Margot was wit the Dodgers for just over two months, with the outfielder traded from the Rays then later dealt to the Twins all before the season began.
It’s unfair and dismissive to consider an established major league player a throw-in in a trade, but Manuel Margot was a throw-in from the Rays in the deal that brought Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers last December.
Glasnow was the ace the Dodgers coveted, and extended for four more years as a contingency for the trade to occur. Margot was the outfielder who came to Los Angeles along with him.
Throw-ins can be quite useful, like Carl Crawford for about a season and a half after coming along as part of the freight for the Dodgers trading for Adrían González over a decade ago, or how David Price was a productive swingman for two seasons after being part of the great Mookie Betts heist of 2020.
Margot was still around once spring training started, but by then was considered extra on the roster. That turned out to true, just not in the way the Dodgers originally planned. They had Teoscar Hernández in left field, Betts in right, and James Outman on the strong side of a platoon in center. But Betts ended up playing more games in the infield during the season, and Outman lost his job and was in Triple-A by May.
Margot had a 115 wRC+ against left-handed pitching from 2021-23, and could have potentially excelled in a platoon role, but the Dodgers also had the right-handed Andy Pages waiting in the wings in the minors. Ultimately, Pages was called up in April and did do quite well against southpaws.
After the first few weeks of workouts in Arizona, Margot remained with the team and even played in two spring training games for the Dodgers, going 0-for-3 on both February 23 and February 25, both at Camelback Ranch. Margot wore uniform number 25, in case you were wondering.
One day later, he packed his bags for Florida, as the Dodgers traded Margot and cash to the Twins along with minor league infielder Rayne Doncon in exchange for minor league shortstop Noah Miller.
The Dodgers opted for more versatility in signing free agent Kiké Hernández for $4 million. They sent $6 million to the Twins in the Margot deal, which means LA essentially used the same $10 million roster spot for a different direction. It worked out okay for the Dodgers.
2024 particulars
Age: 29
Stats: 2 spring training games, 0-for-6 with LA; .238/.29/.337, 79 wRC+, 343 PA with Twins
Salary: $10 million ($6 million paid by Dodgers)
Game of the year
Margot got to play his old team only a few weeks into the regular season, when the Dodgers traveled to Minneapolis to play the Twins. Margot started two of the three games, and on April 8 had two hits, including a two-run home run off left-hander James Paxton.
Manuel Margoing-going-GONE! pic.twitter.com/5aDXM48Wd7
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 9, 2024
Roster status
The Twins declined Margot’s $12 million club option for 2025, and he’s now a free agent. The $2 million buyout was paid by the Rays as part of last December’s Glasnow trade.