In a bold move that disrupts the chemistry of a 106-win team while limiting the flexibility of its bullpen, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired closer Craig Kimbrel on Friday in exchange for outfielder A.J. Pollock in a deal for two players entering the final years of their contracts.
The deal brought resolution to two of the game’s more unsettled scenarios as spring training enters its final days.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had resisted naming a closer, noting only that reliever Blake Treinen likely remained their best option, albeit one better suited to record the game’s most important outs regardless of inning. Now, the Dodgers have a definite ninth-inning guy, albeit one who struggled when traded from Chicago’s Cubs to the White Sox last July, where he joined forces with All-Star closer Liam Hendriks.
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Kimbrel, 33, posted a 5.09 ERA in 23 games with the White Sox, working the eighth inning in 17 of the 23 games.
Now, with the Dodgers moving on from longtime closer Kenley Jansen, the ninth inning once again figures to be Kimbrel’s. He’s entering the final year of a four-year, $58 million deal.
That’s almost identical to Pollock, who in 2021 will finish a four-year, $55 million deal. While Pollock was injured and inconsistent for parts of the first two years of his deal, he was excellent in 2021, smacking 21 home runs with an .892 OPS as the club weathered the struggles of All-Star Cody Bellinger to win 106 games and advance to the NL Championship Series.
Now, that vaunted depth is dinged just a little bit, this in a spring during which Bellinger is again searching for continuity with a swing that produced the 2019 NL MVP award.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers acquire closer Craig Kimbrel from White Sox for A.JJ. Pollock