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FanSided

A Look at the Top Free Agents by Position for the Dodgers

By Jacob Rudner

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 04: Wilmer Flores #4 of the New York Mets fields a ground ball in front of Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers leading to an out of Matt Kemp #27 to end the third inning at Dodger Stadium on September 4, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 04: Wilmer Flores #4 of the New York Mets fields a ground ball in front of Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers leading to an out of Matt Kemp #27 to end the third inning at Dodger Stadium on September 4, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 29: Jonathan Schoop #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the 7th inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 29, 2018, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Yikes. Second base in Los Angeles seems to be this recurring nightmare where the team signs someone that is either way too old, way past their prime or both and pray that they got it right. Last year, the Dodgers threw a bone in the direction of Logan Forsythe one last time and got it wrong for the second straight year.

They traded Forsythe at the deadline and acquired Brian Dozier who, to the jaw-dropping dismay of the fans, did absolutely nothing for the team. Dozier posted a nightmare in the statistics world with a 77 OPS+, .182 batting average, five home runs and 50 total bases during his stay in Los Angeles. With Dozier now on the market, the Dodgers have to choose between a three-man platoon of Max Muncy, Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor or signing a free agent.

After three seasons of disappointing signings, I am putting it on Friedman to sign a young and worthwhile second baseman. I am picking Jonathan Schoop.

Schoop had a bad a move from the AL to the NL as Dozier did when he was moved from the Orioles to Brewers. But, Schoop has emphatically proven that he is much better than those results indicated.

At just 27-years old, Schoop has hit a career total 110 home runs, hitting no less than 20 a season in each of the last three years. But, Schoop’s wRC+ has been all over the place over the last few seasons. Some years it is well above 100 and others it is well below. This inconsistency is both frightening and cost-diminishing for potential suitors.

However, I really like Schoop for the Dodgers. He is young, he hits the cover off the baseball, plays solid defense and, due to some lackluster 2018 numbers, could come at a major discount.

Put him next to anyone else on the market right now and I much prefer Schoop. I am valuing him around the $9 million a year range but youth could easily drive that number up. For the Dodgers to sign him, I would have to see the dollars stay under 11 million.

The honorable mention here goes out to Josh Harrison. While Daniel Murphy and Jed Lowrie are out there, Harrison excites me the most. He is 31-years old but plays defense like he is 21 and his bat is pretty good. Put him up against any of the Dodgers second baseman over the last few seasons and, like Schoop, I will take Harrison.

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