Dodgers: Lots of Talk and Little Action for LA at the Winter Meetings

The Dodgers went to winter meetings looking to make a big splash but upon returning home to LA, they return with only Joe Kelly.

The Dodgers flew to Las Vegas for the winter meetings looking to kick off their off-season plans.  While the winter meetings are usually a period of frenzy where players start to come off the board, last year and this year the winter meetings were a bit of a snooze fest.  While the Dodgers were linked to plenty of rumors, up until this point the only move the Dodgers have made is signing Joe Kelly.

The Dodgers’ ultimate off-season plan remains unclear but beefing up the bullpen was one of Friedman’s main goals and the addition of Joe Kelly gives the Dodgers an electric setup reliever for Kenley Jansen.  Kelly was a good first move but the heavy lifting has yet to begin as the Dodgers figure to address second base, catcher, and clear out some of their starting pitching and outfield surplus.

The two main rumors from the winter meetings involved Corey Kluber and the Cincinnati Reds.  The Dodgers have been linked to Kluber for what seems like months now and after reaching an extension with Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland is motivated to deal Kluber.  The Indians are looking for outfield help so Alex Verdugo, Joc Pederson, and Yasiel Puig were all attached to rumors involving Corey Kluber.

With the Reds, there was a myriad of possibilities. Some of the rumors had Yasiel Puig reuniting with hitting coach Turner Ward in Ohio, while other variations of the rumors had Matt Kemp being included in a trade.  Alex Wood and Homer Bailey were also attached to the different possibilities as the Dodgers try to clear out their logjams and possibly reduce salary commitments in the process.

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Andrew Friedman is known to pull off crazy three-team deals so there is also the chance he could bring the Reds and Indians together to pull off a three-team trade where Kluber ends up in Los Angeles.  There was also a rumor at the winter meetings that the Dodgers were interested in Jose Martinez a slugging outfield/first baseman type who would be better off as a designated hitter in the American League.

Outside of those rumors and quick rumor about interest in Nick Castellanos, the Dodgers’ winter meetings brought a whole lot of nothing. Continued interest in DJ LeMahieu and speculation that the Dodgers are interested in Bryce Harper but not willing to go ten years on a contract were the only other notable rumors.

The only aspect of the free agent market that began to heat up was the starting pitching and relief markets.  Juerys Familia and Joe Kelly came off the reliever board while JA Happ and Patrick Corbin were removed from the starting pitching market.  At the current pace, January figures to be a big month with plenty of free agents flying off the board.

The winter meetings provided plenty of talk regarding the Dodgers but not much action.  The same could be said for the rest of the teams however so the market will look to pick up after the holiday season.  Will Friedman be able to pull off a deal for Corey Kluber?  Who will play second base and backup Austin Barnes?  Those are questions that will be answered in the coming weeks.