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.

No Ohtani?

The Dodgers didn’t get Ohtani, either. Everyone was talking about this deal. People who aren’t even Dodger fans wanted to talk about it.

Ohtani would have immediately filled one (or both) of the Dodgers’ primary needs for 2018. He’s a legit No. 2 right-handed starter who would have slotted in perfectly behind ace Clayton Kershaw.

But, he’s also (at this point) a legit left-handed power hitter who would have slotted in perfectly anywhere in the top five in the order.

But the Dodgers didn’t land Ohtani, losing out on a potential All-Star pitcher and outfielder in one fell swoop. Instead, he’ll be plying his trade 30 miles down the 5 freeway in Anaheim for at least the next six years.

Who knows if his bat will translate, at 23 years old, to the Majors? Who knows if his stuff, at such a young age, will be able to get Major League hitters out? Either way, losing out on Ohtani isn’t the end of the world for the Dodgers.

No right-handed bat?

Here’s where Stanton sure would have helped. The Dodgers would love to add a slugging righty. Yes, Justin Turner is a slugging righty, but L.A. needs more than one to balance a lefty-leaning lineup. Chris Taylor had a remarkable year for a first-time, full-time player.

But he stumbled a bit down the stretch, and he isn’t the kind of bat that overwhelmingly strikes fear in opposing teams. Throughout last season, it felt like Taylor would smoke a line drive into the left-field corner every time the Dodgers needed a clutch hit. But, is he the type of dependable right-handed power bat who can carry the Dodgers to just one more win in the 2018 post-season?

There are several right-handed bats available on the open market, but it would need to be a very specific right-handed bat, one that can play an outfield corner. J.D. Martinez is the obvious No. 1 power hitting corner outfielder available from that side of the plate.

Martinez was spectacular after his trade from Detroit to Arizona. Arguably, he supplanted perennial All-Star Paul Goldschmidt as the Diamondbacks’ best hitter over the second half of the season.

But, if the Dodgers were reluctant to pay $250 or so million to trade for Stanton, they surely will be on the sidelines for what could be $150 or so million for Martinez.

On the trade front, the Dodgers have been linked to Miami’s Marcell Ozuna ever since Stanton was sent to New York.

Ozuna checks every single box the Dodgers are looking for: Power (37 HRs, 124 RBIs in 2017), average (.312/.376/.548 in 2017), he’s right-handed, he plays a stellar left field, he made $3.5 million last year and won’t hit free agency until after the 2019 season.

Granted, all this means he will probably cost a Verdugo or Buehler, but this one may be worth the trade.

Not getting a right-handed impact bat won’t derail the Dodgers’ 2018 hopes, but it certainly won’t help.

No left fielder?

Here’s where Stanton sure would have helped … again! The Dodgers have several left field options for 2018: Joc Pederson, Kike Hernandez, Andrew Toles and Alex Verdugo are the current choices. All but Hernandez are left-handed hitters, and only Toles has sustained something approaching “above average” for an extended period at the Major League level.

Maybe the best option for the Dodgers in left? How about Taylor, leaving center field open for, say, oh, I don’t know, Lorenzo Cain?

Cain will be in his age 32 season in 2018 and will probably look for something in the four-year/$100 million categories. That’s doable for the Dodgers, but perhaps unlikely, considering they want to get under the tax threshold before the draft picks penalties to kick in.

If not Cain, then why not move Taylor to left to sign center fielder Carlos Gomez, a Gold Glover and two-time All-Star? Gomez also will be in his age 32 season and would probably command about the same as Cain.

Neither Cain nor Gomez are game-changing bats, but both have OPS’s over .800 and can still patrol center field with the best of them.

Settling on someone early in the off-season would set the Dodgers up only to need a bit of tinkering around the edges for 2018. Everyone would know their roles before camp begins, allowing manager Dave Roberts to set his lineup from the get-go.

Coming away from the off-season without settling on a full-time left fielder – even if it means moving Taylor to left and signing a center fielder – wouldn’t hurt the Dodgers chances at a sixth straight NL West title, or even their chances at their first World Series title in 30 years. But it sure wouldn’t help.

No bullpen help?

Having lost out in both the Stanton and Ohtani sweepstakes, L.A. has opened the Hot Stove League 0-for-2. Getting a left fielder who is also a right-handed power bat would bring their average to .500, leaving only the bullpen to focus on.

Brandon Morrow is gone. He was 2017’s version of Joe Blanton, who was 2016’s version of Brandon Morrow. The Dodgers have consistently found at least one bullpen arm per year off the “scrap heap” who has successfully bridged the gap from starter to closer Kenly Jansen.

Several name arms are available through free agency this winter, allowing the Dodgers to shop at Nordstrom instead of the Dollar Store: Matt Albers, Steve Cishek, Anthony Swarzak, David Hernandez, Brandon Kintzler and Addison Reed top the list.

Each has his own set of positives and negatives.

Albers, who is right-handed, will be 35 next season (negative) but posted a 1.62 ERA and a 0.852 WHIP in 2017 for the Washington Nationals (positive). Not sure the Dodgers will want to give him anything more than two years at his age, even though his 61 innings pitched last season were his most since 2013.

Another righty, Cishek, turns 32 in June and had a fantastic 2017 with Tampa Bay, posting a 2.01 ERA, 0.896 WHIP and a nearly 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (all positives). If the Dodgers were willing to go to three years with Cishek, considering his age, it might get a deal done.

Swarzak is another 32-year-old righty who posted a 2.33 ERA and 1.034 WHIP and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 4-to-1 (lots of positives). He may be looking for $12-15 million per year for two or three years (could be a negative).

Right-hander Hernandez turns 33 in May and, while his 2017 numbers don’t compare favorably to the previous three names, he could probably be had on the cheap (positive) and could be 2018’s Joe Blanton or Brandon Morrow.

Kintzler, also right-handed, will be 34 in August and struggled a bit (negative) after moving to the Nationals from the Twins at the July 31 trade deadline last season.

More from LA Dodgers News

• Giants laughably sign pitcher that Dodgers absolutely own
• Dave Roberts’ quote about Padres in NLDS should motivate Dodgers
• Former Astro seemingly takes uncalled for shot at Cody Bellinger after Cubs deal
• Dodgers’ 2023 lineup without Trea Turner isn’t as impressive as it should be
• Recapping who Dodgers gained and lost in Rule 5 Draft

Reed, who is, yes, also right-handed, might be the best of the bunch. He turns 29 in a few weeks, and he had one of the best seasons of his career in 2017 (positive). Having made $7.75 million last year, he is undoubtedly in line for a hefty raise (negative). Four years and $60 million is not out of the question, possibly keeping the Dodgers out on Reed.

Then, there’s one lefty the Dodgers have had their eye one for more than a year: Orioles closer Zach Britton, who would become Joe Blanton and Brandon Morrow rolled into one superb lefty set-up guy.

Britton would probably cost no more than one good prospect (positive), considering he has one year of arbitration left before reaching free agency at age 31 next off-season. Britton earned $11.4 million last year and could get as much as $15 million in arbitration (negative) for 2018, though it would only be for one year (positive) before he leaves for free agency.

That’s a lot of information the Dodgers’ front office has to consider over the next few days, weeks and months.

But the bottom line is, don’t expect the Dodgers to come away from the Meetings with a bunch of new, expensive toys. Andrew Friedman apparently doesn’t have a problem with that. In fact, he sounds downright satisfied to go into 2018 “as is.”

Next: Day one of the winter meetings was quiet for the Dodgers

“I think the point of that is – that’s a good thing,” Friedman told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, referring to the possibility of the Dodgers standing pat at the Winter Meetings. “I don’t want that perceived as a bad thing.”