Farhan Zaidi Set to Wheel and Deal in San Diego

The Dodgers have collected some pieces so far this offseason in order to create more depth throughout the organization. On Sunday, the winter meetings commence in San Diego, and the Dodgers could be big players in this year’s convention of baseball executives.

With rumors swirling around Jon Lester to an almost annoying level, the Dodgers will be right in the thick of a potential deal with the left-hander. Starting pitching is one area in which the Dodgers need additional reinforcement unless they plan to pitch Mike Bolsinger, Juan Nicasio or Zach Lee out of the fifth rotation spot. Also with Zack Greinke‘s transitional 2015 season, the Dodgers may seek to bolster their rotation with long-term coverage in mind. Greinke can opt out of his contract after 2015. The Dodgers will most likely also listen to trade scenarios including Zack Greinke, but I don’t foresee the Dodgers dealing away their ace right-hander before they would try to retain him.

I have no idea where Jon Lester will sign, and it may not be until well after the winter meetings. The Lester sweepstakes is an all-encompasing force on the

Matt Kemp is still valuable to this team. Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

internet right now. The Dodgers would not get Lester for a bargain, and it is still unclear whether the new front office regime will want to ink any large contracts this winter. The Red Sox, Cubs and Giants have shown interest in Lester as well.

The Dodgers could also make a run for Max Scherzer or James Shields, but that is unlikely due to the fact that they would lose a first-round draft pick if they did sign one of those two starters. With a renewed focus on the minor league system and scouting and player development, I doubt the Dodgers would forgo a draft pick in order to sign a high-priced Scherzer or Shields.

I could see the Dodgers signing Brandon McCarthy or Lester since they wouldn’t be out a draft pick, or they could trade for more pitching as well.

The surplus of outfielders gives Farhan Zaidi some work to be done in order to trade at least one of them this winter. Matt Kemp is of course the outfielder who may give the Dodgers the greatest return, and I’m not sure anyone really wants Andre Ethier or Carl Crawford. With interest all around Major League baseball in Kemp, it still doesn’t mean The Bison is going anywhere.

Every winter the trade rumors churn out scenarios involving a Dodger outfielder. How many posts have I written about the possibility of Andre Ethier being traded? A lot. Has he been traded yet? No. Last offseason the Dodgers had the same “problem” with too many outfielders, and everyone was sure that one would be traded. Nope. The same thing may happen again if Zaidi doesn’t find the right suitor and deal for one of the three.

Trading Matt Kemp would be a huge mistake for the Dodgers. Kemp is one of the best hitters on the team (alongside Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez), and without Kemp the Dodgers would lose a compounded amount of offense out of the lineup in combination with the departure of Hanley Ramirez. Trading Kemp makes no sense. The San Diego Padres would have to send me a Yasmani Grandal, a Andrew Cashner and a Kevin Quakenbush in exchange for Matt Kemp for me to even consider.

With the ideal outfield being Joc Pederson in left field, Yasiel Puig in center and Kemp in right field, the Dodgers could use either Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford or Scott Van Slyke off the bench. I see Ethier, Crawford or SVS as the best trade candidate in my opinion. The big question is, who would want them?

The Dodgers finally made a move on the catching department, and it looks like they will go with A.J. Ellis and either the newly claimed Mike Lavarnway or Tim Federowicz next season. The Dodgers should still be on the hunt for more catching since Lavarnway did not play much behind the plate in 2014, and they have already lost two minor league catchers this offseason.

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The Dodgers also have a big question mark at shortstop, and that’s another area of the roster to shop for during the winter meetings. Unless they plan to start Darwin Barney at short, they would have to go with Miguel Rojas, Erisbel Arruebarrena or Alex Guerrero if no additional shortstop is acquired between now and Opening Day. The Dodgers could once again try to find a trade to get a shortstop, and they have been linked to names like Alexei Ramirez or Jimmy Rollins. One thing’s for sure, the Dodgers should not even consider Everth Cabrera who would not represent the Dodgers well with his sordid past.

The Dodgers of course need to still consider adding stronger arms in their bullpen. Joel Peralta will help, but there’s still room for improvement. The Dodgers passed on signing free agent Andrew Miller, and Andrew Friedman’s crew definitely doesn’t want to sign a large and long contract to a reliever. Brandon League is still on the team, remember?

While the offseason has been ho-hum for the Dodgers thus far with moves which spurred me to feel “meh,” the Dodgers may just be readying for some bigger moves to come. While I don’t think there will be any huge contracts signed this winter for the Dodgers under Friedman, I still think that Farhan Zaidi will want to reshape the roster to his liking. These Ned Colletti contracts may take some time to unknot.