Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The Dodgers have the best roster in all of baseball. There is no denying that. Albert Pujols is a future Hall of Fame inductee. There is no denying that. Albert Pujols joining the Los Angeles Dodgers sounds like a good thing on paper right? Well it’s not. The Dodgers have too much talent to really incorporate Pujols anywhere.
Injuries are plaguing the Dodgers
Even though the Dodgers have dealt with a ton of injuries, they will get a majority of those players back. Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry are all due to begin their rehab assignments soon. Cory Seager will not require surgery on his fractured hands so he will not miss significant time on the IL. AJ Pollock is also set to miss a couple of weeks after suffering a hamstring injury.
Although it has not been made apparent what kind of role Pujol’s will be playing in Los Angeles, we can imply that it will be a bench role. I understand the mentor role that he can play in the dugout but at a certain point they shouldn’t need anymore mentors. The Dodgers are fortunate enough to have 3 former MVPs on their roster. Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger are there to provide hitting insight and big moment experience. Clayton Kershaw is there to provide support for the young pitchers coming up through the system.
Dodgers have too many mentors
Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, and Clayton Kershaw all have vast playoff experience at this point and their natural talent makes them perfect for a mentorship role even if they might not be the most experienced players. The only other argument that the Dodgers can possibly give for signing Pujols is that they want to use him as a pinch hitter in certain situations. But his batting average was .198 with the Angels this season so what kind of production are they really hoping to get from him?
I think this is a marketing ploy and they’re using it to give a proper goodbye to Pujols. At the end of the day, it’s good for both of them. Dodgers will make a lot of money marketing Pujols and he will get the chance to compete for a ring one last time in his final season. If the Dodgers didn’t care about money, then they could have used that extra spot on the roster to give a younger player some more playing time.
Money for Dodgers, competitive games for Pujols
Overall, it’s the better investment financially for the Dodgers but it is not the best baseball move for them. If they are serious about utilizing Pujols as a pinch hitter in big moments, then they are really playing with fire. Pujols has not shown that he can perform at the league average since 2016.
I mean the Angels preferred to lose around $30 million to get rid of him. Even if the Dodgers are only going to ay him around $500k, they risk having Pujols cost them a few wins.
