3 Joe Kelly replacements Dodgers should already be targeting

1. Andrew Chafin

You want to have some fun? Andrew Chafin is fun. Let’s get to work on rebuilding those intangibles, too.

The 31-year-old soft-tosser has been good every single year since 2016 (except — say it with me now! — 2020), but has mostly spent that time in obscurity, trimming his mustache in the deserts of Arizona.

Last season served as Chafin’s coming out party. Added by the Cubs during a 2020 season where they kind of, sort of pretended to contend while ushering their most beloved players not-so-subtly out the door, Chafin opened the season with 39.1 innings of 2.06 ERA baseball before being swung to Oakland, where the output was even better (1.53 ERA). Sure, the FIP indicates he was outperforming his peripherals during that second-half search, but the metrics were still steady.

Chafin limits hard contact and does it consistently. Needless to say, while he’s a personality match for Kelly, he doesn’t bring quite the same volatility to the ballpark every day. It’s far easier to predict which Andrew Chafin will show up — the one who swaggers his way out of the bullpen, keeps hitters off balance, and retreats back to the dugout with joy, whether it be the fifth, sixth, or seventh.

The only problem? This one might actually get costly. The New York Post projects Chafin could get three years and $21 million with the Yankees. Make that two years at the same AAV, and you might be able to get the Dodgers to match.

Dodgers: 2 burdensome contracts that will affect 2022 season

The Los Angeles Dodgers might print money, but that doesn't mean these two contracts on their payroll won't be a massive burden.