Infielder/outfielder Hunter Dozier has been released by the Angels, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had signed a minor league deal with them in January but will now return to the open market in search of his next opportunity.
It’s understandable why the Halos took a shot on Dozier. He’s still being paid by the Royals as part of the extension he signed with that club many years ago, so it was essentially a free look at a guy who was once a capable big league hitter.
Unfortunately, they didn’t see much to like in that free look. Dozier took 214 plate appearances for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, while lining up at all four corner spots, but struck out in 29.9% of them. He did hit seven home runs but only walked at a 5.6% clip. His .222/.268/.394 batting line is unimpressive in a vacuum and even moreso in the hitter-friendly context of the Pacific Coast League, as it translates to a 56 wRC+.
That’s a significant drop from where he was a few years ago. With the Royals in 2019, Dozier hit 26 home runs and walked at a 9.4% rate. That is now known as the “juiced ball” season when home run tallies were up all across the league, but his .279/.348/.522 slash line was still considered 23% better than league average in that environment. In the shortened 2020 season, his power seemingly corrected a bit with six homers in 44 games, but he also increased his walk rate to 14.5% after being at 9.4% the year prior.
The Royals seemingly felt that Dozier was in the process of a breakout and they decided to invest in him. Going into 2021, which was his age-28 season, Dozier and the Royals signed an extension which guaranteed him $25MM over four years. It also contained a $10MM club option for 2025 with a $1MM buyout.
But his production cratered from essentially the moment the ink was dry on that contract. He hit .226/.289/.391 over 2021 and 2022 while striking out 26.7% of the time and walking at just a 7.4% rate, with that combined production leading to an 84 wRC+. Last year was even worse, as his strikeout rate jumped to 31.9% and he produced a line of .183/.253/.305 in 91 plate appearances before getting released at the end of May.
Dozier hasn’t been in good form for a while but the Royals are still paying him for the rest of the year, so perhaps another club will follow the Angels’ lead and give him a minor league deal, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.
Yankeesforever
the era of the juiced ball and the subsequent contracts earned following that period has burnt a ton of money since then.
nukeg
I understand what you’re saying, but it really looks like 2019 was quite juicy…not sure I’d call it an era. Doziers numbers also reflect that 2019 outlier (as do many others).
Yankeesforever
2017 and 2019 both saw homers top 6000.
The conversation of the baseball being more aerodynamic goes back to the second half of 2015.
CravenMoorehead
What gets me about his 2019 is how he casually had 10 triples like he was Curtis Granderson
Spaced-Cowboy
Is that the new deadball for 2025?
Steinbrenner2728
When is Arte Moreno getting released?
Rexhudler86
Maybe we can trade him for fisher, and Mason Miller.
MacGromit
if you gain Fisher, you lose your team.
Rexhudler86
@macgromit angels might be the next to move if arte doesn’t sell.
Halo11Fan
Moreno is pushing 80 years old. He’s going to sell sooner than later. And the organization will be better off for it.
But Minasian will leave first, and the organization will be better off for it.
Moreno is the cancer, Minasian is the boil that needs to be lanced.
Sealbeach Comber
Halo11Shill busy deflecting blame from Moreno as usual.
Rexhudler86
@sealbeach comber you either can’t read or had a sad attempt of a troll. If calling Moreno a cancer equates to you being a shill, you must do common core meth
Sealbeach Comber
“But Minasian has to leave first”….implying that Minasian is the bigger problem. The only constant in this debacle has been Moreno. He’s gotten immensely more wealthy…..and the big market team hasn’t had a single playoff game win in 15 years. I honestly think HaloShill11 works for a marketing firm and his/her job is to, at the very least, confuse the situation.
Rexhudler86
@sealbeach comber so I’ll give you that not sure if any gm will fix it until Arturo is gone. Perry’s first draft sucked but that’s because he traded #2 #3 and number 5 or 6. How to say to say he’s the problem because we have had shifty gm’s, and dipoto hated pitcher when he was with the angels but Seattle seems to always have a solid rotation.
Halo11Fan
Seal, you have a reading disability.
Halo11Fan
I’m not implying anything. I’m saying it. July is the draft and the trade deadline is shortly thereafter.
The immediate concern is the draft, then the deadline, then the off-season. There needs to be a new GM in place, the sooner the better. If Moreno selling tomorrow means a new GM, then let’s hope that happens.
But it’s not. Moreno selling the team is going to take longer. I doubt he’s going to sell BEFORE the off-season.
So Minasian will screw up another draft and another deadline. Best cases scenerio,, Moreno and Minasian will be gone prior to next offseason.
But the immediate problem is Minasian.
Rexhudler86
@halos11fan I just hope perry trades anyone he can doesn’t matter the return just to recoup everything he traded away last year. But as far as the draft let’s hope they get hagen smith from Arkansas
Halo11Fan
I didn’t like Bachman pick. I liked the Neto pick. I didn’t like the Schanuel pick. Combine that with Schanuel getting the biggest bonus in Angel history, I really didn’t like it,
The trades have been terrible. Minasian is the easier, more simple problem to solve,
As far as Arte. He’s destroyed the infrastructure of this team. Minasian is a broken window on the 4th floor that needs to be replaced.
Rexhudler86
@halo11fan I’m hoping preller gets fired, he sucks at trades but he can draft.
Liberalsteve
What would we do without government?
DevoPettis
Does this site always have to say “hitter friendly” PCH? We get it. “Small sample” too.
FemboySportsFan!
hitter friendly means the park was hitter friendly….obviously that’s going to matter.
YankeesBleacherCreature
PCL. 214 plate appearances isn’t really that small of a sample size. That’s enough to determine whether a prospect should get promoted to the next level. Obv. Dozier isn’t one but a capable ML’er (barring injury) should be crushing it in that league and it’s worthy to point out.
FemboySportsFan!
I don’t think he knows what he’s saying.
Paleobros
Devo, how is a highway hitter friendly?
vtadave
PCH is driver-friendly.
Don’t they also use “Pitcher friendly”?
differentbears
Not every person reading the article is someone who’s been here forever or already knew this about the PCL, and 214 PAs is not a small sample size.
SODOMOJO
NO JERRY! DOWN, BOY! THIS ISN’T THE DROID YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
bkbk
Unhinged player picture
CravenMoorehead
I really enjoyed how MLBTR put a picture of Marcano sniffing his bat on the article about him getting a lifetime ban for gambling
LordD99
Expected…two years ago.
BPax
I really wonder if some players, when signing a “set for life” contract, don’t ease up and lose their edge? Rendon? Baez? and others? Years ago, the M’s gave Shone Figgins like 36 million over four years. He went steadily downhill after that. You could tell he just didn’t care any more.
Tigers3232
Dozier’s looks to have been paid off inflated 2019 #s. The guy could simply sit home and get paid. The fact he’s trying to catch on with a team for what equates to zero financial gain, I’d say shows he cares.
As for Baez, he was known to be a free swinger and that’s been an issue. Put him in a pitchers park with little lineup protection and I’d say this should’ve been foreseen to some extent.
Rendon I think could possibly have eased up and lacks motivation.
KyleT
.662 OPS in the PCL. Yeesh.
UWPSUPERFAN77
Try and only pay for consistent results, not breakout years. The SUPERFAN law of Ham and Eggers; The more they play, the more they revert to their average.
Niekro floater
Some players hit that wall HARD ! It’s game of adjustments, sink or swim.
prov356
There are so many more players that could be released who are actually hurting the big league club. Suarez comes to mind…etc.
UWPSUPERFAN77
Which Suarez?
prov356
Jose Suarez, bullpen, the only Suarez we have.
nailz#4life
he says, and shows us…keep your eye on the ball !
Halo11Fan
Man, who hits 222 in the PCL?
Nosferatu Zodd
May be one of the worse players to ever get nearly 2500 pa.
Buff Barnacles
Blue Jays! ASAP!!!