5 pitchers the Los Angeles Dodgers should pursue

Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee, after sitting out the entire 2015 season, which might have been the best thing for his career, was cleared to play again back on December 3rd. After sitting out with a flexor tendon tear, which he never had surgery for, Lee is making a push to get back on the mound for 2016 and wrap up what has turned out to be a nice career. Quietly, Lee was not terrible when started 13 games in 2014, even if the Philadelphia Phillies were, and that (Philadelphia being bad) continued into 2015.

As of a week ago, 15 teams have expressed interest in the former ace. Lee is not that far removed from being a good pitcher. In fact, despite the Phillies being deplorably bad for the last few seasons, he still managed to make the All-Star team in 2013, which is quite the accomplishment. The biggest question surrounding Lee is durability. After accumulating at least 200 innings pitched from 2008-13, Lee started experiencing major injury problems again in 2014, ultimately costing him an entire year of his career this late in the game.

While Lee is a huge risk, he provides a higher ceiling than some of the other pitchers on this list. The Dodgers have also recently acquired several Phillies castoffs in the last few seasons. First, Jimmy Rollins. Next, Chase Utley. Now, Cliff Lee? It’s entirely possible.

If Lee truly is healthy again — even if he doesn’t necessarily regain his 2008-13 form — he can still be a valuable innings-eater and veteran presence in the clubhouse. If he pitches well enough, who knows, maybe even a prime Trade Deadline sell-high candidate to recoup prospects should the experiment work, but the team regresses enough to be somewhat out of the playoff picture come July.