4 big whiffs by Dodgers’ front office before the lockout

3. Kendall Graveman

Don’t lie — when you saw that Kendall Graveman signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the Chicago White Sox, you asked yourself, “Why didn’t the Dodgers do that?!”

Graveman’s full-time transition to a reliever was a smashing success in 2021. He finished with a 1.77 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 61 strikeouts in 53 games (56 innings) between the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros. A spectacular performance in a contract year, and the Dodgers could’ve had him for just $8 million per year? That’s what they gave Heaney!

Most importantly, even with Kenley Jansen and Blake Treinen anchoring the bullpen, it was evident the Dodgers’ cast of relievers badly needed assistance in 2021. When you factor in Joe Kelly’s option getting declined and Jansen expected to depart in free agency, the Dodgers will be short on reliable arms capable of pitching high-leverage innings in 2022.

Hudson was a start on a one-year, $7 million deal, but squeezing one more cost-effective/team-friendly deal in there when you knew you probably weren’t paying Seager or Scherzer felt like it would’ve made almost too much sense.

2. Marcus Stroman

Another contract that boasts a ton of value for the billionaire owners! They want to save money? They want shorter contracts? They want less overall dollar commitments? Well, look no further than Marcus Stroman’s three-year, $71 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.

Folks, here’s the breakdown, too:

• 2022: $25 million
• 2023: $25 million
• 2024: $21 million player option

Doesn’t that perfectly fit the Dodgers’ supposed championship “window”? It gives them an ace-like arm to help the production lost from Scherzer (and possibly Kershaw). Stroman’s had three All-Star caliber campaigns since 2017 and has proven to be a steadfast top-of-the-rotation starter. This would’ve been a shrewd way to build around Walker Buehler and Julio Urīas, both of whom were overused in 2021.

If you were willing to pay record-setting money for Trevor Bauer, whose career ERA was right around 4.00 when he signed with the Dodgers, then there was little reason not to pay Stroman a very pedestrian price for his impressive output. In 179 career games, the right-hander owns a 3.63 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, with a disastrous 2018 season interrupted by injuries actually inflating both of those numbers.

Some fans might not like Stroman’s demeanor, but does it really matter when he’s backing it up?

1. Max Scherzer

Regardless of how much money he was going to cost, Scherzer’s return to LA felt like a foregone conclusion after his unbelievable cameo during the second half of the 2021 season. The Dodgers added the three-time Cy Young winner at the trade deadline to supplement the losses of Bauer, Kershaw and Dustin May, and he delivered with a 7-0 record, 1.98 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in 11 starts. He struck out 89 batters across 68.1 innings. He saved Game 5 of the NLDS. Guy’s a legend.

You might wonder why we’re considering this a whiff. Yes, the New York Mets came in and offered the right-hander a three-year, $130 million contract ($43.3 million AAV), which, even though Scherzer’s presence in your rotation is priceless, seems ridiculous. But the Dodgers gave record-setting money to Bauer the offseason prior. And he’s infinitely worse than Scherzer.

Additionally, the Dodgers reportedly didn’t offer more than two years in the $36 million AAV range. That’s Gerrit Cole money, the undisputed highest-paid pitcher in baseball now that Bauer’s no longer a person of note. Scherzer, again, is better than Cole. Way better. If he was getting a short-term deal, he had every right to beat Bauer and Cole. But, for some reason, the Dodgers didn’t feel that way.

Typically, we wouldn’t be that concerned. But now we’re staring down the barrel of months without transactions. And the Dodgers’ decisions during last offseason came back to haunt them. The departures of Kiké Hernandez and Joc Pederson killed this team’s depth and eventually led to their early-ish (for their standards) postseason exit. What makes you think letting arguably the best pitcher of his generation leave is going to yield different results?

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