Dodgers: A Christmas Wish List for Dodgers Santa

1. Someone to emerge as a replacement for Brandon Morrow

Dear Dodgers Santa,

The Dodgers could use a replacement for Brandon Morrow.  Morrow was a key member of the 2017 Dodgers and a big reason why they were able to get to the World Series.  He even appeared in all seven games of the series!  Morrow went 6-0 with a 2.06 ERA while not allowing a single home run during the regular season.  Although he faltered a bit in the World Series, that doesn’t rule out the fact he was the bridge to Kenley Jansen.

The Dodger have some internal options to replace Brandon Morrow.  Pedro Baez had a disastrous September that knocked him off the playoff roster, but before September, he had a very good season.   Overall he finished with a 2.95 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 64 innings.  If he could speed up his pace and not walk as many hitters, he is the favorite to emerge as the new eighth-inning setup man.

The Dodgers also have another pair of potential replacements in new signee Tom Koehler, and Yimi Garcia.  Koehler is an average starting pitcher, but after moving to the bullpen with the Blue Jays, he posted an ERA of 3.00 with eleven strikeouts in twelve innings.  He induces ground balls and could be a key member of the Dodgers 2018 bullpen, possibly even becoming the next bargain bin reliever to have a big season with the Dodgers.

Yimi Garcia is also going to return from Tommy John surgery.  Before his injury, Yimi was an emerging reliever who has a fastball with a lot of life.  He will still be 27 years old for most of the 2018 season so he is still a relatively young reliever who could become a key setup reliever for the Dodgers.  While the Dodgers could sign another reliever, they have a few internal options to replace Morrow.

2. A legit left fielder instead of a platoon

Dear Dodgers Santa,

The Dodgers got through the season running all different left fielders.  They even had some historic performances from role players like Kike Hernandez’s three-homer game.  What they could use for 2018 is a legit left fielder, whether that comes through free agency, or if an internal option distances themselves from the bundle of outfielders.

The best internal option could end up being Joc Pederson who is coming off a stellar World Series performance in which he smashed three key home runs and could have won World Series MVP had the Dodgers won game seven.  The Dodgers asked Joc to improve his conditioning this off-season so he could show up to spring training in much better shape and win the starting left field job.  While Kike will likely get starts against southpaw starting pitchers, the majority of the games will be started by someone else.

The other potential options at the moment are Andrew Toles and Alex Verdugo.  Toles was off to a hot start in 2017 but then blew out his ACL attempting to catch a ball in the left-field corner.  If he is fully healed, he is a strong left fielder and a real base-stealing threat who can hit atop the lineup.  Alex Verdugo is the best defensive option of the three and also rarely strikes out.  He didn’t show much in 2017, but he is still a highly regarded prospect with a bright future.

There is still a chance that the Dodgers could sign another outfielder with their newfound cash flow generated by the Matt Kemp trade.  If they sign someone like Lorenzo Cain, then Chris Taylor would shift to left field which would give the Dodgers a legit left field option and a true center fielder.  Regardless of who it is, the Dodgers need to be gifted with a legit left fielder in 2018.

3. A breakout season from Walker Buehler

Dear Dodgers Santa,

The Dodgers enter the season with three legit starting pitchers in Kershaw, Hill, and Wood but they could use a fourth strong option with the expected loss of Yu Darvish.  Kenta Maeda is better in relief, and Hyun-Jin Ryu has durability concerns so the Dodgers could use another legit starting pitcher.  That could be solved without an addition if Walker Buehler has a breakout season.

Buehler got his first taste of the big leagues this year although it didn’t go as smoothly as expected since he posted a 7.71 ERA coming out of the Dodgers bullpen.  While he will likely be on a Julio Urias type innings limit, Buehler could still have a breakout season in 2018.  He can throw in the mid to upper 90’s all game long and features a hammer curve ball.  His repertoire is very Tim Lincecum like and that is a ceiling the Dodgers are very excited about.

The Dodgers have had two straight amazing rookie seasons in a row from Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger.  Walker Buehler could make it three straight especially if he makes the starting rotation out of spring training.  The Dodgers have jumbled their rotation throughout the past few seasons, but it would be nice if they could stick with four legit starting pitchers for most of the season and post-season.  The Dodgers will have an elite rotation if Walker Buehler has a breakout season in 2018.  That would be quite a gift for Dodger fans.

4. A Dodgers World Series championship

Dear Dodgers Santa,

2018 will make it thirty years since the Dodgers last won a World Series championship.  Dodger fans have been pained long enough waiting thirty years and going through the tumultuous ownership of the McCourts.  Although it’s asking for a lot, we Dodger fans deserve a championship in 2018 to end the drought.

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Many Dodger fans including myself have never seen the Dodgers win the World Series.  Given that most of us Dodger fans like other Los Angeles teams we have seen a few teams win titles like the Lakers and Kings.  For many of us, however, the Dodgers are the team that we hold closest to our hearts, and we would be very appreciative of a World Series title in 2018.

The Dodgers will once again field a team in 2018 that is amongst the best baseball teams in the league.  They are just about guaranteed a playoff spot, but then they need to once again beat the odds and make another World Series.  Hopefully, if they get there in 2018, they can finish the deal and bring Dodger fans their first World Series title since 2018 and the first for many of us younger Dodger fans.  Although it’s quite a big gift, that is the gift every Dodger fan would like for 2018.

Next: What is happening with Yu Darvish?