Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — While Tyler Glasnow was the marquee item in the trade with the Tampa Bay Rays this week, outfielder Manuel Margot will be tagging along for the ride. At 29, Margot is still in his prime, but he comes to the Dodgers with a wealth of postseason and big game experience, which could come in handy next season.
Margot’s career slash line is .255/.309/.385. Against left-handed pitching, it’s a markedly improved .281/.341/.420. This makes it likely that the Dodgers are looking at him as a potential platoon mate with Jason Heyward in right field. With Mookie Betts vacating the position for the infield, the Dodgers’ outfield becomes a big question mark in 2024. Margot can help that a little. He’s an above average defender who can play all three positions, so his addition to the roster bolsters the outfield defense. Offensively, he’s got decent numbers, but not a lot of pop in his bat. If the Dodgers get twenty homers out of Heyward and Margot, that would be sufficient, but not spectacular.
Full disclosure. I’m not a huge Manuel Margot fan. His ill-advised decision to steal home on his own in the 2020 World Series is still imprinted on my brain as a moment that just might have been the turning point of the entire series. And while it worked in the Dodgers’ favor in that case, that incident gives me little confidence on Margot’s decision-making ability on the basepaths.
Margot is due $10 million next season, and his contract includes a $12 million club option for 2025, with a $2 million buyout. $10 million seems like a lot to pay for a below-average outfielder, especially when the team has minor leaguers who could probably contribute at that level. The scuttlebutt before the trade was that the Dodgers were not that high on Margot, but really wanted to get Randy Arozarena instead. That would have been an earthquake deal. Margot is definitely a step down from the dynamic crowdpleaser Arozarena.
Maybe Friedman is looking to deal Margot before he even plays for the Dodgers. Like David Price in the Mookie Betts deal, he was sort of the the price of admission to get to Glasnow. We’ll see what Dave Roberts has planned for the outfield, which is definitely going to be the weakest part of the team in 2024 under these conditions.
