Free Agency is Truly a Crapshoot.

                       There was a time when major league players were tied to their teams by the reserve clause. Players received one-year contracts and could have their salaries cut or raised based on performance. Even the biggest stars, Ted Williams, DiMaggio, Mays, Aaron, Musial, Snider, only signed for a single season. If you check their baseball reference pages, you will see that some of them, not the big stars usually, but the lesser players, fluctuate based on how they did. Duke Snider’s highest salary according to baseball reference, was 44,000 dollars in 56-57 and 58. For the next two years, 59-60, Duke earned 500 dollars less. Why? Well, in 56-57 and 58, he was coming off of consecutive 40 homer seasons. In 1959, playing with some injuries and in the cavernous LA coliseum, Duke’s HR production dropped to 15 as he played only 106 games.

                      Players finally had enough, and the fight was led by Cardinal outfielder, Curt Flood. Flood, who was a member of the Cardinal 64 and 67 Championship teams. After the 1969 season, the 31-year-old Flood was traded in a huge deal to the Phillies along with Joe Hoerner, Tim McCarver and a minor leaguer, for Dick Allen, Jerry Johnson and Cookie Rojas. Flood refused to report to the Phillies. The Cardinals then replaced Flood with Willie Montanez and another minor leaguer. But, in the eyes of MLB, Flood was still Phillie property. Flood sat out the entire 1970 season. So, in November of 1970, the Phils traded Flood to the Senators for Greg Goosen, Gene Marting and Jeff Terpko. The Senators then signed Flood to a 110,000-dollar contract, half paid up front. Flood played exactly 10 games for the Senators and then left the team by mid-season. His MLB career was effectively over. 

                     That winter, Flood filed suit against Bowie Kuhn and baseball saying the reserve clause was a collusive measure that reduced competition and thus was an anti-trust violation. He had the backing of the MLBPA and Marvin Miller. The case went all the way to the US Supreme court. The court ruled that baseball was not interstate commerce and did not violate the anti-trust exemption MLB had received in 1922. The decision has since been criticized by legal scholars for years.

                      After the 1975 season, two pitchers, Andy Messersmith of the Dodgers, and Dave McNally of the Expos, had their contracts automatically renewed for the 76 season. Neither McNally or Messersmith had signed their 1975 contracts. Messersmith had just completed his third season with LA. McNally, his fist with Montreal after being traded from Baltimore. Since neither of them had signed the contracts, they both asserted that they were free to sign with other teams for 1976. The owners disagreed and asserted that according to the reserve clause, the one-year contracts were perpetually renewed. The players association filed a grievance, and on November 21 the first hearing was held before an arbitration panel composed of MLB Player Relations Committee chief negotiator, John Gaherin, Marvin Miller and Peter Seitz, the chairman and impartial arbitrator, who had been agreed upon by both parties. 

                    On December 23rd, 1975, Seitz ruled in favor of the players. This was huge. MLB appealed the decision to the United States district court for Western Missouri. But Judge John Watkins Oliver denied the appeal. It was later denied by the Eight District Court of Appeals. Finally, in August after all the appeals were exhausted, MLB and the MLBPA reached an agreement allowing players with six years of major league service to become free agents. McNally and Messersmith were granted free agency on March 16, 1976. Messersmith signed with the Braves on April 10th and would pitch until 1979. McNally did not pitch professionally after 1975.

                 So, it began. The Dodgers would sign their first real free agent in November of 1977 when they signed reliever Terry Forster. Forster had been allowed to walk after pitching for the Pirates in 1977. Terry would stay with LA for five years. His base salary was 150,000 a year with a chance to earn bonus’s. They would sign several what would be considered complimentary players and bullpen help, but no so-called stars. They even brought back Messersmith in 1979.  After the 79 season, they signed Twins ace, Dave Goltz. Goltz had compiled a 96-79 record with the Twins over 8 seasons. His ERA at that point was 3.48. Over the next 3 years with LA, he compiled a 9-19 record with an ERA above 4. One of those losses was game 163 when the Dodgers lost to the Astros after winning three straight games to tie for the division. He did pitch in two games against the Yankees in the 81 World Series. But overall, Goltz was a huge disappointment.  Another huge bust in 80 was Don Stanhouse. He went 2-2 with a bloated 5.02 ERA.

                                        Jay Johnstone, another free agent in 1980 did provide a good bat off of the bench and was quickly the teams clown in the clubhouse. Jay remained until 1982 and was a member of the 81-championship team. He was 2-3 in the World Series, with his big hit being a PH home run. 

                  After that season, they stuck to fringe guys and complimentary players. No major free agent was signed until they signed Kirk Gibson in January of 1988. LA’s first big name free agent would play just a single full season in Los Angeles. But that one season would be huge, MVP of the league, and while playing hurt, he hit what was up until that time, the most famous homer in Dodger World Series history. His no-nonsense approach to the game stunned some in the clubhouse, he made it plain that he was there to win, and nothing else mattered. 

                 They would sign another bona-fide superstar a few years later when they signed Mets star, Darryl Strawberry. Straw also played one full season for the Dodgers before his addiction to drugs was brought to the surface. The results of the first few forays were very mixed. But like most teams of the era, they would keep trying to find the right fits. At the end of 1989, they signed reliever Jim Gott, CF, John Shelby, OF Hubie Brooks, and reliever, Mike Maddux. 

                In February of 1990, they signed reliever, Don Aase.  Shelby was released in June. In November of 1990, they signed Strawberry. In December they also signed, Juan Samuel, Mickey Hatcher, and Fernando. In March of 91, they signed Gary Carter and released Valenzuela. It seemed at this point in time, they would see which superstar was available and try to see if he was a fit. The rest of the free agents seemed to be roster fillers. Brett Butler was brought in for the 91 season, and was an offensive force for that team. 

              They would often sign guys like Cory Snyder, and Kevin Elster, who were decent players with track records of some success. The turnover in the bullpen and rotation was pretty consistent. In the early 90’s they were trying a lot of different arms. One the field, they were just beginning a string of five straight Rookies of the Year, beginning with Eric Karros. Finally in December of 1994, they signed a player who was expected to play every day, 3B, Tim Wallach. Another big signing was Japanese star, Hideo Nomo on the 8th of February in 95. He would become the ROY. 

             They signed Todd Zeile in December of 96, basically to replace Wallach. Zeile would hit 31 bombs for them in 97, then get shipped to Florida in the Mike Piazza trade. 97 was the last season for the ownership of the O’Malley family. Fans were visibly disappointed when Peter sold the team to Fox. The next several years would be shaky for the team and for the fans. In 98, Fox traded away, Piazza, Zeile, Nomo, Konerko, Reyes, and Bobby Bonilla. Their big signing was Kevin Brown in December of 98. Not only was ownership shaken up, but Fred Claire was fired as the GM, Lasorda made the Konerko trade, and then Kevin Malone was brought in as GM in 99. The new manager was Davey Johnson. The team finished under .500 for the year. 

              In the winter of 1999, they traded Mondesi to the Jays for Shawn Green. Their first free agent signing was reliever, Mike Fetters. They also signed Hershiser, Elster and FP Santangelo. Robert Daly had bought into the Fox group in 99, so he was also in on player personnel decisions. Maybe feeling their fingers singed a bit, they shied away from the big-ticket free agents. They did finish over .500 and in second place, but after the season, both Malone and Johnson were gone, replaced by Jim Tracy as manager, and former pitching coach, Dave Wallace as GM. 

             Wallace signed P Andy Ashby as his first free agent. But like the GMs before him, he stuck to fringe guys and roll players. He did resign a couple of his own guys, the most notable being Darren Dreifort. Dan Evans was brought in as GM for the 02 season. His first significant signing was Hideo Nomo, brought back to LA after spending four years with four different teams. He would pitch well the next two seasons for LA winning 16 games each year. He did make an interesting trade in December, trading two players to the Indians for OF Dave Roberts. 

             He also traded Gary Sheffield to the Braves that winter, and signed another Japanese free agent, Kazuhisa Ishii. Ishii would pitch 4 seasons in LA with a 39-34 record and a 4.44 ERA. LA finished 3rd. That winter, he traded the last remaining member of the five ROY’s in a row club, Eric Karros to the Cubs. He signed first baseman, Fred McGriff to a one-year deal. No other big-name stars were signed. McGriff would play ok for LA, he then moved on for his final season. LA finished 2nd in 03. 

              Frank McCourt bought the team in 2004. So, more changes to the hierarchy of the Dodgers.   Paul De Podesta took over as GM in February of 04. De Podesta seemed more into trading for players than signing free agents. He traded for Jason Werth and Cody Ross before spring training was over. He also traded for Milton Bradley, whose Dodger career would be short and tumultuous. He also made two trades at the deadline that brought Penny, Choi, Finley and Mayne to LA. Finley would hit a huge grand slam to clinch the division for the Dodgers. But they lost in the first round to the Cardinals. 

             The 05 team would slide to fourth place, and De Podesta would be fired in October and replaced by Ned Colletti. Again, that winter, De Podesta concentrated on fringe and role players. Signing guys like Elmer Dessens, Ricky Ledee and Mike Edwards. But then in December, he signed Jeff Kent, he followed that by signing JD Drew. He then surprised most everyone by signing Derek Lowe. He dipped into the Japanese pool and signed Norihiro Nakamura, a bona-fide Japanese league slugger. Nakamura would play only 17 games for LA. Despite bringing in two of the top free agents in Drew and Kent, the team was not very good. 

            De Podesta was fired, and Colletti hired on the 16th of November 2005. One must remember that most of McCourt’s purchase price for the Dodgers was based on debt. To offset this, McCourt raised ticket and concessions prices every year he owned the club. Colletti started his tenure as GM by signing Olmedo Saenz. He then signed Sandy Alomar and traded Bradley to the A’s for Andre Ethier.  His next three free agents were Rafael Furcal, Bill Mueller, and Nomar Garciaparra. 

             He signed Kenny Lofton, Brett Tomko and Aaron Sele. He dipped into the Japanese pool and plucked Takashi Saito. He also replaced Jim Tracy with Grady Little as manager. LA rebounded some and finished second.  That winter he signed Juan Pierre to a five-year deal. He re-signed Nomar. He also brought in Randy Wolf and Mike Lieberthal. Then he signed Giants ace, Jason Schmidt. We all know how that worked out. The 07-team finished fourth. 

            Under Colletti, guys like Luis Gonzalez would spend one year with the team. Long term deals were not a big thing under McCourt. The Pierre deal was one of the few exceeding three seasons. That winter of 07, Colletti took another gamble and signed Andruw Jones to a two-year deal. It would be a disaster. Jones reported out of shape and never got going at all. He also signed Japanese hurler, Hiroki Kuroda. 08 would see yet another managerial change as Joe Torre took over for Little. Despite the busts of Schmidt and Jones, the 08 Dodgers would win the west. The reason was a mid-season trade that brought Manny Ramirez to LA. That July 31st trade brought a bona-fide slugger to LA and Ramirez would have one of the best stretches of any Dodger player ever. He then helped LA beat the Cubs in the LDS before they lost to the Phillies in the LCS. 

           Under the surface though, trouble was brewing for the Dodgers owner. His time was coming to a close. It would be a couple of years away, but McCourt’s marriage woes would eventually lead to his having to sell the team. Colletti though was doing the best he could under the circumstances. He re-signed Ramirez, which would turn out to be a bad decision as Manny’s PED use came out. 

            The one thing that was helping the Dodgers was the fact that some of the young talent drafted under Logan White before he left, were beginning to make an impact at the major league level. Guys like Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Russell Martin, James Loney and Chad Billingsly. Those guys were all in the top 12 players LA had in 09. Ramirez would play in only 104 games, but they got some serious slug from Kemp, 26 long balls and Ethier, who hit 31. They won the division again, beat St. Louis in the LCS and fell to Philadelphia once more in the LCS. 

            2010, Schmidt and Jones were gone, Ramirez would be traded. Colletti had his work cut out for him. Not having the resources for the big names, Ned went after as many good players as he could. Guys like Jamey Carroll would be role players in the overall scheme of things. Vincente Padilla, Jeff Weaver and Ramon Ortiz were expected to help the rotation. He also signed veteran OFs, Garrett Anderson and Brian Giles. Neither would add much to the offense.  Giles retired at the end of spring training and Anderson was released in August. The team slipped to fourth place, Torre retired from managing and Don Mattingly took his place.

            It was once more a busy off-season for Colletti. He would sign Uribe, Jon Garland, Rod Barajas, Gabe Kapler, Marcus Thames, Aaron Miles, Lance Cormier, all before spring training. Kapler was released in March. The team finished three games over .500 and placed third in 11. After the 11 season, Colletti was once again very busy in the winter. He brought in Juan Rivera, Mark Ellis, Matt Treanor, Luis Cruz, Adam Kennedy, Chris Capuano, Jerry Hairston, and Aaron Hurang. And all that before the end of December. Some would have an impact, some not so much. But at this point in his tenure, it was quantity over quality. 

           In June, Ned dipped into the international pool and signed a young outfielder out of Cuba. Yasiel Puig. The Wild Horse would make his MLB debut in 2013 and immediately fill the Dodger faithful with both delight and angst. He would be a topic of much discussion throughout his Dodger career. The 2012 team finished second in the West. But change was coming faster than anyone expected. 2011 had seen MLB take control of the team’s day to day operations, and in 2012, he was forced to sell the team. Guggenheim took over operation of the team on May first when the sale was final. After the 2012 season, the LA Dodgers would begin a completely different era in team history.

             When “The Trade” was made in August of 2012, the new ownership showed they were willing to do what they had to, to change the team’s direction. Although it did not really affect their 2012 final standing, the die was cast. This group was committed to winning no matter what the price. The farm system was paying off too. Kershaw and Kemp would be big parts of the new direction. Colletti with more cash available to him, signed Korean pitcher, Hyun Jin Ryu in December. Then he plucked Zack Greinke from the free agent ranks. J.P. Howell was signed in January. The team won the west and began its string of consecutive playoff appearances which continues to this day. 

           Since 2013, LA has continued to sign free agents with varying degrees of success. Those signings coupled with the contributions of the farm system the first several years of Guggenheims ownership, have allowed the Dodgers a string of successful seasons unheard of in Dodger history. Pre free agency, the Dodgers best two decades had been the 50’s and the 60’s. They played in five World Series in the 50’s. They played in in three in the 60’s. They were four and four in those appearances. They have played in four in the 2000’s. They are two and two in those appearances. Will they return in 2025? They have made many additions to the 24 team. They have had a few losses too, most notably, Buehler and Flaherty. But they brought back the Hernandez boys and Kersh, and have added Snell, Sasaki, Conforto, Yates and Scott. How those free agents fare is yet to be seen. 

       If you look at the team’s overall record in free agency, there have been several total busts. Schmidt, Jones, Strawberry, Ramirez, Goltz, Stanhouse. Gibson had one magical season but was gone after two subpar and injury prone years in 89-90. JT and Uribe did well. Ryu and several of the pitchers they signed made contributions. JD Drews deal was one of the first the team signed with opt outs, which JD took after his second season so he could sign with Boston. 

       Ohtani’s one season so far is the best ever by a Dodger free agent. How the rest of his free agency goes will say a lot as to the Dodgers chances of repeat titles. It is mostly about piching now. The free agent pitchers this team has signed will go a long way towards the success of the franchise.