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3 Shohei Ohtani backup plans Dodgers need to have ready after latest rumors
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail (in your search for pitching for the second straight offseason).
As much as Los Angeles Dodgers fans would love for all of the links to Shohei Ohtani to be a foregone conclusion they'll sign him, that's no way to live. Baseball's offseason is as unpredictable as it gets, and there's been another update on the Ohtani sweepstakes that's keeping everybody on their toes.
Per MLB's most trusted insider Jeff Passan, expecting Ohtani to sign with the Dodgers is "perhaps presumptive," especially when considering Ohtani previously "expressing affinity" for the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox (in addition to LA, of course).
The Rangers are coming off a World Series win and have among the best championship infrastructures at the moment. The Red Sox are an historic franchise in a city that's also home to New Balance headquarters (Ohtani is said to have a good relationship with the brand's CEO). Plausible reasons exist for Ohtani to sign elsewhere.
With the Dodgers dealing with what some might call a 40-man roster mess, Ohtani alone won't be the panacea. He can't pitch in 2024 and the Dodgers' offense isn't the problem, for the most part. Yes, the clutch/situational hitting is a concern come October, but this was the league's second-best group of bats in 2023.
In a best-case scenario, the Dodgers add Ohtani and make a number of other trades to supplement the roster around him to better prepare for 2024. Worst case? The Dodgers learn before the Winter Meetings that they won't be the landing spot for the AL MVP and they have to scramble to make up for it. But as long as they're prepared to do so, watching Ohtani bolt for an AL team won't be a death knell.
3 Shohei Ohtani backup plans Dodgers need to have ready after latest rumors
Disclaimer -- the Dodgers need to make at least two of these three moves (and one of them should accompany an Ohtani addition as well).
Sign Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery/Eduardo Rodriguez
Blake Snell is a certified Cy Young arm. He's won the award in both leagues since debuting in 2016 and is ready for his first real payday (the Rays extended him and he was never able to hit free agency). He's coming off another Cy Young season and is entering his age-31 campaign. The Dodgers don't like dishing out these types of contracts, but they have little choice with their veteran window.
And one lefty won't be enough! Julio Urias is gone. Clayton Kershaw is out until the middle of the season (if he returns). The pitching staff is Bobby Miller, Walker Buehler and a bunch of question marks (Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin are out for 2024, too). That means either Jordan Montgomery, fresh off a World Series win, or Eduardo Rodriguez, who spurned LA at the trade deadline, need to accompany Snell to deepen the rotation.
Montgomery is riding high and will also be acquired at his highest value, but that's what the big-market teams are for. Rodriguez, as frustrating as his behavior was at the deadline, did not place any geographical restrictions on his free agency destinations.
And with Buehler a free agent after 2024, the Dodgers need a whole lot more stability than just Miller. We'd lean Snell + Monty combo, with E-Rod as the consolation prize.
Trade for Corbin Burnes and Willy Adames
You're done hearing about this, and so are we. But now that the Brewers are all but officially open for business, the Dodgers need to get the obvious fits that have been linked to them for years now. Maybe toss Christian Yelich into the mix for the hell of it to bring down the asking price? Why not?!
The duo of Burnes and Adames wouldn't necessarily help the Dodgers beyond 2024 -- both are free agents next winter. But they'd have a legitimate shot of extending Adames and will get first dibs on Burnes in free agency (he'll hit the open market as long as Scott Boras is his agent).
If they go the other route and take on Yelich, too, they'd at least have left field settled for the foreseeable future, which has been a roster issue since 2021. But if they don't want to take on the money, bringing in Adames allows them to shift Gavin Lux back to second base, where they currently have no full-time player and are planning to use Mookie Betts more (not a good plan). Burnes/Miller/Buehler, if they stay healthy, would give them a good postseason rotation for at least 2024.
This is probably the top patchwork option for LA that keeps them legitimate contenders for the next year.
Sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Matt Chapman
Why is Yoshinobu Yamamoto not a more serious Dodgers target? Why is nobody talking about the Dodgers signing Matt Chapman? Wouldn't these free agents be the best way to spend the money they're both commanding?
Yamamoto is a $200+ million expenditure, and well worth the price if we're to judge the recent imports of Ohtani and Kodai Senga. He's entering his age-25 season and has absolutely steamrolled the competition in Japan. It's among the best long-term investments to make, given Yamamoto's age and experience (he turned pro at 18). This also gives the Dodgers the international marketing they likely desire, and it's the best Ohtani consolation prize possible.
As for Chapman, his bat has admittedly been underwhelming the last three seasons, but he's a Gold Glover and above-average hitter. Per FanGraphs, the "median" contract prediction is four years and $80 million, but he turned down a $100 million extension from Toronto, so perhaps he's looking for a bit more. Either way, does it matter? The Dodgers can spend, and in this hypothetical, Max Muncy shifts to DH for the next two seasons while Chapman's sterling defense takes over at the hot corner. You'd also have to assume Chapman's bat will improve surrounded by guys like Muncy, Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and James Outman.
The Dodgers have little excuse not to spend. They have only Betts and Freeman on guaranteed contracts after the 2025 season and their farm system, while still good, isn't going to be a never-ending pipeline of All-Star talent. Outman and Miller are tremendous building blocks, but we saw the rest of the pack struggle in varying ways.
Andrew Friedman needs to acquire known assets, and any of these three scenarios will make the Dodgers a feared opponent in 2024.
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