Every time we think the Dodgers are done inking new deals and making new moves, they surprise us yet again. On Saturday, the Dodgers reportedly signed a potential closer option for the 2023 season. LA and former St. Louis All-Star Alex Reyes have agreed to a one year deal with an option for 2024.
MLB.com’s Juan Toribio was the first to report the signing.
The contract could exceed $4 million for the right-hander.
Now you would think this could answer the question of who will be the Dodgers closer for the upcoming season but, Reyes will most likely still miss the first few months of the season as he missed the entire 2022 season for a right shoulder injury.
Luckily, the 28-year-old pitcher is expected to make a return before the All-Star Break and the Dodgers expect him to make a big impact for the Dodgers this year.
When the 2022 season was wrapping up, it became clear that Craig Kimbrel would not be playing another season with the Dodgers again. The right-hander went 6-7 with a 3.75 ERA over 63 games in his lone season in LA before signing with the Phillies for the upcoming season.
But with Kimbrel gone for good, it left Dodgers fans wondering who would be the one finishing games out for the 2023 season.
Daniel Hudson, Brusdar Graterol, Evan Phillips, Yency Almonte and Alex Vesia were all options but luckily with the addition of Reyes, their role as a closer would be short-lived before he would come to relieve them of their duties (hopefully).
Across his five seasons spent in the major leagues (all of which were with the Cardinals), he posted a career 2.86 ERA with 177 total strikeouts across 101 games played.
In his 2021 season prior to his injury, he collected 29 saves for St. Louis, with a 10-6 record and 3.24 ERA.
I’m excited to see what he does for the Dodgers this season and looking forward to his recovery.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!