Dodgers: 3 Non-Tendered players who are perfect fits in LA

2. Kyle Schwarber

You can’t get much more power at this inexpensive rate than Kyle Schwarber, Dodgers.

Coming off his worst season as a pro (aren’t we all?), the Cubs let Kyle Schwarber loose entering his age-28 season for reasons unknown.

And with Joc Pederson finally hitting free agency one year after the Dodgers attempted to trade him across town anyway (sorry!), it seems likely the LAD will be content to let him go and replicate his power against righties at a cheaper rate.

Schwarber destroys righties career, hitting a ridiculous 107 out of his career total of 121 home runs against, well, the type of pitcher you’ll encounter more often in the wild. Pederson’s split, in almost the same length career? 121 bombs against righties and nine against lefties. Hilariously similar.

But both men have different goals this offseason. Schwarber has one year left to establish his value before hitting free agency in earnest (unless someone unexpectedly locks him in to an extension now), and Pederson has already arrived at that marker (despite surprisingly similar 2020 seasons, his tools aren’t being questioned).

Both men bring similar skill sets to the table, though Schwarber is a far clunkier left fielder — hey, wouldn’t it be nice if Major League Baseball, like, told its National League teams if they were going to have a DH to work with at this point? Might be nice!

If the Dodgers can stomach Schwarber’s occasional left field antics, he’d be a perfect low-cost Pederson replicant.