Steve Webb
More small potatoes for the Dodgers. While most of the big-ticket free agents still on the market, the Dodgers continue to try to improve the team around the margins. This time, the club signed ex-Yankee relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle to two-year deal, worth a possible $5.25 million over the life of the contract, according to numerous online sources.
Echoing the Corey Knebel signing earlier this off-season, Kahnle represents another low-risk, high reward bullpen deal that the Dodgers hope might come to fruition down the road. It’s not a horrible bet. Kahnle had stretches of dominance in his career, especially in 2016-2017, when he was a key late inning specialist for the White Sox, and then later the Yankees. During those to campaigns, Kahnle had a 2.60 ERA over 98 appearances. His postseason numbers with the Bronx Bombers were even better, a 2.33 ERA over 19 playoff innings. The righthander relies on an elite changeup, which he throws well over 50% of the time, combined with a four-seamer to keep the hitters honest.
And from the look of fan reaction around the Yankee Twitterverse today, Kahnle was a high-spirited fan favorite. Former minor league teammate, Mike Recchia agreed with this assessment of the hurler’s personality. “Tommy is the most charismatic player I have EVER played with,” he wrote to the blog Pinstriped Prospects. “Such a fun, hardworking and sometimes…SOMETIMES, quiet dude. After you get to know him, he has a lot of fun, especially off the field and inside the locker room. On the field, he is always business.” Sounds like he will fit in well with the Dodgers, who at times in the past have been much too business-like on the field.
However, Kahnle doesn’t expect to see much, if any action during the 2021 season, as he is still recovering from his Tommy John surgery performed in August. This makes the him available in 2022, when longtime closer Kenley Jansen will be up for free agency. If the time has finally come to move away from the big man from Curaçao and into new directions, Kahnle will be a good late inning option to have on hand at that time.
Nice as these deals might end up being, Dodgers fans are still waiting for something BIG to get excited about this offseason. Does Andrew Friedman have any Christmas presents in store for fans this year? Time’s running out for 2020, Andrew, and still we go on waiting.
