Dodgers Quick Hits: Yusei Kikuchi, Free Agents, Bryce Harper

2019 has begun and so too has the final stretch of the offseason. Pitchers and catchers report in just over a month, leaving the Dodgers a dwindling amount of time to finish off the moves they are trying to make prior to the start of Spring Training.

Some of the moves are more likely to happen than others: the Dodgers need a catcher and they will get one whereas signing someone like Bryce Harper may not be as simple. The Dodgers want to add more relievers and either by trade or by signing, they will do it whereas trading for Corey Kluber specifically may not be as easy.

At the end of the day, changes, big or small, are on the horizon in Los Angeles and over the holiday break, changes in the smallest degree were already made. This time in the form of additions both to the Dodgers’ roster and elsewhere.

Here is the news to open 2019.

The Mariners could very well have just signed the best free agent that not enough people are talking about. Shohei Ohtani’s former high school teammate, Yusei Kikuchi has signed with Seattle on a four-year pact with upwards of $40 million.

But, Kikuchi’s signing with the Mariners has a far greater impact on the Dodgers than you may think. The Japanese southpaw was one of the Dodgers’ offseason targets. To whatever degree that may have been, Kikuchi and the Dodgers had some sort of connection and Andrew Friedman had at least some interest in coming to terms with the best international player on the market in 2018/’19.

Friedman’s former turned failed interest in Kikuchi could set the stage for a strategy change in this offseason’s approach.

Kikuchi could have kept the Dodgers under the luxury tax threshold and they could have added both Corey Kluber and JT Realmuto alongside him while staying under that magic number. With Kikuchi off the board, Friedman could see the value in abandoning the financially sound plan and going all out for Harper.

It is speculation, yes, but the Dodgers have always been a strategic team that works under a plan. One of the three pieces in a hypothetical plan is now off the board and a change in aggressiveness towards Harper may become more and more apparent.

This is all a guess and yours is as good as mine is but Kikuchi signing with Seattle could have an impact on the Dodgers offseason strategy.

The twists and turns in Bryce Harper’s free agency story continue. Last week, it was reported that Harper was close to signing in Los Angeles and this week it was announced that both the White Sox and the Phillies are willing to offer the super-free agent a 10-year deal, the length Harper originally desired.

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Harper will be meeting with the Phillies ‘next week or so’ according to NBC Philadelphia and should they make a good case with a great offer, signing Harper in Los Angeles could be a tall task.

Similarly, the White Sox could make a lot of sense for Harper who, despite being around the league for the last seven seasons, is still just 26-years old. The White Sox are on what some would call the tail end of their rebuild with a farms system that is unrivaled by most and a fairly minimal payroll. Adding Harper now would only expedite the process and, as the Astros did, they can go from zero to hero real quick in a very week division.

The Harper situation is well worth monitoring at this crucial stage as teams are preparing to make big offers and are having sit-down meetings with the Dodgers top target in 2019.

Harper has to be the Dodgers’ top priority right now as a relaxed approach could end in Harper playing for another team.