4 perfect Dodgers targets fans can't believe are still around after Winter Meetings

The Los Angeles Dodgers walked out of the Winter Meetings having added star power (because they always do), bullpen firepower (because they always do) and more payroll flexibility than any other contender in the sport (because of course they do).

And yet somehow, four players who feel like absolute slam-dunk Dodgers fits remain available, dangling in front of Andrew Friedman like a “confirm purchase” button just waiting to be clicked.

Let’s break down the quartet of “How are these guys still out there?” names that feel tailor-made for the Dodgers’ 2026 plans.

4 perfect Dodgers targets fans can't believe are still on the board after Winter Meetings

Steven Kwan (OF, Cleveland Guardians)

Nobody turns elite bat-to-ball skills into a weapon quite like the Dodgers. They’ve built an empire out of taking contact-oriented players and overlaying swing decisions, approach, and data-driven tweaks to unlock their ceilings. Steven Kwan is exactly that prototype—only he’s already an All-Star, a batting champ contender, and a Gold Glove-level defender on a Guardians team that could be looking to sell.

Kwan is a .360+ OBP machine on his bad days, and he's one of MLB’s premier strike-zone managers. He's a stabilizing, left-handed presence atop a lineup that sometimes gets too whiff-heavy and an outfielder who actually catches everything (believe it or not, a minor miracle in today’s MLB).

Kwan screams “Dodgers efficiency hack.” He’s the kind of player who quietly posts 4–5 WAR on a playoff team and becomes a folk hero in October because he has a .420 OBP in the postseason while every other team’s leadoff hitter is chasing sliders into the Pacific.

Harrison Bader (OF, Free agent)

Every year, it feels like the Dodgers add one veteran defender who immediately becomes their defensive cheat code. Harrison Bader is that guy. Nobody runs down balls in the gaps like him. Nobody looks more likely to teleport from shallow center to the warning track mid-play. And few play with more chaotic, playoff-ready intensity.

Bader in Dodger Stadium is a cheat code. The size of the outfield? His playground. The pitching staff heavy on fly balls? His specialty. And yes — he’d become that guy in October who makes two catches you replay for the next decade.

Brendan Donovan (IF/OF, St. Louis Cardinals)

Brendan Donovan might as well have been genetically engineered in a laboratory beneath Dodger Stadium. Versatile? Check. Left-handed? Check. Elite plate discipline? Check. Contact skills? Check. High OBP? Check. Can play everywhere except ballpark organ? Probably check.

Donovan is the exact type of player the Dodgers love because he gives them security at first, second, third and the outfield corners. He lengthens the lineup without lengthening the payroll –– not that that's ever been a problem for the Dodgers before –– and he brings the kind of baseball IQ Friedman drools over.

Donovan is Max Muncy’s plate discipline, Kiké Hernández’s versatility and prime Justin Turner’s swing decisions rolled into one younger, healthier, cheaper version. Plug this guy into any lineup hole, and suddenly, it's a strength.

Pete Fairbanks (RHP, Free agent)

It is honestly shocking that the Dodgers — who collect elite relievers with the enthusiasm of a 12-year-old collecting Pokémon cards — haven’t already nabbed Pete Fairbanks after expressing serious interest in him at the trade deadline.

Fairbanks is pure electricity –– 100 mph heat, a turbo slider, whiff rates that make hitters want to enter witness protection, and a demeanor that suggests he's perpetually annoyed at baseballs. He’s the exact type of high-octane, high-strikeout, high-leverage weapon the Dodgers love to fix, optimize, and unleash in October.

Imagine a postseason bullpen featuring Fairbanks and Edwin Díaz. It would be unfair. It would be terrifying. It would be, well, perfectly on brand.