Dodgers: Which franchise legend would help the 2020 team most?

Dodgers legend: Roy Campanella, Catcher

Building off the idea of adding Mike Piazza to the 2020 roster, what about the best catcher in Dodgers history Roy Campanella? While Piazza would make a great designated hitter, Campanella would add a ton of value to president Andrew Freidman’s roster behind the plate.

Of the eight defensive positions on the field, FanGraphs projects Dodgers catchers to produce the least value in 2020. That is not to say Will Smith and Austin Barnes aren’t suitable options to lay down the signs, but relative to the rest of the roster, they don’t stand out as an absolute strength.

Roy Campanella, who tragically never got to play in Los Angeles due to an automobile accident in the offseason before the team transitioned from Brooklyn, would finally get a chance to show off his incredible talent at Dodger Stadium.

The Hall-of-Fame catcher was an 8-time All-Star, setting home run and RBI marks that backstops have spent the past half century chasing. In 1953, Campy hit a record 41 home runs and led the National League with 142 RBIs. Before hitting-friendly catchers was a thing, Campanella provided Brooklyn with unique value behind the plate.

And beyond slugging the baseball, he was an excellent defensive catcher. Without a doubt, if you could add one legend to the 2020 roster in order to see an uptick in value over the current options, Campanella would be a great improvement.