Dodgers: 3 reasons Trevor Bauer signing derailed 2021 season

1. New Direction at Trade Deadline … and Now What for the Offseason?

Bauer being kicked to the curb in late June forced the Dodgers to go out at the trade deadline and make the blockbuster deal of the decade, acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals.

OK, to be fair, any Scherzer trade would’ve made sense with or without Bauer, because Dustin May was lost for the year months before and Clayton Kershaw was dealing with elbow issues.

But Scherzer was never going to be enough to carry this entire staff alongside Walker Buehler and Julio Urías, both of whom blew past their career-high innings marks and were clearly worn down in late October. Scherzer, an aging arm himself, dealt with fatigue and couldn’t pitch in Game 6 of the NLCS because of it. The man’s a workhorse, but he’s also 37 years old and hasn’t thrown over 180 innings since 2018.

Bauer’s contract, which will now likely weigh down the Dodgers for two more years, may have played a role in the Turner acquisition because of Corey Seager’s projected offseason price tag. The Dodgers shortstop will hit free agency soon and some are speculating it’ll take a contract in the 10-12-year range to keep him. The Dodgers have given out one contract in excess of eight years, and that was to Mookie Betts, who’s a transcendent five-tool player.

We’re not saying Seager isn’t worthy of the big bucks, but he’s had trouble staying on the field and carries defensive concerns as he approaches 30 years old. With Bauer’s remaining $63 million expected to hamper the team in the short term, do you not think that played a role in the move to get Turner instead of working to keep the status quo with Seager, who was a driving force in helping the team win its first World Series in 32 years?

Getting Turner wasn’t a bad move, but he did cost the team dearly with his terrible postseason, especially when you consider the Dodgers definitely needed a center fielder and/or a backup first baseman much more than they needed a shortstop playing out of position at second base. And that was evident before Max Muncy’s injury. Cody Bellinger was having an all-time horrible season and neither Albert Pujols nor Matt Beaty proved they could handle full-time duties if it came down to it. Bellinger could … but then who would play center field? Gavin Lux, who you resented for a few bad plays out there when he got the chance?

Let’s just say in the offseason the Dodgers don’t pursue Bauer. They opt to keep Alex Wood and go after a combination of Charlie Morton/Robbie Ray/Anthony DeSclafani/Marcus Stroman/Taijuan Walker instead of signing Cole Hamels and trading for Danny Duffy, both of whom never pitched an inning for LA?

Hindsight is 20/20 here, but there were A LOT of other scenarios that could’ve drastically improved the Dodgers that didn’t involve Bauer.

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