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Dodgers Notes: Friedman, Payroll, Betts, Roberts, Heaney, Injuries

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Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman spoke with reporters (including The Los Angeles Times’ Mike DiGiovanna, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, and The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett) about several topics surrounding the team, including how much payroll might be available to acquire or re-sign premium players this winter.  Unsurprisingly, Friedman didn’t state any kind of dollar figure, noting that he has yet to receive an official budget for 2022.  That said, he noted that “our [ownership] group has demonstrated at every single turn its strong desire to win, and this year will be no different.  What that means in terms of an actual payroll number, I’m not sure, but I feel confident we’ll have the requisite talent to be a real championship competitor.”

By far the biggest spenders in baseball in 2021, the Dodgers soared over the Competitive Balance Tax threshold with an approximated $275MM tax number.  While it isn’t clear if L.A. will quite hit those payroll heights again, it seems very likely that the Dodgers will pay more tax penalties next year considering how much money is already on their books.  Of course, we also don’t know what the luxury tax threshold will even be next year, or if the CBT will be altered as players and owners negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.

More from Friedman…

  • It doesn’t seem like Mookie Betts will need any sort of procedure to fix the hip injuries that plagued him in 2021.  Hip inflammation twice sent Betts to the 10-day injured list for brief absences last year, and while his production was down from his usual numbers, Betts still hit .264/.367/.487 with 23 homers over 550 plate appearances even while being less than 100 percent for most of the season.
  • Freidman reiterated that the team wants manager Dave Roberts “to be a big part of what we accomplish looking forward,” though the Dodgers have more immediate offseason business that must be addressed before the club can talk with Roberts about a contract extension.  Roberts’ four-year deal is up after the 2022 season, and the 49-year-old has an outstanding 542-329 record over his six seasons as the Los Angeles manager, with the 2020 World Series championship, two other NL pennants, and five NL West titles on his resume.
  • The Dodgers already made a quick move to sign Andrew Heaney to a one-year, $8.5MM deal, and the Dodgers “feel like there’s some real upside we can tap into,” Friedman said.  “He’s got really strong ingredients in place, and there are a few different levers we feel like we can potentially pull with him that he’s bought into and is eager to dive in on.”  After a rough 2021 season, Heaney is hoping to rebound in Los Angeles and then re-enter the free agent market on the strength of a much better platform year.  This one-year commitment is just fine with Friedman, as he noted that adding a veteran as rotation depth allows the Dodgers’ pitching prospects more seasoning time in the minors.
  • Friedman also provided on some of the Dodgers’ Tommy John recovery cases.  Tommy Kahnle and Caleb Ferguson respectively underwent their procedures in August 2020 and September 2020, and the PBO said both hurlers should “be ready by Opening Day or shortly thereafter.” Dustin May underwent his TJ surgery almost exactly six months ago and has already started a throwing program, tentatively setting up a return after the All-Star Game.  “Everything to this point has been incredibly positive.  I think [May] is going to impact us at some point in the second half,” Friedman said.

Dodgers Notes: Alexander, Bellinger, Kahnle

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Scott Alexander won’t be returning this season, per Jorge Castillo of the LA Times (via Twitter). Alexander has been out since July 20 because of shoulder inflammation. The southpaw has been a reliable presence out of the Dodgers pen for the past four seasons, tossing 111 innings with a 3.49 ERA/4.24 FIP over that span.

Tommy Kahnle is also done for the year, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Kahnle has been recovering from Tommy John surgery, and there was some thought that he might be well enough to return this season, but that’s no longer the case. Of course, the Dodgers signed him to a two-year deal with this possibility fully in mind. The plan remains to get him healthy and ready for the start of 2022.

Cody Bellinger’s season soldiers on, though it’s hardly gone as planned. Beyond the almost comically disastrous .159/.237/.291 triple slash line, Bellinger has struggled to stay healthy going all the way back to last year’s World Series. He’s now dealing with a non-displaced rib fracture, suffered in an outfield collision with converted infielder Gavin Lux, per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. He missed 53 days earlier this season with a fractured fibula and a little more than a week with a hamstring strain.

Bellinger appears likely to play through this injury and avoid another stint on the injured list, though given that he’s hitting just .073/.174/.122 in September, a bit of rest might be preferable for the Dodgers. Chris Taylor is certainly capable of handling centerfield in the short term, though Taylor himself has been banged up of late.

Besides, the fact that Lux was playing left field at all speaks to where the Dodgers are at right now in terms in their available outfielders. And for all his struggles at the plate, Bellinger is a viable defensive centerfielder, putting up 3.0 OAA, -2 DRS, and 1.2 UZR.

Dodgers Select Jimmy Nelson

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Right-hander Jimmy Nelson has made the Dodgers’ roster, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports. With Nelson joining the team, it sent righty Tommy Kahnle, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day injured list. The Dodgers also reassigned infielder Sheldon Neuse to minor league camp.

Nelson is in his second year with the Dodgers, who signed him to a $1.25MM guarantee going into 2020, but the former Brewer didn’t pitch at all last season after undergoing back surgery. It was the latest unfortunate injury for Nelson, whose career has gone off track since what looked like a breakout effort in 2017. Nelson suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder late that year, sat out all of the next season and then mustered just 22 innings of 6.95 ERA ball in 2019.

Because of his recent misfortune, the Dodgers declined Nelson’s $2MM option for this year. They brought him back on a minor league contract after that, though, and he’ll now open the season in their bullpen. The 31-year-old earned a spot with seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball and nine strikeouts against one walk this spring.

Dodgers Sign Tommy Kahnle To Two-Year Deal

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TODAY: The Dodgers have officially announced the signing.

DECEMBER 23: The Dodgers and right-hander Tommy Kahnle are in agreement on a two-year deal that will reportedly guarantee the right-hander $4.75MM and allow him to earn an additional $750K via incentives. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported the agreement, which will pay Kahnle $750K in 2021 and $3.45MM in 2022 (as reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, on Twitter). Kahnle is represented by the Ballengee Group.

Tommy Kahnle | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kahnle, 31, pitched just one inning with the Yankees this season before undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. The Yankees outrighted him off the 40-man roster at season’s end, at which point Kahnle elected free agency. He has five-plus years of Major League service time, meaning he was scheduled to become a free agent following the 2021 season anyhow. Given that he’s unlikely to pitch much next season and could miss the entire year, it was only logical that the Yankees cut him from the 40-man roster.

A reunion between the Yankees and Kahnle hasn’t seemed likely with the Yanks seemingly intent on remaining south of the luxury tax threshold, as a backloaded two-year deal for Kahnle would come with some degree of luxury ramifications based on its average annual value. His two-year deal will follow a recent trend of multi-year contracts for pitchers rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Recent examples of such contracts include Nathan Eovaldi’s two-year deal with the Rays, Michael Pineda’s (first) two-year deal with the Twins and Drew Smyly’s two-year pact with the Cubs.

In Kahnle, the Dodgers will be getting a potential impact arm to add to their late-inning mix in 2022, when Kenley Jansen’s five-year pact will have run its course. Joe Kelly’s three-year pact will also be up, though L.A. holds a $12MM club option on him for the 2022 campaign. Although Kahnle struggled through a disastrous 2018 season, he was terrific in 2016-17 and quite good in 2019 as well. He only pitched one (scoreless) inning in 2020 before going down with the injury that led to his surgery, however.

All told, Kahnle carries a 3.48 ERA and 3.05 FIP in 175 2/3 innings dating back to the 2016 season. Along the way, he’s averaged 12.4 strikeouts, 3.7 walks and 0.92 home runs per nine innings pitched. The hard-throwing Kahnle has averaged 96.8 mph on his heater in that time, which has helped contribute to an excellent 15.9 percent swinging-strike rate and a 32.8 percent opponents’ chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone.

With Jansen and Kelly perhaps both off the roster by the time Kahnle is able to pitch for the Dodgers, he’ll be joining what should be a much different-looking relief corps. Flamethrowing Brusdar Graterol will be given the opportunity to further work his way into the late-inning mix this year and could factor prominently into that group. Right-hander Dylan Floro and lefties Victor Gonzalez, Adam Kolarek and Scott Alexander are all under club control into the 2022 season as well.

Quick Hits: Arihara, Red Sox, Kahnle, Senga

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For Rangers fans curious about Kohei Arihara, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests that Colby Lewis could be a decent comp for the newly-signed right-hander in terms of eating innings and a similar ability to record outs without the help of a big fastball.  The Rangers would certainly be more than pleased if Arihara were to duplicate Lewis’ numbers (4.27 ERA and an average of 166 innings per year) from 2010-16, and GM Chris Young told Grant and other reporters that the team was hopes Arihara can “stabilize the rotation” in terms of covering innings, at the very least.

“Durability is a highlight,” Young said.  “We think there is upside here, in terms of his curiosity and his willingness to learn and improve, but the durability component is a very appealing aspect of this signing….We’re hopeful for 150-plus [innings].”

More from around baseball…

  • The Red Sox were known to be the runners-up in the race to sign Tommy Kahnle, and The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reports that the Sox were open to making the kind of two-year contract that Kahnle received from the Dodgers as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.  After ducking under the luxury tax threshold in 2020 and resetting their tax penalty limit, the Red Sox are now “exploring other creative ways to use their payroll flexibility,” Abraham writes, suggesting that the Sox could look to acquire prospects from another team by also agreeing to take a big contract off that team’s books.
  • Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks right-hander Kodai Senga is no closer to making his desired move to Major League Baseball, as per a Kyodo News report.  The Hawks are the only NPB team that has never posted a player to the majors, and according to general manager Sugihiko Mikasa, “I can’t say there is any big change to our policy” coming in the near future.  Senga, who turns 28 in January, has established himself as one of Japan’s top pitchers, with a 2.69 ERA, 2.98 K/BB rate, and 10.5 K/9 over 860 1/3 career innings for the Hawks from 2012-20.  Senga can be a full free agent after the 2022 season, and while the Hawks are working out a multi-year contract extension, it doesn’t seem like Senga would accept a deal beyond 2022 given his longstanding interest in North America.

Red Sox Notes: Semien, Scott, Kahnle, Andriese

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The Red Sox “like” free-agent shortstop Marcus Semien, though they’re not sure how much money it would take to sign him, Peter Gammons of The Athletic tweets. Semien is one of the top shortstops on the open market, but the Red Sox already have their answer there in Xander Bogaerts. They’re also set at third base with Rafael Devers. The club does have questions at second base, but Semien hasn’t lined up there since 2014 as a member of the White Sox. The 30-year-old spent the previous six seasons with the Athletics and excelled at times, especially in 2019. He has a connection to the Red Sox in former college roommate Paul Toboni, the team’s scouting director, Gammons notes.

More out of Boston:

  • The Red Sox lost assistant general manager Zack Scott to the Mets, who hired him as their assistant GM and senior vice president Wednesday. The move came with a condition, though. The Mets will not be permitted to hire anyone else from the Red Sox’s front office either this offseason or next, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. Presumably, New York’s heavy lifting in the front office is done, with Scott joining newly-hired team president Sandy Alderson and GM Jared Porter in Queens. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see Boston guard against other potential front office departures.
  • Tommy Kahnle signed with the Dodgers on a two-year deal this afternoon. The Red Sox, though, were also in on the free agent reliever, reports Robert Murray of Fansided (Twitter link). Boston made a “strong offer” to Kahnle and finished second for his services, adds Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The right-hander was something of a unique case on the open market; having undergone Tommy John surgery this past August, Kahnle will likely miss all of the 2021 season but is an interesting upside play for the following year. If Boston’s looking for more immediate right-handed bullpen help, there’s no shortage of options available in free agency.
  • The Red Sox did sign one potential bullpen piece today, bringing in Matt Andriese on a one-year deal with a 2022 club option. The veteran has been used almost exclusively as a reliever over the past two seasons, although he’ll be given an opportunity to stake a claim to a rotation job next spring, he told reporters (including Cotillo). Andriese expressed an openness to either role and noted that he expects the Red Sox front office to continue to explore starting pitching additions this offseason. The right-hander broke into the majors as a true swing piece with the Rays, starting 44 of his 72 appearances in Tampa Bay from 2015-17.

Free Agent Notes: Kendrick, Ozuna, ChiSox, Braves, Kahnle

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Infielder Howie Kendrick has been noncommittal about his long-term playing status, suggesting in September he could step away from the game after 15 MLB seasons.  However, Kendrick seemed to hint in an Instagram post this afternoon (h/t to Britt Ghiroli of the Athletic) that he is planning to continue his career, along with firmly indicating that he will continue his charitable endeavors off the field.  “What a season!  Proud to partner with Bank of America and Boys & Girls Clubs of America to help fuel rallies all season long and make a difference for kids in our communities.  See you all next year,” Kendrick wrote.

The Nationals declined their 2021 club option on Kendrick’s services, making the former World Series hero a free agent.  Kendrick only hit .275/.320/.385 with two home runs across 100 plate appearances in 2020, but he’s just a year removed from an elite season at the plate.  A return to Washington wouldn’t seem to be out of the question, and surely other teams would have some interest in signing a veteran with Kendrick’s track record.

More on some other available players…

  • Marcell Ozuna’s free agent market is explored by an MLB.com panel of Mark Bowman, Alyson Footer, Scott Merkin, and Jesse Sanchez, with a particular focus on the White Sox (Merkin’s team on the beat) and Braves (Ozuna’s most recent team, and Bowman’s beat).  The White Sox had some interest in Ozuna last winter but now might be looking for more of a full-time outfielder, Merkin says, since star prospect Andrew Vaughn is expected to step into the first base/DH mix alongside Jose Abreu at some point in 2021.  Since Ozuna profiles more as a DH over the long term, the Braves might have some hesitation over bringing Ozuna back since it isn’t yet known if the National League will adopt the designated hitter for 2021.  However, Bowman also notes that Ozuna quickly became a valued figure in Atlanta due to both his production and clubhouse presence.  Early reports have already suggested that the Braves are interested in re-signing Ozuna, but at least nine other clubs have also inquired about his services.
  • Tommy Kahnle is weighing multiple two-year offers, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  Kahnle underwent Tommy John surgery in early August, though it isn’t uncommon for recent TJ patients to still land multi-year deals on the open market.  In most of these cases, the player receives the bulk of the salary in the second year of the contract and a minimum salary in the first year, with the understanding that most or all of year one will be spent recovering from the surgery.  Kahnle, Heyman says, is hoping to return by the end of the 2021 season, which would be on the short end of the usual 12-15 month recovery timeline for Tommy John patients.

Tommy Kahnle Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Tommy Kahnle declined an outright assignment from the Yankees and instead chose to become a free agent, the team announced.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in August, Kahnle will miss most and quite possibly all of the 2021 season, making him a logical non-tender candidate.  Headed into his third trip through the arbitration process, Kahnle was projected to earn $2.7MM, or a minimal raise on his $2.65MM salary from 2020 given that he pitched a single inning this season.

In electing to become a free agent, Kahnle will now look for a change of scenery in a new organization and see if he can land a two-year commitment — as per the usual model for TJ recovery cases, Kahnle would earn a minimum salary in the first year of the contract and then a larger salary in the second year when he is expected to actually pitch.  Finding such a contract in this troubled free agent market could be a challenge, though Kahnle has delivered enough results on the mound that a club might be convinced to take what should still be a relatively inexpensive plunge.

The 31-year-old righty has a 3.82 ERA, 2.61 K/BB rate, 46.6% grounder rate, and 11.2 K/9 over 227 2/3 career relief innings with the Yankees, White Sox, and Rockies.  Though injuries plagued him in 2018, Kahnle has shown that he can be a bullpen workhorse when healthy, tossing 62 2/3 innings over 69 appearances in 2017 and 61 1/3 innings over 72 appearances in 2019.

Tommy Kahnle Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Aug. 5: Kahnle’s surgery was performed yesterday, Heyman tweets.

July 31: Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Friday that right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle will undergo Tommy John surgery, Marly Rivera of ESPN reports.

This isn’t surprising news, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported just minutes ago that Kahnle was probably going in this direction. Still, the fact that it’s now official is unfortunate for him and the Yankees. Kahnle, 30, has been an important part of their bullpen since they acquired him from the White Sox in a 2017 blockbuster trade. Since rejoining the Yankees, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2010 draft, Kahnle has logged a 4.01 ERA/3.23 FIP with 12.58 K/9, 3.69 BB/9 and a 44.8 percent groundball rate over 112 1/3 innings.

While Kahnle won’t be easily replaceable for the Yankees, the World Series contenders are well-equipped to soldier on without him. After all, the team also has Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino and Chad Green as other prominent late-game arms.

Kahnle’s season-ending injury takes a quality option away, though, and now it’s in question whether he will pitch for the Yankees again. Considering the timing of this surgery, Kahnle may not be ready to return until very late next season or at the beginning of 2022. In the meantime, the Yankees will have to decide whether to tender him a contract for his final arbitration-eligible season in 2021. He’s on a prorated $2.65MM salary this year, and that number should stay the same next season.

Yankees Place Tommy Kahnle On IL, Recall Jordan Montgomery

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9:20pm: Kahnle will “likely” require Tommy John surgery, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

5:03pm: The Yankees have announced a pair of roster moves in advance of tonight’s game. Righty Tommy Kahnle was moved to the 10-day injured list with what the team termed a “right ulnar collateral ligament injury.” He’ll be replaced by southpaw Jordan Montgomery.

That’s a worrisome addition to earlier news on Kahnle, who had previously been described as suffering from forearm tightness. The reliever was slated to undergo an MRI and visit team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad.

Soon to turn 31, Kahnle had seemed primed to occupy an important role in the Yanks’ pen in 2020. After a rough 2018 showing, he bounced back last season by throwing 61 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with 12.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.

Montgomery is moving in precisely the other direction. The 27-year-old has been limited to eight appearances over the past two seasons owing to Tommy John surgery. He’s now hoping to regain the promising trajectory he was on before the elbow woes arose.

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