Dodgers: Revisiting 3 rumors from the offseason that never came true

Rumor: Dodgers to explore trade for Francisco Lindor

It wasn’t even the end of October when the Hot Stove reached a fever temperature, as Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com reported the Dodgers were expected to pursue a trade for Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor. According to the report, the Dodgers would look to move incumbent shortstop Corey Seager in a separate deal, if they were able to land Lindor.

After a disappointing postseason, this rumor sent a message to Dodgers fans that the team was ready to explore drastic measures in shaping the roster for a championship run in 2020.

Lindor, who is entering the final season of his team-controlled years in 2020, has been elected to the All-Star game in four of his five seasons in the big leagues. Since 2015, he has accumulated the 7th highest fWAR of positional players. Meanwhile, Seager, who is also entering his final year before free agency, hasn’t quite looked the same since missing the majority of the 2018 season from Tommy John surgery.

Ken Rosenthal reported in late January that a three-team trade between the Dodgers, Reds, and Indians was discussed that would have sent Seager to Cincinnati, Lindor to Los Angeles, and prospects to the Indians. Obviously, that deal never moved past talks. Lindor is still in Cleveland, seemingly hopeful that a long-term deal with the club could be worked out, although talks have halted.

The Dodgers continued to monitor the Lindor situation as they explored other avenues to improve their roster, targeting the biggest names on the market from Anthony Rendon to Gerrit Cole. After failing to land a big star in free agency, before the Betts deal, there was debate whether a trade for Lindor was the team’s last hope of making a significant upgrade before the 2020 season.

Rumor: Dodgers heavily pursue Gerrit Cole

With the Dodgers clearly big-game hunting over the offseason, it came as no surprise when it was first reported they held an in-person meeting with star right-hander, Gerrit Cole, early in December. Competing with the Yankees and Angels, the Dodgers had firmly placed themselves at the negotiation table for the Astros 20-game winner.

While Los Angeles could brag about the front of their rotation that already included Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, adding an elite playoff performer, like Cole, could put them over the top. The Dodgers can win 100 games every season, but their success is ultimately judged in the postseason. Cole has a 2.60 ERA over 10 postseason starts in his career.

After losing Hyun-Jin Ryu to the Blue Jays, the pressure to add another frontline starter only increased. A pursuit that would end empty-handed with the three-time All-Star signed a record nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees. The Dodgers reportedly offered eight years for $300 million, including deferrals, something the Yankees didn’t include.

Nobody other than Cole knows whether the Dodgers truly had a shot to sign him over the winter. Dodgers president, Stan Kasten, believes he was always set on going to the Yankees, regardless of the Dodgers offer.

“In retrospect, I think we were just the stalking horse to get a number he finally could get from a team he wanted to go to,” Kasten told the Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers would end up filling out their rotation through the bargain bin by signing Alex Wood to an incentive-based, one-year deal. Their consolation prize for missing on all of the big dollar free agents becoming Mookie Betts, who brought starter David Price along with him in the trade.

Rumor: Mutual interest between Dodgers, Madison Bumgarner

After missing out on top pitching target Gerrit Cole, as well as third baseman Anthony Rendon, the Dodgers set their sights on rival starter Madison Bumgarner. The southpaw has pitched his entire career with the San Francisco Giants, helping them win three World Series, while pitching to a minuscule 2.11 ERA over 16 playoff games.

If the theme of the offseason was to find creative ways to improve on a roster that already wins 90+ games every season, adding a starting pitcher who knows how to win in the postseason is great place to look. However questionable it might behow much playoff magic is left in Bumgarner’s 30-year-old arm.

According to a report in December, the Dodgers met with Bumgarner’s representatives during the MLB Winter Meetings. Rumors connecting the two parties didn’t pick up much steam after that.

The former World Series MVP ended up signing a five-year, $85 million dollar deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s unclear whether the Dodgers were serious contenders for Bumgarner’s services, or used as pawns to help him gain a fifth year in his negotiations with Arizona, a place where some speculated he was willing to pass up money to end up.