The Los Angeles Dodgers completed their first trade of the offseason on Friday as they acquired Craig Kimbrel from the Chicago White Sox for AJ Pollock.
Kimbrel will immediately step in as the Dodgers’ closer while they also opened up more playing time for Gavin Lux and potentially Edwin Rios, Jake Lamb and Kevin Pillar.
But filling their need for a closer did not come without a cost. The Dodgers gave up a near All-Star level hitter who was well liked in the clubhouse, and his presence on and off the field will be missed by the club.
After the trade, two of Pollock’s former teammates, Justin Turner and Austin Barnes, posted farewell messages on social media.
Austin Barnes also shared a message for AJ Pollock.https://t.co/6LnyWlFUVk pic.twitter.com/pNOwiBlQ0o
— Matthew Moreno (@MMoreno1015) April 1, 2022
The Dodgers signed Pollock in free agency prior to the 2019 season. His first year with the team wasn’t great as Pollock was limited to 86 games and hit .266/.327/.468.
But after his rocky first season, Pollock started to get back to the form that originally made him so intriguing to the Dodgers.
In 2020, Pollock played in 55 of 60 games games while batting .276/.314/.566 with a team-leading 16 home runs en route to the Dodgers winning their first World Series title since 1988.
During Pollock’s final season with the club, he hit .297 while reaching base at a near 36% clip and slugging .536. His success continued into October as he batted .314/.333/.600 in 11 of the Dodgers 12 postseason games.
Kimbrel participates in first workout with Dodgers
Kimbrel joins the Dodgers after spending last season with the Chicago Cubs and White Sox. He went a combined 4-5 with 24 saves, earned an eighth career All-Star Game selection and posted a 42.6% strikeout rate that was third-best in the Majors.
However, Kimbrel had most of his success with the Cubs. After being traded to the White Sox, he went 2-2 with one save, a 5.09 ERA, 4.56 FIP and 1.22 WHIP over 24 games while being used in front of closer Liam Hendriks.
Logistically, Kimbrel joining the Dodgers for Spring Training, and Pollock reporting to the White Sox, was easy as both players simply had to travel to the other side of the Camelback Ranch facility.
Thus, Kimbrel was able to participate in a workout with the Dodgers on their off day.
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