The Los Angeles Dodgers have been extremely active in adding relief pitchers to the roster, both by trade and in free agency.
That began with a trade to acquire Corey Knebel from the Milwaukee Brewers in early December, which was followed shortly after by the signing of Tommy Kahnle. Though, the addition of Kahnle is with an eye on 2022 as he continues recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Dodgers also re-signed Blake Treinen after a successful first year with the organization. All the while L.A. has been connected to the likes of Liam Hendriks, Brad Hand and Kirby Yates, among others, at various points in the offseason.
Hendriks went on to sign a four-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, while Hand is believed to be leaning toward the New York Mets. Meanwhile, the Dodgers won’t end up with Yates either, as he and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a contract, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
Free-agent reliever Kirby Yates is in agreement with the Blue Jays, a source tells The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 19, 2021
Yates was arguably best relief pitcher in all of baseball when he appeared 60 games for the San Diego Padres during the 2019 season. The right-hander led the league with 41 saves to go along with a 1.19 ERA, 1.30 FIP, 0.89 WHIP, 101 strikeouts and 13 walks in 60.2 innings.
However, Yates was limited to just six games last year due to undergoing season-ending surgery in August to remove bone chips from his right elbow. That didn’t appear to have much effect on Yates’ market, as he reportedly has drawn interest from upwards of 10 teams.
Dodgers connected to Jeffress
As the Dodgers seemingly search for an additional relief pitcher, they are said to be among the clubs with interest in Jeremy Jeffress. There’s familiarity in facing Jeffress while he was with the Milwaukee Brewers, though the 33-year-old spent last season with the Chicago Cubs.
After struggling with Milwaukee in 2019, Jeffress rebounded to the tune of a 4-1 record to go along with eight saves, a 1.54 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 17 strikeouts over 23.1 innings pitched over 22 games last year.
Jeffress has sported a sub-2.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in two of the past three seasons, and is fifth among relief pitchers in ERA since 2018.
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