Dodgers: Will it be a Blue Christmas for the Dodgers?

The Winter Meetings began in earnest Monday. Baseball fans are all hyped up, trying to figure out if they’re going to ask Santa for a new Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees?!) jersey or a new Shohei Ohtani (Angels?!) jersey for Christmas.

OK, so neither is all that appealing, but those are only two of the things that could make this a truly blue Christmas for Dodger fans.  Although the Dodgers missed out on Stanton and Ohtani, there is still a chance for them to have a good off-season.

No Stanton?

So, the Dodgers didn’t get Stanton. Everyone was talking about this deal. People who aren’t even Dodger fans wanted to talk about it. The San Francisco Giants apparently had a deal in place and were still ready to pull the trigger for Stanton right up until he was dealt to the Yankees. They were willing to part with their top four prospects, according to one report. But Stanton had indicated that he wanted no part of playing in the Bay Area.

Stanton would have solved the Dodgers hole in left field, and he would have solidified what is already one of the most potent lineups in all of baseball.

Stanton went to Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, a short trip down the five freeway from Dodger Stadium. He is an admitted Dodger fan, having rooted for the Eric Karros/Mike Piazza/Raul Mondesi Dodgers of the early 1990s.

But several factors were complicating a Stanton deal: The Dodgers would have loved his bat, but they didn’t want to pay him. The Dodgers would have taken on some of his salary, but not all of it.

The Dodgers would have parted with better prospects than the Yankees offered, but they didn’t want to part with either of their top two prospects, Walker Buehler or Alex Verdugo.

This dragged on long enough. Now the Dodgers know that Giancarlo Stanton and his $295 million will not be manning right field at Dodger Stadium for the next decade, which isn’t altogether a bad thing.