AP source: Pollock agrees to $55M, 4-year deal with Dodgers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Dodgers have landed a right-handed hitter to complement their deep, left-handed heavy lineup in free-agent outfielder A.J. Pollock.
Pollock and Los Angeles agreed to a $55 million, four-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the agreement had not been announced.
The agreement includes a $10 million player option for 2023 with a $5 million buyout that would make the deal worth over $60 million for five seasons. Pollock could opt out after the 2022 season and $45 million, becoming a free agent again, if he meets specified plate appearance thresholds.
The 31-year-old outfielder hit .257 last year with 21 home runs, 65 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 113 games for NL West rival Arizona.
He will fill a void created when the Dodgers traded outfielders and right-handed hitters Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to Cincinnati for a pair of prospects in December.
Pollock figures to play center field, with manager Dave Roberts using a platoon of Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez, Joc Pederson, Andrew Toles and possibly top prospect Alex Verdugo in the corners.
Pollock missed nearly two months last year because of a broken left thumb, the latest in a long line of injuries that have limited Pollock to 113 games since his breakout All-Star season in 2015.
He rejected a $17.9 million qualifying offer by the Diamondbacks in November.
If the deal is completed, the Dodgers would lose their second-highest pick in next June’s amateur draft, currently slated to be No. 31, and lose $500,000 of their 2019-20 international signing bonus allocation.
Arizona would receive an extra draft pick after the first round, giving it what currently is projected to be the 16th, 26th, 32nd, 33rd, 56th, 75th and 78th selections. The 32nd and 33rd picks are compensation for the loss of Pollock and for pitcher Patrick Corbin, who agreed to a $140 million, six-year deal with Washington.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.
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