This Major League Baseball offseason has been historically slow, with many of the top free agents still on the market as the calendar is about to turn to February and the start of Spring Training.
Part of the reason for that is that typically big-spending teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees have not been overly active in free agency as they are prioritizing remaining below the $197 million luxury tax threshold.
The Dodgers were able to shed salary earlier this offseason when they unloaded the contracts of Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Matt Kemp.
Since that point the club has attempted to trade Kemp, and could have four potential suitors, although moving his remaining two-year, $43 million contract will not be easy.
If the Dodgers are unable to trade Kemp then there could be some other pieces on the roster making a significant salary that they could look to move. According to Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times, the team has gauged interest for Yasmani Grandal, Logan Forsythe and Hyun-Jin Ryu:
The Dodgers have explored scenarios for moving useful but (theoretically) extraneous assets such as Yasmani Grandal, Logan Forsythe and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
If the Dodgers were to trade any of those players it would likely be to clear up money to re-sign Yu Darvish, as he reportedly wants to return to the Dodgers and is waiting to see if they are able to unload some money.
Grandal is set to make $7.9 million in 2018 after avoiding arbitration with the Dodgers. He became expendable when Austin Barnes emerged in the second half of 2017 and wound up replacing Grandal as the team’s starter.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Grandal is expecting to win his starting job back, so if he is not traded then he will be in competition with Barnes this spring.
Forsythe was a bit disappointing in his first season with the Dodgers, as he struggled to remain healthy and hit just .190 against right-handed pitching. He emerged in the postseason, however, and the Dodgers wound up picking up his $8.5 million team option for 2018.
Ryu is heading into the last season of the six-year, $36 million contract he signed with the Dodgers before the 2013 season. His remaining salary is marginal in the grand scheme of things, but could be part of a bigger puzzle.
Ryu had some success in 2017 after pitching in just one game in 2015 and 2016 combined, yielding a 3.77 ERA in 126.2 innings. If he remains with the organization and is healthy, he is the favorite to be the team’s fifth starter out of Spring Training.
