Dodgers to sign IF Andy Ibanez to MLB deal, which raises some questions

Just a little more than four hours ago, I wrote about the Dodgers potentially having a problem at second base. It seems they took the message to heart.

IF Andy Ibanez has agreed to terms on a one-year big league deal with the Dodgers pending physical, per source.

Ibanez, 32, was non-tendered by the Tigers in November.

— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) January 9, 2026

OK, maybe Andy Ibanez — and Ryan Fitzgerald, whom they claimed off waivers earlier in the day — don’t solve the issue, but it’s an interesting signing for a number of reasons.

Ibanez, 33 in April, was is coming a couple of below-average offensive seasons with the Tigers after posting a 103 wRC+ with them in 2023. He has hit a combined .240/.297/.355 with an 85 wRC+ over the last two seasons (437 plate appearances). He has played all over the diamond in his 5-year MLB career, with most of his time coming at second and third base. Here are his defensive numbers at both positions in his career:

Position	Innings	DRS	OAA
2B	1070.1	10	9
3B	786.2	9	4

Not a platinum-glover, but certainly more than capable at either position. He’s actually been pretty solid defensively in 265 1/3 innings at first base (6 DRS, 2 OAA), but he isn’t going to take plate appearances from Freddie Freeman on the regular. He also has 160 outfield innings on defense (LF/RF). For as much third base as he has played, his arm strength doesn’t really fit the profile. He’s consistently in the bottom 10 percentile of arm strength. He averaged 75 MPH on throws from third base last season. By comparison, Max Muncy averaged 84.2 MPH from third base, and we know his arm won’t ever be confused for Adrian Beltre‘s. It’s a 20-grade arm and should probably stick to the right side of second base. However, he can pick it at third, so he could get some time there in a pinch.

Honestly, his defensive profile is a much lesser version of Enrique Hernandez‘s, someone the Dodgers still have interest in bringing back. It remains to be seen if that remains true after this signing, but Hernandez means more to the organization than what the back of his baseball card says. If the Dodgers want him back, they’ll figure out a way to make it happen. Also, the fact Hernandez will miss some time this season after undergoing offseason surgery on his elbow could actually make it easier for him to return.

But back to Ibanez. What about his offensive profile intrigues the Dodgers? It’s hard to really know. The three things he does really well are he makes contact, he doesn’t strike out and he squares the ball up. While squaring it up hasn’t translated to hard-hit balls or increased expected stats, perhaps they see something that, with an adjustment, could unlock a little more offensive potential from the utility player. He’s a high-contact hitter (83.4% last season, 79% for his career) and made contact with 92.5% of the pitches he swung at in the strike zone. Among hitters with at least 190 plate appearances, that would have ranked 22nd in MLB. I admit, 190 isn’t a large sample, but his career-low Z-Contact% is 83.3 (2024), with his career rate being 88.2%.

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What this signing really does is casts some doubt on some of the players on the roster — both health-wise and ability-wise.

Hernandez was already touched on (and he’s not even on the roster yet!), but Tommy Edman also had offseason surgery and was dogged by a bum ankle for most of last season. Miguel Rojas had some nagging injuries toward the end of the season as well. So if nothing else, Ibanez provides some insurance against anyone not being ready at the start of the season. He also provides some insurance against Hyeseong Kim and/or Alex Freeland not panning out, if given more playing time. With Ibanez having a career batting line of .258/.311/.403, 115 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, my money would be on Edman not starting the season on the active roster due to injury.

The same thinking applies to the Dodgers claiming Fitzgerald. The interesting part about that claim is the Dodgers recently added former Twins’ manager Rocco Baldelli to the front office, so he’s familiar with Fitzgerald’s game and might not just be roster fodder at this point.

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It isn’t the sexiest signing and it won’t necessarily preclude the Dodgers from adding another infielder, but the roster is getting a bit full. I expect there to be a couple trades between now and the start of Spring Training to alleviate some of the crunch.

For now, the Dodgers have a monopoly on Cuban players named “Andy.”