Tommy Edman had a good first year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team makes sure to get a few more.
The super-utilityman agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $74 million with a sixth-year club option, the Dodgers announced Friday. By ESPN’s Jeff PassanThe deal includes a $17 million signing bonus and deferred money.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a five-year, $74 million contract extension with IF/OF Tommy Edman through the 2029 season, with a club option for the 2030 season.
– Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 29, 2024
Edman was previously scheduled to hit free agency after 2025. He now joins Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Will Smith as Dodgers players under contract through 2029.
The structure is similar to the Dodgers’ other major deal this offseason (so far), as Snell’s five-year, $182 million deal also included a large signing bonus and deferred money. This setup helps the Dodgers when it comes to CBT calculations, with little cost to the player thanks to the upfront money.
Edman landed with the Dodgers at this year’s trade deadline, joining the club in a three-team trade that also saw reliever Michael Kopech go to Los Angeles. The trade proved vital to the Dodgers’ postseason run, with Kopech quickly becoming one of the team’s high-leverage bullpen arms and Edman earning NLCS MVP honors while providing the both flexibility and striking plays on defense.
Tommy Edman was made for the Dodgers
Edman is the rare player capable of providing above-average fielding at shortstop, center field and second base, playing the first two during the Dodgers’ World Series run. The Dodgers are a team that prioritizes positional flexibility, and Edman gives them that in three premium defensive positions.
He also gives them a powerful bat, with a grip. Edman is a hitter who clearly has a better team, hitting .181/.256/.267 against right-handed pitchers and .412/.417/.882 against left-handed pitchers. He can also catch fire at times, like when he hit .407/.393/.630 in the NLCS against the New York Mets.
Shortstop in particular has been a problem position for the Dodgers since the departure of Trea Turner in free agency, so much so that they tried Mookie Betts at the position this year. Center field isn’t a strength either, with a platoon of Andy Pages and James Outman looming for 2025. Edman figures to have plenty of time at both in 2025.
Locking down that kind of room for the next five years is important for the Dodgers, who entered the offseason with a long to-do list despite holding the Commissioner’s Trophy. Extending Edman was an item, as was getting a starting pitcher like Snell.
There’s still another starting pitcher (the Dodgers really can’t have enough of them), a corner outfielder (think Juan Soto or Teoscar Hernández), and maybe a bullpen arm or two (Blake Treinen is a free agent ). This is all to say that the team that has already spent $256 million this offseason is far from done.
