Black Friday door-buster deals! An outfielder for a mere $700k!
OF Mike Baxter has agreed to 1-year contract with #Dodgers to avoid arbitration.
— BHSC (@BHSCouncil) November 29, 2013
Baxter was claimed by the Dodgers off waivers from the Mets in October. He was arbitration eligible for the first time as a super two. He showed a lot of promise in 2011 and 2012, posting a .363 OBP in 251 plate appearances. In 2013 he was pretty terrible, though, batting .189 and posting an OBP of .303.
He’s worth a $700K gamble, however, especially if the Dodgers either trade and outfielder or, as has been the case much of the past couple of seasons, they need a one or two hundred plate appearances from a reserve to cover for Matt Kemp or Carl Crawford injuries.