3 shortstops (who aren't Willy Adames) Dodgers should pursue after Gavin Lux mess

Ezequiel Tovar

Tovar would be a much stronger defensive addition than an offensive one, but no one on this list can match up to Adames' defense as well as Tovar. In 2023, he put up 16 OAA in 153 games at shortstop, making him one of the most elite defensive players in the game. He might've been easier to overlook because he plays for the Rockies, but if the Dodgers wanted to take pity on Colorado and their farm system (ranked No. 18 at midseason by MLB Pipeline and No. 24 by Keith Law of The Athletic this offseason), perhaps a couple of prospects could tempt them to let Tovar go to a team that's actually competitive.

He would certainly be a player that the rest of the Dodgers lineup would have to pick up offensively; he batted a nice .276/.315/.438 at home at Coors but a less-nice .229/.258/.377 away (though, interestingly, he did hit more homers on the road). Dodgers management was unwilling to put Miguel Rojas at shortstop and let the rest of LA's batters carry him, but maybe their tune would change if they were able to acquire an even better defensive player than Rojas.

Like McLain, Tovar was a rookie last year, and he might've been able to crack Rookie of the Year voting if he hadn't been overshadowed by teammate Nolan Jones. Tovar could be a pickup the Dodgers could lock down and develop for years to come.