3 Dodgers free agents who definitely won’t be back in 2023

111 wins. All for nothing. Once again, the Los Angeles Dodgers fell short, but this time in agonizing fashion to the San Diego Padres — a team they’ve owned for the last three years — in the NLDS. Dave Roberts’ World Series guarantee looks even sillier now.

Faster than we would’ve ever dreamed to admit, fans must start thinking about the 2023 roster because Andrew Friedman and Co. have a ton of moves to make once the postseason comes to a conclusion.

The only benefit to the early exit means the Dodgers will have more time to deliberate over tough decisions that could define their future. Many are on the horizon … but there are also plenty of no-brainers that both the front office and fans won’t even flinch at. Though this Dodgers team was historic, it still consisted of players who had no business being here, overstayed their welcome, or had roles that didn’t exactly move the needle when the stakes were elevated.

These won’t be brain-busters, either. The Dodgers have a lot of impending free agents that can simply walk out the door and never return. If they were able to do it with Joc Pederson and Kiké Hernandez after the 2020 World Series run, then this should be a cakewalk.

3 Dodgers free agents who definitely won’t be back in 2023

3. Joey Gallo

Acquired at this year’s trade deadline in an effort to bolster the bench and give the Dodgers an edge like no other, Joey Gallo … didn’t do that. His best attribute was being somewhat versatile on defense, which allowed Roberts to experiment with some different lineups down the stretch.

Hoping to “unlock” what’s been lost for over a year, the Dodgers failed to get much of anything out of Gallo, who returned to the Yankees version of himself in short order. A couple of home runs was never going to change who Gallo was and is.

In 44 games with the Dodgers, he hit .162 with a .671 OPS and 83 OPS+. In his 82 games with the Yankees before being acquired, he hit .159 with a .621 OPS and 77 OPS+. Chalk up those 50 OPS points to capitalizing on a few hits against position players. Same Gallo. His use in the playoffs? A defensive sub in the top of the ninth once. One inning in the field and zero at-bats in four games.

Good luck to Scott Boras, who will be tasked with getting Gallo his next contract. The former Rangers star will be a free agent in a few weeks and there’s next to no shot the Dodgers keep him. If they do, something will have gone very wrong.

2. David Price

Arguably one of the most wasteful trade acquisitions of all time, David Price ended his Dodgers career in a fitting manner: he wasn’t on the NLDS roster despite the bullpen being as thin as it could possibly be.

Price was tacked on to the Mookie Betts trade because the Red Sox were desperate to shed salary (not sure why) and right off the bat he opted out of the 2020 season due to the pandemic. The next season, he wasn’t built up to be a starter and was mostly used in a spot role while logging most of his games in the bullpen (4.03 ERA, 4.23 FIP and 1.43 WHIP in 11 starts and 28 relief appearances).

Fast forward to 2022, and Price once again wasn’t built up to start for reasons unknown. The lockout likely played a role, but every other pitcher vying for a rotation role was just fine. Then there was Price, lagging behind and one of the late spring training participants as a result of “not being ready.”

He actually had a solid 2022, though. A 2.45 ERA, 3.88 FIP and 1.17 WHIP in 40 games as a reliever made it seems like he carved out a decent role for himself. But then a wrist injury derailed his final month of the season. He pitched just two innings from Aug. 30 until Game 162 and was left off the postseason roster.

All of that for $32 million across 2021 and 2022. Sayonara to an overpaid non-contributor, who, just two years before arriving in LA, made 30 starts and helped defeat the Dodgers in the World Series as a member of the Red Sox.