On Thursday afternoon, the Los Angeles Dodgers inked outfielder A.J. Pollock to a five-year deal worth $60 million.
The 31-year-old former All-Star was seen as perhaps the best position player on the market this offseason other than Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Speaking of Harper, this essentially means the Dodgers will not be signing him.
Back when the Dodgers traded Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to the Reds, the consensus was that they'd be going after Harper to fill their outfield void.
In fact, their World Series odds improved from +700 to +600 after that trade even though their roster got significantly worse. That made them the World Series favorites, but it didn't last long.
Since then, it's become more and more clear that the Dodgers won't be going after Harper, and their World Series odds have dropped back to +800 behind both the Red Sox and Yankees, both at +700.
Following the addition of Pollock, the Dodgers remain at +800.
Pollock had a terrific season in 2015 in which he was an All-Star, won a gold glove and posted a 6.8 fWAR — sixth highest in the majors. However, he played just 12 games in 2016 due to a broken elbow. He's missed 99 combined games in the past two seasons due to injury, too.
The Dodgers may not be done this offseason, though.
The #Dodgers now focusing on #Marlins catcher JT Realmuto, with intensive on-going talks.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 24, 2019
Los Angeles is still active in trade talks, with Bob Nightengale reporting it wants J.T. Realmuto, who might be the best catcher in the game. The Corey Kluber trade rumors with the Indians have simmered down in recent weeks, but that had been another possibility discussed.
Stay tuned for more "hot stove" news, as hopefully this deal gets the Harper and Machado markets moving.
