January 24th, 2019 at 12:00 pm 
by Ron Cervenka It appears that the Dodgers ice cold Hot Stove is finally heating up.
On Thursday morning, it was being widely reported that the Dodgers had signed 31-year-old former Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star and Gold Glove center fielder A.J. Pollock to a (reported) four-year / $55 million contract.
Although Pollock sports a very good career slash-line of .281 / .338 / .467 / for an excellent .805 OPS over his seven big league seasons, he has struggled at Dodger Stadium. In the 44 games in which he has played at Blue Heaven on Earth (37 starts), his slash-line is a less-than-stellar .220 / .269 / .384 for an OPS of .653. He has also hit only eight doubles, zero triples, and six home runs with only 18 RBI in his combined 171 plate appearances at The Ravine.
Even though the Dodgers did not trade away any of their current (and numerous) outfielders, or any of their highly-ranked prospects to land the Hebron, Connecticut native and Dbacks 2009 first round draft pick (out of the University of Notre Dame), the stage is now set for exactly that.
It is widely known among Dodger fans that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has been in on-going talks with the Miami Marlins to acquire All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto – a trade that would cost the Dodgers a boatload in current players and prospects. With Pollock now in the fold, Dodgers outfielders Joc Pederson, Alex Verdugo, Andrew Toles, and catching prospects Will Smith and (dare I say it) Keibert Ruiz now appear to be expendable.
It’s no secret that Realmuto is among the most sought-after players on the market this off-season, this in spite of the fact that he is still under team control by the sputtering Miami Marlins until 2021. But as recently as Wednesday morning, it was reported that Realmuto is demanding a trade from the 2018 (and perennial) NL East cellar dwellers, as they are in complete rebuild mode. As such, a trade of the 27-year-old All-Star and Silver Slugger catcher is now imminent, with the Dodgers said to be the most likely landing spot for the Del City, Oklahoma native and Marlins 2010 third-round draft pick out of Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, OK.
Stay tuned…
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basically a trade for Puig, who’s three years younger with better numbers. Dumb.
Puig is not close to being as good defensively as Pollock, has reverse splits against LH pitchers (Pollock career facing LH’ers .275/.327/.498/.825 — 2018 was not that good), Puig in his walk year of free agency. I think Dodgers could have done better than Pollock, but there is no doubt he is better than Puig has been as a Dodgers.
Perhaps signing Pollock helps the Dodgers’ negotiating position with Marlins for Realmuto? Dodgers are in a much better position today with a more balanced lineup that reduces Marlins previous leverage.
Well if it is true that Realmuto is actually demanding a trade from the Marlins, I believe that does put Dodgers in a better negotiating position with them now. And I cannot blame Realmuto one bit for wanting out of a total re-build situation.
I read other comments that Realmuto had demanded a trade, but cannot find that information on line. Do you have a source to which you can direct me?
Oops. “Realmuto demands trade” in this article — knew I had read it somewhere 🙂
Yeah, it was right here as ya found it and I posted this info about his trade demands on Dodgers Nation. And as ya know who can blame him. Barnes and maybe Pederson and others for Realmuto? Not quite sure I would be willing to part with Ruiz however. But Dodgers certainly have a better negotiating position now that t’s known that JT actually had spoken up about it.
I don’t think a “demand’ by Realmuto effects the Marlins’ negotiation position at all. He is still under Marlins control for 2 more seasons and he cannot sit out, nor can he afford to tank his performance. I believe Dodgers signing Pollock puts it in a better negotiating position — Dodgers can now draw a line in the sand without bluffing.
I was very happy when I heard the Dodgers signed Pollock. This looks like a very good move. I was looking forward to this. Here’s hoping it helps in negotiating for Realmuto.
Not the deal I was hoping for. Hope I’m proven wrong.
Pollock was looking for Lorenzo Cain type contract, 5 yr $80M. Most people thought that was too expensive, including me.
Pollock signed for 5 yr $60M. Dodgers are forfeiting the 31st pick in this years MLB draft. I had estimated it’s value at $20M. Looks to me that they ended up paying approximately $80M with all things considered, for his age 31 through age 35 seasons.
Stay healthy A.J.
The only thing making this a potentially bad deal for the Dodgers is Pollock’s history of injuries. The year he broke his elbow sliding into home plate was a fluke injury, but Pollock’s more-recent hamstring/leg maladies tend to be a recurring issue among athletes once they start getting them.
I expect Pollock to be MONEY while he’s in the lineup, but I also expect him to miss 30 games every year. And his days of stealing 30 bases are, unfortunately, over.
If you could just put Pollock’s brain in Puig’s head, you’d have a Hall of Famer in the making. Let’s see how this goes – and Andrew Toles better stay loose.