Dodgers Re-Sign Reliever on One-Year Deal, Tender Contracts to All Remaining Players

LA is making moves already this offseason!

It was a boring non-tender deadline for the Dodgers, as they elected to tender contracts to all of their eligible players. Their 40-man roster remains at 39, and the team can now focus on building the team out for the offseason.

The Dodgers tendered contracts to the following arb-eligible players, RHPs Yency Almonte, Walker Buehler, J.P. Feyereisen, Brusdar Graterol, Dustin May, Evan Phillips, LHPs Caleb Ferguson, Victor González, Alex Vesia, Ryan Yarbrough, IF Gavin Lux and C Will Smith.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 18, 2023

LA had a few players that could have been non-tendered, but the team ultimately decided to not make any moves. Now the players who were given tendered contracts head to arbitration, and there are 12 total players for the Dodgers.

Here are the projected contracts after arbitration, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Will Smith: $9.3 million

Walker Buehler: $8.03 million.

Ryan Yarbrough: $3.8 million

Evan Phillips: $3.4 million

Brusdar Graterol: $2.5 million

Dustin May: $2.4 million

Caleb Ferguson: $2.3 million

Yency Almonte: $1.9 million

Alex Vesia: $1.2 million

Gavin Lux: $1.1 million

J.P. Feyereisen: $1 million

Victor Gonzalez: $1 million

Some of these are interesting, especially those of reliever Victor Gonzalez and Ryan Yarbrough. It made sense for LA to not bring either of them back, but for now, the Dodgers decided to see what they could do. 

Hopefully, arbitration isn't a long drawn-out process for any of the players heading that way. We have seen other teams deal with issues in the past, and LA doesn't want anything dramatic to occur.

LA did avoid arbitration with one reliever, however, agreeing to a new one-year deal with pitcher Yency Almonte that is worth $1.9 million. Almonte regressed in 2023 but was special for the Dodgers in 2022. The team is likely hoping that he can rekindle the magic of 2022 next season.

Yency Almonte signs Dodgers deal for $1.9M for 2024

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 18, 2023

He posted an ERA of 1.02 in 2022 but saw that jump up to 5.06 during the 2023 campaign. Almonte is expected to be a key member of the bullpen again this season, so hopefully, he can get back to form.