The Dodgers have announced the signing of lefty Jake McGee. McGee is signing right onto the 40-man roster and will presumably have a spot on the active roster to open the season.
Injured righty Jimmy Nelson has been placed on the 45-day injured list, thus freeing a roster spot. Nelson will miss the entire season after undergoing back surgery, as has been anticipated for several weeks.
McGee was just cut loose by the division-rival Rockies even as he prepared for the final guaranteed season of his contract. The Colorado org will remain on the hook for the pro-rated portion of his $9MM salary, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends on the Dodgers active roster.
It’d certainly sting for the Rox to see McGee thrive in Los Angeles, but the southpaw will need to figure things out to make that happen. Soon to turn 34, McGee is coming off of a messy 2019 campaign in which he was likely fortunate to carry a 4.35 ERA despite permitting 2.4 home runs per nine innings.
McGee’s swinging-strike rate dropped to 8.6% as he continued to surrender fastball velocity to the hands of time. It’ll be interesting to see what the Dodgers have in mind to prolong McGee’s career, now that he’s no longer bringing the elite speed he once did. He turned increasingly to his slider last year with some success, but still went to his trusty heater in four of every five deliveries.