The Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday re-signed relief pitcher Mike MacDougal to a one-year contract with a guaranteed $1 million. MacDougal will be paid $650,000 in 2012 with a $2.35 million club option for 2013 or a $350,000 buyout, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
MacDougal, who will turn 35 in March, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers last January, and made the club out of spring training. The right-hander quickly earned the trust of manager Don Mattingly, who called on MacDougal for a career-high 69 games, which was second in the club.
Read True Blue LA for Dodgers' fan reaction to the MacDougal signing.
MacDougal had a 2.05 ERA in 57 innings, but also walked 29 batters against just 41 strikeouts. Opposing batters had a .352 on-base percentage against MacDougal in 2011. He was Mattingly's go-to reliever with runners on base, facing 51 inherited runners in 2011, the sixth-most in the National League. MacDougal allowed 17 of those 51 runners to score, a 33.3% rate slightly worse than the NL average of 29.6%.
The Dodgers have a full 40-man roster, and that doesn't include relief pitcher Ronald Belisario, who is currently on the restricted list but has reportedly secured a work visa and plans to actually show up to spring training this year, unlike 2011. Belisario has to serve a 25-game suspension before he can pitch for the Dodgers.