Inside The Dodgers

Dodgers Sign Former First-Round Pick in Free Agency: Report

Gabe Smallson

Jul 5, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Nick Senzel (13) sprints to third base against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
Jul 5, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Nick Senzel (13) sprints to third base against the St. Louis Cardinals during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed a former first-round draft pick to a minor league deal, per Daniel Alvarez-Montez and El Extrabase.

Nick Senzel was drafted No. 2 overall in the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Cincinnati Reds after a promising University of Tennessee showing. Although his last MLB experience was a season ago, he has been putting up productive numbers in the Mexican League.

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Per Alvarez-Montes, Senzel had a 1.790 OPS, 10 RBIs, and a trio of home runs during a handful of showings in Mexico. With 243 career MLB starts in centerfield and 94 at third base, he seems to be a great potential fit in L.A. if he makes his way back to the Show.

Senzel first debuted in MLB during the 2019 season for the Reds. After five seasons in Cincinnati, the utility man made his way to Washington D.C.

The 2024 season included 64 appearances for the Nationals, and 10 for the Chicago White Sox. After bouncing around for quite some time between the majors, Triple-A, and even a few Double-A stints last season, Senzel started 2025 with Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos in Mexican League play.

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His solid showing thus far was all the Dodgers needed to ink a minor league deal, but the kind of player Senzel is — a solid bat who can play in both the outfield and infield — has the potential to make an impact providing depth to the Dodgers dugout.

Senzel is a career .232 hitter across his time in MLB with 40 home runs and 143 RBIs during those six seasons. If he can channel what has helped produced this kind of a start in Mexican League play thus far, he should expect to find himself back in the majors once again.

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For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.

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Gabe Smallson
GABE SMALLSON

Gabe Smallson is a sportswriter based in Los Angeles. His focus is sports and entertainment content. Gabe has previously worked at DodgersNation and Newsweek. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 2020 and is a Masters Candidate at the University of Southern California. You can get in touch with Gabe by emailing gabe.smallson@lasportsreport.com. You can find him on X @gabesmallson

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