How are the 7 players Dodgers lost in offseason performing in 2022?

3. Albert Pujols

Tío Albert! LA misses you. Pujols was perfect for the Dodgers, providing excellent at-bats against left-handed pitching while also acting as a source of leadership and guidance for both the veterans and youngsters on LA’s roster. His contributions won’t ever be forgotten.

This offseason, the future Hall of Famer declared this would be his final year in MLB, and he returned to where it all began with the St. Louis Cardinals. As upset as Dodgers fans were when he left, it was understandable. It was the perfect way for Pujols to close out his storied career.

Through his first nine games, he’s hitting .259 with an .852 OPS and 154 OPS+ in 30 plate appearances. He’s still logging part-time duty, but is clearly being used as efficiently as he was in Los Angeles.

Could the Dodgers have used him in the same role in 2022? Absolutely. One could even say he’d be an upgrade over the current bench, which features Edwin Rios, Hanser Alberto and Gavin Lux. But at-bats would’ve been harder to come by after the addition of Freddie Freeman, so this divorce very much happened organically.

Rooting for Albert, but not shaken up over it by any means.

2. Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly and Corey Knebel

The Dodgers let a trio of productive relievers walk in the offseason. Kenley Jansen went to the Braves, Joe Kelly to the White Sox, and Corey Knebel to the Phillies. Friedman replaced them all with Craig Kimbrel, Daniel Hudson and a number of in-house options that proved themselves in 2021.

Though LA’s bullpen has maintained a robust 2.22 ERA and 0.80 WHIP so far this season (and without much of Blake Treinen!), there’s no denying those three were big losses. And here’s how they’re doing in 2022:

• Jansen – 3.38 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 1.08 FIP, 11 strikeouts and 5 saves in 8.0 innings
• Kelly – Beginning a rehab assignment on Friday as he recovers from a shoulder issue
• Knebel – 1.13 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 2.08 FIP, 7 strikeouts and 3 saves in 8.0 innings

Kelly’s yet to log an inning, but Dodgers fans are going to miss his trademark heater and boisterous personality that very much annoyed the opposition. He’ll forever be immortalized for brushing back Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman back in 2020.

This is all worth tracking as the season wears on because we know how bullpens typically cycle in new faces due to injuries, fatigue and general role changes. These three veterans had entrenched roles in the Dodgers’ bullpen and Roberts still has some work to do sorting out the changes.

1. Max Scherzer and Corey Seager

Last, but certainly not least, the two most important Dodgers out of everyone who found new homes this offseason. Max Scherzer, after his brief cameo in LA following the trade deadline, departed for a record-setting contract with the New York Mets. Corey Seager, who reportedly rejected a ~$300 million contract from the Dodgers (which apparently contained deferred payments), left for a no-nonsense $325 million deal with the Texas Rangers.

Though Seager was effectively replaced by Trea Turner at last year’s trade deadline since Friedman and Co. likely saw the writing on the wall, Scherzer was not replaced whatsoever in the rotation. Right now, it’s Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Julio Urías leading the charge with Tony Gonsolin, Andrew Heaney, David Price and Tyler Anderson filling out the back end. No problems yet on that front, though!

As for Scherzer’s and Seager’s progress, it’s a mixed bag. Scherzer’s his usual self, but Seager took a bit of a nosedive after a hot start:

• Scherzer – 3-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 2.04 FIP, and 33 strikeouts in four starts (25 innings)
• Seager – .243 with a .589 OPS, 78 OPS+, 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBI and 13 strikeouts in 17 games

The Dodgers essentially replaced Seager’s presence with Turner shifting over to shortstop and Freeman’s lefty bat joining the lineup, but we can expect some rotation issues during the first half of the season because there’s no replicating a force such as Scherzer, who LA might run into in early June when they host the Mets.

There ya have it. Mostly every departed Dodger is enjoying success elsewhere after three weeks of action, but it’s clear LA likely made the right decision not dishing out the amount of money that would’ve required to keep most of these guys since the team is doing just fine at the moment.

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