Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Howie Kendrick, Brett Anderson, and Zack Greinke have received qualifying offers of one year, $15.8 million from the Dodgers. Jimmy Rollins did not. Absolutely none of this is unexpected, because we’ve been talking about it for a while, and while there was some mild uncertainty over whether Anderson would receive an offer, I’m pleased he did. (The kind of fans would never read a blog like this are going to be angry. It’ll be great.)
That being the case, there’s not a ton of additional commentary to be offered here, because, yep. This was the smart move, made smartly. Greinke & Kendrick will absolutely decline the offer, giving the Dodgers two potential compensatory picks if they sign elsewhere (and maybe giving the team less pause at signing a player who would cost a pick.) For Anderson, the Dodgers either get a third pick, or a one-year commitment to a player who would be scary to give many years to.
The real question, now, is whether Anderson becomes the first player to accept one.
Quoting myself from earlier:
It’d be interesting to see if Anderson is the first player to take one. Though he’s earned a multi-year deal, he is absolutely the type of player who would find his value destroyed if teams have to give up a draft pick for him. Perhaps the solution would be to just settle on something like a 2-year, $24m contract instead, making both sides happy.
So maybe that’s how this plays out. You have to imagine that Anderson, while probably not surprised, is not thrilled. His first crack at free agency isn’t really that “free” at all, is it? That hasn’t worked out well in the past for non-elite guys like Kyle Lohse and Ervin Santana, which has to weigh on Anderson’s choice.
Anyway, he’ll have to decide by Friday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. PT, which is to say a week from now.
