One week before both teams take part in their respective Opening Day ceremonies, the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers completed the latest blockbuster of the MLB offseason on Friday.
The Kimbrel-for-Pollock deal is straight up. No money exchanged. Kimbrel will make $16 million this season and should slide into the closer's role with the Dodgers. Pollock is making $10 million and has a $10 million player option that includes a $5 million buyout.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 1, 2022
Dodgers announced the trade: AJ Pollock for Craig Kimbrel. No cash involved — effectively a money neutral swap.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 1, 2022
Already headed into the new season with a loaded lineup featuring All-Stars and MVPs like Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger and newcomer Freddie Freeman among others, as well as a starting rotation spearheaded by two-time All-Star Walker Buehler and three-time NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles was the prohibitive World Series favorite before Friday's deal. Now, here's how their bullpen is projected to look with the addition of Kimbrel.
Dodgers bullpen
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 1, 2022
Craig Kimbrel
Blake Treinen
Daniel Hudson
Brusdar Graterol
Alex Vesia
Justin Bruihl
Victor Gonzalez
Tyler Anderson
David Price
They also expect Dustin May, Danny Duffy, Tommy Kahnle and Phil Bickford back at some point.
The Dodgers' pitching depth is enormous.
Kimbrel spent the first five seasons of his career with the Atlanta Braves from 2010 to 2014, leading the league in saves in four consecutive years including a career-high 50 in 2013. Kimbrel won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2011 and finished inside the top-10 in NL Cy Young voting four times and inside the top-10 in NL MVP voting once -- both rare feats for a reliever -- during his days with Atlanta, but was traded to the San Diego Padres in April 2015.
After one season in San Diego, the flame-throwing righty was traded to the Boston Red Sox and stayed in Beantown for the next three campaigns -- making his fifth, sixth and seventh All-Star teams and winning the 2018 World Series. Kimbrel then signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2019 but had uncharacteristically poor seasons that year and in 2020, highlighted by control issues.
The Huntsville, Alabama native was traded from the Cubs to the White Sox in July 2021 and ended up bouncing back last season with his eighth All-Star nod. Kimbrel is first among active pitchers with 372 career saves, just ahead of longtime Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen (350), who joined the Braves in the offseason.
A former first-round draft pick, Pollock spent the first seven seasons of his career from 2012 to 2018 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, before signing with Los Angeles in January 2019. His best season came in 2015 when he finished with career-highs in runs scored (111), hits (192), doubles (39), RBIs (76), stolen bases (39), batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.367), while earning his only Gold Glove and All-Star nod.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!