3 hidden gem free agents that Andrew Friedman may lure to Dodgers

2. Matthew Boyd

For most of his career with the Detroit Tigers, Matthew Boyd was a southpaw that had good stuff but was just waiting to put it all together and take that next step in the league. That never happened for Boyd in Detroit, as he finished his Tigers career with a 4.87 ERA in seven years.

It got so bad that Boyd was non-tendered by the Tigers after the 2021 season. Boyd signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants prior to the 2022 season with his season debut being delayed due to recovery from a forearm injury.

The Giants would trade Boyd to the Seattle Mariners before he had the chance to make his San Francisco debut. In Seattle, Boyd appeared in 10 games and put together a 1.35 ERA. With his injury history and overall career numbers, though, he is not going to demand a huge market.

There is a lot of potential there, especially if the Dodgers want to turn him into a long-relief southpaw out of the bullpen. Who knows, Boyd could have a similar arc as Tyler Anderson in Los Angeles. There are some telling signs there that the Dodgers can unlock.

While it was a very small sample size, Boyd’s slider had the fifth-best xwOBA in the entire league last season. This is not new for Boyd as his slider was one of the best pitches in the sport in 2018 despite his overall numbers.

It is no coincidence that Boyd’s two best seasons are two of his lowest years in terms of fastball usage rate. The Dodgers are one of the best teams in the league in recognizing what someone is good at and what they aren’t good at and in LA, they would definitely maximize Boyd and have him lean into what he is good at.

A potential wipeout lefty with a nasty slider in the bullpen is worth the low cost.

3. Tyler Naquin

If the Dodgers are looking to add a power-hitting left-handed bat for cheap then Tyler Naquin might be the best bet. A power-hitting left-handed bat certainly would be nice, especially with Cody Bellinger’s regression and Edwin Rios not having a tangible big-league impact.

Naquin is not someone who would start every day for the Dodgers but could be a platoon starter in the outfield that pinch-hits in key spots late in games. While he does not have infield versatility, he would add depth to the outfield to allow the likes of Chris Taylor and Gavin Lux to primarily stay in the infield.

When things are going well for Naquin it is really impressive. He has put together several impressive seasons with an OPS near or above .800. Over his entire career, he has a .794 OPS against right-handed pitching. Naquin finished in the top 5% in max exit velocity in 2019 and finished in the top 8% in WOBA in his rookie season.

The biggest hole in Naquin’s game has been his walk and chase rates. When he makes contact with a ball in the zone great things happen. However, he has not been able to stay in the zone and work walks throughout his MLB career.

While that is a concerning trend, the Dodgers have consistently been one of the best teams in the league in taking pitches and working into great counts. With the right team and the right scouting, we could see Naquin’s chase rate decrease and his walk rate increase as a result.

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If Naquin can just get to around league average in those two rates then his overall numbers are going to shoot through the roof. A cheap signing could turn into one of the most valuable depth bats in the league.