
Five days after the initial reports surfaced, the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon finally announced the one-year deal of righty swing man Tom Koehler.
The Dodgers have yet to release an official salary, but according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the contract has a value of $2 million, and contains incentives for appearances and/or games started.
Koehler hit the free agent market when the Blue Jays non-tendered him at the deadline in early December. Before last season’s waiver deadline in mid-August, the Marlins traded Koehler to Toronto for pitching prospect Osman Gutierrez and cash considerations. Between the Marlins and the Blue Jays combined, Koehler made 27 appearances—13 of which were starts—and threw to the tune of a 6.69 ERA with a 6.05 FIP over 72-2/3 innings of work.
In 2016 for the Marlins, he posted a 9-13 record with a 4.33 ERA and 147 punchouts after logging 176-2/3 innings over 33 starts, but his most productive year in the bigs was probably 2014, when he registered a 10-10 record with a 3.81 ERA and a 3.84 FIP, with 153 strikeouts over 32 starts and 191-1/3 innings.
Presumably, the 6’3″ Bronx native will be an integral part of the Los Angeles bullpen in 2018, as he certainly brings versatility to the table, having the ability to pitch in any level of relief as well as making an occasional spot start if needed. After the trade last summer, Toronto made Koehler a reliever exclusively. After the transition, his fastball increased several ticks on the radar gun.
With both Koehler and Matt Kemp having officially been added to the team’s 40-man roster, the current count now stands at 38 players.
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