Dodgers make first official offseason move (and say goodbye to former top prospect)

Dodgers players are probably in full-on vacation mode right now, but the front office won't be afforded the same luxury over the next four months. If anything, Andrew Friedman will be working overtime.

GM Meetings are taking place from Nov. 11-13 in Las Vegas, and a few more key decision-making dates will follow through November before the centerpiece of the offseason, Winter Meetings, are held from Dec. 8-11 in Orlando. We shouldn't expect to see that much action in terms of trades or signings until then, but teams have already started making smaller deals to bide their time.

In the Dodgers' first official move of the offseason, they signed catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to a minor league deal. He's spent his entire professional career with the Tigers but has never gotten a shot in the majors. Signed in 2016, he made a long trek to Triple-A and only got there this year, batting .219 with a .469 OPS. He has a lifetime .281 average and .718 OPS across the minor leagues.

The move restores a little bit of catching depth that the Dodgers did away with this season, when they traded Hunter Feduccia and DFA'ed Chuckie Robinson, who was picked up on waivers by the Braves.

Dodgers sign Tigers minor leaguer Eliezer Alfonzo, lose Michael Grove in minor league free agency

LA also lost catcher Chris Okey to minor league free agency alongside 16 other Dodgers minor leaguers, including former top prosect Michael Grove.

Grove started the 2025 season on the 40-man roster, but on the 60-day IL after undergoing a labrum surgery during spring training, which ruled him out for the year. It was unclear how much of a role Grove would've had even if he was healthy, as he spent three seasons in the majors struggling to live up to expectations. He posted a 6.13 ERA in 2023 and 5.12 ERA in 2024, and the Dodgers probably would've used up his minor league options before having to DFA him in 2025.

He was outrighted from the 40-man roster when the Dodgers did some cleaning on Nov. 6, when they also DFA'ed Tony Gonsolin and outrighted Justin Dean, who was claimed on waivers by the Giants. Grove elected free agency.

The Dodgers could still re-sign him (and any of their other minor league free agents) to a minors deal, but it might be time to let the Grove experiment go.