Dodgers sign former high-leverage Cardinals reliever to revive his career

Wouldn't be the first time!

St. Louis Cardinals v Detroit Tigers - Game Two
St. Louis Cardinals v Detroit Tigers - Game Two / Duane Burleson/GettyImages

The Los Angeles Dodgers cleared some roster room this week, non-tendering familiar face Brent Honeywell (as well as Zach Logue), though they did add unheralded prospect Jack Dreyer to the 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday's Rule 5 Draft protection deadline.

On Saturday afternoon, they might've taken a step towards a bullpen backfill by adding a bounceback candidate.

Pending a reversal and negotiation cycle, the World Champions are poised to lose both Blake Treinen and Joe Kelly from their bullpen. Kelly didn't contribute much in 2024, and Treinen could easily still return (the two parties are extremely comfortable with one another), but the relatively low turnover rate won't prevent them from taking additional dart throws.

That's where Giovanny Gallegos comes in. After a tough 2024 season -- earnestly, the first truly bad campaign of his entire career -- the Dodgers have added the ex-Cardinals setup man/occasional closer, giving him a shot at redemption.

Giovanny Gallegos Contract Details: Ex-Cardinal signs with Dodgers on minor-league deal

Gallegos, who joins the Dodgers on a minor-league pact, has three separate opt-out dates. If he's stuck in Triple-A, all he has to do is ask for his release at any of those checkpoints, and he'll be given a chance to negotiate elsewhere. If the Dodgers manage to unlock him this spring, though, he'll earn $2.5 million as a big-leaguer and can hit up to $1.5 million worth of escalations if things go really well.

The 33-year-old Gallegos lost his grip in St. Louis this past summer, posting a 6.53 ERA in 20 2/3 innings, an additional step back from his questionable 4.42 ERA/4.36 FIP campaign the year prior, when he fell a rung down the ladder in 55 innings/56 games. Just two seasons ago, though, Gallegos was a change-of-pace expert who whiffed 73 men in 59 frames, sporting a 3.05 ERA and 2.87 FIP that indicated he was a bit unlucky.

The aging curve might've simply hit Gallegos year-over-year between 2022 and 2023 and rendered his less-than-overpowering velocity a notch too low to continue to be effective. But if there's something still in there, rest assured the Dodgers will find it.