked into their pursuit of Alberto after missing out on Josh Harrison, who signed with the White Sox.
The 29-year-old right-handed batsman began his career with the Rangers after signing as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He made his Major League debut with the Rangers in 2015. Regular playing time eluded him, however, until landing with the Orioles for the 2019 season. The versatile defenseman spent two years in Baltimore before playing last year with the Royals.
While Alberto has been a borderline starter the past couple of seasons, he will transition to a clearer bench role with the Dodgers. That said, manager Dave Roberts certainly utilizes his bench, and there’s no shortage of injury history on the Dodgers’ roster. Last year, Alberto slashed .270/.291/.402 over 255 plate appearances, falling in line with his history as a contact-first, low-walk-rate bat with a glove capable of shifting all over the diamond.
Lol
Both the Dodgers and Giants have been making sly moves like this. I’m a Pads fan but got to tip my cap to those two organizations.
@Ha-Seong Kim I guess tip your waitresses because MLBTR will be here all week?
Depth is what has worked in this new world and will continue to do so.
I’ll be extra sure to tip your girl next time I hit pacers lol
This is exactly what Friedman likes, a guy who can play all over the place.
Not only that, but guys who hit velo. Ideal pinch hitter.
With the DH in the NL now the need for pinch hitting specialists is significantly lowered
I guess this rules out Freeman.
Doesn’t rule out freeman at all. Dodgers bench sucked last year
How do you figure that?
I believe that was sarcasm.
I wish it ruled out Freddie> Dodgers, but I don’t think it does. The Dodgers are in win-now mode and they have the $ to pile on the talent and build as deep of a roster as they want.
build? They’ve been amongst the deepest organizations talent-wise for at least a handful of years. This is the norm for the Dodgers at this point.
Nice pickup
Alberto is a very solid ball player. Good glove and bat.
He will do well for them out there.
Nice move. Depth is critical.
Is there a deadline for signing free agents?
No
Is there ever a deadline to sign free agents
No. What the last couple of days and the flurry of activity before the lockout shows us is that Baseball, like the other sports, can have a fast offseason in terms of player movement. They just choose to move at a glacial pace most of the winter
Dodgers are great judges of talent, but this is a head scratcher for a major league contract. Minor league deal with spring training invite – yes.
I don’t see that at all. Explain.
Lifetime OPS+ in majors is 81 – 2019 98, but playing home games in Baltimore (notorious hitters park) and juiced ball. In 9 minor league seasons a .709 OPS.
Whatever other numbers you cite, I see him playing most of the last six year in the majors. He’s a utility infielder.
As I wrote, Dodgers are great judges of talent — I’m just a fan
When I saw this I thought for sure minor league deal. Head scratcher
Hits. Lefties.
People are failing to see what he is really good at, and why the Dodgers were interested in signing him, that should tell you something. Yes he has a terrible walk rate, but he also never strikes out. Also, his last 3 seasons, he has an OPS of almost .900 against Lefties, he kills them.
Yup. Perfect for pinch hitting against lefty relievers. Also has a great attitude. Good clubhouse guy.
They don’t know bro! They don’t know!!!
Now it is possible Justin Turner can be used more in the DH role.
FINALLY!!!! Been calling for the Dodgers to sign Hanser for years. Hits lefties, versatile defender. It will all make sense soon