Dodgers Scariest Offseason Scenarios

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

1. Hiring Dusty Baker or Mike Scioscia

Scioscia is already committed to the Angels for next season, so he isn’t the important part of this slide. Of all the manager rumors out there, Baker would be the one that gives me nightmares.

Baker checks off a lot of boxes that many want to see in the Dodgers’ next skipper, but of all the available managers Baker would be the worst option by far. Matt Williams gets an honorable mention, but I would even prefer him to Baker.

Baker has 20 years of managing experience, half of which came with the Giants. Red flag number one. Baker-managed teams finished above .500 in 12 of his 20 seasons and he owns a career 1671-1504 record, which is undeniably good. All 20 of his seasons came in the National League, and he played eight seasons with the Dodger.

All baseball fans should remember Kerry Wood, and some should remember Mark Prior. Baker has a bit of reputation as a pitcher killer. According to a HardBall Times post from 2006, Baker had left pitchers in games for more than 122 pitches 88 different times that millennium up to that point. For reference, as far as I can tell Mattingly only had a starter throw that many pitches twice last year, both times being Clayton Kershaw. Wood and Prior each had the downslope of their careers happen with Baker at the helm. Looking past Kershaw, the Dodgers have a ton of starting pitching prospects (Julio Urias, Jose De Leon, Grant Holmes, Walker Buehler, Yadier Alvarez, Jharel Cotton, among others) and having Baker control their arms could be the worst case scenario.

Next: Not Having a Co-Ace

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2. Not signing a second ace

Depth is better than a star and I’d rather have four good pitchers behind Kershaw than one great one and three mediocre ones. At the same time, it will be painful if the Dodgers don’t have a co-ace next year.

As you should be well aware of, Zack Greinke has an opt out that he will more than likely exercise, making him a free agent. The Dodgers would be smart to re-sign him, as he will likely age very well. It’s generally a bad idea to give a 32-year-old pitcher with over 2000 innings on his arm a long, expensive contract. Greinke is different, as he’s very aware of his body and very open to analytics. He’s never been a power pitcher, so it doesn’t seem like age will impact him as much as it would other aging pitchers, so I’m completely on board with giving him a huge contract.

The Dodgers picked a pretty good offseason to have a lot of pitching holes, as the pitching class of free agency is stacked. If not Greinke, David Price will probably command a similar contract and is two years younger. If not him, Johnny Cueto. If not either of them, Jeff Samardzija, Doug Fister, Jordan Zimmermann and Marco Estrada will command less money. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Dodgers came away from free agency with two of three of those names, but it’ll seem a lot more concerning if they don’t at least come away with Greinke or Price.

Next: Giving Up on the Wild Horse

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

3. Selling low on Yasiel Puig

Puig is the most divisive name on the Dodgers, but he undeniably is coming off his worst season as a Dodger. Injuries piled up and every time he got in rhythm, his hamstring gave out and he missed time. However, you don’t trade a 24-year-old outfielder that’s been in the top 25 in MVP voting and worth about 5.0 WAR in each of his first two seasons. You especially don’t trade that outfielder if he’s signed to a team-friendly contract (roughly $7 million next year, increases by a million until arbitration in 2019) and coming off the one bad season of his career.

OK, there are a couple situations in which you trade Puig. If a team makes a Godfather offer, you accept it. Sonny Gray? Jose Fernandez? Bryce Harper? I’ll drive Puig to LAX myself. Especially if the Dodgers go hard after Jason Heyward in free agency. But to me, you can’t trade Puig for an older player or a more expensive player.

When healthy, Puig is the best position player on the Dodgers (until Corey Seager takes over the world). He’s dynamic, he makes plays that no one else in baseball makes and brings so much energy. Why sell low on that?

Next: Forget About Dre

Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

4. Not selling high on Andre Ethier

Arguably my hottest Dodger take, the Dodgers need to trade Ethier this offseason. I’ve been saying it for the last three years, but this time it’s for a different reason.

Ethier had an incredible bounceback year and should receive real consideration for Comeback Player of the Year. He was arguably the Dodgers’ most consistent and dependable offensive threat last year and it’s hard to see the Dodgers winning 92 games had they moved Ethier last offseason.

Ethier will be 34 next April, is purely a platoon player at this point and is about to finish his 10th year of service time with the Dodgers. By doing this, Ethier will receive 10-5 rights for playing 10 years in the league and five for the same team. These rights give him the power to refuse any trade, basically giving him a no-trade clause.

No-trade clauses are almost always less-than-ideal. This is definitely the case for an aging player under contract for $35.5 million over the next two years (vesting option for a third), especially when that player is average defensively and can only hit right-handed pitching. He was phenomenal last year considering his expectations, but this front office showed last year that they’re not afraid to trade fan-favorites and sell high in doing so. This is probably the highest Ethier’s value will ever be, so if they can get a solid starter or a good bullpen piece for Ethier, they should.

Next: Dodgers Gold Glove Finalists