Dodgers utility Tommy Edman agrees to 5-year, million extension

Dodgers utility Tommy Edman agrees to 5-year, $74 million extension

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mwo">LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 26: Tommy Edman No. 25 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the second inning of Game 2 of the 2024 World Series Presented by Capital One between the New York Yankees and Los. Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, October 26, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)csr" src="csr"/>

Tommy Edman is exactly the type of player the Dodgers value most. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Tommy Edman had a good first year with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team is making sure to get a few more.

The Dodgers announced Friday that the super-utility man has agreed to a five-year, $74 million contract extension with a club option for a sixth year. According to Jeff Passan of ESPNthe deal includes a $17 million signing bonus and deferred money.

Edman was previously set to become a free agent 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 offseason deal (so far), as Snell’s five-year, $182 million deal also included a significant signing bonus and deferred money. This setup helps the Dodgers in terms of CBT calculations with little cost to the player due to the money upfront.

Edman landed with the Dodgers at this year’s trade deadline, joining the club in a three-team trade that also sent reliever Michael Kopech to Los Angeles. The trade became vital to the Dodgers’ playoff run, with Kopech quickly becoming one of the team’s high-leverage bullpen weapons and Edman earning NLCS MVP honors while providing flexibility and outstanding plays on defense.

Edman is a rare player who can provide above-average play at shortstop, center field and second base, having played at first two during the Dodgers’ World Series run. The Dodgers are a team that favors positional flexibility, and Edman gives them that at three premium defensive positions.

He also gives them a strong bat, with a catch. Edman is a switch hitter who clearly has the upside, 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 Trea Turner left in free agency, so much so that they tried Mookie Betts at the position this year. Center field isn’t a strong point either, with Andy Pages and James Outman set for 2025. Edman figures to see plenty of time at both in 2025.

A lock of that kind 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 one thing, as was getting a starting pitcher like Snell.

There’s still another pitcher (the Dodgers really can’t have enough), a corner hitter (think Juan Soto or Teoscar Hernández), and maybe a bullpen arm or two (Blake Treinen is a free agent). That’s all to say that the team, which has already spent $256 million this offseason, is far from done.

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