Dodgers: Questions Heading Into the Winter Meetings

Who pitches the seventh and eighth inning?

The Dodgers bullpen was a major strength this season as they were nearly unbeatable when leading after seven innings.  Brandon Morrow transformed from an injury-plagued starting pitcher into one of the most dominant setup men in the game.  The Dodgers are going to have to re-sign Morrow or find an equally talented setup man to replace him.

Luckily for the Dodgers, there are a large plethora of solid relief options on the market.  In addition to Morrow, the Dodgers are also going to lose Tony Watson unless they re-sign him.  Watson turned into a fine addition and was the Dodgers primary left-hander out of the pen once he came over from the Pirates.  Watson could be in line for a contract that the Dodgers deem unreasonable.

The Dodgers do have Pedro Baez, but he was disastrous in September and ultimately pitched his way off of the playoff starter.  If the Dodgers want their bullpen to remain a strength in 2018, they should sign two relief pitchers for the seventh and eighth inning.  Pedro Baez would be a fine reliever in the middle of the game, but he should not be a setup man for the Dodgers as he cracks under pressure.

Do the Dodgers need another front-line starting pitcher?

Clayton Kershaw had better playoff success this year until game five of the World Series at least, due to starting on regular rest.  Kershaw was able to start on normal rest because of the Dodgers mid-season trade for Yu Darvish.  Darvish gave the Dodgers two front tier starting pitchers in a combo that was reminiscent of the Kershaw-Greinke days.

The Dodgers will enter the winter meetings with a starting rotation of Kershaw, Hill, Wood, Maeda, and Ryu or McCarthy.  While that is a quality starting rotation on paper, it doesn’t look as nice come playoff time when every team throws out 3-4 top tier starting pitchers.  The Dodgers must decide if they’re willing to pay Yu Darvish after a disastrous World Series or if they will acquire another front-line starting pitcher.

Friedman and company may decide that they are unwilling to pay a free agent massive dollars since the only true front-line starting pitchers in free agency are Darvish and Arrieta. Both are over thirty years old, and Friedman is not a fan of paying pitchers over thirty big money.  The Dodgers showed this year that they want to avoid using Kershaw on short rest in October and the addition of another number two starter would make this possible.

Will the Dodgers trade Yasmani Grandal?

The Dodgers have some of the best organizational catching depth in the major leagues.  They have three major league catchers in Yasmani Grandal, Austin Barnes, and Kyle Farmer.  They also have two stud catching prospects in Will Smith and Keibert Ruiz.  With Grandal entering the final year of his deal will the Dodgers trade him?

Grandal became an afterthought in the post-season after Austin Barnes became the primary catcher down the stretch and had a strong end of the season.  Barnes did seem to wear down as he started more games so that is something the Dodgers will need to factor in when deciding whether to trade Grandal or not. Afterall, Grandal is still an excellent pitch framer and has some elite power for a catcher.

Due to the positional flexibility of Austin Barnes and Kyle Farmer, the Dodgers could carry three catchers for all of 2018 if they choose to.  Still, Grandal is approaching thirty-years-old and always seems to wear down in the second half of the season due to injuries.  The Dodgers may want to get something for him while they can if they don’t view him as their starting catcher for the next few years.

Can the Dodgers finally use their depth to fill areas of need?

The Dodgers will head to the winter meetings with an abundance of starting pitchers and left fielders.  While they have shown the willingness to move starters into the bullpen, this off-season is likely the time for them to use their depth to acquire prospects or fill their needs.  The Dodgers have at least ten capable major league starters, and guys like Brock Stewart and Trevor Oaks can’t sit in purgatory forever.

With Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu in contract years, it would not surprise me to see one or both traded.  The free agent starting pitcher market is very top heavy and gets much worse after Darvish and Arrieta.  Guys like McCarthy and Ryu could make sense for more financially limited teams in need of pitching like the Rays, Brewers, or A’s.  The Dodgers could also choose to trade prospects like Stewart and Oaks who are being blocked as part of a bigger deal for an elite pitcher.

In left field, the Dodgers also have an abundance of left fielders as Andrew Toles, Joc Pederson, and Alex Verdugo will all fight to start against right-handed pitchers.  Kike will start against lefties, but the Dodgers need to figure out who will start most of their games against right-handed starters.  Verdugo and Walker Buehler are players who deserve a chance to shine, so the Dodgers need to clear out some of their excess depth to give them their shots.  The combination of a surplus of left fielders and starting pitchers could help the Dodgers swing a trade to strengthen their team.

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