2016 Dodgers review: Andre Ethier

A foul ball off his right leg nearly wiped out all of Andre Ethier’s 2016, his 11th season with the Dodgers.

What went right

Ethier was 2-for-6 with a walk in the postseason, and one of his hits was a home run, against left-hander Jon Lester in Game 1 of the NLCS. All seven of his postseason plate appearances were as a pinch hitter.

He was 4-for-11 (.364) with a home run and a walk as a pinch hitter during the regular season, proving quite valuable off the bench in the final few weeks of the season.

What went wrong

Those brief glimpses of playing time — 33 total plate appearances in September and October — were all Ethier got in the majors in 2016, missing the first 140 games of the season after breaking his right tibia.

Ethier suffered the injury during spring training in March and was expected to miss three months, but the recovery took much longer than expected.

Even after coming back in September, Ethier’s leg wasn’t fully healed, and he was limited to just two starts and four games in left field, totaling just 23.... defensive innings.

2016 particulars

Age: 34

Stats: 5-for-24 (.208), HR, 2B, 2 BB in 16 games

Salary: $18 million

Game of the year

There were not very many to choose from, but we’ll go with Game 1 of the NLCS, with Ethier’s home run the Dodgers’ first run of the series, and one of only two runs they would score in two starts against Lester in the series.

Roster status

Ethier is entering the final season of his five-year contract, and will make $17.5 million in 2017. He has a $17.5 million club option for 2018 that will vest if Ethier totals 550 plate appearances next year, a number he hasn’t reached since 2013.

If the option is declined, Ethier receives a $2.5 million buyout.