When the Dodgers traded away Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp in a massive salary dump, it seemed Los Angeles simply was making room for the inevitable — signing superstar free agent Bryce Harper to fill the void left in the outfield.
Now, it seems that theory has been completely debunked.
In search of a right-handed hitter to support lefty sluggers Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Max Muncy, L.A. signed free agent A.J. Pollock to bolster its outfield. And in adding the veteran, it seems the Dodgers officially closed the book on Harper, another left-handed bat.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts all but confirmed that speculation on MLB Network Radio on Monday, and called the Pollock signing a “big win.”
“All I know is that we’re pretty set in the outfield,” Roberts said. “We’ve got a lot of depth and we have got a lot of good players. What our organization decides to do in terms of enhancing, I can’t really speak to that right now. But I think right now, where we’re at, we’re ready to compete for a championship.”
Dave Roberts calls signing A.J. Pollock, "a big win" for the #Dodgers, but is the team really not involved in the Bryce Harper market? pic.twitter.com/6QFv4jPwE6
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) January 28, 2019
Where Harper signs at this point remains a total mystery, as the market for the 26-year-old has not been what many imagined it would be when the offseason began.
