The Los Angeles Dodgers were once again one of the most active teams in Major League Baseball at improving their roster during the offseason.
The Dodgers are always big spenders. When it comes to both international rookies and MLB veteran free agents, the organization spares no expense to find the best talent on the market.
One of the biggest investments of the offseason for the Dodgers came in the back end of the bullpen. As dominant as the 2024 team was, Los Angeles never had a true closer coming out of the pen. Daniel Hudson, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, and Alex Vesia split the save opportunities last year. The Dodgers made it a priority to see that change, and they let their money do the talking as they gave Tanner Scott a four-year, $72 million contract.
Scott was coming off a dominant season where he played for the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. He recorded 22 saves on the year and posted an ERA of 1.75. That made him the most sought after relief pitcher on the market, and the Dodgers paid above market price to acquire his services.
Unfortunately, Scott has not been pitching up to his contract so far. He has a 4.62 ERA with 10 saves and five (5) blown saves in 2025. Five blown saves is the most in baseball.
Relief pitchers are so volatile nowadays. I’m always of the belief that it is foolish to splurge in free agency and pay for the best reliever on the market. There are always going to be talented arms available, and getting multiple “good” arms usually proves to be better value than one “great” arm.
Relief options the Dodgers passed up this offseason
Had the Dodgers chosen to invest in the second tier of free agent relievers, they would have spent their money in a more efficient way.
For example, Carlos Estévez had a 2.54 ERA and recorded 26 saves for the Angels and Phillies in 2024. In 2023, he had 31 saves and was selected to the AL All-Star team for the first time in his career.
He got a two-year, $22.2 million contract from the Kansas City Royals in the offseason. That’s $7 million less per year than the Dodgers are paying Scott.
Estévez has a 1.96 ERA and 14 saves this year. He is a dominant high-leverage arm that should earn his second All-Star nod in July.
Then there’s Kyle Finnegan, who has never been dominant, but has been a model of consistency since coming into the league in 2020.
Finnegan was an All-Star in 2024 for the Washington Nationals. He recorded 38 saves with a 3.68 ERA. The Nats re-signed him to a one-year, $6 million contract in the offseason and he currently has 15 saves with a 2.41 ERA.
Between Estévez and Finnegan, there’s 41.2 innings with a 2.16 ERA and 29 saves this season. They are making a combined $17.1 million in AAV while the Dodgers dish out $17 million for Scott to lead the league in blown saves.
There was definitely a better way to use that money. Hopefully it’s a lesson for the organization moving forward that a higher quantity of quality relievers is better than one elite arm. Given the volatility of the position, you never know if you’ll get what you pay for.
