November 9th, 2022 at 9:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka In what will forever be remembered as the first official move of the 2023 Hot Stove season by Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, it was widely reported on Tuesday afternoon that the Dodgers had claimed 26-year-old outfielder Luke Williams off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
The Park Ridge, IL native and third round draft pick in 2015 by the Philadelphia Phillies out of Dana Hills High School in (relatively) nearby Dana Point, CA appeared in 58 games with the Phillies, eight games with the San Francisco Giants, and 71 games with the Marlins in parts of his (thus far) two seasons in the Bigs, during which he slashed a combined .240/.299/.316/.615, with nine doubles, one triple, two home runs, and 12 RBIs. For good measure, he also stole 13 bases, while being caught six times.
On the other side of the ball, Williams has spent time at every defensive position except pitcher and catcher in his combined 124 games played on defense, with the bulk of that time (51 games) as an outfielder. This, of course, falls right in line with Friedman’s recent (and successful) trend of acquiring utility players over acquiring those with a specific defensive position.
In other Dodgers Hot Stove news on Monday, it was reported (via social media) that the Dodgers had declined the 2023 options of popular 30-year-old cheerleading infielder Hanser Alberto and 33-year-old right-hander Jimmy Nelson. It was also reported that they had declined their club option on 33-year-old left-hander Danny Duffy, who spent the entire 2022 season on the IL recovering from a left flexor tendon strain and subsequent surgery. Duffy did not appear in a game for the Dodgers in 2022.
(Joe Camporeale)
Play Ball!
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very surprised on nelson and fairly surprised on alberto.
relieved on duffy.
we’ve been quite spoiled by the moves AF makes, (surprising or foreseeable), he pulls proverbial rabbits out of hats on a regular basis. this Duffy deal as well as the fields acquisition may be his worst two.
Bauer.
Sorry, though a regrettable debacle, it wasnt a trade and his numbers were great
2021 W8 L5 2.59 ERA 137K 163ERA+ 11.5K/9
Ditto. Dodgers signed Nelson knowing that he would not pitch in 2022, and $1.1M contract in today’s pitching market is minimal. Something more to this story — Nelson continuing to experience elbow pain? Shoulder now acting up? Did not put in the rehab effort expected by the team? This seemed like a slam-dunk option to pick up for a team in need of additional pitching. I thought team would pick up Alberto’s option all things considered, but acquiring Williams at ML minimum saves money and adds to team speed.
The Alvarez for Fields trade grade was “F-” for Friedman. If Dodgers do not re-sign Trea Turner then sending Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, and Gerardo Carrillo to the Nats may become another bad grade for Friedman in years to come. Another poor move was not putting Scott Barlow on the ML roster and allowing him to leave as a minor league free agent to the Royals.
Jalex
Pollock for Kimbrel horrible deal.
made sense on paper but i agree and never would have done it unless the bankers were forcing my hand. for what it’s worth, i wouldn’t have signed Pollock as he’s always had horrible luck with his health. freak injuries and hammys have kept him from all but 1 full season. (2 if you count 55/60 as a full season)
IMO, it was trading one bad contract for another. Pollock was closer to being DFA by the Dodgers than playing for them in 2022.
Maybe Pollock could have closed his eyes and made contact with the ball and got a base hit with runners on