Whereas the New York Mets have been busy spending three-quarters of a billion bucks, the defending champion Dodgers have been making a few lower-key strikes, re-signing reliever Blake Treinen and signing outfielder Michael Conforto. Treinen, a Dodger since 2019, will make $22 million over the subsequent two seasons. Conforto arrives in Los Angeles on a one-year, $17 million contract after two seasons with the group’s greatest rival, the San Francisco Giants.
Treinen is a recognized commodity for the Dodgers, so that is mainly a establishment signing. He had a strong first season with the group in 2020 — 3.86 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 25 2/3 innings — and received a World Collection, after which he was even higher in 2021, posting a 1.99 ERA and a couple of.88 FIP throughout 72 1/3 innings. Nonetheless, in 2022, Treinen’s shoulder began turning into an issue. After the season, he had surgical procedure to restore his labrum and rotator cuff, forcing him to overlook all of 2023. This March, his spring coaching was interrupted when he was hit by a line drive that bruised his lung, however that didn’t stop him from having a profitable marketing campaign. His velocity was down a bit, although the dip had little impact on his outcomes: 1.93 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 46 2/3 innings. And whereas his sinker wasn’t the weapon it was earlier than the shoulder surgical procedure, his sweeper was scarier than ever.
ZiPS Projection – Blake Treinen
| 12 months | W | L | ERA | G | GS | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA+ | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | 3 | 3.13 | 49 | 1 | 46.0 | 37 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 49 | 131 | 0.8 |
| 2026 | 6 | 3 | 3.61 | 52 | 1 | 47.3 | 42 | 19 | 5 | 16 | 47 | 113 | 0.6 |
ZiPS Percentiles – Blake Treinen
| Percentile | ERA+ | ERA | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95% | 318 | 1.28 | 2.0 |
| 90% | 242 | 1.69 | 1.7 |
| 80% | 188 | 2.17 | 1.4 |
| 70% | 165 | 2.48 | 1.2 |
| 60% | 144 | 2.84 | 1.0 |
| 50% | 131 | 3.13 | 0.8 |
| 40% | 120 | 3.41 | 0.7 |
| 30% | 107 | 3.82 | 0.4 |
| 20% | 93 | 4.38 | 0.2 |
| 10% | 78 | 5.22 | -0.1 |
| 5% | 68 | 6.04 | -0.4 |
Bringing again Treinen doesn’t actually change the outlook of the Dodgers bullpen, just because it already seemed fairly nasty, particularly when you agree with ZiPS. (Steamer isn’t fairly as bullish on their aid corps.) Treinen does have some related draw back danger to remember past the conventional pitcher damage stuff. He didn’t attain his last kind till he was round 30, so he’s in all probability a bit older than most individuals suppose; he turns 37 on the finish of June. Whereas I at all times inform those who “hitters age, pitchers break,” Treinen is approaching ages the place precise decline past regular damage/attrition is a factor that occurs. The Dodgers have greater than sufficient depth to cope with this, ought to it come to go.
Including Conforto isn’t fairly as attractive a transfer as it will have been 4 years in the past. With the Mets, Conforto had established himself as an All-Star expertise, with a 133 wRC+ and 13.5 WAR in slightly below 2,000 plate appearances from 2017 by way of 2020. However a hamstring damage and a case of COVID marred his 2021 season, and a shoulder damage from a exercise throughout the offseason lockout resulted in surgical procedure that value him your complete 2022 marketing campaign. Signed with the Giants to a make-good contract earlier than 2023, Conforto’s first season again from damage was moderately underwhelming, with a bland .232/.344/.384 triple-slash line, a 99 wRC+, and 0.8 WAR, however he bounced again in 2024, although not fairly to his earlier ranges. Throughout 488 plate appearances, he hit .237/.309/.450 with 20 dwelling runs, a 112 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR.
Naturally, the Dodgers won’t be relying on Conforto to be one of many grand movers of the offense. At this stage in his profession, he’s mainly taking on the function of late-period Jason Heyward, in that he’s a lefty-hitting nook outfielder who’ll complement the workforce’s righty-hitting function gamers, reminiscent of Andy Pages and Chris Taylor. ZiPS tasks a .766 OPS from Conforto in opposition to right-handed pitchers in 2025 for the Dodgers.
ZiPS Projection – Michael Conforto
| 12 months | BA | OBP | SLG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | OPS+ | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | .232 | .317 | .422 | 388 | 52 | 90 | 18 | 1 | 18 | 66 | 43 | 108 | 1 | 104 | 1.0 |
ZiPS Percentiles – Michael Conforto
| Percentile | 2B | HR | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95% | 26 | 28 | .279 | .366 | .535 | 144 | 3.1 |
| 90% | 24 | 25 | .266 | .354 | .503 | 133 | 2.5 |
| 80% | 22 | 22 | .254 | .340 | .471 | 122 | 1.9 |
| 70% | 20 | 21 | .246 | .331 | .453 | 117 | 1.7 |
| 60% | 19 | 19 | .237 | .324 | .439 | 110 | 1.3 |
| 50% | 18 | 18 | .232 | .317 | .422 | 104 | 1.0 |
| 40% | 17 | 17 | .224 | .310 | .402 | 99 | 0.7 |
| 30% | 16 | 15 | .215 | .303 | .387 | 93 | 0.4 |
| 20% | 14 | 13 | .205 | .291 | .365 | 83 | -0.1 |
| 10% | 12 | 11 | .191 | .274 | .334 | 71 | -0.8 |
| 5% | 10 | 9 | .179 | .259 | .308 | 60 | -1.3 |
Having Conforto on the roster clarifies a pair different unanswered questions when wanting on the Dodgers. Dalton Dashing noticed a very good little bit of time within the outfield for Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis this previous yr, however I think that till the Dodgers are prepared to make use of him in a full-time function, they’d moderately see him get at-bats within the minors than battle for scraps within the majors. It additionally seemingly ensures that Mookie Betts will primarily be an infielder in 2025, until accidents strike. Conforto’s signing in all probability doesn’t have a lot of an impact on whether or not Los Angeles brings again free agent Teoscar Hernández returns, although Pages could find yourself and not using a roster spot ought to Hernández return.
Do Treinen and Conforto make the Dodgers a considerably higher workforce? In fact not. However they’re a deeper, extra resilient group with the 2 of them round.