Trevor Bauer joins Dodgers on record deal: three-years, $102 million

[Auggie]

For years, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers have looked for ways to be opportunistic and add elite free agents to shorter-term deals. Friedman and Co. made a run at Bryce Harper in 2019 and Gerrit Cole before last season.

While the Dodgers were unable to convince either Cole or Harper to take their talents to Los Angeles, they remained patient, believing they would find a way to strike in future offseasons. That patience paid off in a big way on Friday.

The Dodgers won the Trevor Bauer sweepstakes, as the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner agreed to a three-year, $102 million deal, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The club has not announced the deal, but Bauer revealed his decision on his YouTube channel.

Bauer has opt-outs after each of his first two years, sources told MLB.com, and he will be paid $40 million in 2021 and $45 million in ’22. He’ll become the highest-paid player in Major League history in ‘21 and again in ‘22. The deal would push the Dodgers’ payroll to more than $240 million, blowing past the $210 million Competitive Balance Tax threshold, meaning Los Angeles would have to pay a 20% tax on all overages.

https://www.mlb.com/news/trevor-bauer-dodgers-deal

NO SMALL MARKET TEAM CAN COMPETE WITH THIS KIND OF SPENDING. Why bother following the game if you're not from a large market?

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Outstanding pitcher but can be a head case. Hope the signing blows up on them.