Dodgers Sign Eddie Rosario To Minors Contract

The Dodgers have signed outfielder Eddie Rosario to a minor league deal, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC2.  Rosario has been looking for a new team since he was released from a previous minors deal with the Mets back in August.

A veteran of 10 MLB seasons, Rosario’s career highlight ironically came against the Dodgers back in 2021, when Rosario posted an absurd 1.647 OPS over 28 plate appearances in the Braves’ NLCS triumph over Los Angeles.  That incredible performance earned Rosario NLCS MVP honors, and he then earned a championship ring when Atlanta topped the Astros in the World Series.

The Braves re-signed Rosario to a two-year, $18MM free agent deal in the aftermath of that title, though the last three seasons have been much more of a struggle for the veteran.  Rosario didn’t hit well in 2022 before rebounding for a solid 21-homer campaign in 2023, but it wasn’t enough for Atlanta to exercise its $9MM club option on Rosario for the 2024 season.

He instead landed in Washington, where Rosario’s production tailed off so badly that the Nationals released him in July, and a return to the Braves also didn’t restore any of the old magic to Rosario’s bat.  Rosario’s brief stint with the Mets didn’t lead to any MLB playing time, and so his overall 2024 slash line finished at a lackluster .175/.215/.316 over 319 combined PA with the Nationals and Braves.

There’s no risk for the Dodgers in taking a flier on Rosario to see if the 33-year-old has anything left after multiple inconsistent seasons.  Rosario’s chances of breaking camp with arguably the most loaded roster in baseball aren’t great on paper, yet the situation could yet change in the event of an injury, or if Rosario forces the issue with some big Cactus League numbers.  Even if he doesn’t win a spot in Los Angeles, an impressive spring might help Rosario’s chances of landing with another team if he opts out of his minors deal before the end of camp.