I don’t want to jinx this before it’s finalized, but apparently Ken Rosenthal reported this morning that the Dodgers are working on a new contract with Howie Kendrick. The news comes as a bit of a surprise considering how late in the offseason it is and since Andrew Friedman had originally said that they were satisfied with Chase Utley and Kike Hernandez.
(Update) It’s official pending physical. Kendrick will get two years for a 20 million dollar guarantee. I changed the title and the poll to reflect the news. What do you guys think of the deal?
Kendrick gets $20M, 2-yr deal #dodgers
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 29, 2016
Of course that was misdirection. However it is strange that they waited this long to negotiate resigning Kendrick. One can only wonder if he was asking for too much money and his market dried up. Or maybe he was asking for too many years. Maybe the Dodgers just waited him out until his market shrunk before getting into negotiations with him. Or it’s possible the late season injuries derailed his market value.
The Dodgers had offered him a 15.8 million dollar qualifying offer this winter but he rejected it in order to test the open market. If he were to sign with another club the Dodgers would receive a compensatory draft pick. Kendrick played in 117 games for the Dodgers last season and posted a slash line of .295/.336/.409 (137 for 464) with 9 home runs and 54 runs batted in. He’ll be turning 33 in July.
You guys know how I feel about this. I think this is wonderful news and will only make the Dodgers considerably better in 2016. As I wrote about in one of my previous articles, Kendrick was the Dodgers top hitter with runners in scoring position last season. He’s a solid player and bringing him back improves the lineup and defense. As long as the price is right, this can only help the Dodgers.
The only question remaining is how much money and how many years Kendrick will get? What do you guys think? Please participate in the poll below.
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He played in 117 games for us. He’s a year older. What is that worth?Turner played in 126. There are only 3 players on this team that played more than 140 games last year. How many will this year?
I like Kendrick. But I was getting used to the idea of an Utley/Hernandez platoon. And then there is the 25 year old Micah Johnson. What is the plan for second base? Is there a plan for second base? Is there a plan?
Yeah, yeah. Take your meds. Watch and Learn!
Can’t argue with that Badger.
There is no plan.
Why Would they not want to bring him back Badger? Is he older? Yes, but he was the top clutch hitter on the club last year. He’s a solid player. Utley is even older than him and there’s not much other options out there. Not sure if Micah Johnson is going to be MLB ready in the next year.
Because they got 3 other guys to play that position?
The bigger questions for me are – why did they want to bring Utley back? Why Johnson? What about Hernandez? Is everybody they bring on board going to be part of a platoon? Is that the plan?
Hernandez hit .307. Why isn’t he just penciled in at that position? You want to get younger you play him everyday, you don’t sign two other guys at the same position who are a combined 70 years old, then trade for a 25 year old prospect second baseman. Maybe a couple of these guys will be traded for a position of need. This roster appears very mercurial.
I guess the year is 2018 now.
They brought Utley back because they didn’t know they could get Kendrick back at the price and length of contract that he has now signed for. Kendrick turned down $15.8M! Now, for only $4.2 M more they’ve got him for two years! How is that not a win? The lineup and bench without him was frightening. Uribe on a 1 year contract would have probably worked, too but Uribe is a less reliable choice than Kendrick. Micah Johnson is probably not ready for Prime time but I can easily see him being worked in during the season and replacing Utley at some point. Utley’s contract is not so big that they won’t trade or throw it away when Johnson is ready. And in 2017, just because they signed Kendrick for two years does NOT mean he’s going to be the primary Second basemen for that duration. Remember what happened with Turner last year? They could easily trade away Kendrick next year if Johnson has commandeered 2nd base. It’s a friendly contract. I certainly haven’t agreed with these guys on all their moves and I still frankly feel some of them were just plain stupid but this move will help solidify a shaky lineup and bench.
He got two years.
Why did they sign Utley? I think Utley would hit if he played everyday. I don’t think Utley will hit, as a part time player. That was obvious last year, when Utley was hitting and hot, when he was playing for the Phillies. And when he came to the Dodgers, he didn’t hit that well. He has never been a part time player, and either has Howie. This just gives Roberts the same situation at second, that the Dodgers have had in the outfield. These are two veteran players, that have only played everyday. I still have Howie’s last at bat, in my mind.
Have to agree with you 100% Badger. One thing I wound up agreeing with Mark on was that more Kike was a good thing. He seems to young to get pigeon holed into a utility role. Howie was our best on the team in .RISP, but his range is quite poor these days and I was hoping that Michah Johnson would be our leadoff hitter in 2017. I think they signed Utley because they thought Howie was a goner, but now it seems like a lot of money for Utley if Howie is starting.
Kike is not being pigeon holed! If you’ve been paying attention at all to baseball in the last couple of years, flexibility is the trend. A lot of players that can play a lot of positions. Kike excels at that. He’s far more valuable to play SS, 2nd, 3rd, LF, CF than to be stuck at second base. If Johnson, has the skill to be the 2nd Baseman of the future, let him develop. Kike kills lefties, and with his versatility he can play everyday at a different position keeping everyone fresh either starting or coming in at key pinch hit situations against the situational lefty. Limiting him to Second would be killer stupid!
Agreed Fred,
My guess is either Kendrick was asking for too much money or the draft pick compensation scared a lot of other teams off from signing him. That shrunk his market. The Dodgers were smart to wait to sign him. Kike is a good player but he’s more of a platoon guy. He has a massive split against right handers. Kendrick has always been a solid all around player an above average run producer.
I don’t care how many practice ground balls you hit to Johnson, he’s not going to be the second basemen anytime soon. He’s a bad defensive player. Let me repeat: he’s a bad defensive player…. and an unproven MLB hitter. He’s an intriguing prospect, and he could develop, but he’s not close to being a starter on a team that wants to contend for the WS.
Enough said.
Who would you rather have getting 300+ at bats in the Dodgers lineup? Utley or Kendrick?
Enough said
Who was going to be the backup for Seager at SS? Who was going to spell Turner at 3b, being that he doesn’t have Cal Ripkin durability? Now Kike can get at bats and back up other positions and be a true Zobrist model.
Enough said.
This is a team friendly deal and it’s not a bad move. I don’t know why there is this constant complaining about every single move and non move by this front office. I’ve only been acquainted with the regulars for about a year. Was it like this under Coletti?
He’s four years younger than Utley and he would free Hernandez to back up other positions. He was our best hitter with RISP last year. Utley can’t be happy with the prospect of being a utility infielder, and it pretty much spells OKC for Barnes.
Blocking prospects at AAA doesn’t seem to be an issue with a front office that wanted to “get younger”. Maybe Anthopolis weighed in on the issue. Or maybe they just planned to wait him out all along.
I think they wanted the draft choice and when it appeared they might not get it coupled with Kendrick asking for less they took what was at hand. Kendrick hits right handed pitchers so there is a good chance Utley and Kendrick come close to getting the same number of starts there.
Hernandez may have lost his best chance to be a regular.
I don’t think FAZ has a second baseman in the organization they really like. There are a few that can hit but so far don’t look like they will provide that great up-the-middle defense. I see FAZ wanting to make a trade.
Howie’s defense wasn’t that good last year, and he has had a hammie problems, the last couple of years, I believe. Bum who do you think they want to trade?
MJ, I don’t know who they want so until then I don’t know who they would trade. They have yet to go after a young MLB ready awesome player. They gave up a great defensive player in Peraza that made good contact with little power. They got Johnson that might be their guy if he winds playing great defense, which he has yet to show.
Hernandez most likely is pinging off the walls just now, seeing his possible playing time dropping if this goes through. You know, how do you make it to the Hall of Fame if they keep moving you around.
Roger I bet Kike’s mind is pinging on and off, especially since he moved down to three on the depth chart. I do think if Kike hits rightys better, he would hit more HRs them Howie, and maybe Utley.
It seems to me we are better off with Howie than without him. What if he had accepted the QO($15.8)? We would have him for a year. Now we have him for 2 years and $20MM. The way I figure, it’s $15.8MM the first year and $4.2MM for the second year.
We never really lost the pick because we never had it and Howie could’ve waiting till June 1st(?) and we would’ve lost him and the pick also. Who knows how the pick would’ve turned out good or bad. We just don’t know. I welcome him back and all should also.
What does that mean: Awaiting moderation
Richie,
Sometimes some of the comments are sent to the queue to await moderation. Normally if there is a link in the comment, or if the comment system thinks it might be spam. It’s just an automatic system response. Nothing to worry about.
Scott your wonderful post from last night was about how lousy the team was with RISP. We’re basically bringing back the same team, except Seager. How are we suppose to get better with RISP with basically the same batters? The new manager and staff are the key????
It’s another quality asset to have. Not a bad thing. We can always trade him or Kike or Utley or anyone, to acquire young talent, in leiu of that pick we won’t be getting.
Somebody will need a 2b come July, and if Kike or Johnson or Calhoun is ready, Howie is nice trade bait.
My gut tells me Turners rehab is not going as well as they would like. Signing Kendrick makes no sense unless Turner is not ready to start the season. Instead of a platoon at second it’s at third until Turner is ready. Between Utley, Kike, Johnson and Barnes they had plenty of options for second and Kendrick is not needed. Third is the problem if Turner’s not ready.
I was a Ron Fairly fan as well.
Turner had microfracture surgery. This frequently does not go well. Remember Bill Mueller? Or Sacramento Kings fans remember Chris Weber?
We trade for Micah Johnson and sign two aging veterans at $17 million for a second base platoon that will bench Hernandez. I wasn’t that thrilled about platooning one of our best young hitters but did understand the logic. This I don’t get. What kind of message are we sending to our youth? wtf is going on here? We have 4 starting second baseman. Depth is one thing, this is something else. There has to be another trade coming, and I don’t mean at the deadline, I mean soon. Kike Hernandez could get us some more pieces for 2018. He’s one of the best young hitters in our organization and he deserves a starting job.
I was hoping KiKi was Joc’s backup for when Joc doesn’t make it.
MLB top 100 prospects list coming out now.
Montas is 95
Holmes is 62
DeLeon is 24
A great signing. A run producer. The other guys are not. I do agree that our suits are winging it. I can’t believe that a front office can be run this way. It must be fun with little accountability. I love Kendrick.
Urias is #4
And Corey Seager is #1
I can’t find it. Where is Micah Johnson? Trayce Thompson? and I’m curious about Peraza. I liked him.
Baseball Prospectus has 6 Dodgers on their list. DeLeon is 28, Holmes is 40, Alvarez is 78, Diaz is 91. No Montas.
I like the signing. I didn’t know this was going to happen, but I did have a feeling that something was brewing when Beachy was removed from the 40-man.
Utley is probably still a useful player to have around. At 37 he is no longer an everyday player, and probably best suited to fill in at 2nd, 3rd, and 1st, and as a lefthanded bat off the bench. And if he doesn’t produce, and Micah Johnson is producing at OKC, it will not be a difficult decision for the Dodgers to jettison him, and whatever is left from his $7 million contract.
As for Kiki’, in addition to filling in around the infield, I see his best use being in a platoon in leftfield with Andre Ethier. Kike’ hasn’t yet shown the ability to hit righthanders, and we know that Ethier can’t hit lefthanders. Both, however, are extremely productive against opposite handed pitching. Together I think they might be able to produce about 20-25 HRs in a leftfield platoon. I keep hearing Hernandez’s name mentioned in connection with CF. First off, I am confident that Joc Pederson is going to have a good year in CF, and secondly, Hernandez leaves a lot to be desired defensively in CF. As for SVS, I’m not a big fan. My preference would be for the Dodgers to trade him, or if possible, find a lesser role for him with the Dodgers. Of course, Ethier could be traded. But I’ll believe it when I see it. And for now, Carl Crawford is just an expensive bat off the bench.
Whatever the case, my best guess is that there is more to come between now and the beginning of the season.
Brooklyn I agree with you 100% on:
Kike really doesn’t overwhelm with his CF play
SVS isn’t someone I would miss
CC is an expensive member of the bench…and DL
I also believe there is more to come…in terms of a big trade.
Check the defensive stats in center, for both Kike and Joc. You might be suprised.
I do think kike will be filling in more in the infield, and if anyone in the outfield need a day off, or platoon, it will probably be Scotty, or Thompson, if he makes the big club. Heck even if he is in AAA, because we know this front office have no problem, bringing anyone up, even for a day.
Love resigning Kendrick. He can play everyday Utley can back up at 1st 2nd and 3rd and Kike can go into a Ben Zobrist type role. Love it! Especially at 2-20.
Scott is right about Howie being a run producer, and he is steady at 2b. I was nervous about Utley being old, Johnson’s youth and Turner’s rehabbed micro-surgery. All that and Hernandez being stuck at 2b instead being an infield/outfield super-sub. Kike will get his at bats due to his versatility, now he can rest Utley, Turner, Joc, and the LF’er. With Howie you get solid defense and a consistent situational hitter with occasional HR power who drives in runs… the team lacked that last year but not on Howie’s account.
I am not a fan of this signing. It seems to me that FAZ is just collecting players. This closes the door to Micah Johnson. I have to think some of the young guys are wishing they were not in this organization. The only way this makes any sense to me is if FAZ thinks Turner is not ready for opening day. So much for getting younger. We must have 20 starting pitchers between the AAA team and Dodgers.
So help me here, to understand better just what the head shed is going on building a better roster.
The Dodgers have a log jam in the outfield . . . you know the names.
Now at 2nd base. Kike and Utley, adding Johnson, with Guerrero and even Herrera in the background. Now add Kendrick. If the figures are correct that is with Kike, Utley a total of $17,000,000 in salary. Gee, that is a nice salary for a really good second baseman out there
Here is a new list of ranking them:
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25463779/ranking-the-best-15-second-basemen-in-major-league-baseball-for-2016
As hinted above — where is the plan? This is like reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and finding out that the map the captain is looking at — has them going all over the place from Island to Island and then from point to point — and they still have not found the correct “X” spot. And now the man at the end of the doughout is handing the team a little piece of paper with a BLACK SPOT on it.
And I agree, and have said several times over the past month — this is the same basic fielding team as last season — and it has a lot of questions: fielding wise, hitting wise, and even pitching wise.
Flash: maybe they will announce another genius will be signed to be an assistant to the assistant to the assistant to the Director Of Baseball Operations — and solve these issues.
Roger you said what I thought, and wrote yesterday. This is not making Robert’s job easier. He now has to deal with two veteran players, who have only played everyday, and most likely, won’t be great hitters, if only played part time. Everyone thinks that Utley will just go to the bench, and leave second base, to Howie. That is easier said, then what will happen. When Utley was signed, he believed he would play everyday, and Friedman said, he wanted Utley to get a lot of at bats. And for Kike, he is the type of player, that this front office likes, because he can play everywhere. And because of this, he will never play at only one position, while playing for the Dodgers. I agree with Badger, that Kike will be able to hit rightys, if he does get consistent at bats. everyone here, forgets that it is hard for players, to hit, when they don’t get the at bats, and don’t get consistent at bats. It is hard enough to hit in the bigs, even when a player, gets consistent at bats, and it is even harder, when a player, does not get consistent at bats, so the few at bats that Kike got, does not really prove he can’t hit rightys. I know I said Kike, will never play just one position while on the Dodgers, but that doesn’t mean, that he can’t get the at bats, filling in to give guys a blow, or to platoon for the day, when a tough lefty is pitching. I do agree that this front office seems to waste money here and there, for quanity, instead of quality at times. The bottom line, is that players are not numbers, and bringing Howie back, can mess with the different personalites on the team, and make Robert’s job harder, unless like some have already speculated, that there is a trade down the line.
At first glance it seems if the Dodgers had added the $7 million they gave Utley to a deal for Kendrick, they could have made that work. I think maybe this is about depth at third base, where Kike could be more valuable. But it seems like an expensive way to go about it.
Interesting reads this morning. Like the team, we are varied and deep on our takes. We could platoon our opinions.
I’m curious about the idea that Kike can’t hit RH pitching. How do we know that? In two years he only has 194 at bats against RH starters and has hit .253 against them. That’s a better average than Pederson or Grandal has against anybody. He played 6 positions. Is that the right thing to ask a 24 year old to do? I honestly don’t know but I know I wouldn’t do it. I’m on record, he’s my starting second baseman in ’16.
With the new F.O. boys, the only thing constant is change… I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to Utley/Kike @2B with Micha waiting in the AAA wings. But alas there is a change…
2016 lineup (with a late Turner):
Utley 3B
Howie 2B
P.S. Welcome back Scott… Good luck with this venture…
Great read Roger. Thanks.
I’ll respond to it –
Uh……………….. hmm……..
Kendrick is on the list, and I do get why. If he stays on the field, I think he earns his $10 million and helps this team. He will probably hit .290 again, but for how many games? Nobody knows if he can play every day, my guess is no, he can’t. Steamer has him at 117 again, which means Utley and his projected .248 average get the other games, and of course he likely backs up third base, because nobody knows if Turner will be out there for more than maybe 120 games so help there is needed and that is why Guerrero and Hernandez, and ….. Micah Thompson? Micah go bye bye. Notta to worry Mr. Johnson, you and Trayce will just love Oklahoma.
What if’s. Every team has them of course. Few have as many as we do. I guess the writers believe the Dodgers will win 92 because there are so many decent players on the roster. Many of them carry some heavy questions around with them, and from what I can gather only 2 are every day players – Seager and AGon. Kershaw will get his 30+ starts and 200+ innings, but nobody else in that rotation is expected to do near that much. Not by Roto or Steamer anyway. I’m sure some in here expect 30+ and 180+ IP from a few of the others but I don’t. I think we will see at least 10 different starters again, maybe more. It’s going to be entertaining.
There will be more moves before ST starts. Any guesses what’s next?
How do we edit here?
Awesome share.
Mind if I hinted (in a good way) at this post on my French blog? I would give you all due credit for it of course.
Go for it