It’s no secret that Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers value versatility in their players. Just about every player on the team can play multiple positions. Even with the departure of Kike Hernandez, the 2021 squad should have no shortage of versatility up and down the roster.
In today’s game, versatility has risen to a new height as there are some teams in the league experimenting with two-way players. The most notable of course if Shohei Ohtani of the Anaheim Angels who has contributed in a limited capacity on the mound as well as at the plate. Los Angeles may have their very own two-way player on the roster in 2021. While he isn’t a big name, Matt Davidson could show enough this spring to win a spot on the Dodgers’ bench and come out of the bullpen as well.
Dave Roberts said Matt Davidson, who homered today, threw a bullpen recently and is open to throwing some innings this season. Davidson has six career pitching appearances.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) February 28, 2021
Davidson has mainly spent his career as a DH but has also racked up innings at both third and first base. He only has parts of 5 Major League seasons under his belt since 2013 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, and the Cincinnati Reds, yet Friedman has a way of finding value in even the most underachieving players. His best season came in 2017 for the White Sox in which he hit .220 with 26 home runs and 68 RBIs in 118 games. He’s also appeared in six games on the mound posting a 2.84 ERA with 3 strikeouts and 3 walks.
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Nice curve by infielder Matt Davidson. pic.twitter.com/IIJTGXMOTb
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 7, 2020
The 29-year old SoCal native could add a right-handed power bat to what’s projected to be a left-handed heavy bench. While the Dodgers have significantly upgraded to pen, you could never have too much pitching. Since the Dodgers haven’t re-signed Russell Martin to be their two-way player, Davidson could be that guy.
There’s no guarantee that he will even break camp with the big league club, but it’s fun to imagine Matt jogging out of the pen to take the mound after slugging a home run earlier in the game.
