5 former Dodgers players still without a job heading toward spring training

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As mighty as the Dodgers have been over the past decade, and as they continue to grow impossibly stronger this offseason, every team has a few skeletons in their closet. Although it's rare to hear front offices own up to mistakes in letting players go in free agency or via trade, there are a few who leave their teams and prove that their last club missed out by either not pushing harder to keep them, or giving up on them too soon.

A few of these five former Dodgers, all of whom are as-yet unsigned free agents this year, have gotten that specific kind of vengeance on their old club. Others were always bound to just pass through. Either way, we won't be seeing any of them back in a Dodgers uniform next season, which begs the question of where they will go next.

5 former Dodgers who are still MLB free agents as spring training approaches

Kiké Hernández

Hernández is an all-time Dodgers fan favorite, and for good reason. His return to the Dodgers' clubhouse ahead of the trade deadline last year seemed to not only revitalize him down the stretch a bit, but give some life to the dugout as well. He got a nice ovation during his first at-bat in his return to LA, with fans acknowledging his contributions to the team's last World Series win and his mainstay presence in the lineup throughout his seven years with the team.

He's still a free agent as of now, despite some hopes that he could return to the team in free agency. Teoscar Hernández's signing, which will move Chris Taylor into a super utility role to back up Gavin Lux's return from a major surgery to the shortstop spot, pretty much killed any possibility of bringing Kiké back. It's unlikely that he'll be without a home for much longer, though, and he might even get to stay in (or at least near) LA. The Angels, who currently have an infield that they would have to stretch very thin if they had to put a team on the field tomorrow, are the latest team to express interest in his services.

It would've been fun to see Hernández suit up in a Dodgers uniform again, but it doesn't seem to be in the cards this year, as the Dodgers continue to stack their lineup and defensive configurations have become solidified. Unless he were to, god forbid, sign with the Giants or Astros, he'll be easy for Dodgers fans to root for no matter where he ends up.

Joc Pederson

There was some chatter about a potential return for Pederson to the Dodgers, coinciding with speculations about Hernández and Justin Turner in the earlier months of the offseason, but nothing has materialized since then. The Dodgers let Pederson go at the end of 2020 and redirected that freed up money to acquiring Trevor Bauer. The slugger struggled with the Cubs and Braves in 2021 before going to the Giants, where he seemed to be making strides again in 2022, accepting a qualifying offer to stay with the team before his performance dipped again in 2023.

Pederson is mostly a DH at this point. He made 79 appearances at DH for the Giants in 2023, with some sprinkling back in the outfield. The Dodgers don't have a need for a DH or outfielders after their offseason additions, which nips a Pederson return to LA in the bud. Besides, his production did wane in 2023. Even if it wasn't a severe dip, it was worse than any of his earlier years with the Dodgers, and with the way things have unfolded for the team this offseason, he just doesn't fit into their master plan anymore.

However, other teams are very much in need of a capable DH. The Blue Jays have expressed interest in him, and MLB Trade Rumors proposed the Nationals as his next destination. He's only 31, so he has some years left in him, and he'll almost certainly be scooped up by someone in the coming weeks.

Kolten Wong

Wong had a very short stint with the Dodgers at the end of the 2023 season, after he was released by the Mariners and signed a minor-league deal with LA in August. They brought him up during the home stretch in September, during which time he played in 20 games primarily at second base and hit a very nice .300/.353/.500 with two home runs. That small preview was good to have on his resumé when he became a free agent at the end of the season, but with Mookie Betts moving to second permanently next season, he definitely won't come back to the Dodgers.

He's had flashes of brilliance across 11 years in MLB; he's a two-time Gold Glover and received Rookie of the Year votes and MVP votes (in 2019) during his tenure with the Cardinals. He signed with the Brewers for two years after leaving St. Louis, then was traded to the Mariners for Abraham Toro and Jesse Winker in what turned out to be a lose-lose deal. It would be ungenerous to count Wong out only because of his struggles with the Mariners, as he was a more than decent hitter and defensive asset for the Cardinals and Brewers only a few years prior.

The free agent market for second basemen is thin, so although there's been no public interest in Wong from any other teams at this point, he could still be signed before the season starts, rosters really need to start coming together, and the free agent market starts to thin out even further.

Justin Turner

Turner's separation from the Dodgers after nine seasons with them seems to have left behind some hurt feelings, and for good reason. They declined his $16 million club option at the end of 2022 despite the fact that he was one of their most proficient hitters for nearly a decade and let him go across the country to the Red Sox in free agency. He continued to mash for the Red Sox, even though he was one of the oldest active players in the league in 2023.

Players like Justin Verlander and Joey Votto continue to push back on the prevailing belief that age should be a concern for teams looking at free agents, but Turner does it just as well as any of them. His numbers aren't exactly what they used to be when he was at the height of his powers with the Dodgers, but they've leveled out and steadied, and his veteran presence alone could make him an influential force in any clubhouse. But Turner is in the same boat as Pederson in regards to a return to LA: the Dodgers have a brand new, $700 million man at DH now.

The Blue Jays and Mets, who he played with for three seasons and some change, have expressed interest, and the Red Sox did seem to be engaged with him about coming back to Boston, though that's quieted significantly since December. He hasn't expressed any desire to retire, so it's pretty much a guarantee we'll see him on the field again in 2024.

Cody Bellinger

One of the last remaining big kahunas on the free agent market, and certainly in terms of position players, is Cody Bellinger, whose agent Scott Boras has been working very discreetly pulling strings throughout the offseason. It's not a question of if Bellinger signs, but rather when he'll finally make a decision to either go back to the Cubs or move somewhere else. It definitely won't be the Dodgers, who non-tendered him in pretty brutal fashion after a few years of struggles in 2021 and 2022. It wasn't necessarily the wrong choice for the team at the time, as no one could have predicted the comeback he would have with the Cubs.

In a recurring theme on this list, the Blue Jays have shown interest in him. The Cubs also seem committed to doing what they can to get him back. Their shortstop Dansby Swanson has certainly been pushing for his old teammate's return, and for good reason. After batting .193 in his last two years with the Dodgers, Bellinger roared back in Chicago and put up a .307/.356/.525 line, numbers that were reminiscent of those from his 2019 MVP year.

The Cubs made their first splash this offseason by signing Shōta Imanaga, but otherwise they haven't spent any money. Hopefully, they're getting the ducks in a row for Bellinger, who is seeking a $200 million+ contract. Safe to say he'll never be coming back to LA, but the Dodgers will see him again next year.

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