Dodgers bring back Howie Kendrick: Three points to consider
The Los Angeles Dodgers work is never done. Not with the money they have to spend and not with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi constantly looking at options to improve the team’s outlook.
They were hard at work again on Friday, reportedly agreeing to bring back second baseman Howie Kendrick on a straight two-year contract worth $20 million. We emphasize those terms because it’s a rare deal this offseason that doesn’t include an option or opt-out. He’ll be with the Dodgers for two more years, barring a trade and pending a physical.
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Long considered among the most consistent and productive second baseman at the plate, Kendrick backed that up with a .295/.336/.409 campaign in 2015, his first with the Dodgers. He’s never been a great power threat, averaging just 12 for every 162 games during his 10-year career, but he brings a stable presence to lineups that’s not out of place hitting in the middle of a good lineup.
With all of that in mind, it’s a little bit surprising that Kendrick nearly made it to February unsigned. Here, we’ll look a little closer at what Kendrick’s signing tells us about the market and the current free-agent system in place, as well as what it means for Kendrick personally and for the Dodgers outlook heading into the 2016 season.
Kendrick was harmed by baseball’s qualifying-offer system
Though Kendrick won’t get much sympathy from fans, his market was no doubt affected by his qualifying-offer status. Kendrick turned down the $15.8 million qualifying offer from the Dodgers earlier in the offseason, meaning any other team would have had to forfeit their highest unprotected draft pick to sign him. That attachment makes teams hesitant to invest on free agents, especially those that fall in the second tier like Hendrick.
It’s easy to say Kendrick should have accepted the qualifying offer, but it’s not always that easy. Sometimes players want more security than it offers. Other times it’s a gamble on their market playing out perfectly. And sometimes it just makes sense given how the market looks.
For Kendrick, it seemed to make sense, but many believe the system failed him, as it’s done with other free agents past and present.
There’s risk in it for teams that hand out qualifying offers too. The offer could be accepted, locking a player into a salary that doesn’t fit their budget. It’s a gamble all the way around, but In this instance it couldn’t have worked out better for Los Angeles.
Here’s another reason why.
Dodgers keep Kendrick away from the Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks made a loud statement this offseason when they signed Zack Greinke away from the Dodgers. Since then, they’ve added other key pieces that make it reasonable to believe they will be a threats to the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in the NL West.
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Arizona had one other big fish on their radar according to recent reports, and that big fish was Kendrick. He was seen as the possible final piece to an already very good offense that led the NL in runs scored last season. So the Dodgers effectively killed two birds with one stone here, keeping their lineup intact while preventing Arizona from adding to their wealth.
Dodgers continue compiling depth
New Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will have some sorting out to do with Kendrick back. It’s not a bad problem to have either, but it will create some logjams and decisions as the Dodgers enter February with unrivaled position player depth.
Kendrick will play second every day, so at least that part is easy. However, this will definitely bump Chase Utley and Enrique Hernandez into reserve roles where they’ll be competing with Justin Turner, Alex Guerrero and Micah Johnson for playing time. The Dodgers still have too many outfielders as well, so perhaps a trade to create some breathing room isn’t far away.
Until then, it will be fascinating trying to figure out how the Dodgers will make all of these pieces fit.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
