It was quite a weekend for the Dodgers that started by signing the best International pitching prospect in the game, Roki Sasaki, and ended by signing the best high-end reliever on the market Tanner Scott.
The Dodgers have been eyeing both for some time now, especially Scott who the Dodgers got to see up close just last year when he was with the Padres.
The Dodgers signed Scott to a 4-year $72 million contract. The length and price tag of Scott’s contract isn’t in the typical “wheelhouse” of the Dodgers in terms of signing relievers, but it’s yet another case of the Front Office having the foot on the gas pedal with no intentions of letting off.
That mentality started, likely when the Dodgers got Betts and Freeman, but it was put in warp drive when Ohtani was signed.
The Ohtani Effect
This front office would be aggressive in any scenario but likely have been made to be more aggressive since signing Shohei Ohtani. When Ohtani signed and deferred as much money as he did, those in charge of roster building were held to the fire. His contract, as crazy large as it was, still was made team-friendly enough to make a statement.
That statement was that he expected the Dodgers to put the best roster around him as they possibly could.
And, they’ve done that plus some.
Building a Dynasty
During this off-season, the Dodgers have signed Tanner Scott, Roki Sasaki, Michael Conforto, Hyeseong Kim, Blake Snell, and the re-signed Blake Treinen and Teoscar Hernandez.
A team that was good enough to win the World Series last year is now even better, and substantially in terms of starting pitching.
Since Ohtani is a 2-way player, once he starts pitching, the Dodgers will be able to carry 14 pitchers instead of the typical 13 on the active 26-man roster. That will allow LA to implement a 6-man rotation, which has been talked about for a while but is now made realistic.
With only 13 pitchers, a 6-man rotation would leave the bullpen with just 7 arms. So, it’s not adding, or giving more arms to cover innings, it’s just moving pieces from one part of the staff to the other.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul, if you will.
But, with 14 pitchers, Ohtani being one of them, the Dodgers can now implement that 6-man rotation and still have all 8 bullpen arms available..
The organization found yet another way to have their cake and to eat it too.
The Roster Crunch
With the signing of Scott, the Dodgers 40-man roster is full. But, that’s not of great concern, because once all of the injured pitchers are added to the 60-day IL, 40-man spots will be available.
So, finding room on the 40-man will be easy.
It’s trying to figure out the Active 26-man roster where it gets complicated.
The Dodgers now have all 14 pitching spots taken, which is the maximum they will be able to keep once the season starts. So, if they want to add Clayton Kershaw, they’ll either have to trade or DFA one of the pitchers without options, or exercise the Minor League options of Tony Gonsolin or Alex Vesia.
It would be crazy talk to think Gonsolin or Vesia would get optioned, especially considering that, being at 14, there isn’t a spot to move anyone up or down from AAA OKC.
The ideal situation is to leave the last spot open for the up/downs from the Minor Leagues. The Dodgers have utilized this tactic extensively to keep the Major League club stocked with fresh arms.
So, having said all of that, as active and successful as the off season has been, it likely isn’t over. The Dodgers will almost assuredly make more moves between now and the first pitch of 2025.
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