The popular thinking heading into the offseason was that the Los Angeles Dodgers would either retain Zack Greinke or easily replace him considering they have the financial power to sign players and enticing prospects to trade.
However, the Arizona Diamondbacks have slithered in and blown up the Dodgers’ plans by acquiring two of the top arms on the market.
Many were upset the Dodgers decided not to match the six-year, $206.5 million contract Arizona gave to Greinke. That’s fair, but paying $100 million for Greinke’s age 35-37 seasons isn’t exactly a wise investment.
Sure, that type of contract could be justified if the Dodgers went on to win a World Series in the next three years, but they didn’t win a title with Greinke in the past three seasons.
Having the most money doesn’t equate to automatically getting the best players. Yes, the Dodgers’ budget has seemingly been limitless, but perpetually spending boatloads of money has never been the plan; it’s a means, not an end.
And bidding wars generally serve only to artificially inflate a player’s value to the point where you stop looking at the value you’re getting and start looking at the money you’re wasting.
Once Greinke was accounted for, and David Price had already agreed to a deal with Boston, that swung the pendulum to the trade market.
With teams making young, cost-controlled arms available, it presented an opportunity for the Dodgers to get creative and engineer the ever-popular three-team deal they’re so fond of.
Except, once again, the D-Backs had to swoop in and throw those plans off course. The Dodgers were reportedly asked for Joc Pederson in trade for Atlanta Braves right Shelby Miller, but Los Angeles declined.
While Los Angeles were still considered contenders for Miller, Arizona emerged and decided to give up not only one of their starting outfielders in Ender Inciarte, but also Aaron Blair, one of their top pitching prospects, and Dansby Swanson, who happened to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft.
It’s believed this type of package would net the Dodgers Jose Fernandez, a superior target to Miller. And that’s not to say Miller isn’t a good pitcher, but Fernandez is widely considered to be a true ace at just 23 years of age.
Prior to the Miller deal, it was believed that the Dodgers rejected a Fernandez proposal that meant dealing Corey Seager and Julio Urias, among others.
In light of the Braves-Diamondbacks trade, the Marlins’ front office is believed to now covet not only Seager and Urias, but also Joc Pederson and two other prospects. The Dodgers, assuredly, would decline.
So, while the Diamondbacks have bolstered their rotation, which was their biggest weakness in 2015, they’ve also managed to jack up the prices of both free agents and trade targets alike.
Perhaps this is part of the plan, which would be brilliant, if short-sighted. With the Dodgers, you can count them down for the time being, but not out.
That being said, the organization has difficult decisions to make. Do they bite the bullet and give Johnny Cueto a big deal? Do they partially mortgage the future and give up top prospects for a young pitcher?
Or do they stand pat and try to convince fans the team will again be competitive? It’s time for the club to get creative, once again, and work their magic by planning for the years ahead without sacrificing the immediate future.
You can listen to Jared Massey on the weekly Dugout Blues Podcast.
