A good portion of the MLB offseason has come and gone as Spring Training begins in one month, but to this point, the Los Angeles Dodgers have made more subtractions than additions to their roster.
The Dodgers still have a variety of needs that need to be addressed, including catcher, second base, outfield and perhaps adding a starting pitcher.
The catcher and second base markets have started to pick up in recent days with former Dodgers Yasmani Grandal and Brian Dozier reportedly signing with new teams. Grandal is heading to the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year contract, while Dozier agreed to a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals.
One second baseman that the Dodgers have been linked to for essentially the entire offseason in D.J. LeMahieu, who spent the last seven seasons with the division rival Colorado Rockies. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the Dodgers are now considered the favorite by many to sign the 30-year-old:
DJ LeMahieu signing with the Rays appears very unlikely, according to a source. Several teams interested, but some rival execs believe the Dodgers are the frontrunners for the second baseman. Giants are also in play as the continue to listen to offers for Joe Panik.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 11, 2019
With Dozier joining the Nationals and Jed Lowrie reportedly signing with the New York Mets, the Dodgers may not have much competition if they want to sign LeMahieu. That could help drive his price tag down a bit.
LeMahieu is coming off a bit of a down year offensively for the Rockies, hitting .276/.321/.428 with 15 home runs, 90 runs scored and 62 RBI in 128 games.
He has been named to two National League All-Star teams while also winning three Gold Gloves and a batting title in 2016 though, so he could present the Dodgers a ton of upside.
The Dodgers are also believed to be in search of a right-handed bat to compliment all their lefties, so LeMahieu could be the one that fits that mold.
