Dodgers: Under the radar acquisitions for the 2020 season
By Sean Kaufman
Casey Crosby
Another player the Dodgers are giving a chance to show late career life is 31-year-old lefty Casey Crosby.
Crosby is an interesting story. The former fifth-rounder and Top 100 prospect hasn’t even been in the majors since 2012. A litany of elbow injuries derailed his career after he showed promise as the Tiger’s second ranked (and 47th ranked overall) prospect going into the 2010 season.
A few Tommy John surgeries and minor league contracts later, Crosby wound up in independent baseball. However, after a dominant 2019 where he posted a 1.74 ERA over 46.2 innings for the Chicago Dogs and Lancaster Barnstormers, the Dodgers signed him to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
Regardless of whether he ever reaches the majors again, it’s impressive he’s made it this far after contemplating quitting baseball entirely in 2015. If his days as a major leaguer are in fact over, he’ll retire with an unpleasant 9.49 ERA and 1-1 record over 12.1 innings with Detroit in 2012. A short, but unspectacular Big League resume.
Luke Raley
Everyone knows superstar Mookie Betts, and by now, probably knows flame-throwing prospect Brusdar Graterol, but the Dodgers acquired a third prospect in the megadeal of the offseason.
Luke Raley came over from the Twins in that trade, and he’s actually a familiar face. The Dodgers drafted Raley in the seventh round of the 2016 draft, but shipped him to Minnesota in the Brian Dozier trade.
He’s mashed the ball at every level since, even hitting .368 and slugging .526 in rookie ball, but as is the case with so many young hitters these days, he has a serious strikeout problem. He’s also not too keen on seeing pitches, with a walk rate hovering around 5 percent. The power from his 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame is intriguing, but Raley has a lot or work to do with his approach before he becomes an impact player at the major league level.