Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Tommy Edman has already keyed one World Series run after coming over from the Cardinals in a trade at the midway point of 2024, and he had a year left on his contract so he was sticking around for at least 2025 anyway. But the Dodgers have pursued him for a long time now, and they will be keeping him around for years to come after the two sides agreed on a five-year, $74 million extension with a club option.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed on a contract extension with IF/OF Tommy Edman for five years for $74M through the 2029 season with a club option for the 2030 season.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 29, 2024
In effect, it’s really a four-year extension beyond what team control already existed, and it’ll total up to $64.5 million in new money for those years (was previously set to make $9.5 million in 2025). The club option is then tacked on at the end for a potential $13 million in 2030 with a $3 million buyout. Almost as if to piss people off, there will be a $17 million signing bonus and $25 million in deferrals involved as well.
Those deferrals will start to be paid out five years after the completion of the deal (which runs through 2029, but has the club option for 2030), the source said.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) November 29, 2024
I now see Fabian followed up on Twitter by saying the Edman deferrals don't even start until five years after the deal is up, or nine years after year one. That brings the effective AAV of the deal down to $13,097,304.61. Final answer on this, I hope!
— Jon Becker (@jon-becker.com) November 29, 2024 at 2:43 PM
So a deal worth $14.8MM AAV on paper will come with a luxury tax hit around $13.1MM due to the deferrals that were likely accepted due to getting a chunk of the contract upfront. Not exactly league-breaking stuff, but they’ll always take wins at the margins.
——
As far as analysis of why the Dodgers did this … well, you just witnessed it, right? The reason the Dodgers have pursued the 29-year-old Edman for a while was on full display during his time with the team, as his speedy, gritty, contact-oriented, lefty-killing, versatile defensive profile showed up time and again when they needed him most. Obviously we know he’s not afraid of the limelight now, and he fits in well with the clubhouse as well with his willingness to do anything, so he effectively takes Chris Taylor‘s superutility role with the team.
The deal actually makes sense outside of descriptive generalities as well. Despite slumping later in the season, he did post a .237/.294/.417/.711 line for a 98 wRC+ that was actually near league average — this all while having a career-low .257 BABIP that is unlikely to continue. Edman’s a consistently plus baserunner that has played every position besides first base, catcher, and pitcher. Moreover, he grades out as a plus defender across all infield positions, and in a smaller sample size has graded out well in the outfield, too.
All that meant he was worth about 1 WAR last year in a quarter of a season, which actually matches his value of around 3.5-4.0 WAR per 600 PA over his career. With WAR priced around $8-9 million per, Edman figures to be solid from a value perspective if he’s even a league-average producer in a utility role, especially since he’s still in his prime for a bit. That utility also carries value for the front office in free agency while they negotiate with other players, because the Dodgers don’t ever have to feel backed into a corner due to having Edman to fall back on at short or second or center or wherever, really.
Beyond that, he’s a matchup standout, as he has killed lefties to a .284/.325/.506/.831 clip for his career and whopping .412/.417/.882/1.299 in 2024 with the Dodgers. Meanwhile, he finished his 2024 playoffs with a ridiculous .364/.396/.614/1.009 run in the last 11 games. Still, his playoff line is actually just .277/.315/.412/.727 overall — which is more in line with his career numbers — but just playing normally under the bright lights has value in itself.
——
So, basically, the only thing worth complaining about regarding Tommy Edman’s extension is the timing of it on Black Friday after Thanksgiving. Other than that, he’s exactly the kind of player the Dodgers have loved to have at least one of on their roster at all times, and he’s already proven everything he can prove during his short time with the team. While expectations for him should remain realistic, I’m definitely glad to have him around for the long haul, and you should be as well.
