Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Following their decision to decline the option of Lance Lynn a couple days ago, the Dodgers have now made decisions on their remaining four players.
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Reliever Alex Reyes saw his $3 million club option declined and will get a $100k buyout. He never got healthy in 2023 and wasn’t able to contribute due to another shoulder injury while coming back from his torn labrum, so that was wasted money.
The Dodgers are expected to decline Alex Reyes' $3 million club option for 2024, source tells The Athletic.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) November 4, 2023
He will receive a $100,000 buyout and become a free agent.
Unfortunately, his biggest contribution to the Dodgers remains giving up a walk-off homer to Chris Taylor in the 2021 NL Wild Card Game.
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Similarly, Joe Kelly had his $9.5 million club option declined and will receive a $1 million buyout.
Per source, the Dodgers are not picking up the $9.5 million option on Joe Kelly. There is a $1 million buyout.
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) November 5, 2023
While that price tag was steep for a guy who had trouble staying healthy in 2023 (including missing weeks with the Dodgers after the trade), he did put up a 1.74 ERA in 11 games with the team, and had strong overall peripherals like a 2.72 FIP and 2.93 xERA despite the 4.12 ERA. Wouldn’t mind him back, honestly.
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The team also declined a $6.5 million club option on Daniel Hudson, and I don’t think there was a buyout.
#Dodgers declined the club options on Alex Reyes, Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn and Daniel Hudson. They picked up Blake Treinen’s.
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) November 5, 2023
Hudson made an emotional return in 2023 after tearing his ACL in 2022 and struggling to get his knee healthy. Unfortunately, he then hurt his MCL three games into his comeback. Considering his effectiveness when healthy, I wouldn’t mind him returning somehow, but it’s a question whether he will even continue playing at this point.
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The only option the team is picking up is Blake Treinen, probably due to him costing just $1 million as a result of the option terms being conditional and him missing the entirety of 2023 with a shoulder injury.
Per source, Blake Treinen’s option is for $1 million
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) November 5, 2023
It had been a conditional option based on how much he pitched last year (which ended up being not at all because of a shoulder surgery last offseason) https://t.co/apFUSVkdzM
While that seems like a bargain given Treinen’s productivity when healthy, he has now missed essentially two seasons with shoulder issues, so there’s a question of what exactly the Dodgers are getting here. Of course, the contract isn’t exactly difficult to move on from, and it makes sense for the Dodgers to see what they have given the potential. Additionally, it’s another year of baseball, another year of Jan. 6 memes.
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All of these moves makes sense — even if I hope they remain engaged on Kelly and Hudson — and they also help explain how the Dodgers never felt like they had a payroll over the luxury tax due to paying a bunch of guys a lot of money to not pitch for them.
