This past offseason, the Dodgers allowed two prominent members of their bullpen to depart in free agency. Brandon Morrow signed a two-year, $21-million contract with the Chicago Cubs. Tony Watson signed an incentive-laden, two-year, $7-million deal with the San Francisco Giants.
The front office of president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi opted for their usual approach to building a bullpen. They prefer to avoid spending excessively on free-agent relievers and search for bargains. The team believed it had identified a useful duo in right-handed reliever Tom Koehler and left-handerScott Alexander.