The Los Angeles Dodgers removed three players from their roster of 40, now they are available to any other MLB team.
Although not all are recognized, it is left-hander Scott Alexander, Jimmie Sherfy and Andy Burns, who aim to never throw another ball with the Dodgers for the rest of their careers.
Alexander is the most notable of the bunch, having been a productive bullpen option for manager Dave Roberts when he was healthy. That’s a pretty significant qualifier though, as he hasn’t dwarfed twenty innings in any of the last three seasons.
Alexander posted a less than 4.00 ERA in all four seasons as a Dodger (and in the previous two years with the Royals), but has been plagued with injuries in recent years.
The left-hander missed a good part of the 2019 campaign with forearm inflammation, and he missed about four months of last season due to a shoulder problem. Alexander did not pitch after July 19, and Los Angeles chose to clear a spot on the 40-man roster rather than bring him back for his final year in control of the club with a projected $ 1.3MM refereeing salary. Before the injury, the 32-year-old scored numbers in line with his career trend. He threw 15 1/3 relief frames with a strong 2.93 ERA, offsetting a minuscule 11.9% strikeout percentage with one of the highest shooting rates in the game (61.1%).
Sherfy also finished the season on the disabled list, in his case with a sore elbow. Los Angeles had claimed him from the Giants’ arch rivals not long before, and Sherfy’s time in Dodgers blue appears to consist of just four appearances. Between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the 29-year-old pitched 15 frames out of 4.20 ERA in 2021. He spent the 2017-19 seasons with the D-Backs and owns a 3.28 ERA with roughly average strikeout and walk rates (23.8%). . and 8.3%, respectively) in 60 1/3 MLB innings.
Burns played in just nine regular-season games before being eliminated from the roster. He was re-elected after Justin Turner’s season-ending injury during the NL Championship Series required the club to add some depth to the draw. However, Burns did not end up appearing in a playoff game and is likely to return to the open market. The 31-year-old hit .232 / .361 / .412 in 216 plate appearances with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, but has very limited experience in the big leagues. (Fielding)