Dodgers lose top pitcher, hitter to big spenders in free agency
The Dodgers’ pivotal offseason took two turns for the worse Monday.
First, Max Scherzer agreed to a three-year, $130million contract with the New York Mets, according to people with knowledge of the situation, in the morning. By midafternoon, Corey Seager, another star free agent, opted not to return to Los Angeles. The shortstop instead agreed to sign a monstrous 10-year, $325-million contract with the suddenly free-spending Texas Rangers, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The Dodgers are one of baseball’s most affluent franchises. They led the majors in attendance this year for the eighth straight season (not counting pandemic-shortened 2020). They have a television deal worth $8.35 billion over 25 years. Their payroll this year was the highest in the majors, north of $260 million.
But the prices for both players proved too high for their taste and they were not particularly close to retaining them, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
One factor likely inhibiting the Dodgers’ ability to compete for the two AllStars: the uncertainty surrounding Trevor Bauer.
The Dodgers signed Bauer in February to a three-year deal worth up to $102 million with opt-outs after the first and second seasons — coincidentally beating out the Mets for his services. He was expected to top the starting rotation for two seasons before trying free agency again.
But that outlook changed in early July as Bauer was placed on paid administrative leave when a woman accused him of sexual assault and obtained a temporary restraining order against him.
A judge denied the woman’s request for a permanent restraining order in August. The Los Angeles County dis
trict attorney’s office still is deciding whether to charge Bauer with any crimes. Major League Baseball’s investigation into the allegations remains ongoing. The league is expected to suspend him while all signs point to Bauer never pitching for the Dodgers again.
When MLB announces any discipline and the length of a possible suspension could have a significant impact on the Dodgers. A suspension would be unpaid, which would take Bauer off the books for the time he’s suspended. The length and timing remain unknown, which has left the Dodgers in a cloud of uncertainty.
To replace Bauer last summer, the Dodgers struck a deal with the Washington Nationals to get Scherzer and Trea Turner for four minor leaguers, including top prospects Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray. The early returns were positive. Scherzer was dominant and Turner won the batting title and finished fifth in the National League most-valuable-player voting.
The Dodgers took Scherzer knowing the partnership could last just three months. The three-time Cy Young Award winner promised to attract several suitors, even beyond his 37th birthday. He was defying age.
Scherzer was baseball’s most dominant starting pitcher over the season’s final two months. His stock rose with each outing as he once again warranted Cy Young consideration. In 11 starts with Los Angeles, Scherzer went 7-0 with a 1.98 earned-run average, 89 strikeouts and eight walks over 681⁄3 innings. For the season, the right-hander posted a 2.46 ERA in 30 starts. He finished third in NL Cy Young award voting.
The Dodgers placed a heavy burden on Scherzer in
the playoffs. They had him pitch three times in a week, with a one-inning save to close out the San Francisco Giants in the middle. The workload proved costly when Scherzer told the Dodgers his arm wasn’t ready to start Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. Walker Buehler started on short rest and the Dodgers lost to end their season.
The ending didn’t sour the relationship between player and club enough to rule out a reunion. Scherzer raved about the Dodgers’ culture, professionalism and attention to detail. The Dodgers loved his accountability and work ethic. The team preferred to extend the marriage. Scherzer, coming off a seven-year, $210-million contract, was open to it but the
Dodgers weren’t willing to offer him three guaranteed years.
Scherzer’s deal with the Mets includes a no-trade clause and an opt-out after the 2023 season. The contract’s $43.3-million average annual value is the highest in baseball history, smashing Gerrit Cole’s $36-million AAV with the New York Yankees.
In the Mets, Scherzer joins an organization that has sought to cement itself among the elite under Steve Cohen, the wealthiest owner in the majors, with aggressive talent acquisition the last two offseasons.
Scherzer will return to the NL East where he starred for 61⁄2 seasons with the Nationals and report for spring training in Port St.
Lucie, Fla., minutes from his offseason home. On the field, he’ll partner with twotime Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom for perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the majors.
The Dodgers were one of four or five teams, including the Angels and Giants, in the mix for Scherzer, according to people with knowledge of the situation. But team officials were pessimistic by Sunday evening as the bidding soared.
Bolstering the starting rotation was among the Dodgers’ top priorities once the Atlanta Braves ended their pursuit of back-toback championships, with Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw among their free agents. They started the offseason by signing Andrew Heaney to add back-end depth, but are lacking a third front-line arm to put alongside Buehler and Julio Urías.
Seager’s deal includes a limited no-trade clause and no opt-outs. He joins a club that has committed $556 million in guaranteed money to three players over the last two days. On Sunday, the Rangers gave infielder Marcus Semien $175 million over seven years after his resurgent season with the Toronto Blue Jays. They then signed right-hander Jon Gray to a four-year, $56million deal.
It’s a historic spending spree for a club coming off a 60-win, last-place season in the American League West — and it might not be over. The Rangers are also in the hunt for Kershaw, who grew up minutes from Globe Life Field and lives in Dallas during the offseason. Kershaw, a free agent for the first time in his Hall of Fame career, is expected to choose between Texas and the Dodgers.
Seager, 27, will reunite with Rangers manager Chris Woodward, who served as Dodgers third base coach from 2016 through 2018. He’ll also join several former Dodgers the Rangers have picked up since Woodward took the helm in 2019, including Dennis Santana, Josh Sborz, DJ Peters, Billy McKinney and Zach Reks.
For Seager, this offseason represented the first time he could secure a major payday by MLB standards. He’ll now play his home games where he enjoyed his greatest success as a major leaguer during the 2020 postseason when he was named NLCS and World Series MVP in leading the Dodgers to the championship in Arlington. He clubbed eight home runs at Globe Life Park that postseason, which remains tied for third most in the 2-year-old ballpark’s history.
Fresh off that October performance, the Dodgers offered Seager a contract extension in spring training. He turned it down.
When healthy, Seager is one of the premier hitters in the majors. He batted .297 with 104 home runs and an .870 on-base-plus-slugging percentage at a premium position in his seven seasons in Los Angeles. But staying on the field was a problem. He reached 100 games played in three of his five full seasons. This season he was limited to 95 games after missing more than two months with a fractured right hand followed by a hamstring injury he suffered during rehab.
Seager also regressed defensively — particularly fielding groundballs with his backhand. He’ll likely play shortstop for the Rangers — Semien, a Gold Glover, will man second base — but he’s expected to have to shift to third base within the next few seasons.
The Dodgers, as it stands, will shift Turner from second base to shortstop and have Gavin Lux play second. They also could re-sign Chris Taylor to play second, but Taylor is garnering considerable attention in free agency that could make him difficult to retain.
Short hops
The Dodgers agreed with reliever Daniel Hudson on a one-year, $7-million contract, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Hudson, 34, recorded a 3.31 ERA and struck out 13.1 batters per nine innings in 54 appearances for Washington and San Diego last season. It will be his second stint with the Dodgers. The right-hander had a 4.11 ERA in 40 games for Los Angeles in 2018 . ... First baseman Max Muncy revealed that he sustained a torn ulnar collateral ligament on the last day of the season. He’s expected to be ready for the start of next season.