Dodgers Have Two of MLB's Top 20 Pending Free Agents: Report

Sam Garcia | Aug 14, 2024

Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

At the end of every season, teams will inevitably face free agent decisions. A team with several free agents on expiring contracts potentially faces blockbuster roster changes in the offseason.

The Athletic ranked the top 50 potential MLB free agents for the 2024-25 offseason, and the Dodgers have two of the top 20. 

A recent addition to the Dodgers' roster is starting pitcher Jack Flaherty. The right-hander was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Dodgers at the deadline in exchange for catcher Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney. Flaherty, 28, was ranked as the No. 14 pending free agent by the Athletic’s Jim Bowden. 

Flaherty is considered to be the top pitcher traded at this season’s deadline. Before making the move back to his hometown of Los Angeles, Flaherty posted a 2.95 ERA with 133 strikeouts and only 19 walks. 

The last time Flaherty accrued an ERA below 3.00 was in 2019, when he finished fourth in the NL Cy Young award voting. In 2019, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, a team he would play with for seven seasons. That season he logged a 2.75 ERA with 231 strikeouts and 55 walks. 

Some teams were concerned about Flaherty’s medical record, because he recently got two injections in his lower back in July. But, since joining the Dodgers, Flaherty has gone 2-0. With Los Angeles, he is logging a 3.09 ERA with 17 strikeouts and two walks across just two appearances. 

The second top-20 pending free agent 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 No. 19 pending free agent. 

Hernández is slashing .275/.339/.511 with 26 home runs, 79 RBIs, and 39 walks. He has not batted this well over a full season since 2021, when he was named to his first MLB All-Star team. In addition to being named to his second MLB All-Star team this year, Hernández won the 2024 Home Run Derby. 

Hernández has also been a key part of the Dodgers' outfield, which has been an issue at times this season. He's appeared in 59 games in right field and 82 in left field. With four-time MLB All-Star Mookie Betts returning to play in right field and two new center field trade deadline additions to the roster, Hernández has helped solidify the Los Angeles outfield.

Both Flaherty and Hernández have significantly contributed to the team this season, and it would not be surprising to see the duo back in Los Angeles next season.