Offseason contracts brought more big names to the L.A. baseball scene

Major League Baseball’s offseason is spent by teams cleaning house, bulking up rosters and appeasing star players. Now just weeks away from Opening Day, the Dodgers and Angels have each decorated their lineups in hopes of capturing that elusive October ring.

The Dodgers are no strangers to the blistering heat of spring training in Glendale, Ariz. After a few offseason signings, their already stacked roster just became that much more attractive.

The first area of focus for the Dodger management was the pitching staff. While Chavez Ravine is home to world-class Cy Young talent, the rotation was under construction this offseason. Right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler was always an arm the Dodgers could count on, but since undergoing Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, Buehler might not get the chance to step on a mound for the entire 2023 season.

To hopefully fill the spot of a right-handed starter left open by Buehler, the Dodgers signed Noah Syndergaard to a one-year $13 million contract. Syndergaard, a former pitcher from the Phillies, struggled in 2022, matching the level of his throwing to what it was before his own Tommy John surgery in 2021. Although he had to rely more on the other pitches in his arsenal besides his fastball, Syndergaard still proved to be one of the most competitive pitchers in the MLB. Once a force to be reckoned with, Syndergaard has faith the Dodgers will help him return to the pitcher he once was.

In recent months, the Dodgers re-signed pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias and Dustin May to one-year extensions, along with Tony Gonsolin who signed for the next two seasons. Kershaw has held a consistent spot in the starting rotation since his debut in 2008. A player who hasn’t had such a steady rise to success due to injury, May, is expected to finally fill the shoes that were once set for him. While he spent most of the 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Dodgers have a respectable track record with rehabbing players to their original form. If May can repeat the strong major league starts he showed in 2021 with the 2.74 ERA he once accomplished, the Dodgers pitching rotation will be an absolute terror for batters in the box.

The Dodgers’ 2020 first round draft pick, Bobby Miller, is a left-handed pitcher flirting with a major league debut. While he was invited to spring training as a non-roster player, Miller has yet to make the starting rotation despite proving his readiness at the 2022 Freeway Series. Miller threw three scoreless innings, retiring the first three batters he faced. Notably, one of the two strikeouts belonged to powerhouse hitter Shohei Ohtani.

Despite having a significantly smaller payroll than their L.A. counterpart, the Angels also made some crucial acquisitions this offseason. Even with having two of the biggest names in baseball on their roster, Mike Trout and Ohtani, the Angels finished the 2022 season third in the AL West. Coming up short of making the postseason for almost a decade now prompted Angels management into some notable offseason signings.

Starting off strong, the Angels signed left-handed pitcher, Tyler Anderson, in November. Anderson is only moving a freeway away from his former team, but his absence is a huge hit to the Dodgers’ pitching rotation. The $39 million three-year deal signed is single-handedly the best decision Angeles management made this offseason. A roster that desperately needed another reliable pitcher found one in Anderson, who is coming off of one of the best seasons of his professional career with a 2.57 ERA. With the future of star player Ohtani up in the air in 2024, the clubhouse can at least expect reliable pitching out of Anderson for the foreseeable future.

Another pitching addition for the 2023 Angels comes in the form of reliever and potential closer Carlos Estévez. Estévez, who finished the 2022 season with two saves and a 3.74 ERA with the Colorado Rockies, signed a two-year $13.5 million contract. When compared to the stats of Ohtani or Anderson, Estévez falls short. However, the potential of his arm makes the signing worthwhile for the Angels.

Pitchers are not the only movement Angels made to their roster this offseason. Of the over $200 million spent during this record-breaking payroll in the history of the franchise, $39 million was spent on Hunter Renfroe. Former outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, Renfroe is a consistent bat in the lineup and a skilled defender. Players who have just as much impact hitting as they do defensively is key in building an Angels roster to break through their postseason drought.

This week all players, whether they are wearing a new jersey or sticking with the old, will report to spring training to officially start the 2023 season. There will be a slightly different start to this year as players will leave for the World Baseball Classic in March. Once the 29 players the Dodgers and Angels send to the WBC return, teams will begin locking in their starting lineups for the regular season. New additions will look to find a spot in these lineups and prospects will look to prove themselves on the big stage. Only time will tell if each team’s offseason decisions translate into division titles.