Dodgers: It’s too soon for the Dodgers to give up on A.J. Pollock

A.J. Pollock had an interesting first season for the Dodgers that ended with a disappointing postseason performance.  His second half was strong.

In January, the Dodgers made their big outfield free-agent signing although it wasn’t Bryce Harper.  Instead, the club signed A.J. Pollock way from the Arizona Diamondbacks to a five year $60 million dollar deal that is really a four year $50 million dollar deal as the fifth year is likely going to be bought out.

A.J. Pollock has the reputation for being an injury prone player but the reason he missed a good chunk of the 2019 season was due in part to bad luck as he had an elbow infection.  The infection was so severe that he had to undergo a procedure to remove metal plates in his elbow from a previous operation.

Although he had a strong second half, most Dodger fans will remember his 2019 season as the awful showing he had in the NLDS.  Pollock went 0-13 with 11 strikeouts against the Nationals and was benched after appearing lost at the plate.  While he did struggle mightily in the NLDS, the same could be said for most of the Dodger lineup including Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager.

While many fans have started putting together hypothetical trade packages to unload A.J. Pollock, the Dodgers are unlikely to give up on A.J. yet nor should they.  His contract is not great but from a luxury tax standpoint that takes the average annual salary, Pollock accounts for $12 million dollars next season.  A salary that will not hurt the team too much if he struggles in a full-time role.

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After returning from his elbow infection, Pollock put together a strong second half of the season as he slashed .288/.348/.537 with 13 home runs.  He played like the player that the Dodgers thought they were getting when they inked him during the Harper derby.  The one significant decline came defensively where Pollock is now a left-fielder and cannot play center like he once could.

Overall, A.J. Pollock had a much better season against left-handed pitching.  He put together a .323/.370/.535 slash line against southpaws compared to a .239/.308/.435 line against right-handed pitching.  Despite the mediocre line against righties, A.J. did hit nine home runs off righties and was much better against them in his strong second half.

From the first game after the all-star break on until the end of the regular season, Pollock slashed .272/.342/.515 against right-handed pitching with eight of those nine home runs.  The second half showed that there is plenty of life left in Pollock’s bat.  For the 2020 season, A.J. figures to battle Alex Verdugo and Joc Pederson for starts in left field.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Pollock gets the starting left fielder role and Alex Verdugo starts in right with Joc Pederson fighting for playing time or getting traded elsewhere.  At the very minimum, Pollock will help mash lefties in 2020 and if he performs like he did in the second half of the season then he will put up very nice numbers next season.