9:07pm: The Dodgers officially announced the deal.
7:43pm: David Freese has agreed to return to the Dodgers on a one-year, $4.5MM deal, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). In total, Freese will receive $5MM, which includes a $500K buyout from the $6MM team option that the Dodgers declined, per Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times (Twitter link). In doing so, the Dodgers will save $1MM. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted Thursday morning that there was momentum towards a deal between the two parties.
Freese, 35, slashed .385/.489/.641 in 19 games for the Dodgers after he was acquired from the Pirates in a late-August trade. Freese provides a valuable right-handed bat to come off the bench, in addition to a veteran clubhouse presence, where he will help fill the void left by Chase Utley’s retirement. As they did several times in the postseason, the Dodgers may choose to play Freese in the starting lineup against a left-handed pitcher to maximize their platoon advantage; in 2018, Freese posted a .915 OPS against left-handed starters, compared to .672 against righty starters.
Including the postseason, Freese hit four home runs for the Dodgers down the stretch, proving his worth to a contending team. A known clutch performer, Freese’s bat was a critical part of the Dodgers’ World Series run, and he figures to play a pivotal role in the Dodgers’ quest to appear in the Fall Classic for a third consecutive year in 2019. Additionally, Freese has garnered a reputation as a contributor off the field as well, representing a key veteran leader in a clubhouse that will be without the 39-year-old Utley next season.
As they demonstrated in October, the Dodgers have no shortage of versatile hitters that can enter the game off the bench and play multiple positions. Freese slots into a group of position players that features moving parts all over the diamond, resulting in almost entirely different lineups depending on matchups. With Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, Cody Bellinger, and others, the Dodgers enjoy the luxury of depth that is crucial in constructing a contender. Freese, for his part, adds to that depth: though he is limited to playing corner infield, he was a fixture in the middle of the Dodgers’ lineup when a lefty took the mound for the opponent. His proficiency against left-handers strengthens the Dodgers’ ability to vary their mix of position players over the course of a game.
By inking a new contract with Freese instead of exercising his club option, the Dodgers will save $1MM dollars on their 2019 payroll. Although it may not seem like much, the Dodgers will certainly welcome any extra flexibility they can gain as they approach a free agency class ripe with potential targets. After sneaking under the luxury tax last season, the club looks to be in position to spend substantially in the coming months, even with a current projected payroll of $185MM.
Was hoping to bring him back. Dodgers see the same thing: good against lefties, solid obp, short term deal.
Great move
Love it
The Dodgers wanting to save 500k on his deal seems unnecessary. Please don’t let this be the “get under the luxury tax” thing again
It’s one million, but why not save money when you can?
Oh yeah im just hoping its not for the purpose of getting below that tax line
Every organization has a budget; I suspect 2019 may not be as much as being under the luxury tax as in 2018 but rather how much they are over r/t luxury tax overage penalties.
Some people just like to complain lol
Don’t come to a sports forum on the internet if this is what you don’t want to see
Sounds like you’re the one who can’t handle an anonymous person’s opinion. Not me.
In the famous word of Moe Howard….
“Quiet numbskulls, I’m broadcasting!”
A Moe Howard reference???..Why, I oughta….
Best “Why I oughta” I thought was the one where they flooded a basement as plumbers and I think it was Moe who fell in the water and came up yelling Why I oughta!
No.They were talking to Lorna Doone,and Shemp said,Hi Lorna,how’re you doin’.He later said,she was bred in ol’ Kentucky but she’s just a crumb up here.Those guys stifled my social adjustment by many years.
I’ll look that one up.
WPIX 11 in NYC played them all the time in the mid 60s.
They ruined me as well.
Thanks for the memory!
30 second clip….
youtu.be/ysE-G40c04E
They probably are not socially acceptable to be played on TV anymore.
Many a little girl had her eyes poked at by her brother.
I used to watch them every day after school on Paul Shannon’s Adventure Hour,then thought they were not funny once I hit my teenage years.
Then I got over it!
I guess that I have reverted to my childhood.
Unnecessary? It’s a salary cap league, no way is it unnecessary. Half a million dollars matters – if you’re staying under the cap, it’s money than can be used elsewhere. If you’re going over the cap, it’s taxed and suddenly a lot more.
Its not a salary cap league and thats the point
Soft cap – there’s a reason Teams aren’t willing to stay over the line for very long. The luxury tax line has real implications.
Keep telling yourself that.
You’ll have to excuse him. He’s stuck in the Ned-Colletti-spending-like-a-drunken-sailor era.
Not even close. I absolutely hated Colleti as a GM. Your reaching hard
It’s got nothing to do with liking or not-liking NedCo. It’s that mindset that some Dodgers fans have, thinking the soft cap is a joke and the FO shouldn’t consider it at all.
Money is money so I don’t judge them shaving Freese down a little harshly if they can. But I share your concern that financial considerations will top assembling a winning roster yet again. Dodger fans will be watching all of these moves closely.
Exactly i dont care if its just to save it. Going down the same road as last offseason is what concerns me
Bringing Freese back was a no brainer. It ticks a small box. Extending Kershaw would tick a much bigger one. The real question is whether they’re prepared to invest in a quality catcher and bullpen arms and 2B. If they start shopping for bargains again we will know they aren’t serous.
I’ll ok the trade for realmuto
We have players
Don’t know what the money line need is
Damn wanted to see what kind of deal he would have gotten on the open market
Great deal
Great move
I like Freese, but this seems like a strange move for the Dodgers when they already have two first base types in Muncy and Bellinger. They’ve already said that Bellinger will be back getting regular at bats against lefties next year, and you have to think the same will go for Muncy, as it’s not hard to believe that the loss of at bats down the stretch hurt them both going into the playoffs (not that Bellinger, for example, has ever done well in the playoffs).
Could be this is a sign that Bellinger will be the full-time centerfielder again next year, but it doesn’t make sense to make Muncy the every day secondbaseman, does it?
Muncy wont be getting everyday ABs vs LHP
He should, he OPSed .891 vs lefties.
Muncy hit more HR this year than the last 5 years combined. Not sure that’s sustainable. If it is, that’s another question of how.
How many third base types do Dodgers have?
2 in Turner and Freese.
Depth and roster versatility is the name of the game for the dodgers right now, and despite their shortcomings in the WS, depth and freese’s bat weren’t the problem. Freese adds a solid LHB off the bench and for platoon situations. Unless he completely falls off next season, this is a great cost-effective move for the team that gives them financial wiggle room to shore up other deficient areas.
We could pretend they’re interested in the shoring up thing, but we’d only be pretending.
latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-plaschke-20181101…
Freese is a RHB
check his line..he’s A rhb that hits lhp
Not that bellinger has ever done well in the playoffs? Oh my. Yup playoff bust he sucks trade him for bats and maybe a case of balls…
glad he’s playing for a contender from the get-go because I mean let’s be honest
This is literally what the Yankees did with Brett Gardner.
Freese is not a full time player anymore.He pretty much said that in 2017 when Kang was suddenly not playing and they had Freese playing against righties and lefties.As shown in the WS and known by Dave Roberts he is very good against lefties but not so much against righties.He is still a good bench player and clutch during the playoffs.
I am amazed that the Dodgers would pinch pennies for someone who hit so well during the playoffs when they have bona fide superstars and very good full time players who do not pitch and bat nearly as well when the pressure is on.
He is happy now that he is on a team that is “ all in” as the big market teams can easily be year after year.
He hits above the league average against RH pitching. Admittedly his stats against LH pitching are better, but he’s still doing an above average job against RH pitching as well.
2018
V RHP 143 AB 6 HR 30 RBI
BA .273 OBP.331 SLG .455 OPS .786
Career 2648 AB 70 HR 361 RBI
BA .265 OBP .337 SLG .397 OPS.734
2018
V LHP 137 AB 5 HR 21 RBI
BA .321 OBP.387 SLG .489 OPS .876
Career
948 AB 32 HR 145 RBI
BA .305 OBP .381 SLG .467 OPS.848
great upgrade to Utley!
if Freeze plays it right here can stay there as long as he hits
If he had not resigned with the Dodgers, the Cardinals had him on their radar as a third baseman. No one in St Louis will ever forget what he did in game 6 of the 2011 World Series
I don’t think I could find the source to save my life but I did read a couple times they tried to trade for him but the Pirates told them they don’t wanna deal in division.
Just my opinion, but he was their best player down the stretch. Dude consistently found the barrel in the postseason.
I agree but for some reason they refused to use him in that 18 inning game until the game was almost over. I love Dave Roberts, but he made some of the worst postseason moves I’ve ever seen and this isn’t some 20/20 hindsight bs, for example, if Hyun-Jin Ryu had a 1.51 ERA at home and a 4.15 ERA on the road last season wouldn’t it make sense to start him at home?
Agree.
I’ll see your Dave Roberts and raise you a Mike Matheny stubbornly having his pitchers pitch to David Ortiz in the 2013 WS.
Great to see another ex-Pirate on a contending team (no sarcasm). There are also a lot of former Buccos with Boston, Houston & the NYY. Freese will long be retired before Pittsburgh has a chance to best Chicago, St. Louis & Milwaukee for a playoff spot. Hell, his grandkids may not see that happen.
Which Bucco is a Yankee?
We tried trading with your GM but he took a weaker deal because he wanted a huge prospect return from the Yanks. McCutcheon was a trade with San Fran and he won’t be brought back. Neil Huntington was willing to take less from another team when they dealt Cole. I’m not sure which Bucco is currently on the Yanks?
Uh. McCutchen. Neil Walker. JA Happ
Huntingdon took the best deal offered. Yankees fans said they didn’t need a “4th or 5th starter like Cole” when they had Sevy and CC and Monty and Sonny and Tanaka.
Remember?
Good thing they didn’t need Cole.
Cole really is a 5 th starter-on the AL All Star team!
He’ll be a good fit. Affordable and will give you solid ab’s a limited role against lefties and as a PH.
At this point in his career he’s happy to be going to the park everyday and likely knows he’ll be playing winning baseball. Win-Win for both parties.
and a legit third baseman to backup Turner
Excellent move. Winner!
He was solid for the Bums.
Good, they can keep playing 2 lineups so noone can get hot. I hate that FO, they think they’re better then everyone else, even when they’ve done nothing. Win a chip, then you can brag about how smart you are.
When did they brag about being smart?
They didn’t, stupid people are insulted reflexively.
Of course they think are smarter than everyone else. Just read the article I linked above and you will see their arrogance come shining through.
They played two lineups essentially, because guys didn’t produce. They didn’t just pull this out of their backside. Quite honestly platoons work and platoons are effective especially if guys can’t hit lhp. All this get hot bs narrative is just that. Guys had 4 months going into August to “get hot” and they were ineffective vs lhp. I hate fans that assume continually throwing guys out to fail will somehow magically change especially when it’s clear they haven’t made the adjustments. It’s just mind boggling that we subscribe an idiotic narrative that’s outdated. Every team would love to have 6 everyday guys that can hit both sides, but quite frankly the Dodgers had a ton of 2nd year guys or basically 2nd year guys that took their lumps. If there’s any room to get pissed, get pissed at the guys that didn’t hit lhp for a majority of the year.
Bench piece or starter? Heck of a ball player to be bench
I foresee some trades of some prospects for the talent we need.
Realmuto is a must get and it will require some tough decisions.
I’d really like Seguera from Seattle for second base.
I’d take a flyer on Sonny Grey; fits the Dodgers and should not cost much.
Free agents I would like are Evaldi and Ryu.
Rebuild middle relief and an alternative lefty closer weather free agent or trade.
We need to decide weather Verdugo is a major league Dodger or trade.
Dodgers should be thinking about using Verdugo to headline a deal with the Mets to get DeGrom. Dodgers have the trade chips to do it. 2019 they should be going all in.
He isn’t available. The Mets have said they plan to contend in 2019.
I miss him on The Pirates, but a 2.1 bWAR in only 312 PA’s, plays both a solid third base and first base, good in clutch situations, good in the playoffs, and brings a veteran presence that everyone seems to like him? That’s easily worth the $5 million they’re going to give him.
Signing Freese is more about having deepth more then anything. The Dodgers love guys like Freese that can play multiple positions which gives them options.
Freese is a great signing. He gives the Dodgers more depth off the bench and he can play 1st or 3rd if either Turner or Muncy get hurt. Also, you could try him on the corner outfield spots if you need him there as well. All around, I think this helps the Dodgers get more depth, another good guy off the bench, and a World Series hero. He hit .296 with 11 hrs and 51 rbis in 280 abs. Dodgers fans would love to have him back and just helps the team get better.
Good for Freese!! Always pulling for him ever since the Cardinals dumped him.