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8 Dodgers players whose futures are murky this offseason
The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off one of the most disappointing playoff performances in franchise history. After yet another 100-win season, the Dodgers were unable to even take a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who thoroughly outplayed LA in the NLDS.
This playoff loss represents the end of the road for some Dodgers. There are several players on the roster who definitely will not be back in 2024 and the last memory of them will be this NLDS sweep.
For some players, though, the future is more convoluted. These players could also see their Dodgers careers end after the 2023 season, but that outcome isn't as concrete. In simple terms, the future is murky for several Dodgers players as they could be with the team next year, could be with another team, or could retire altogether.
8 Dodgers players who have a murky future in LA
Clayton Kershaw
Kershaw had one of the worst starts of his entire career in Game 1 of the NLDS. For many Dodgers fans, this was a sign that Kershaw's time with the team was likely up as his best days had passed him by.
For other Dodgers fans, this bad start only made Kershaw's return a more desired outcome. Kershaw is the greatest pitcher in Dodgers history and it would be a shame if his last-ever start with the team happened to be his worst.
Kershaw did not commit to whether or not he would return (or even play at all) next season, which has become a trend for the southpaw in recent years. Kershaw has admitted that he would only ever play for the Dodgers or Texas Rangers, so there are only three real outcomes in this situation.
While some Dodgers fans may be fed up with the postseason blunders, Kershaw deserves one more year in Los Angeles. He will still only be 36 next season and is only 56 strikeouts away from 3,000. It would be a shame to see him reach that milestone in a Rangers uniform, or not at all.
Lance Lynn
Heading into the NLDS, it seemed like a no-brainer that Lance Lynn was going to be back with the Dodgers in 2024. Lynn has a club option on for the 2024 season and the Dodgers need someone to eat innings.
Lynn's performance in the NLDS may have changed the calculus. He was having the best start of any Dodger pitcher in the NLDS until he allowed four home runs in the third inning. It was the first time in postseason history that a team hit four home runs in an inning, and suddenly Lynn's future became a bigger question mark.
In the grand scheme of things, Lynn's club option is relatively cheap. He would have an $18 million luxury tax hit if the Dodgers were to exercise it, per Spotrac. Considering Noah Syndergaard got $13 million from LA last season, that's not a bad deal.
However, this is the same team that decided to non-tender Cody Bellinger to avoid having to pay him $18 million. Bellinger had a larger sample size of poor play, but he also had years of success with the Dodgers to bank on.
If the Dodgers were willing to part ways with Bellinger for $18 million, then they could do the same with Lynn, especially if the team has other pitching free agents to target.
J.D. Martinez
In a vacuum, bringing back J.D. Martinez is a no-brainer for the Dodgers. Los Angeles signed Martinez to a one-year deal last winter to essentially replace Justin Turner and the results were fantastic.
Martinez had a better season at the plate than Turner ever really had with the Dodgers. In only 113 games, Martinez hit .271 with 33 home runs and 103 RBI. If Martinez had stayed healthy and played 150 games, he would have finished with 43 home runs and 136 RBI, based on his projections.
It may seem like a no-brainer but the situation is complex and could cause Martinez to leave the Dodgers in free agency. First, after a season like this, there are undoubtedly going to be more teams interested in Martinez in free agency. That alone will raise his price and could cause the Dodgers to back off.
There's also the Max Muncy element of this. Muncy is one of the worst fielders in the league at third base but he has to play there with Martinez as the DH. Are the Dodgers going to commit to an entire season of Muncy at third again? Or will the team transition Muncy into being a full-time DH and play someone else at third?
And then there's the whole Shohei Ohtani pursuit that would automatically boot Martinez off the roster. Complicated stuff.
Joe Kelly
Acquired in the trade that also brought in Lynn, Joe Kelly's return to the Dodgers was highly anticipated by the fanbase. Despite his struggles in the playoffs in the past, Kelly became one of the biggest fan favorites during his first tenure with the Dodgers, and that buzz continued during his second tenure with the team.
After struggling with the Chicago White Sox to start the season, Kelly returned to Los Angeles and pitched the best he had since leaving the Dodgers. The sample size was very small, but Kelly sported a 1.74 ERA in 10.1 IP with the Dodgers. He struck out 19 batters and walked six.
Kelly was one of the several relievers who helped pick up the pieces for a broken starting rotation in the NLDS. The hard-throwing right-hander threw 1.2 innings in the NLDS, allowing two hits and striking out three without allowing a run.
Like Lynn, Kelly has a club option for the 2024 season and the Dodgers are going to have to think long and hard about it. The club option would pay him $9.5 million next season, which is not a small lump of cash for what is essentially a popular middle reliever.
There is no such thing as having too much pitching depth, especially in the bullpen. However, with several young arms ready to make a difference, it's hard to totally blame the Dodgers if they don't want to pay $9.5 million for Kelly.
Shelby Miller
The Dodgers had one of their most impressive reclamation projects ever in Shelby Miller, who was downright awful for several years before joining the Dodgers, and it finally looked like the team bit off more than it could chew.
But in the end, the Dodgers were right yet again as Miller was a valuable piece in the bullpen, sporting a 1.71 ERA in 42 innings pitched. Miller is now a free agent, and after a season like this, there may be more teams vying to sign the hard-throwing right-hander.
If the Dodgers can get a good price on Miller, then he will definitely return. But after the year he had, that's far from a guarantee.
Blake Treinen
Treinen did not pitch at all for the Dodgers in 2023 and has not been on a big-league mound since September of 2022. That came after Treinen essentially missed all of the 2022 season. The hard-throwing right-hander has thrown five total innings over the last two seasons.
While that would traditionally lead to an easy decision, the Dodgers have a $7 million club option for Treinen in 2024 that seems very enticing. At his best, Treinen is a lethal weapon to have in the bullpen, and $7 million is a great price for that kind of talent.
The Dodgers exercised Daniel Hudson's $6.5 million club option last winter and he was coming off a torn ACL (and isn't as good as Trenien). If the Dodgers have any faith in Trenien, he will be back. We just don't know if that faith is there.
Alex Reyes
Reyes has never even stepped foot on the mound for the Dodgers. Signed as another reclamation project last winter, Reyes got hurt before the Dodgers could do any voodoo magic on him to help him return to elite form.
Like the several other relievers on this list, Reyes has a club option for the 2024 season and his deal is only worth $3 million. That's a small price to pay for a potential high-leverage reliever. But do the Dodgers view him as that? Or is he a sunk cost at this point?
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