NL West

Fernando Tatis Jr. and the San Diego Padres have agreed to a 14-year, $340 million contract extension, according to Robert Murray of FanSided.

That makes the 22-year-old the holder of the largest deal for a shortstop in MLB history. The previous record belonged to Alex Rodriguez, who once signed a 10-year, $275 million contract with the New York Yankees.

Here's a look at what that means for the Padres' payroll.

The deal carries an average annual value of $24.3 million, an AAV that would put him slightly behind teammate Manny Machado's $30 million AAV. Yu Darvish, meanwhile, has a salary with a $23 million price tag for 2021.

According to Cot's Contracts, the Padres entered Wednesday with a payroll of $166.3 million. At this point, it's not clear if Tatis' contract will include a sizable raise in 2021 or if the team's payroll will be unaffected this year.

Regardless, the team's payroll will now have another hefty contract on the books for years to come.

Though he has yet to play a full MLB season, Tatis has proved that he's worth such an investment. Through 59 games last season, he hit .277/.366/.571 with 17 home runs and 45 RBI, earned a Silver Slugger and finished fourth in voting for National League MVP after a run to the NL Division Series, where the Padres fell to the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

He played just 84 games in his first year in the league, with a .317 batting average, 22 home runs and 53 RBI. The campaign was strong enough for him to finish third in voting for the NL's Rookie of the Year award.

With Tatis locked in until his mid-30s, the Padres championship window has surely extended.

Full details of Trevor Bauer's three-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers have been made available. 

The Dodgers officially announced Bauer signed a three-year, $102 million contract on Feb. 11.

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the contract includes annual salaries of $28 million in 2021 and $32 million in 2022 and 2023 with opt-outs after the first and second years:

Trevor Bauer, Dodgers
$102M, 3 yrs

Bonus - $10M

2021: 28M ($20M payable 11/30/21)

2022: $32M

2023: $32M

May opt out of contract after 2021 and get $2M buyout

If opts out after 2021:  
2021 deferral paid $2M each Dec 1, 2031-2040.

May opt out after 2022 and get $15M buyout

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 17, 2021

Bauer's deal is unique because of the flexibility it affords both the player and team. He's 30 years old and coming off winning the National League Cy Young Award with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020. 

Based on the $10 million signing bonus and $2 million buyout if Bauer opts out at the end of this season, he can earn up to $40 million in 2021 and $85 million over the next two seasons. 

Per MLB.com's Matt Kelly and Sarah Langs, Bauer will be the highest-paid player in MLB this season and next year if he plays the first two years of the deal. 

While the deal affords Bauer plenty of financial security if he gets hurt or struggles, it also allows him to potentially return to free agency at the ages of 31 and 32. The Dodgers, meanwhile, maintain long-term flexibility.

Bauer hit the market at the perfect time after his season with the Reds. The UCLA alum led the NL with a 1.73 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in 73 innings over 11 starts. 

The Dodgers are loaded with starting pitching, including Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, so they don't need Bauer to pitch at an elite level if they want to repeat as World Series champions. But they may become unstoppable if he does.

Free-agent third baseman Justin Turner announced Saturday on Twitter that he is re-signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Lettts gooo run it back @Dodgers fans!!! @vaynersports @vaynerbaseball pic.twitter.com/fRY0pvyWMx

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) February 14, 2021

Turner, 36, batted .307 with an .860 OPS last year, hitting four home runs with 23 RBI. His efforts helped propel the Dodgers to their first World Series title since 1988.

Now he's returning to the organization for his eighth year in hopes of back-to-back titles. Here's a look at how the L.A. lineup shakes out with him in the mix, using FanGraphs' RosterResource as a guide. 

           

Projected Dodgers Batting Order

1. RF Mookie Betts

2. SS Corey Seager

3. 3B Justin Turner

4. CF Cody Bellinger

5. C Will Smith

6. 1B Max Muncy

7. LF AJ Pollock

8. 2B Chris Taylor

9. Pitcher

                                  

Bench

C Austin Barnes

INF Gavin Lux

OF/IF Edwin Rios

OF/IF Matt Beaty

                   

Payroll

Before the Turner deal, Cot's Contracts put Los Angeles' 26-man Opening Day payroll at the highest mark in the league at $233.7 million.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network and WFAN Sports Radio reported that Turner's deal is in the neighborhood of $34 million over two years.

It's unclear what the monetary figure is per year, but assuming Turner gets around $17 million per season, then the Dodgers' projected payroll would be north of a quarter-billion dollars in 2021 and higher than all three thresholds for luxury-tax penalties.

                       

Notes on Turner

Turner has been sensational in Dodger blue, hitting .302 with an .886 OPS during his seven seasons in L.A. He's hit 27 home runs on two separate occasions and made the 2017 National League All-Star team. In addition, Turner finished in the top 15 in the NL MVP voting each year from 2016 to 2018.

Turner's .307 batting average last year tied for the team lead with shortstop Corey Seager. He excelled in the playoffs as well, notably hitting .320 with a pair of home runs in the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

He's fared well in the playoffs in general, winning the 2017 National League Championship Series MVP and hitting .295 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI over 72 games.

L.A. was the World Series favorite even without Turner, but adding him back only bolsters the Dodgers' Fall Classic case. It also boosts the team's depth: Edwin Rios figured to start at third sans Turner, but now the Dodgers are fortunate enough to have a player with a lifetime .972 OPS in 139 plate appearances waiting in the wings as a pinch hitter or temporary replacement in case of injury.

Ultimately, Turner's re-signing is a huge win for the Dodgers as they look for their eighth World Series title in franchise history.

Third baseman Justin Turner announced Saturday he is returning to the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers:

Lettts gooo run it back @Dodgers fans!!! @vaynersports @vaynerbaseball pic.twitter.com/fRY0pvyWMx

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) February 14, 2021

Jeff Passan of ESPN reported it's a two-year contract worth over $30 million.

Turner attracted free-agent interest from numerous teams, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and WFAN Sports Radio. The Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers offered multiyear deals, and the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays also expressed interest.

Ultimately, Turner chose to return to the Dodgers for his eighth season in L.A.

Turner, a 12-year MLB veteran, has taken the field for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Dodgers. His best years have occurred in L.A., where Turner signed as a free agent before the 2014 season. He hit a team-high .307 with four home runs, 23 RBI and an .860 OPS in 2020.

Turner has hit .302 and posted an .886 OPS in seven seasons in Los Angeles. He's added 116 home runs, 406 RBI and 177 doubles.

He made the 2017 National League All-Star team and finished in the top 10 in the NL MVP voting in 2016 and 2017.

The Southern California native hit over .300 four times with L.A., including a career-high .340 in 2014.

The 36-year-old has also notably excelled on the postseason stage, hitting .320 with a 1.066 OPS during the 2020 World Series. He's hit .295 lifetime during the playoffs in addition to garnering an .899 OPS.

Adding Turner back into the mix helps the Dodgers keep a World Series core that looked unstoppable at times last season. They're the clear World Series favorites, especially with Turner returning and National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer signing with the team.

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially introduced offseason addition Trevor Bauer on Thursday, but the pitcher's behavior off the field was the focus of some of his first press conference.

Gabe Lacques of USA Today shared the right-hander's comments when asked about his use of social media:

"I've made mistakes in the past. I continue to [seek different perspectives]. I don't think this is the forum to go into specifics on how that will happen. I think it's a very nuanced issue.

"All I can say is I'm committed to being a positive member of the community, impact peoples' lives in a positive way and winning with this organization. I think that's what today is about on my end—trying to be involved in all different ways I can be—both on the field, in the community and the clubhouse." 

From citing debunked conspiracy theories about former President Barack Obama to appearing to express support for former President Donald Trump, some of Bauer's controversial tweets have touched on political topics.

There was also an incident in January 2019 that A.J. Perez of USA Today detailed.

Bauer and college student Nikki Giles exchanged barbs on Twitter, but the pitcher continued to do so well after she stopped. Giles said she received harassment from other Twitter users as a result and reached out to the Cleveland baseball team, which is where Bauer was pitching at the time.

Giles said the pitcher "went almost a year back into my Twitter to find a tweet about me drinking two months before my 21st birthday and exposed it to his followers."

The pitcher also tweeted that Giles was "obsessed" with him, but Perez pointed out that she mentioned him in 20 tweets compared to the 80 different times he mentioned her.

Bill Baer of NBC Sports noted Bauer also made a transphobic joke in one of those tweets.

While he didn't apologize, Bauer said he would use Twitter "more responsibly in the future" after the incident:

the world. I have been made aware that some of the interactions related to a specific Twitter exchange may have had a negative impact. That was not my intention. I will wield the responsibility of my public platform more responsibly in the future.

— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) January 9, 2019

On the field, Bauer won the National League Cy Young last season as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He is part of a loaded pitching staff in Los Angeles that also features Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, David Price and Julio Urias.

The San Diego Padres were the second-best team in the NL West last season, and they've made a number of transactions this offseason to better their chances at success heading into 2021.

The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers have noticed.

"We've definitely noticed what they've done," said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (h/t Mark Feinsand of MLB.com). "We're going to do everything we can to maintain our position."

Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. were cornerstones of a Padres team that went 37-23 before being swept by the Dodgers in the NLDS last season. They both return next season, and the Padres made multiple moves that put them in a better position to contend moving forward.

This offseason, the Padres have landed a number of notable stars through trades, building a rotation by making moves for Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove.

Then they beefed up the infield with the addition of Ha-Seong Kim, who has starred in the Korean Baseball Organization since 2014 but took it up a level by slashing .306/.397/.523 with 30 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 2020.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, won the Trevor Bauer sweepstakes when they signed the Cy Young Award winner to a three-year, $102 million deal, but they lost utilityman Kike Hernandez to the Boston Red Sox and outfielder Joc Pederson to the Chicago Cubs in free agency. Infielder Justin Turner, who was a major piece of the team's postseason run, is still on the market. 

San Diego is projected by FanGraphs to be the third-best team in MLB in 2021, while the Dodgers are still expected to come out on top, but the question marks on the Dodgers roster stand in stark contrast to the focused work the Padres have put together this offseason. 

The defending champions reportedly will not be going to arbitration with starting pitcher Walker Buehler.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Los Angeles Dodgers avoided that process by signing the right-hander to a two-year, $8 million contract that features a $2 million signing bonus, $2.75 million in salary in 2021 and $3.25 million in salary in 2022.

Buehler has been with the Dodgers his entire career and burst onto the scene in 2018 with a 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 151 strikeouts in 137.1 innings.

He followed that up with his first All-Star selection in 2019 and finished the year with a 3.26 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 215 strikeouts in 182.1 innings but dealt with some injury concerns in the shortened 2020 campaign and made just eight starts with a 3.44 ERA.

Still, he was brilliant in the postseason for the eventual champions and posted a 1.80 ERA in five playoff starts, one of which came in a World Series win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

It would not be surprising at all if Buehler uses his October efforts as a launching point into a strong 2021 season, especially since he is in the middle of his prime at 26 years old. Clayton Kershaw is a legend and the staff ace, but Buehler is talented enough to be considered a co-ace when pitching at his best.

Throw in the return of David Price and depth with Dustin May, Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin, and the Dodgers were primed to challenge for another title behind a strong pitching staff even before they brought in reigning National League Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer this offseason.

A trio of Kershaw, Buehler and Bauer atop the rotation is downright unfair for the rest of the NL West, and Buehler will be a part of that group for multiple seasons after avoiding arbitration with this latest deal.

Now that Clayton Kershaw has finally won a long-elusive World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, his future with the organization is racing towards a crossroads.

The 13-year pro and former three-time National League Cy Young-winner is preparing to play the final season of a three-year, $93 million deal and is scheduled to reach free agency next winter. Kershaw told Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times he's unsure if he wants another contract in L.A.

"I don't know," Kershaw said. "Honestly, I wish I had an answer."

Per Castillo:

"Kershaw was effusive in his praise of the Dodgers. He lauded Andrew Friedman's work as president of baseball operations, though he admitted he wasn't convinced of the front office's philosophies until the last two years. The Dodgers have won six National League West titles and advanced to three World Series in Friedman's six seasons."

Friedman confirmed to Castillo that the organization and Kershaw have yet to engage in discussion about an extension, but remained hopeful the hurler would finish his career as a Dodger.

Kershaw seems less than sure.

The 32-year-old noted he has considered retirement and it's not a given he would continue playing elsewhere if his time in Los Angeles comes to an end. He does, however, own property in his hometown of Dallas, Texas, where his family lives year-round.

Said Clayton's wife, Ellen Kershaw:

"Just with our kids being, especially school-age, it's not as easy to pull them out of school and get us to L.A. during the season. And we are so committed as a family just to sticking together and being where you are, so there is just a little bit more discussion from a kid's perspective of making sure that we're making the right decisions for them, for us as a family. And so I think kindergarten, this is an easy year for us to pull [daughter Cali] out and go to spring training and do the season and stuff. And we'll just continue to make that a discussion."

That could make the Texas Rangers a possible suitor for the southpaw next offseason.

In the meantime, the Dodgers will try to keep him from leaving Los Angeles a bit longer.

The Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs discussed a third baseman swap featuring Nolan Arenado and Kris Bryant last offseason, but Colorado didn't make the move because of concerns about the financial commitment involved.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and The Athletic provided the report Saturday:

"The clubs spoke at length, but sources said the Rockies were unwilling to take on any financial commitment beyond Bryant's remaining two years of club control, which at the time figured to be worth about $40 million in arbitration.

"The Cubs initially broached the idea of including outfielder Jason Heyward, who was owed $86 million over four years, to further defray the obligation to Arenado, who was still owed $225 million over seven. But the talks failed to progress, amounting to a what-might-have-been for the Cubs, particularly with Arenado now joining their biggest rival."

The Rockies traded Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals for left-handed pitcher Austin Gomber and four minor leaguers in infielers Elehuris Montero and Mateo Gil and right-handed pitchers Tony Locey and Jake Sommers.

Rosenthal provided some MLB executive takes on the swap.

"Rival executives remain baffled by the deal, in which the Rockies sent Arenado and $51 million to the Cardinals for left-hander Austin Gomber and four minor leaguers, only one of whom, infielder Elehuris Montero, was in Keith Law's top 15 for St. Louis entering the 2020 season."

Receiving Bryant in return likely would have netted the Rockies a greater value for trading one of the game's best players, even if Arenado had a down year at the dish in 2020 with a career-low .253 batting average and a .738 OPS.

Bryant had his own struggles with just four home runs, 11 RBI, a .206 batting average and .644 OPS.

However, he's entering his age-29 season, and his first five MLB campaigns included three All-Star appearances, a World Series title and a National League MVP award, so he's capable of far better than what he showed during the truncated 2020 season.

The two third basemen could be seeing a lot more of each other in 2021 if Bryant stays in Chicago, with Arenado a member of the NL Central.

The Cardinals should be the clear division favorites heading into the year. The Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers are the likely top two contenders to knock the Cards from that perch.

When Trevor Bauer entered free agency, reports quickly surfaced that he was seeking to earn the highest average salary for any pitcher in baseball. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers did him one better when they reportedly inked him to a three-year, $102 million deal: They made him the highest-paid player in baseball.

At least for the next two years. 

Trevor Bauer gets $102M for 3 years from Dodgers, per source. He has opt outs after each of the first two years; $40M in 2021, $45M in 2022. He'll be the highest-paid player in MLB history in '21, then again in '22. Good job by @AgentRachelLuba & Jon Fetterolf of @zssports_law.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 5, 2021

Bauer's deal is heavily front-loaded and will see him earn $40 million in 2021 and $45 million in 2022. Should he opt in for his third year, he'll make just $18 million in 2023, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. 

Before Friday, New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole held the highest average annual value contract in baseball at $36 million per year. Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout was right behind him at $35.5 million AAV. 

In earning $40 million this season, the Dodgers reportedly have agreed to pay Bauer more than the entire current payroll of the Baltimore Orioles ($39.1 million), Pittsburgh Pirates ($37.8 million) and Cleveland ($36.6 million), according to Spotrac. 

I think Trevor Bauer getting paid as much as some teams' entire payrolls this season says a lot more about those teams than it does Bauer or the Dodgers.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 5, 2021

Those numbers could still go up as free agency rolls on, but it shows a willingness on a part of the reigning World Series champions to spend far beyond what other teams are comfortable with. ESPN's Jeff Passan noted Bauer's contract puts the Dodgers nearly $30 million over the luxury tax with a 2021 payroll of about $240 million. And L.A. has yet to address a need at third base this offseason. 

Passan reported the New York Mets offered Bauer a contract with a higher overall value, but the chance to become baseball's highest-paid player for the next two years was apparently too much pass up. 

Even if it means he's back on the free-agent market after 2022.