At the end of every season, teams inevitably face decisions regarding free agents. A team with multiple free agents whose contracts are expiring may face massive roster changes in the offseason.
The Athletic has ranked the top 50 potential MLB free agents for the 2024-25 offseason, and the Dodgers account for two of the top 20.
New to the Dodgers’ roster is starting pitcher Jack Flaherty. The right-hander was traded to the Dodgers by the Detroit Tigers at the deadline in exchange for catcher Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney. Flaherty, 28, was ranked as the No. 14 free agent by Jim Bowden of the Athletic.
Flaherty is considered the best pitcher traded at the deadline this season. Before returning to his hometown of Los Angeles, Flaherty had a 2.95 ERA with 133 strikeouts and just 19 walks.
The last time Flaherty posted an ERA below 3.00 was in 2019, when he finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting. In 2019, he was a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, a team he played for for seven seasons. That season, he posted a 2.75 ERA with 231 strikeouts and 55 walks.
Some teams were concerned about Flaherty’s medical record because he had two injections in his lower back in July, but since joining the Dodgers, Flaherty is 2-0. With Los Angeles, he has a 3.09 ERA with 17 strikeouts and two walks in just two appearances.
The second of the top 20 free agents on the Dodgers’ roster is Teoscar Hernández. The 31-year-old signed a one-year, $23.5 million contract with the franchise in the offseason. Bowden ranked Hernández as the 19th free agent.
Hernández has a batting average of .275/.339/.511 with 26 home runs, 79 RBIs and 39 walks. He hasn’t hit this well in a full season since 2021, when he was named to the MLB All-Star team for the first time. In addition to being named to his second MLB All-Star team this year, Hernández also won the 2024 Home Run Derby.
Hernández has also been a key part of the Dodgers’ outfield, which has been a problem at times this season, appearing in 59 games in right field and 82 in left field. With the return of four-time MLB All-Star Mookie Betts to right field and two new additions in center field who joined the roster just before the trade deadline, Hernández has helped solidify Los Angeles’ outfield.
Both Flaherty and Hernández have made significant contributions to the team this season and it would not be a surprise to see the duo back in Los Angeles next season.
