Dodgers Rumor Round Up: Relief Market, Free Agent, Trade

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DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 07: Adam Ottavino #0 of the Colorado Rockies pitches in the seventh inning of Game Three of the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field on October 7, 2018, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

Spring training is closing in and players are gearing up for another season. The Dodgers are just under a month away from moving out to Arizona for the 2019 season and with that, the offseason will quickly come to a close.

Trades this offseason have been quiet. The rumors have certainly been there but when it comes to actual moves made, the list is not long. Manny Machado and Bryce Harper are still on the market and despite their laundry list of rumors, they are yet to come true.

But, with time the market should heat back up. The 2019 offseason, unlike 2018, has been slow more by choice of the players rather than a 30 team standoff to save money.

With pieces slowly but surely beginning to fall, we will check back in on where the Dodgers stand on the latest rumors. In this edition of Dodgers Rumor Round-Up, we take a look at a signing that hurts the Dodgers, one that might help them and some trades that may or may not happen.

PHOENIX, AZ – SEPTEMBER 22: Adam Ottavino #0 of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the eighth inning of an MLB game at Chase Field on September 22, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images) /

I mentioned it on the first slide but I suppose it bears mention a second time, a signing happened in major league baseball that both directly hurts the Dodgers and indirectly hurts them for the remainder of the offseason.

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Yankees agreed to terms with premier reliever Adam Ottavino on a three-year/$27 million deal. The move puts Ottavino in the same bullpen as Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and Zach Britton; giving the Yanks arguably the best bullpen in baseball.

Ottavino was also a key relief domino in the 2019 market. Not only was he a rumored Dodger target as well as a top wish-list piece for Dodger fans, but Ottavino’s signing now opens the door for teams to start bidding on smaller relief arms like Cody Allen.

Sure, Craig Kimbrel is on the market but after a year in which his peripheral statistics took a nose-dive and he also made it clear he is looking for big money, he is not your prototypical Dodger target.

So how does Ottavino signing a deal hurt the Dodgers indirectly? Supply and demand.

With Ottavino off the table remaining pen arms can ask for more money. The Dodgers big target is off the board so players can use that to leverage a bigger deal.

In my own personal opinion, this could just shut the Dodgers down on the free agent reliever front for the rest of the offseason but we will have to wait and see.

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 15: New York Yankee’s trainer Steve Donohue checks out home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt as catcher Josh Thole #22 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on during the second inning of a game at Yankee Stadium on August 15, 2016, in the Bronx borough of New York City. Wendelstedt left the game at the end of the inning. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

The Dodgers signed catcher Josh Thole to a minor league contract on Wednesday, Jan. 17. Thole, 32, will enter his 13th professional season although he has not appeared in a major league game since 2016.

Thole is an interesting signing. The 32-year-old backstop was R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher in Toronto from 2013-’16 and served as the Mets’ catcher in the four seasons before that.

In his major league career, Thole owns a .242/.313/.306 slash line with 9 home runs and 111 RBIs.

The signing should ultimately prove insignificant as the Dodgers will likely put both Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith, their two best catching prospects, in Triple-A to begin the season and I would assume that they would be called up before Thole in an emergency situation. Triple-A Oklahoma City also has Rocky Gale on the roster so Thole should make a huge impact in 2019 outside of the minor leagues.

KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 14: Salvador Perez #13 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates with Whit Merrifield #15 and Jorge Bonifacio #38 as he celebrates his walk-off grand slam against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium on September 14, 2018, in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals won 8-4. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

In these Rumor Round-Up articles I like to make the last slide a bit of an opinion piece when there is no pressing news. Today it will be about the trade market and how I believe the Dodgers are far more removed from it than people think.

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We can start with Corey Kluber. The biggest star to hit the rumor mill this offseason and easily the top wish for Dodger fans. The problem with Kluber, however, is I don’t think he will ever be in Los Angeles.

Kluber is a phenomenal pitcher and there is no doubt that he would change the Dodgers rotation upon arriving in Los Angeles. That is why it won’t happen: I am not the only one who knows that.

The Indians price for Corey Kluber has to be through the roof. The rumored return is a Chris Sale type package and the Dodgers are not keen on emptying the tank for one player.

One the topic of emptying the tank, that is my guess at what it would take to get wish list player, Whit Merrifield. Merrifield led baseball in hits and stolen bases last season. He is young, cheap and under control and the Royals have no incentive to just give him away.

Next. Dodgers Remain in an Enviable Position with Their Roster. dark

So, for my opinion and closing to this Rumor Round-Up, I offer this: the Dodgers could be close to done this offseason. To some, that sounds like a nightmare but I urge you to look at the price it would cost to make another move. It is high. This roster is still elite. Might be time to be pleased with that.

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Spring training is closing in and players are gearing up for another season. The Dodgers are just under a month away from moving out to Arizona for the 2019 season and with that, the offseason will quickly come to a close.

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