In addition to the excitement surrounding the signing of Trevor Bauer and Justin Turner over the winter, another popular story around the Dodgers’ camp was the prospective re-signing of Corey Seager.
And, besides Bauer’s six-inning brilliance against the Rockies on Friday, discussions about the 26-year-old Seager returning to Los Angeles in 2022 are still lurking right at the top of the blogosphere’s news board, a conversation topic that won’t be going away anytime soon.
While there were some rumors that Los Angeles management had engaged with Seager over the winter in contract talks, Seager himself told the media that a contract extension is not his highest priority once the season inched near.
“I don’t really want to talk about that, to be honest,” Seager said during 2021 spring camp. ““That’s not the focus at all. The focus is right now. We’ve preached for a long time that it’s day to day. We’re showing up and we’re doing everything we can to be ready today. Once games start, try to win a game that day. There’s no other thinking.”
On Twitter, there has been speculation galore. MLB insider John Heyman shared a tweet on March 30 confirming the idea that Seager and the Dodgers were unsuccessful with regards to a contract extension.
Moreover, there has been conjecture about the Yankees being the front-runners in a prospective Seager free-agent sweepstakes, the Charlotte native’s favorite squad as a youngster.
What’s more, the Marlins could conceivably be in the running when considering Seager’s high regard for Derek Jeter.
“Both of my parents are from Upstate New York, so my dad was a Yankees fan, and I grew up a Yankees fan,” Seager said in a 2016 interview. “Jeter’s a great player, great person, great teammate. He’s just a true professional. And I’m still waiting to meet him.”
Regardless, when considering the respective $340 and $341 million paydays of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Francisco Lindor, one might wonder if Seager might approach either of those figures himself.
Surprisingly, there has been a small sect of Dodgers fans who think the team may be better off without Seager, suggesting that he is injury prone and that he is not ideally built to play shortstop. However, Seager has only visited the injured list twice officially during his career—a 29-game stint for a hamstring strain during the summer of 2019 and the full season he missed for UCL surgery in 2018.
In 2016, he appeared in 157 games. In his comeback year after surgery, he still played in 134 games despite the tender hammy. Last year, he played in all but eight regular season games.
Aside from Lindor’s ridiculous 7.2 bWAR in 2018, Seager’s perennial bWAR numbers consistently rival any marks registered by the New York Mets shortstop. In his two years as a big leaguer, Tatis has yet to eclipse the 5.0 bWAR mark (although his 2.8 WAR was sixth-best in the bigs last year). Seager has already eclipsed a 5.0bWAR twice.
Seager’s current offensive streak, stretching back to last year’s playoffs, has been nothing short of insane. He slugged five homers, two doubles, and 11 RBI in the 2020 NLCS, securing the series MVP. He also stole MVP honors in the World Series after going 8-for-20 with another two long balls.
In 2021 Cactus League play, Seager slashed an extremely impressive .346/.424/.827 with eight homers and 16 RBI in just 13 games.
In the first two games of the regular season against the Rockies, he went 5-for-8 with a double and three walks.
Obviously, Seager won’t continue this pace through October, but if he comes anywhere close to maintaining his typical production lines in 2021, his price will certainly increase by the time he finally secures his new deal.
This year, he’s scheduled to earn $13,750,000.
With Bauer, Turner, Mookie Betts, and David Price combining for more than $110 million in payroll next year by themselves, at this point it’s tough to guess just how far the Dodgers will go with Seager.
And that’s not even considering a deal for Clayton Kershaw.
I hope Seager stays because of course I do. What will the Dodgers be willing to pay? It won’t be Mookie money because Seager doesn’t put up Mookie WAR. Seager is basically an oWAR player. He projects up to 5 WAR every year, nearly all of it offensive. Whatever he’s worth to the Dodgers I suspect the Yankees will offer more.
The Yanks could use another really good left handed bat in their lineup so I agree with Scoop that are likely to go very hard after Corey. This could also be the time that Jeter decides to spend some real money and also makes Seager a good offer, because the Marlins are definitely on the upswing. And then there are the Giants who, by next year, will have a lot of money to spend and be one year closer to being very competitive. They could easily go after Seager and one or two other major free agents and make it a legit three team battle in the West for 2022.
I would say the odds of our retaining Corey are about 1 in 3 at the very best but I’m sure AF already has a plan B in mind. In the meanwhile I’m hoping to enjoy a healthy Corey Seager this year because when he’s healthy he’s a joy to watch in the batter’s box and a major factor in our chance to repeat as champs.
If they want to replace five wins above replacement at shortstop, they can’t come anywhere close by using options from within the organization. I think Trevor Story is the most intriguing option of all the potential free agents. A 6.2 bWAR in 2018 and a 7.0 mark in 2019. Those numbers are superb. Even though he’s two years older than Seager, he’ll probably end up with a higher payday, at least in AAV. But, if the Dodgers can’t land Seager, they’ll unlikely fork over a higher amount to land Story. Never cared for Javy Baez’s personality at all. Same with Correa.
There’s about as much chance of AF signing Correa as of ………………………………(take your pick of events that will never happen). I don’t mind Baez’s personality but he’s just way too inconsistent for my taste. Wouldn’t risk any kind of big contract on him. I’ve always been a Story fan but can’t figure why you think he’ll get a higher AAV than Seager. He may actually be worth more, especially if you value defense along with your offense, but his offense has been markedly higher in Denver than on the road and I think that will hurt him when he negotiates. I think Story is underrated in many circles whereas Seager is not. Needless to say, 2021 numbers will factor very heavily into the contracts they are offered. It will be interesting to see how they compare once they actually sign.
I’m beginning to think that Lux might actually become Corey’s replacement if he leaves. That would allow AF to re-sign CT3 as the second baseman or use some of those prospects to trade for a second baseman or third baseman. Depending on Busch’s progress this year, he could also be a candidate for second base.
Seager just lined a single as I’m writing this. If he continues like this, who knows what kind of contract he could get. When he’s been healthy he’s been pretty remarkable.
Seager’s been pretty much at an even zero his whole career as far as dWAR goes, as opposed to Story, who consistently lands around 2.0. Maybe a move to 3B sooner rather than later is definitely in the cards for Seager. Maybe even 1B way, way down the road.
I’m with you on Lux at short. I think it would work, and free up some money for other purposes. Busch at second is going to happen. I hope Rios steps up and says third is mine. I know others aren’t high on Muncy but I think he’s an affordable.800 OPS guy for years to come. We’re gonna have the DH back next year and he’s perfect for it so maybe Rios goes to first. All these things are next year moves but preparing ahead of time is never a bad idea.
If it’s going to be Muncy or Rios at first they’ll just have to decide who plays the better defense. They both seem to be improving in that regard so might even alternate between the two positions (first and DH). I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Max defensively this year. Maybe knowing he’s going to play one position all year is helping.
Story 315 mil Seager 350 mil
Seager is going to get a massive contract. Not Lindor money, but I would bet a 10 year 300 mil deal is not out of the question. Right now the Rocks are winning again. Buehler has not been terrible, but the bats are silent. Mookie and Turner not in the lineup and it shows. Personally, I think Smith should be in there 80 percent of the time.
10/300 is the first number that came to my mind. So long as he stays healthy this year. At the rate Roberts is resting players already, there might be a good chance of that happening. 😉
If Seager continues to hit like he did last year I think he does better than 10/300 and much closer to what Lindor got, even though the defense isn’t the same. A little farther removed from Covid which should mean teams will spend a little more and more teams may be involved.
80% would mean he could only catch Kershaw OR Buehler, not both. Maybe they should have an auction for his services.
I know, I think Smith is the better catcher, but that is just my opinion. Of course I talk bad about the guy and he gets a 2 out single to score 2 and put them in front. What do I know?????????
I like Austin Barnes but that single? He should go out and buy a lottery ticket tonight. Pure luck.
I guess the jury is still out on which of the two is the better defensive catcher. They each excel at different things. Once we get the DH back, at least Smith could get more at bats than he does now, even if Barnes still catches 2 out of 5 games.
Rockies have hit 6 HR’s so far in this series and the Dodgers have 1. I like Barnes, I just wish he was a little more consistent. I also wish Smith had a second position that they felt comfortable playing him at. Barnes can at least play the infield. Taylor looked bad until he didn’t They struck out way too much last night and Cody is swinging at pitches he can’t handle again.
I like Ruiz more than either Barnes or Smith
Oh yeah, Joc went ofer against a lefty today, striking out 3 time and has yet to get a hit.
All together now. “Spring training stats don’t mean anything.”
That said, he could still hit 40 dingers this year.
I think Joc will get better against left handers as the year progresses. Would not be surprised at all by 40.
10/300+ is what I was thinking too Dennis, but I think the Yankees will offer more. A little thing that may have gone unnoticed tonight – Seager missed the cutoff throw that might have nailed the guy at the plate. I saw it because I see everything Seager does at short. He’s capable of the occasional great play but there’s a reason he’s only put up 2 dWAR at short in 6 years. He’s a first baseman playing left side infield. Friedman knows it.
Yeah, Probably, but he still cannot hit lefty’s.
We all know that Seager is not the best defensive SS in the league. He is a hitter. He is adequate. He might make a bad play now and then, but he usually does not cost you much on defense. He is going to get paid simply because he is one of the better offensive players in the game. I cannot wait for the return of the DH. Watching pitchers hit who are not named Kershaw is painful. I also cannot wait for the electronic K zone. That ump last night was pitiful.
UCLA played the Zags a lot tougher than I thought they would. Had to be a heartbreaking loss for those kids though. All Pac-12 final on the women’s side. Arizona and Stanford.
Could be good for conference recruitment. Definitely be good for all these schools.
I am going to miss the game today. Having an Easter BBQ at a friends house. Have to make a couple of trips to the Springs this week. Friend of mine is having knee surgery and I am her ride. Truck is all ready for the Cali trip. And to tell the truth, so am I.
Two exe Dodgers took one on the chin yesterday, Chicken Strip got the loss for the Jays, and Hill was lit up a little in his start. Arizona is 0-3 and looking like a bottom feeder so far. Boston and the Braves have also yet to win. Braves have lost 5 straight since being up 3-1 on the Dodgers. Tigers have played well as has KC.
Seager is a offensive machine…he will hit .325(for the year)..Lindor is currently at .222…Seager is just a much better hitter…Lindor is good… but is alot of flash…contracts are made on offense…Seager will end up the highest paid SS…and Seager plays good D..to say he doesn’t is nit picky…Ws and Nlcs…mvp…and he probably will be the NL MVP for(2021)…he is getting more than Lindor especially if the Dodgers repeat…I don’t think the Dodgers will pay it …but for sure the Yankees…Giants….and Angels will
Not so sure the Angels will pay it, HR, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the Yanks and Giants will be in the mix. Angels need to finally spend some money on pitching. Their offense is really pretty good already.
A sleeper team might be the Marlins. They already have some really good young pitching but could use help on offense. Signing Seager would really make a statement and, of course, Jeter was Corey’s favorite player growing up.
There’s a rumor circulating that Seager will heavily favor a deal with the Marlins if Yasiel comes along to play RF. Big reunion with Miguel Rojas, Yimi Garcia, Dylan Floro, and Zach Pop. 🙂