I’m coming in with a bit of a hot take this week, as you can tell by the title. Archie Bradley is now a free agent after being non-tendered by the Cincinnati Reds. Bradley spent five seasons with the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks before being traded to the Reds in 2020.
Bradley has been a villain for those close to the Dodgers for a couple of years now and has been in the middle of some big moments in the division rivalry. Some baseball fans describe him as the guy you hate on the other team but would love to have on your own The idea of Bradley in Dodger Blue does seem odd, and many fans may be highly opposed to it.
The Dodgers have a couple of bullpen arms who are free agents. Pedro Baez, Blake Treinen, Alex Wood, Jake McGee are among those. The Dodgers traded for former All-Star reliever Corey Knebel from the Brewers this week and re-signed left-handed reliever, Scott Alexander, on a one year deal to begin a reconstruction.
This situation is somewhat similar to last offseason, when the Dodgers were in pursuit of fan villain Madison Bumgarner before he ultimately signed with the Diamondbacks. Bradley appears to be one of the better relief pitchers in the free-agent market. Early rumors indicate that the Yankees may be a candidate for Bradley’s services. Although that’d mean Bradley shaving his beard due to the Yankee’s policies around facial hair.
Bradley being in the mix for the Dodgers I think depends on one situation, and that is Blake Treinen. If Treinen resigns, Bradley would be a nice piece to add but the bullpen may be overcrowded at that point especially if Baez returns. Treinen will probably have a lot of teams after him after a nice season and he’s shown in the past he can be an All-Star closer. Another big name in the free agency market is All-Star closer, Liam Hendriks.
In arbitration, Bradley was estimated to make about $4.3 million which the Dodgers could afford depending on what else they decided to do in free agency. The right-handed reliever is currently 28 years old and has a career ERA of 3.91. He first came up in the Diamondbacks system as a starter after struggling there he was moved over to the bullpen where he’s enjoyed more success.
Splitting the shortened season between two teams Bradley posted a 2.95 ERA in 18 ⅓ innings pitched last season. His fastball averages around 94 mph.
The bullpen this year was one of many strengths for the Dodgers as opposed to other years. However, as the season ended, there was uncertainty surrounding the closer role. Kenley Jansen struggled numerous times late in the season, especially in October. So as of now, there isn’t a clear closer, and while the Dodgers do have viable candidates, it doesn’t always to hurt to add better arms.
Bradley’s career K/9 is 9.91 while pitching in relief, so he definitely is capable of racking up strikeouts.
Ultimately, some of you may hate the idea of Bradley in Dodger Blue, some of you may be attracted to the idea. I think he’s worth a call, especially if Treinen and Baez walk in free agency.
You know what they say: If you can’t beat them, join them.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
I dislike the guy, but yep, I would sign him in a minute
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H*** NO!
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My dear friend, your insightful analysis is quite correct.
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Just like you said, he’s the guy you hate when he’s on the other team, but when he’s on your side he’s suddenly just fine. I have no problem if AF signs him.
I would like to see him sign one top tier reliever soon (before they’re all gone). He can then take his time filling in anyone else he wants to add. Although Hendriks seems to stand out above all the others, I would settle for Treinen, Hand, Rosenthal, Colome or O’Day (who is vastly underrated).
I have high hopes for Knebel. At his best, he’s spectacular. My best case scenario is to see him get back to about 90% in 2021 and then signing a multi-year contract to be Kenley’s replacement starting in 2022.
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I think the dodgers would be better off with Trevor Rosenthal and Blake Treinen and then should try to pick up Hand.
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It would be really nice to have all three of those guys but I think competition will drive up their prices to the point where AF won’t spend that much money to re-stock the bullpen. He might get one, maybe even two (less likely now that he’s traded for Knebel), but I can’t believe he’d get all three. I’m figuring that all three of them will get multi-year contracts so that works against the way Andrew likes to do business. That said, I hope you’re right and I’m wrong.
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I remember the day when the Dodgers signed Brian Wilson. I think half of all Dodger fans still despised the dude even though he was wearing Dodger Blue.
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I love characters like that. I enjoyed him when he was here, although his second season was pretty lousy.
That’s why I enjoy Bauer and wouldn’t mind seeing him here and loved Manny, Puig, Greinke and (in the way back machine) Hatcher. You wouldn’t want a whole team filled with those kinds of personalities, but one or two on a roster just makes things more interesting to me. I know some people here hated some of those guys, especially Puig. All I can say is everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
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I was a huge Manny fan.
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https://www.smh.com.au/sport/why-baseball-great-manny-ramirez-is-making-sydney-his-next-project-at-the-ripe-old-age-of-48-20201202-p56jzc.html
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The Manny clips were great. Thanks for posting.
If they use the DH in the NL this year and JT doesn’t return I think we should sign Manny. The laughs would be worth it.
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He can probably still hit decently, although his bat speed might be a tad slow. However, unless they create some kind of designated runner rule, it probably wouldn’t work out.
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Maybe they can have Manny and Gore count as one player.
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Archie Bradley? Maybe. Looks like we all want to beef up the bullpen. Some nice names being thrown around and it looks like all can be had at “bargain” prices. But we’ve got only room for thirteen pitchers, following is who we have already:
Urias-L
Price-L
May-R
Gonsolin-R
Beuhler-R
Kershaw-L
Alexander-L
Gonzalez-L
Graterol-R
Jansen-R
Kelly-R
Knebel-R
How you going to make room for more than one?
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Injuries. AF is very good at using the IL.
Or, if you wind up trading for Arenado, you make the Rox take back Kelly as part of the deal.
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Yes he is good at utilizing the IL/DL, also optioning guys to the minors, but don’t forget we also got Floro, Kolarek, Sborz, Santana and White on the 40 man roster. I’d like to think Friedman is on board with acquiring ELITE relievers. We may have already got one in Knebel. Seems like this is an opportune time to add more “cheaply”. He’s got some wheeling and dealing to do to make it happen though.
Can we add Jansen’s remaining $20M and Price’s remaining $32M to Kelly’s remaining $12.5M minimum to help offset some of Arenado’s remaining $199M?
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I guess I haven’t convinced you yet that Price will be an asset next season. Let’s meet back here next November and see who was correct, although if we actually got Arenado that 32 mil would be a big help.
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No, you can’t convince me Price is going to be worth his $32M remaining salary over the next two years. I really do hope you’re correct about him. But right now I’d much rather the Dodgers had an extra roster spot and $32M extra to spend in this market. Please prove me wrong Price!
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Don’t ever doubt me Box. I’ve never been wrong on anything. You can ask Dennis, Andy, Bear or Keith. Well, maybe you shouldn’t ask Bear………………………………..or any of the other three. And definitely don’t ask my wife!
Phillies supposedly listening on Wheeler. That should make the pitching market a little more interesting.
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I loved Manny. It was classic that he hit a Grand Slam homer on his bobble head night. And it was as a pinch hitter. Met him at Camelback when he was resigned. He was a character and loved interacting with the fans. Him going to the bathroom in the Green Monster is classic stuff. Bullpen right now has 9 solid arms with a lot of MLB experience. I would like to see him add Hendricks if he adds anyone.
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You’re right boxout Price will most likely never be worth 32 mil next season, but the Dodgers are only paying him half of that. With the salaries of pitchers these days he could definitely put up numbers equal to, or better, than other pitchers in the 16 million dollar range.
You may be dead on about Price not contributing next season, but I’m hoping with a years’ rest on his arm, and a change of scenery ( it was pretty obvious, he had a contentious relationship in Boston) the Dodgers will get one more good season out of him.
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