3 players who definitely won’t be back with Dodgers in 2021

The Los Angeles Dodgers just won the World Series, but they already have to deal with offseason turnover.

Despite just capturing their first World Series title in 32 years, there are a lot of questions and distractions surrounding the Los Angeles Dodgers.

We have free agency beginning Sunday at 5 p.m.. We have Justin Turner’s COVID-19 situation that has him under investigation by Major League Baseball. Kevin Cash’s decision to remove Blake Snell pretty much stole all the World Series headlines.

And it’s already time for the Dodgers’ front office to get back to work. With organizations across the league looking to save as much money as possible in the midst of the global pandemic that doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, you have to think LA will be exercising some financial constraint after giving Mookie Betts that monster extension and inheriting David Price’s contract from the Boston Red Sox.

The good news is that the Dodgers have a tremendous core, so losing a few guys this offseason to save money probably won’t hurt them. Team president Andrew Friedman will just have to get creative, that’s all.

Here are three players who won’t be back in LA come 2021.

3. Pedro Baez

Pedro Baez sealed his fate with the Dodgers after a poor World Series.

The Dodgers will see Pedro Baez hit free agency after the right-hander completed his third year of arbitration eligibility with the team in 2020. He was set to earn $4 million before the pandemic, so one can assume he’ll be looking for more than that in free agency, and the Dodgers probably shouldn’t be paying up to keep him.

Though Baez’s stats suggest he’s been a very good option for LA since his career began in 2014, it’s clear he doesn’t have the “stuff” and fans are not all that comfortable when he enters the game. Though he owns a 3.03 ERA in 355 career games, his velocity on his fastball has declined. He was throwing 97 between 2015-2017 and is now down to 94, which has forced him to become overly reliant on his changeup, which he’s thrown nearly 1/3 of the time over the past two seasons.

It’s clear he’s regressing and the Dodgers don’t need more of that in a bullpen that already features Kenley Jansen and Joe Kelly. Perhaps they can justify keeping Baez at a good price, but we’re sure fans would rather see a bit of a shakeup among the relief corps.

2. Blake Treinen

Blake Treinen may have priced himself out of Los Angeles.

The Dodgers already have $29 million committed to Jansen and Kelly for 2021 and, though it’s not completely out of the question, it’s hard to imagine the front office splurging on more relief options when they have rising arbitration costs for guys like Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger and Julio Urias.

But maybe they do! And that’s where Blake Treinen comes in. The right-hander didn’t have the most impressive of seasons, and we can point to Game 1 of the NLCS or Game 4 of the World Series to prove that. However, he also came in during some really big spots (Games 5, 6 and 7 of the NLCS and Games 3 and 5 of the World Series) and got the job done.

He’s also proven he can be deployed in any inning. He came in during the fourth inning twice in the NLCS to help give the Dodgers length and then saved Game 5 of the Fall Classic. Teams will value that, especially considering the manner in which relievers are used in the modern game.

Treinen still throws 96-97 and his cutter is lethal when it’s on. We don’t see the Dodgers getting in a potential bidding war for a guy who’s definitely good, but has fallen off big time after his legendary 2018 campaign with the Oakland A’s. A ton of teams need bullpen help and will likely be giving Treinen a call.