Dodgers' waiver claim gets LA potential Justin Dean replacement from Braves

The Dodgers lost World Series folk hero Justin Dean to the Giants just a weak after they won their second consecutive championship. It wasn't exactly a heartbreak — Dean only played in 18 regular season games and came off the bench purely as a pinch runner or substitute outfielder in the postseason. But he'll always be remembered for throwing his hands up instead of grabbing a ball lodged between the dirt and the outfield fence in Game 6, which turned what could've been a game-tying extra-base hit for Addison Barger into a simple ground-rule double.

Dean only got two plate appearances in the regular season and none in the postseason. He wasn't there for his bat, rather his defense and speed (and, as it turned out, a very high baseball IQ).

The Dodgers still have a Dean-esque player in the organization with Esteury Ruiz, but it couldn't hurt to have another.

On Friday, the Dodgers claimed center fielder Mike Siani off of waivers from the Braves. A fourth-round pick for the Reds in 2018, he fits that same Dean-Ruiz profile to a T.

Dodgers claim defense-first outfielder Mike Siani off of waivers from the Braves

Siani made his major league debut with the Reds in 2022, but only played in 12 games with Cincinnati between then and September 2023, when he was DFA'ed and picked up on waivers by the Cardinals. He was close to an everyday player for St. Louis in 2024, appearing in 124 games. He only hit .228 with a .570 OPS, but he stole 20 bases and was one of baseball's best qualified outfielders with a 16 OAA, 14 in center field. He was DFA'ed by the Cardinals in November and claimed by the Braves.

The Dodgers aren't the fastest team in baseball. With Shohei Ohtani taking it easier on stealing bases after his shoulder injury in 2024, their stolen base count in dropped from 136 to 88 year over year, 10th to 21st in team totals. Ohtani only stole 20 bases this season, Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim stole 14 and 13, respectively, and there was an exponential decline through the rest of the Dodgers' offense.

Siani, like Dean, will be a sneaky late-innings substitute to bolster defense in tight games. There's no reason to expect anything more than that, but Dean proved that the guys you least expect can turn out to be key — even season-saving — in the right circumstances.