Pedro Baez, one of the Dodgers' most consistent relief pitchers of the last two years, might find himself on another team for the first time in his career. The scorn of Dodger fans for the first portion of his career due to his long pauses between pitches and constant full-counts, Baez has blossomed into a fantastic relief pitcher in his last two years especially as a Dodger.
Baez has been in the Dodger organization for quite some time (I believe he's the 3rd longest tenured Dodger) and a major-leaguer since 2014. Baez has always found a considerable amount of statistical success in the big leagues, posting a career ERA of 3.03, but really blossomed into the role of set-up man in 2018, replacing Brandon Morrow. Additionally, he's always been a durable arm and a workhorse and he set a career high in innings last year with 69.2 IP.
I would imagine Baez would seek a multi-year deal at the end of the 2020 season, with a total value of somewhere between 10-20 million dollars if he has another good year in 2020. I would hope and imagine the Dodgers would give it to him, due to his remarkable consistency and his strong relationship with the Dodger organization. Giving multi-year deals to relief pitchers entering his early-mid thirties has it's fair share of risks, but Baez has been consistently good ever since entering the major-leagues and has never had trouble with major injuries, so he's a safer bet to sign that many other relief pitchers his age.
If Baez leaves, the set-up man role could be filled by Joe Kelly or Blake Treinen (were he to stay) or some other, younger candidates, but my preference would be to keep Baez around for another few years. In the meantime though, we're still waiting on that bobblehead.
Cover Photo: David Crane