ORLANDO, Fla. — At the beginning of this offseason, the Dodgers signaled a willingness to be affected person and methodical in constructing their roster for 2026.
At the beginning of this week’s MLB Winter Conferences, at the very least, the group arrives in Orlando having to this point remained true to type.
In comparison with their whirlwind offseasons the previous two winters, the Dodgers have been conspicuously quiet within the wake of their second consecutive World Collection championship. Their solely free-agent deal has been the re-signing of veteran infielder Miguel Rojas. Their solely commerce was a swap of minor-league pitchers with the Seattle Mariners. The largest information, so far, was their resolution to non-tender reliever Evan Phillips (they usually might very nicely wind up bringing him again).
Behind the scenes, there have been efforts for extra, after all. The group got here up brief in pursuit of free-agent relievers Raisel Iglesias and Devin Williams. They’ve canvassed the commerce market and laid potential groundwork for doable future strikes.
However for now, precisely what their winter will maintain stays a largely unanswered query.
And, in all probability, it might finally be dictated by whom they’re keen to half with as they go about re-shaping their roster.
All offseason, the commerce market has appeared just like the Dodgers’ most rational path to upgrading their roster — the place they might most simply shore up their wants within the bullpen and outfield, whereas nonetheless avoiding having so as to add one other long-term contract to their costly and getting old core.
There are targets galore to go after, too, from Brendan Donovan or Lars Nootbaar of the St. Louis Cardinals, to Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu of the Boston Purple Sox, to doubtlessly even larger names like Cleveland’s Steven Kwan or Minnesota’s Byron Buxton (although the latter is reportedly unlikely to be dealt this offseason).
Oh, and so long as there stays even a slim probability of two-time Cy Younger-winning pitching Tarik Skubal getting traded by the Detroit Tigers, you may guess the Dodgers shall be monitoring that scenario, too.
For president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Co., the duty shall be making an attempt to line up a commerce bundle to drag off on any of these strikes.
The Dodgers have loads of chips to deliver to the bargaining desk, with ample younger pitching depth and a minor-league farm system thought of maybe greatest within the sport. However balancing all of it whereas discovering worth remains to be a problem. Which is why, as commerce rumors fly, don’t be shocked to see a doubtlessly big selection of acquainted names bandied about in such hypothesis.
The group’s most evident commerce bait, after all, stays their assortment of younger expertise. They’ve a crop of highly-touted outfielder prospects they might doubtlessly deal from, together with Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero and several other others. They’ve a former prime prospect in Dalton Dashing, who struggled via his rookie 12 months however nonetheless possesses promising uncooked instruments.
Most of all, they’ve loads of younger pitchers who might additionally assist fetch a pleasant return, from ascendant minor-league prospect Jackson Ferris, to returning 2024 breakout rookies River Ryan and Gavin Stone, to doubtlessly much more established big-league names like Justin Wrobleski (a pure beginning pitcher who was caught in additional of a swingman position within the bullpen final 12 months) and Emmet Sheehan (who’s about on the similar stage of his profession that former prime Dodgers prospect Ryan Pepiot was when he was dealt two winters in the past).
The Dodgers, nonetheless, are nonetheless prioritizing the longer term. They wish to go for a historic three-peat subsequent season. However additionally they know, sooner or later within the coming years, they might want to cycle in a brand new technology of expertise to keep up their championship window.
Thus, any younger participant traded now will include a possible future value.
Which might assist clarify why, in latest weeks, younger gamers haven’t been the one ones caught up in commerce rumors across the group.
Final month, ESPN cited one nameless MLB govt who described Tyler Glasnow as a possible “sleeper identify” on this 12 months’s commerce market. Final week, The Athletic reported that Teoscar Hernández’s identify has come up in commerce discussions, too.
Granted, the chances of both getting dealt seem low. And for now, they determine to stay key cogs in subsequent 12 months’s pursuit of one other World Collection title.
On the similar time, nonetheless, they’re additionally veterans approaching their mid-30s, with vital salaries due over the subsequent a number of seasons. And if the Dodgers have been to seek out offers to maneuver them — both as a method to shore up different spots of the roster, or to dump cash for a possible free-agent signing — it’s removed from unfeasible that the membership might pull the set off.
In spite of everything, for a entrance workplace that’s aware of its roster’s advancing age, and making an attempt to juggle each short- and long-term targets, such concerns replicate the extensive internet the Dodgers are believed to be casting this offseason; the form of deliberate, exploratory mode they’ve been in whereas evaluating potential paths via this winter.
Maybe this week, the group’s most severe pursuits will turn into clearer, as they meet with rival golf equipment in the course of the league’s annual Winter Conferences on the Signia by Hilton right here in Orlando.
However so far, they’re seemingly retaining their choices open, content material to interact in a slower winter tempo as they proceed to let each the free-agent and commerce market develop round them.
