The Los Angeles Dodgers made the signing of Hanser Alberto official and in a surprise designated Matt Beaty for assignment as the corresponding move to make room on their 40-man roster.
Beaty almost assuredly will get claimed off waivers and likely lead to a trade from the Dodgers. That will bring his Dodgers tenure to an end after being selected by the organization in the 12th round of the 2015 MLB Draft.
Beaty made his MLB debut during the 2019 season and along with Alex Verdugo and Will Smith, was part of a historic weekend of walk-off home runs by Dodgers rookies.
However, Beaty’s opportunities outside of pinch-hitting waned over the next two seasons and despite having one Minor League option remaining, he was effectively deemed the odd man out.
In explaining the Dodgers’ decision to DFA Beaty, manager Dave Roberts explained the 28-year-old faced an uphill battle to carve out a role on the roster, per Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
Beaty had a minor league option remaining, but Roberts said “if you look at the construction of our roster, the runway he potentially would get, it just wasn’t going to happen for him here with us.”
Despite a universal designated hitter being implemented during the shortened 2020 season, Beaty appeared in just 20 games. Of those, 10 entailed playing first base, five were as a DH, three were pinch-hit appearances, and Beaty played two games in left field.
Even with taking advantage of playing in 120 games last season, Beaty was demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City and regularly passed over when it came to setting the lineup. “I like Matt Beaty on the bench,” Roberts said last September.
“I don’t see him as a defender. I see him taking a great at-bat against a right-hander.”
Beaty missed arbitration Super Two cutoff
The Dodgers went into the offseason with five players eligible for salary arbitration, and if Beaty had accrued one more day of Major League service time last year, he would have qualified as well via Super Two status.
The cutoff for the 2021 season was set at two years and 116 days. A stint with Oklahoma City in September resulted in Beaty not being eligible for arbitration until after the 2022 season.
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