Impactful Dodger Transactions, a Swing and a Miss?
Photo of a common cap worn by Dodger fans. Picture taken on Millikan’s baseball bleachers.
February 24, 2023
When pitcher Trevor Bauer was released on Jan 12, this caused some Dodger fans to be distracted about Dodger transactions that have previously been made. The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without four starting players from the 2022 season.
The team will be missing center fielder Cody Bellinger, third basemen and designated hitter Justin Turner, shortstop Trea Turner, and left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson.
Center fielder Cody Bellinger, who received a number of awards with the Dodgers including the National League MVP in 2019, didn’t display as great of a performance last season compared to previous seasons. After his contract expired the Dodgers made the decision to non-tender him (will not be offering him an extension contract). Fans won’t be overly surprised by this given how he played in 2022.
“He has had his ups and downs over the years for sure. [It’s] sad to lose him but do I think he is an absolutely irreplaceable player? No not necessarily,” said Millikan English teacher Mrs. Frapwell, and fan of the Dodgers.
Justin Turner (JT) has developed a compelling self-image of himself as a Dodger. The third baseman won the National League.
Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award in 2017 and won his only World Series ring in 2020. It came as such a shock to Dodger fans to see him leave, as he had signed with the organization in 2014 and had been playing for them for nine seasons. It wasn’t JT’s choice; the Dodgers chose to pay the $2 million buyout, meaning that the Dodgers did not want to sign JT for another year.
“Regardless of anyone’s opinions on what should’ve happened, what did happen, or what went down, I don’t think anything is going to take away from the nine years I had in L.A as a Dodger,” said Turner in an interview with Matthew Moreno.
Last season, the Dodgers struggled in pitching therefore it was a critical loss when the Dodgers were unable to sign pitcher Tyler Anderson again. Anderson, who pitched the most innings out of any other Dodger in the 2022 season (178.2 innings), rejected a $19.6 million contract in favor of the Angels’ 3-year $39 million deal.
Trea Turner, a 2021 and 2022 all-star and holder of a 2022 Silver Slugger award (National League), was also offered a contract extension after his two year contract that he signed with the Dodgers expired, but he declined. For the Phillies, Trea Turner agreed to an 11-year $300 million deal.
How will this affect the Dodgers? Will the Dodger be able to create an even better team than before? We will have to wait until the season starts to see.
Christian Diaz • Mar 1, 2023 at 10:05 am
On February 24, Angel Machado wrote an article titled “Impactful Dodger Transactions, a Swing and a Miss?”. In this article, the writer talks about the different transactions that had taken place in the Dodgers organization this offseason and discusses if this will negatively affect the team this year. The article mentions how the Dodgers have lost four starting players from last season and describes the value that they held to the team in previous years. One thing that I enjoy about this article is it takes the opinion and thoughts of Dodger fans to see what they think of the decisions made in the offseason. The writer includes an interview of a teacher that is a Dodger fan that explains how the loss of one of the players does hurt but isn’t something that should affect the team too dramatically. One thing I think could be added in this article is describing what moves and the route the Dodgers have taken to address the loss of these players and the replacements that are being used to fulfill their positions. Overall, this a great article that provides many details of the moves the Dodgers have made this offseason and explains their current position for this year.
Saneth Ibarra • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:51 am
On February 24, 2023 Angel Machado wrote an article titled “Impactful Dodger Transactions, a Swing and a miss?”. The article talks about the many losses the Dodgers faced in terms of their team. It was interesting to see just how impactful having one bad season could be on your career. Most of the former Dodger players were given an award previously, but were now not being offered contract extensions or facing buyouts. To see that most of the very well known Dodgers like Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger are leaving is honestly a little sad to see. It’ll be very interesting to see how the Dodgers do this year considering their team looks very different from last year’s. Machado did a great job of explaining why these four former players and presenting it in an understanding way. It was nice to read about a fan’s point of view of Cody Bellinger’s contract not being extended. To also read a quote taken from one of the very players that won’t be returning also brought a new perspective that was nice. The fact that the quote was one where he seems understanding was very nice to read considering it was from Justin Turner, a very well known former face of the Dodgers.
Cristian R • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:36 am
On February 24, Angel Machado wrote an article titled “Impactful Dodger Transactions, a Swing and Miss?” The article mentions some of the big trades the Dodgers have been making. Personally, I am a big Dodger fan and it is really sad to see some of these big players go such as Justin Turner who actually grew up in Long Beach and went to my same little league. Also as much I everybody loves Bellinger, I think it was a good decision made by the Dodgers just because of the fact that he hasn’t been playing the same after his MVP season in 2019. You also mentioned how their pitching has been struggling and in return for these trades they got Alex Reyes and Jimmy Nelson, who I think will help a lot, but with Buhler and Treinen on the IL, no one really knows. Do you think the Dodgers should pick up some more pitchers for the new season? How do you think the dodgers will do this season? Do you think these big trades with affect their shot at advancing far in the post-season? Thank you for writing this article as I really appreciated since I love the Dodgers.
Tyler Lao • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:09 am
On February 24, Angel Machado wrote an article titled “Impactful Dodger Transactions, a Swing and a Miss?” The article explains the many blows that the Los Angeles Dodgers received during this offseason, losing many of their starting players. I’ve been a fan of the Dodgers for as long as I’ve been watching baseball, and to see them take such a large loss was very disappointing. I doubt that the team will ever look the same without the presence of stars such as Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner. However, maybe this isn’t all bad. After the Dodgers beat the Rays 4-2 in the 2020 World Series, they never really reached the same high. Even with their incredible 111 wins in 2022, they still lost 3-1 against the Padres in the National League Division Series. With this outcome, I’m sure people were thinking that changes had to be made. That we had to bite the bullet in order to better the future of this historic foundation. I really like that you wrote about this. This is a topic that means a lot to myself and I’m sure to many others as well. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the 2023 MLB season brings.