Dodgers Quick Hits: Trades, Clayton Kershaw, Roberts, Freese

The Dodgers season has come to an end but an incredibly hectic offseason is getting ready to begin. The Dodgers have holes to fill, players to sign and huge decisions to make.

At the forefront of every offseason are the trades teams will make to better their rosters. The Dodgers have plenty of opportunities for trade but the biggest of those opportunities are for either a second baseman, a catcher or a reliever. In the past, Los Angeles has been linked to Whit Merrifield of the Royals and relievers from all over the league. After disastrous seasons at both second base and in the pen, the Dodgers would not surprise anyone with some moves on the trade front. But, with any trade comes a cost. The Dodgers have shown hesitancy to trade the big names on the farm in exchange for top-tier talent but this year, following a second straight World Series loss, it may be time to pull the trigger. Yadier Alvarez had issues off the field this year making him a tradable piece and other players who have position blocks in the majors like Edwin Rios or even Matt Beaty (who I am a huge fan of) could be tradeable as well.

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• Clayton Kershaw has roughly 35 hours to make a decision on whether or not he will pick up his option for 2019 and 2020. Kershaw has been a staple of the Dodger rotation for the last decade and without him, the Dodgers will be left scrambling to fill the massive void left by the 30-year old southpaw. Should Kershaw pick up the option, he will be set to make $34 million and $35 million respectively over the next two season. So, the incentive is there for Kershaw but should he opt out, as Michael Wittman of Dodgers Way writes, the Dodgers must pay for the future, not the past.
• Like Clayton Kershaw, Dave Roberts has a team option for $1.1 million that has not been picked up by the Dodgers. There have been rumors that the Dodgers are not only interested in the option but in bringing back Roberts on a “long-term deal.” The Dodgers would be foolish not to bring back Roberts. Agree or disagree with his managing decision, Roberts has gotten the Dodger to two straight World Series and the NLCS before that. On top of that, the outside options for a new manager are not good enough to let Roberts go.

• Third and final and the option year roulette, David Freese has a one year-six million dollar team option. The Dodgers are losing Chase Utley to retirement and Freese could assume the role of veteran. The difference between Utley and Freese? Utley was losing it on the field while Dave Freese can still hit out of his mind. For the price and the short period of time left on the deal, Freese should be back with the Dodgers in 2019.