The Free Agency season is upon us and that includes every level of professional baseball. Of course, we all know the names of guys like Shohei Ohtani, but there are hundreds of players in the Minor Leagues that become Free Agents as well.

This article is dedicated to addressing the players in the Dodgers Organization that declared for Free Agency last week. Keep in mind, just because a player files for Free Agency doesn’t automatically mean they won’t be back. Like all Free Agents, the Dodgers could re-sign them out of Free Agency to a new deal, but, now, they will be competing with every other team in the League.

Notable Prospects

Ricky Vanasco signed with the Dodgers last season after being DFA’d by the Rangers and absolutely lit things up. His fastball approached 100 MPH, and he allowed just 1 run in his last 23 innings of action. His slider was dirty and he had 45 Ks in 32.1 innings, and a 2.78 ERA. He made it up to AAA and was simply dominant in the back half of 2023. Click here, on his name or on his picture to watch him in action in several of his performances this year.

Mark Washington is a 6’7 relief pitcher that has spent the last year and a half in AAA OKC. Washington has easy power, but has fought the injury bug, which has slowed him down. When he’s on top of his game he goes long stretches without giving up runs, so he is one that likely will catch on somewhere and get an opportunity at the Major League level.

We have a ton of content on Mark so here are the links. You can also click on his picture to see he in action, or on his name to view his feature.

Bryson Brigman is a great athlete that brought a ton of versatility to both AA Tulsa and AAA OKC. He’s older, so his time clock is ticking, but he would make a great hand for an organization that has less of a crunch on their 40 man roster. Brigman can play anywhere from SS to all of the outfield positions, he can lead off, steal bases, score runs and be an overall pest to the other team.

I had the chance to talk to and feature Bryson and he is such an impressive young man, I just truly hope he gets his chance. I have a ton of content on him, so you can click or name or picture, or click the links below to learn all about him.

Justin Yurchak is a sweet swingin’ left handed first baseman out of Binghamton. He hits for high average, but doesn’t hit a ton of homeruns for a corner infielder, which, likely held him back in the Dodgers system.

As an example, he hit .365 in 2021 and has a .304 lifetime average as a Minor Leaguers. Another club would be very smart to pick him up and put his bat in the lineup. He has played some left field, so there is some versatility to his defensive game, and his bat to ball skills are very good.

I have a ton of content on Yurchak as well, so would love for you to check it out if you wanted to know more about him.

Yonny Hernandez is a versatile player that the Dodgers picked up last year and used some at the MLB level. He was placed on the 40 man, spent time with L.A., then was eventually DFA’d to clear his spot back off of the 40 man. As a result, he’s likely looking for a cleaner opportunity, first on an MLB teams 40 man, then on their active 26 man roster.

Hernandez played a lot of SS last season, but can play anywhere and finished 2023 hitting .252 at the Minor League level, and stole 17 bases.

For more on him

Imanol Vargas is one of the best players in the system at getting on base. In fact, I refer to him as the “machine” because he seems to get on base so much. Vargas added a ton of power this year, however, in AA Tulsa hitting 22 home runs, which was 4 more than he had ever hit.

Vargas played some right field, and did an adequate job out there as he got more comfortable. But, he is primarily a 1st baseman, and that is the position a club would need to value him at, in my opinion, if they wanted to pick him up.

Vargas in action (Lots of video and commentary)

Aldry Acosta did not give up a run after April 27th in 2022, then backed that up by posting a 2.25 ERA in April, then an ERA of just 1.17 this past season in 2023.

He’s not the hardest of throwers, but is known to move the ball very well off of barrels with his 2 Seam/Cutter mix, and it absolutely works. The Dodgers seem to prefer the higher end velo type relievers, and there is a ton of depth in front of Acosta, and he’s 24, so moving on to an organization with less depth might give him a good shot at reaching the MLB. We all wish the best for this young man out of Caracas, Venezuela, he is a great dude.

Video on Acosta

Luis Diaz is one of the best athletes in the entire system, and that is not, in any way, an exaggeration. This dude can run, he has a great arm, and he can play both SS and 3B.

With his athletic ability, I’m sure he could play outfield if needed to.

He is a “free swinger”, which means that he runs hot and cold. Actually, he runs VERY hot and cold. For instance, this past season he hit .129 in April, then turned that around and hit .304 in May.

Diaz is somewhat rough around the edges, some might say he’s still a touch raw, but the ability and talent is noticeable, even on a professional field. It will be interesting to see the type of opportunities he gets moving forward because if you’re in the right place at the right time, he can blow your doors down.

In other instances he can leave you thinking there is still some work to do.

The Dodgers are always in “Win Now” mode, so they need players that are “Plug and Play’, so, likely, his best opportunity would be with a club that is looking to build around a bunch of talented young players with tremendous upside.

Video of Diaz in Action

Other Prospects of Note

Adolfo Ramirez, Reinaldo De Paula, Hamlet Marte, Wladimir Chalo, Ismael Alcantara, Yusniel Diaz, and Kenneth Betancourt

Other Notable Names

There were 27 Dodgers Minor League players that declared for Free Agency, but the ones I highlighted above I felt were the most notable “Prospects”.

But, there were several veteran type players that the Dodgers signed last year that are entering Free Agency Again. Here they are:

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