Dodgers agree on deal to bring back Duffy?

Left-hander Danny Duffy and the Dodgers have agreed to terms for the 2022 season with a club option for 2023. To make room for Duffy on the 40-man roster, the club placed right-handed pitcher Jimmy Nelson on the 60-day injured list.

Elbow problems limited Duffy to 61 innings (13 appearances, 12 starts) in 2021, and though the Dodgers acquired him via trade from the Royals midseason with the hope he’d be able to help them down the stretch, the veteran left-hander didn’t throw a pitch for Los Angeles before becoming a free agent.

Duffy had a 2.51 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over the 61 innings he pitched this past season, and has had stretches of success during his 11-year career. But from 2018-20, he was slightly below average on the mound, with a 4.68 ERA (97 ERA+) over 63 appearances (62 starts).

A third-round Draft pick of the Royals out of high school in 2007, Duffy made his MLB debut with Kansas City in 2011, posting a 5.64 ERA in 20 starts. Injuries cost him much of the next two seasons, over which he only made 11 starts, but he had a breakout 2014 campaign, pitching to a 2.53 ERA (156 ERA+) over 149 1/3 innings (31 appearances, 25 starts).

Duffy will be entering his age-33 season in 2022, and while his 2.51 ERA over 61 innings prior to his forearm injury in ’21 certainly looks appealing, his expected ERA per Statcast was 4.27. His opponents’ hard-hit rate was 40.6 percent, which placed him in the 33rd percentile among qualified MLB pitchers. Those are red flags, but Duffy is still just two years removed from delivering a 110 ERA+ over 23 starts for Kansas City.