Tommy Kahnle contract details prove Dodgers got a steal

The Dodgers got themselves a steal with Tommy Kahnle’s contract.

It appears as if the New York Yankees don’t possess the superior foresight that the Los Angeles Dodgers do. The defending World Series champs have spent time this offseason preparing their roster for both 2021 and 2022, with Tommy Kahnle addressing the latter.

The reliever, who rejected an outright assignment from the Yankees and became a free agent earlier this offseason, recently signed a two-year contract with Los Angeles. While he won’t pitch in 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery shortly after his 2020 season debut, the Dodgers saw value in his prospects for 2022.

The details of the multi-year pact have been revealed and it’s clear the Dodgers got themselves a steal. It’s hard to argue this isn’t a win-win. LA gets Kahnle at a discount and the veteran gets a nice chunk of guaranteed money.

Here’s the latest from The Associated Press:

"“The Dodgers announced they have agreed to sign right-hander Tommy Kahnle to a $4.75 million, two-year contact. The former Yankees reliever had Tommy John surgery in 2020 and is unlikely to pitch next season.“The 31-year-old gets a $550,000 signing bonus, payable $25,000 on Feb. 1, $500,000 on July 1, and $25,000 on Feb. 1, 2022, and salaries of $750,000 next season and $3.45 million in 2022. He can earn up to $750,000 in performance bonuses in 2022 — $250,000 for appearing in 60 games and $500,000 for 70 appearances.”"

And how about some incentives? Given what we know what Kahnle is capable of, this is beneficial for all parties. If he performs to the best of his abilities, he’ll earn even more money and the Dodgers will still have a cost-effective top bullpen arm under contract.

Throw out Kahnle’s bizarre 2018 season in which he battled injuries and was knocked around to the tune of a 6.56 ERA in 24 appearances. If you combine his 2016, 2017 and 2019 seasons, he owns a 3.03 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 151.1 innings of work.

Assuming Corey Knebel and Brandon Morrow rebound in 2021 and LA keeps them around, we could be looking at a mean trio in the back end of the Dodgers’ bullpen if Kahnle can bounce back in 2022. And all three of those guys will still be cheaper than one year of Kenley Jansen.

We like the sound of that.

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