Now that the Rule 5 draft has effectively ended the 2024 Winter Meetings, where might the Dodgers stand. Right now, I do not see the Dodgers linked to any player in a trade, and only Teo as a FA, even though those links are starting to unravel.
The current position player roster (13):
- DH – Shohei Ohtani
- C – Will Smith
- 1B – Freddie Freeman
- 2B – Gavin Lux
- 3B – Max Muncy
- SS – Mookie Betts
- LF – Michael Conforto
- CF – Tommy Edman
- RF – Andy Pages/James Outman
- Bench – Austin Barnes (C), Miguel Rojas (Infield utility), Chris Taylor (utility), Andy Pages/James Outman
Current Starting Pitchers (6):
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Blake Snell
- Tyler Glasnow
- Bobby Miller
- Tony Gonsolin
- Landon Knack
Current Relief Pitchers (7):
- Blake Treinen
- Michael Kopech
- Dustin May
- Evan Phillips
- Alex Vesia
- Ryan Brasier
- Anthony Banda
Other relievers in line:
- Edgardo Henriquez
- Jack Dreyer
- Michael Grove
- Giovanny Gallegos
- Brusdar Graterol (July return)
Other starters in line:
- Shohei Ohtani
- Justin Wrobleski
- Ben Casparius
- Nick Frasso
- Emmet Sheehan (Late July)
- Clayton Kershaw (June/July) – Assume LAD signs him
Injured – to return 2026:
- River Ryan
- Gavin Stone
- Kyle Hurt
Interesting that CWS insisted on catcher Kyle Teel to be included in the deal for Garrett Crochet, and Boston said YES. But when CWS insisted on Dalton Rushing at last year’s deadline, LAD said NO. I have no idea who else was in the proposed deal between LAD and CWS, but maybe LAD missed on that one.
Trade Buzz:
Luis Robert, Jr. (CF) – With CWS getting catcher Kyle Teel in the Crochet deal, there is very little upside for CWS to take Rushing in trade package for Robert, Jr. There is also very little upside for CWS to trade Robert, Jr. after his poor 2024. It makes more sense for CWS to maximize the return for Robert, Jr by holding on to him until the deadline, hoping for a big bounceback from him.
Kyle Tucker (RF) – No chance LAD gets involved in this one. They cannot top Chicago Cubs or NYY, if (BIG IF) Houston does trade him.
Luis Castillo (RHP) – Do the Dodgers really need a frontline pitcher? Seattle could use a 2B, and Gavin Lux would be a big upgrade over Ryan Bliss. Castillo is available. Zero LAD buzz.
Mitch Keller (RHP) – See Luis Castillo, although the delta between the value of Lux and Pittsburgh 2B is smaller than it is with Bliss. Keller may be available. Zero LAD buzz.
Cody Bellinger (OF/1B) – Cubs do not want to eat any of the dollars remaining, and LAD does not want to assume 2 years $52.5MM. I have indicated that I would welcome Belli back, but I am not sure LAD does. Zero LAD buzz.
Seiya Suzuki (RF) – I do think this is a trade LAD should pursue. I have not heard any buzz on this actually being a LAD possibility.
Devin Williams (RHRP) – Dodgers have been heavily connected with this relief pitching one year rental. A trade with LAD and Gavin Lux seems potentially possible. Milwaukee can use a 2B with Bryce Turang moving to SS. This seems like a perfect match. Let AF/BG and Matt Arnold put on the finishing touches. Make it happen.
Nolan Arenado (3B) – Dodgers, Padres, and Angels are on his wish list, while he would be willing to accept a trade to the Phillies, Mets or Red Sox. Arenado favors LAD more than any other team. Padres and Angels have existing high priced 3B. Phillies (once they trade Alec Bohm), Mets, and Red Sox are more viable options. NYY was interested, but Arenado did not include them as a team he would be willing to waive his no-trade.
Starling Marte (Corner OF) – NYM says they are willing to pay down his contract to facilitate a trade. His last plus year was 2022. For one year at a max $$$ cost of $19.5MM, Marte is worth a discussion.
Not a single SS linked to LAD, which begs the question, did LAD pursue Andrés Giménez? If not, they should have. Toronto sent MLB reserve 1B/2B Spencer Horowitz and unranked OF Nick Mitchell (High A). Could the Dodgers have beat that? Maybe Lux?
Not a single OF linked to LAD that I can find.
Free Agent Buzz:
Position Players:
Teoscar Hernández (Corner OF) – This seems to be a perfect match, but Teo is not about to leave a lot on the table, years or $$$. After Juan Soto, the most recent prediction is 3 years $72MM ($24MM). While he accepted deferred payments last year, he may not be willing to do so again. When you see Soto and Fried agreeing to contracts without deferrals, maybe Teo wants a deal sans deferrals. More buzz with Teo than any other FA, but it seems to be waning, and both parties seem resigned to part company. Hopefully this gets back on track. Toronto, Boston, and NYY probably lead for Teo.
Anthony Santander (RF) – Figures to get a 4th year and perhaps the same $24MM AAV. No buzz with LAD, who seem very unlikely to sign him with a QO attached.
Alex Bregman (3B) – Absolutely no buzz with LAD. NYY is currently the favorite. NYY needs a 3B to move Jazz Chisholm to 2B. However, NYY has the same heartache with 2017 Astros that LAD has. Boston is also interested in Bregman, and he would not mind reconnecting with Alex Cora. Detroit is also interested, and Bregman would not mind rejoining manager A.J. Hinch. Perhaps the Javy Baez contract is too fresh for Detroit. He figures to get north of Willie Adames’ 7 year $182MM, and $cott Bora$ has been delivering all Winter. Wherever he lands, it will not be with LAD.
Ha-Seong Kim (SS) – Shoulder surgery last year. Atlanta and Detroit seem to be at the front of the pack. I have not heard any buzz from LAD on Kim, but a one year pillow contract might be of some interest. SD also figures to check in on Kim.
Pete Alonso/Christian Walker/Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – LAD not interested in any of the three 1B. LAD has someone named Freddie Freeman playing 1B.
Starting Pitchers:
Corbin Burnes (RHSP) – Toronto and Boston top 2 landing spots. Giants also included as real possibility. I am not sure Toronto or Boston will let SFG outbid them, although they did outbid both for Willie Adames. But elite SP is still king. No LAD buzz. Burnes has said that he wanted to sign with LAD, but after Snell signed, he realized that was not going to happen. If Max Fried is worth 8 years $218MM, Burnes should exceed Fried’s contract. Burnes is about a year younger than Fried. No chance.
Sean Manaea (LHSP) – Bora$ has intimated that he wants to exceed Texas’ contract with Nathan Eovaldi (3 years $75MM). Dodgers will not bite for that amount, and also lose 2 draft picks (2nd and 5th top picks) and $1MM international bonus pool $$$. Strong possibility he lands back with NYM.
Jack Flaherty (RHSP) – Would love to see him back with LAD, but the original contractual terms prediction of 5 years $115MM seems that it could be low based on the excessive contracts the SP have signed for (except Blake Snell). The number of years seem to be exorbitant for LAD. A number of teams seem to be in on Flaherty. SFG???
Walker Buehler (RHSP) – The Dodgers chose not to give Buehler a QO because he probably would have accepted it under duress because the QO would have hindered his chances for signing with another team. I still hold out hope that Buehler will come home, but if the Dodgers wanted to give him 2 or more years, they would have done it before he became a FA (just my opinion).
José Quintana (LHSP) – Could fit in the Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney one year affordable mold. No buzz connected with LAD, just my observation.
Trevor Williams (RHP) – See José Quintana above.
Nick Pivetta (RHSP) – Has a QO attached, and extremely unlikely that LAD is willing to lose draft picks and $1MM international bonus pool $$$. No LAD buzz. Cincinnati is currently the team with the most interest, but they are just kicking tires.
The Dodgers will wait to sign Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers are not blocking their SP for the likes of Andrew Heaney or Kyle Gibson. The ship has sailed for Justin Verlander. The 2021 memory of Max Scherzer is too recent for LAD to be interested (again my opinion).
Relief Pitchers:
A lot of LAD fans want Tanner Scott, but he is expected to sign a 4 year deal. 4 years, $60MM. This is something that AF just does not do. Fans may not like that, and I agree that LAD relied heavily on the relievers in 2024. But I just do not see Tanner Scott in Dodger Blue in 2025 (or 2026-2028). NYY needs to rebuild the back end of the bullpen, and Tanner Scott is a perfect fit. We have not got too far immersed into the Hot Stove League where top relievers get picked.
Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez are a notch below and are probably in the 2-3 year range. Jeff Hoffman might also be looking for a starting role (i.e. Clay Holmes)..
I think AF/BG would prefer a one year deal with:
- Kirby Yates (my choice) – How great would it be to have Yates shut down the Padres.
- Michael Soroka (another failed starter who seems to have found a role as a reliever).
- Andrew Kittridge
- Tommy Kahnle
- David Robertson
- Spencer Turnbull
- Jakob Junis
I readily acknowledge that I do not have anywhere near a comprehensive list of potential LAD targets. These are just the ones that I have heard the most buzz on. Please add on any other LAD targets with buzz that I may have missed. Also feel free to add on names you may want them to consider. You never know.
Excellent article , Jeff! You pretty much nailed everything down.
Just one thing: You left out Shohei on the column of starting pitchers in line.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was sorry to see the Dodgers miss out on Adames. He now becomes the giants long term solution at shortstop instead of ours. I don’t think he will be as good in San Francisco as he could have been in LA, but we will see a lot of him in the coming years.
I do hope there will be another infield move. And I hope they can sign Teo and Sasaki. It feels like moves we don’t see coming is likely what we will see coming. When? Beats me.
I think we all assumed Mookie was going to play 2b which made Lux tradeable. Now as Mookie is slotted to play SS we need Lux! If Freeland becomes ready to play SS then what?
Great read. What happens if we trade Lux? Who plays SS?
Another excellent and comprehensive review. Gracias.
I am not deeply worried about the OF–and I won’t worry at all if Teo comes back–but it strikes me that outfield is now the weakest element of a strong championship team.
For that reason, I think it behooves the LA brass to explore the Kyle Tucker situation, simply because it’s rare that a player of his achievements and talent hits the market.
What do the Astros want? Could the Dodgers be a fit? Would Rushing + Bobby Miller + ?? get the Astros’ attention? (Astros have Altuve, so we can save Lux for the Devin Williams deal.)
And what does Tucker want? Maybe he’d be thrilled by the idea of joining the Dodgers. (Malibu is so much nicer than Houston.)
Looking back on the Mookie situation, it seemed clear that Boston knew there was no chance of him staying with the Red Sox. Mookie wanted out–and now Houston seems to think they won’t be able to keep Tucker from testing free agency.
With Mookie, Friedman seized the opportunity. He offered a decent package topped by Verdugo, and then signed Mookie to a megadeal, ushering in a new era for the Dodgers.
Perhaps the Yankees or ??? can swing such a deal for Tucker. The Yankees still need to do something big to compensate for Soto’s departure, so they may be willing to overpay. Still, I think the Dodgers should be “in” until it’s clearly untenable. (And I certainly don’t think the “Trashtros” scandal should be a factor.)
BTW, I do like the idea of Kirby Yates–not that the bullpen really needs much help.
As usual Jeff your articles are well thought out and thorough. What this suggests to me is the Dodgers could be pretty much done except around the fringes of the roster. Maybe AF has a surprise trade up his sleeve, who knows. Still have hope for a Teoscar reunion. I’d like to see Kike come back as well. He brings a lot to the club, especially at playoff time.
Would the Dodgers consider Profar if they whiff on Teo????
Is Teoscar signs elsewhere, I’d expect the team to wait until January when prices fall and values increase for a final OF spot.
Hey! It worked last year.
Miller and Knack in starting rotation would like a better option there. Sign Teo he plays in rightfield and Conforto in Leftfield. Edman /Pages in centerfield mookie at second trade Lux and Outman to someone either get a centerfielder or fulltime shortstop and a starting pitcher. Trade for Robert’s Jr he becomes the centeefieldee with Conforto in LF and Teo in Rightfield and Edman the every day shortstop with Mookie at second base that’s how I look at it.
Defensively speaking, Edman’s best position is second base. He is good as a SS and great as a 2nd baseman. Outman and Edman might be equals as center fielders.
I do not want to lock out Freeman from SS by trading for or signing an expensive SS to a long-term contract. Although Muncy could be gone in a year and Freeman could wind up at 3rd. Besides, if the Dodgers invest heavily in pitching they will need a few players who are cost-controlled in the lineup. Players like Outman, Pages, Freeman, Lux, Rushing, Miller, Knack…
I think if the Dodgers include a pitcher like Miller it won’t happen unless they sign Sasaki.
I wouldn’t hold out hope for Tanner Scott.
Per Feinsand:
The Yankees are also in the market for a first baseman, with Christian Walker among the top free-agent candidates. The bullpen will also be a focus, and a source tabbed Tanner Scott as New York’s top target.
The great Charles CW Cooke has a lovely podcast on baseball, its changes and its place in culture:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-charles-c-w-cooke-podcast/id1647660323?i=1000680119827
just a lovely lesson. Leisurely too. I really like the part where they identified, unintuitive, the baseball is actually an urban game when it comes to audiences and that the move to the suburbs really impacted baseball‘s popularity
I also (slow morning at work) heavily recommend this from Fangraphs:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/we-tried-tracker-winter-meetings-update/
According to Valentina Martinez at SI.com Teoscar Hernandez has removed the Dodgers from his social media profile. Don’t know what that means; could mean nothing. Kind of hard to negotiate with other teams when your former team is still on your social media profile I guess.
If the Dodgers could get Arenaldo, Hensley, and a starting outfielder. For say Muncy, Lux, Outman, Miller, I think that would be a fair trade dodgers get a bettee fielding third baseman and a outfielder either in Rightfield or Leftfield plus a good relief pitcher. Muncy then can play first base for the Cardinals since Goldschmidt is leaving then Lux can play second an Outman can get a new start with a new team in the outfield and Miller maybe its easier to be the number 4 or 5 guy fir the Cardinals then the Dodgers. This plan if they don’t get Teoscar back my worry is the Red Sox might offer him more money. My question who would be a good outfielder to get from the Cardinals or they go after Sterling Marte to play rightfield him with Edman and Pages in centerfield and Conforto and Taylor in Leftfield until the trade deadline gets here I just think they move Muncy Judy seems like he gets hurt every year and wouldn’t it be nice to see Arenaldo Betts freeman and Ohtani and Smith in the lineup always every game.
An intriguing reclamation project just became available, RHP Roansy Contreras. He was just DFA’d by Texas. At times he was unhittable, and then he turned around and stunk up the joint. He is only 25 and throws 6 pitches, with his 4-seamer sitting at 95. I am not advocating the Dodgers sign him, but I hope he lands with a team that will help with his consistency. Remember Tanner Scott had one good season with Baltimore (but just 20.2 IP) in 2020, before he took off at 28 years old in 2023.
I love LAD reclamation projects. How do you not root extra hard for Evan Phillips, Anthony Banda, and Ryan Brasier. The Dodgers have their 2025 reclamation project in Giovanny Gallegos.
I do keep reading that the Dodgers could actually break tradition and sign Tanner Scott. LAD is a huge underdog with that endeavor, as NYY has more $$$ to spend and need Tanner more.
https://TWITTER.com/LFG_NYM/status/1867321208699777327
Home from the hospital. Recovery is slow but feeling better.
I am not knowledgeable on the specifics of each position, so forgive me if this question is silly. Could it be possible for Mookie to spend a short period at short, then shift to third when Muncy departs?
Alcantara to the Dodgers rumor?
Per Passan:
Second baseman Caleb Durbin is also headed to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Nestor Cortes in the Devin Williams deal, sources tell ESPN.
IMHO only, Dodgers could have beaten this offer, I again don’t think the Dodgers value relievers (AF has spoke on this definitively) as much as most other teams.
Per Heyman:
Cubs continue to work hard on potential Kyle Tucker deal. Paredes and Cam Smith are among names being discussed.
Hello Guys, I Am up and around a little better, just read about the Tucker trade to the Cubs and Williams going to the Yankees. Thought the return for Williams was something the Dodgers could have easily beaten. Tucker was a total surprise. Think LA should pursue Tanner Scott and get Teo Back and sign Sasaki.
AF/BG and Teoscar Hernández remain apart on the average annual value and the signing bonus, per a source. Moreover, Hernández does not want any deferrals in his contract. Not everybody does want deferrals. He is currently in Florida working out with close friend and former teammate, Vlad Jr. Toronto is Teo’s current #2 choice and rising quickly. It is reported that AF/BG are looking for alternative OF options.
Maybe Seiya Suzuki is one of those. But it takes two teams to make a trade. I am not sure that LAD and Chicago match up well.
The two remaining free agent OF are Jurickson Profar and Harrison Bader. Starling Marte is available and NYM said they are willing to pay down his salary to facilitate a trade. He was a 3.9 bWAR player in 2022, but a combined -.1 bWAR the last 2 years. I do not think they can pay it down low enough to interest the Dodgers. I do not think Marte is nearly good enough to block Andy Pages in RF, and I do not believe they are paying Conforto $17MM to be a platoon OF.
Per Francys Romero
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially signed 7 players before the conclusion of the 2023-24 international signing period:
DR
RHP Cesar Sanchez
RHP Samuel Saviñon ($225K)
INF Antoni Ureña
INF Hendry Arvelo
RHP Shai Romero ($200K)
LHP Aneudy Almonte ($50K)
VEN
RHP Alexis Reyes
Cubs get Tucker. OK, time to make a push for Suzuki.