A Look at the Top Free Agents for the Dodgers- Pitching

2 of 5

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 05: Anibal Sanchez #19 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after allowing a base hit during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game Two of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

If you’ve been following this series of articles from the beginning, you may have started to notice a trend:

One, I hate overspending on players. Whether I think they are stars or not, wasting money just to convince a guy to sign with your team should be reserved for the Bryce Harpers and Mike Trouts of the world.

Two, I like to keep free agent signings young. When you sign older players you risk not only regression due to aging but also that the player will be stuck with the team for too long in the later years of his contract.

Both of these hold especially true when talking about pitching.

That being said, the market for starters this offseason is filled with guys who should be way too old for the Dodgers to be signing. Is JA Happ a good pitcher? Yeah but the Dodgers should not even consider putting him in a Dodger uniform. The same holds true for 90% of the starter market- there are older players out there who are not worth the Dodgers cash.

That being said, a one-year prove it deal with Anibal Sanchez could be a whole lot of fun. Sanchez just turned the prime age of 35-years old and he is heading into his 14th major league season.

With youth completely out the window and little to be discovered, Sanchez proved that he had something left in the tank in 2018, pitching his way to a 2.83 ERA in 24 starts and one relief appearance all good for 136.2 innings. Sanchez also dazzled with a 143 ERA+ and a stellar 1.083 WHIP.

So why would he get a “prove it” deal in 2019? Because of the previous three seasons.

If we combine 2014, ’15 and ’16, Sanchez had a collective 5.64 ERA in 415.2 innings pitched and an ERA+ of 74. To make matters worse, he gave up 10 hits per nine innings.

All that being said, the good and the bad, and I take a flier on the aging righty. If the Dodgers are looking for a starting pitcher to add to one of the best rotations in baseball they do not need an expensive player from the market. Instead, they can afford to take a risk on a vet and my pick would be Anibal Sanchez.

I do break my youth rule for this to work but again, it plays to the strategy of avoiding big money and letting the star power in your rotation do its thing.

I value Sanchez at $8.5 million over one year.

Home/LA Dodgers News