While the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached the World Series in each of their past two seasons, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman appears intent on improving the roster.
Leading up to and particularly during this week’s Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, signs point to the Dodgers looking to tap into their surplus of outfielders and starting pitching to address areas of need. Thus far, Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig have been mentioned most often in rumors.
Though, the Dodgers reportedly are open to potentially trading Rich Hill and Alex Wood as well. According to Jon Heyman of Fancred, one belief is only Cody Bellinger and Walker Buehler are safe from being traded:
Impression from a rival about the Dodgers: “Any of their guys are in play except Buehler and Bellinger.” (My add: we’ll assume Kershaw, Turner, Seager and Jansen probably aren’t going anywhere either).
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 12, 2018
As Heyman notes, Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, Corey Seager and Justin Turner are likely safe bets as well. Kershaw signed a contract extension at the outset of the offseason, Jansen and Turner were re-signed in December 2016, and Seager is viewed as a franchise cornerstone.
While Bellinger may be considered off limits by the Dodgers, it has not prevented other clubs from inquiring on the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year. The Miami Marlins reportedly sought Bellinger in trade talks that involved J.T. Realmuto.
