As the start of Spring Training draws closer, the Los Angeles Dodgers are still in search of a right-handed hitting infielder that they have coveted all offseason.
Re-signing Justin Turner has always made the most sense, and although no deal has come to fruition yet, the organization reportedly remains confident that it will at some point.
If they are unable to come to terms, one other option was believed to be Oakland Athletics free agent Marcus Semien. While Semien is coming off a down year in 2020, he finished third in the American League MVP voting in 2019 and would have given the Dodgers the versatility they covet so much.
However, Semien has agreed to a one-year, $18 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan:
Infielder Marcus Semien is in agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a one-year, $18 million contract, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 26, 2021
Semien is expected to move off shortstop and play second base for the Blue Jays, who have had an impressive offseason. His signing comes not long after Toronto added George Springer to their talented lineup.
In 53 games in 2020, Semien hit .223/.305/.374 with seven home runs and 23 RBI. He has excelled against left-handed pitching in his career though, which was a struggle for the Dodgers in 2020.
Dodgers predicted to sign both Turner and Semien
In what was a bit of a shock, an MLB insider recently predicted that the Dodgers would not only sign Turner but Semien as well.
While that seemed a bit far-fetched at the time, the recent loss of Kiké Hernandez to the Boston Red Sox made it conceivable the Dodgers would be a bit more aggressive with Semien if they viewed him as an option at second base.
The main priority for the Dodgers appears to lie with re-signing Turner, and failing to do so now would put the team in a bit of a bind considering secondary options have steadily come off the board.
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