The Dodgers have made clear they’re trying to make a splash on the prime of the commerce market. Many of the focus has been on the pitching aspect — normal supervisor Brandon Gomes mentioned simply final evening the entrance workplace is in search of “an impact-type arm” — and it appears they’re taking the same method to the place gamers.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com experiences that Los Angeles is in search of a big offensive improve within the outfield. The Dodgers have already been tied to White Sox star Luis Robert Jr. Feinsand writes that Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena can be on L.A.’s radar. The Dodgers had been loosely linked to Arozarena over the offseason.
The match is quite easy. Teoscar Hernández might deal with proper area if the Dodgers added an on a regular basis participant in left. Andy Pages might play heart area frequently whereas Jason Heyward would transfer right into a fourth outfield function. Every of Hernández, Arozarena and Pages hit from the best aspect, which means Heyward ought to have the ability to rotate in towards right-handed pitching pretty regularly to maintain everybody recent.
Arozarena began the season terribly. The previous All-Star carried a .158/.257/.312 batting line into June. He has caught hearth over the previous couple months, raking at a .286/.392/.514 clip by way of his most up-to-date 166 plate appearances. The dreadful spring is taking a toll on Arozarena’s season line, which sits at a pedestrian .211/.313/.395 mark. Contemplating he’d been a nicely above-average hitter over his first three and a half years within the large leagues, most groups will in all probability view his April/Could efficiency as an anomaly.
That’s additionally true of the Rays, who’re shaping up as one of the vital fascinating groups to look at over the following week. Tampa Bay isn’t out of playoff competition, however they’re sitting at .500 with a 5.5 recreation deficit within the Wild Card race. A playoff push this yr is feasible however unlikely. Whereas the Rays aren’t going to orchestrate an entire teardown, they’ll seemingly think about presents on a number of productive veterans (e.g. Brandon Lowe, Zach Eflin, Zack Littell, Isaac Paredes, Pete Fairbanks). Whether or not to commerce Arozarena is likely one of the largest questions going through the entrance workplace.
The 29-year-old outfielder is taking part in on an $8.1MM wage, rather less than $3MM of which is but to be paid. He’s set for 2 extra arbitration raises earlier than attending to free company in the course of the 2026-27 offseason. The Dodgers are within the highest tier of luxurious tax penalization and face escalating penalties for exceeding the CBT threshold in a minimum of three straight years. They’d owe a 110% tax on any contracts they take up.
