Dodgers super-utility man gets super lucrative contract extension

The Dodgers and super-utility man Tommy Edman have agreed to a five-year, $74M extension that runs from 2025 to 2029 and contains a club option for the 2030 season, the team has announced. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first with the agreement. Per Passan, the option for 2030 is worth $13M and comes with a $3M buyout. The deal includes a $17M signing bonus, and approximately a third of the money is deferred. Edman was already under contract for 2025 at a rate of $9.5M, so this deal adds four years and $64.5M in terms of new money.

The club was reportedly in the midst of “preliminary” discussions regarding an extension with Edman’s camp last week, and those talks have now come to fruition. Edman, 29, was acquired by the Dodgers from the Cardinals alongside White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech in a three-team, eight-player trade that also sent Tommy Pham and Erick Fedde to the Cardinals and Miguel Vargas to the White Sox just prior to this summer’s trade deadline. At the time of the deal, Edman hadn’t appeared in a big league game following setbacks related to wrist surgery he underwent during the 2023 offseason. While he ultimately didn’t make his Dodgers debut until Aug. 19, the switch-hitter made an immediate impression with the club as he seamlessly shifted between center field and shortstop as needed down the stretch and into the postseason, all while hitting a respectable .237/.294/.417 (98 wRC+) in the regular season and an excellent .328/.354/.508 during a torrid playoff run that earned him the NLCS MVP award.

Evidently, 53 games between regular-season play and the postseason was all that the Dodgers needed to decide that Edman was a player they wanted to have on the team long-term. The utility man was due $9.5M entering his final year before free agency, meaning that the deal actually guarantees Edman $64.5M over four years in terms of new money, but the club option still gives the Dodgers an extra five years of control over Edman, who will play the 2030 season at the age of 35. Turning back to the guaranteed years, this deal theoretically increases the average annual value of Edman’s deal from $9.5M to $14.8M for the 2025 season, but it’s unclear where the final AAV calculation for the extension will land once the reported deferrals have been accounted for.

By keeping Edman in the fold long-term, the Dodgers will retain a flexible player who can play all over the diamond and shift between the infield and outfield with minimal issues based on the needs of the club. That’s an archetype of player the club has coveted in recent years, as evidenced by their commitment to veteran utility man Chris Taylor and frequent deals with utility man Enrique Hernandez. While Hernandez is currently a free agent and Taylor does not figure to be a regular fixture in the club’s lineup for 2025, Edman is joined by Mookie Betts as a player who offers the Dodgers plenty of flexibility in their lineup construction. A six-time Gold Glove winner in right field, Betts has in recent seasons begun to play an increasing amount of second base and even shortstop, and the club seemingly plans to play him on the infield dirt again in 2025.

With Betts, Gavin Lux and Miguel Rojas poised to handle the middle infield for the Dodgers next year, that could leave Edman to patrol center field for the Dodgers on a regular basis next year. It’s a position he only picked up on a regular basis in 2023, but he’s been undeniably effective at the position since moving there: he posted +1 Outs Above Average at the position in just 188 innings with the Dodgers this year after reaching an excellent +5 mark in 330 innings in center for the Cardinals in 2023. If he can maintain that level of defensive prowess at the position over a full season, Edman’s league average bat should make him a well above average regular overall for the Dodgers in 2025.

It’s already been a busy offseason for the Dodgers, as today’s Edman extension pairs with their blockbuster five-year deal with lefty Blake Snell earlier this week. With room to improve in the outfielder corners, holes to fill in the bullpen, and longtime franchise face Clayton Kershaw as of yet unsigned, there figures to be plenty more on president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s to-do list this winter. Having Edman’s plus defensive ability locked into center field for the foreseeable future could make the club even more comfortable pursuing offensive upgrades in the outfield corners. They’ve already been linked to corner bats without much defensive prowess such as Teoscar Hernandez and even Juan Soto, both of whom are rumored targets for L.A. this winter and would surely appreciate being flanked by a center fielder of Edman’s caliber.