Bellinger and Seager settle
Dodgers’ Urías also gets a one-year deal. Buehler, Barnes might end up in arbitration.
The Dodgers reached oneyear deals with three arbitration-eligible players Friday but didn’t settle on contracts with Walker Buehler and Austin Barnes.
The Dodgers entered Friday with the contracts for Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Julio Urías, Buehler and Barnes unresolved. The deadline to strike a deal before exchanging figures for a potential arbitration hearing was 10 a.m. Friday, but it’s a soft deadline; the sides can still come to a resolution before a hearing takes place. Hearings usually are scheduled for early February, but uncertainty surrounding the start of the season could affect the timeline.
The Dodgers agreed to one-year deals with relievers Dylan Floro ($975,000) and Corey Knebel ($5.25 million) on Thursday, though Knebel’s agreement has not been made official. On Friday, Bellinger, Seager and Urías agreed to one-year contracts. Bellinger is scheduled to earn $16.1 million. Seager settled on $13.75 million. Urías is on the books for $3.6 million.
Buehler is eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career. The 26-year-old righthander filed for $4.15 million and Dodgers countered with $3.3 million, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. He was slated to earn $603,500 in 2020 but ended up making a prorated, 60-game salary of about $223,000.
Barnes filed for $3.3 million and the Dodgers countered at $2 million, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The 31-year-old catcher rebounded from a dismal 2019 season, splitting time with Will Smith in 2020. He wound up starting eight playoff games and batted .320 with an .833 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 29 postseason plate appearances.
Both players could sign multiyear deals before a hearing, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Bellinger, 25, was given a $4.6-million raise despite experiencing a dropoff in the truncated 2020 season. The center fielder batted .239 with 12 home runs and a .789 onbase-plus-slugging percentage in 56 games. He hit just .212 in the postseason but supplied crucial hits and defensive plays in the Dodgers’ World Series run.
His catch in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, robbing Fernando Tatis Jr. of a go-ahead, two-run home run in the seventh inning, helped bury the San Diego Padres. Eleven days later, he blasted the go-ahead home run in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves, capping the Dodgers’ comeback from a 3-1 series deficit. That home run came at a price: Bellinger dislocated his right shoulder bashing forearms with Kiké Hernández in celebration. He didn’t miss a game but went just three for 22 in the World Series and underwent shoulder surgery in November. The Dodgers said he is expected to be ready for spring training.
Seager’s salary will jump from a pre-pandemic $7.6 million after registering one of the most productive seasons in the majors in 2020. The shortstop, who is scheduled to hit free agency next winter, hit 15 home runs with a .307 batting average and .943 OPS in 52 regular season games. He carried his torrid production into October. He batted .328 with eight home runs and a 1.171 OPS in 80 plate appearances in October, earning NLCS and World Series MVP honors along the way.
Urías, 24, was primarily used as a starter for the first time since undergoing major shoulder surgery in 2017, but he was deployed in a hybrid role in the playoffs. The lefthander closed out the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the NLCS with three perfect innings out of the bullpen. He then finished off the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 of the World Series with 21⁄3 more spotless innings, striking out Willy Adames to seal the Dodgers’ first World Series title in 32 years. He is expected to remain in the Dodgers’ starting rotation in 2021.
International
The Dodgers replenished their farm system with 22 international signings headlined by three highly regarded 17-year-olds from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic on Friday, the start of the postponed international signing period.
Wilman Díaz, a shortstop from Venezuela, is the thirdranked prospect in the class, according to MLB Pipeline. He was signed out of the same program that housed catcher Diego Cartaya, the top-ranked international signee in 2018.
Jesus Galiz, also from Venezuela, is considered the top catcher in the class and ranked eighth overall, according to MLB Pipeline. Galiz originally committed to sign with the New York Yankees, but the team backed out from the verbal agreement in November. The Dodgers then pounced to sign the former infielder.
Rayne Doncon, a shortstop out of the Dominican Republic, didn’t make MLB Pipeline’s top 30 but is considered the next best of the Dodgers’ bunch. The Dodgers believe Doncon has the potential to develop into a plus power hitter.