Coming off a disappointing Game 7 loss in the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the offseason with most of its nucleus set to return for the 2018 season and beyond. That alone has many, including manager Dave Roberts, optimistic on what’s to come.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi collectively agreed that the Dodgers didn’t have as many glaring roster needs as the previous offseason, when the club doled out nearly $200 million to re-sign Rich Hill, Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner.
Despite this, Los Angeles flirted with the idea of adding two superstars this offseason in Shohei Ohtani and Giancarlo Stanton. The club ultimately didn’t land either, as Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Stanton waived his no-trade clause to join the New York Yankees.
In Stanton’s case, the Marlins wanted any acquiring team to take on the majority of his record-setting contract. That was a deal-breaker for the Dodgers, as the front office has made a strong effort to avoid exceeding the luxury tax threshold by an astronomical number for the upcoming season.
For similar reasons, the Dodgers displayed financial restraint at the Winter Meetings and didn’t make a single acquisition. That was much to the chagrin of at least one agent, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“The Dodgers,” he said, “are out of business.” Meaning, for his purposes of peddling high-priced talent, the Dodgers were sitting this one out.
Friedman indicated that the club’s biggest priority this offseason is improving the bullpen, and that especially holds true now that former setup man Brandon Morrow has departed for the Chicago Cubs.
While many of the top free-agent relievers have already come off the board, the Dodgers are reportedly targeting Japan’s Yoshihisa Hirano for a bullpen spot. The club could conceivably re-sign midseason acquisition Tony Watson as well, but that depends on how strong his market is.
Friedman also downplayed the notion that the Dodgers will acquire another starting pitcher this offseason, expressing excitement for the club’s young-and-upcoming arms.
That may rule out a reunion with Yu Darvish, who’s expected to sign one of the largest contracts of the winter.
