The annual MLB winter meetings are underway. As usual the Dodgers are rumored to be in on every player under the sun yet nothing ever comes to fruition. The Dodgers haven’t done anything at the winter meetings since Andrew Friedman first took power in the winter of 2014. Since then he attends the meetings but doesn’t do well….anything. It would behoove Friedman to actually take his hands out of his pockets and then take said wallet out of those same pockets, and then open said wallet and make some kind of move.
Yet time and time again the rumors never materialize. Again this winter we are hearing the Dodgers are targeting “elite talent”. Well thank you PR generated rumors, the Dodgers SHOULD be targeting elite talent. They should be doing that every year. Unfortunately it’s never elite talent that ends up donning Dodger Blue, but instead guys like Brandon McCarthy and Joe Kelly. So so so bad.
Perhaps this offseason will be different. Maybe the Dodger’s shocking display of incompetence and the club’s pathetic playoff oust will finally clue Friedman in that he may need to, ya know, acquire talented players in the offseason. It’s about adding players that can make a difference.
Speaking of those difference makers, it won’t be Stephen Strasburg after the news broke that the World Series champion Washington Nationals re-signed him to a record setting contract. With Strasburg off the board and the chances of the Dodgers signing Gerrit Cole almost non-existent, means that the Dodgers better bring back Hyun-jin Ryu or suffer another season of mediocre pitching.
Andrew Friedman said the Dodgers’ only position of need that is “omnipresent” is the bullpen. He said there is flexibility regarding all other positions. He said there are about a dozen free agents the club has targeted, and expects talks this week will crystalize trade targets.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) December 10, 2019
The Dodgers however are “rumored” to be in on Ryu. Oh and they are rumored to be in on Anthony Rendon, and Josh Donaldson, and Cole, and all the players. The “little” Dodgers are of course hamstrung by their tight small market payroll of only 178 million dollars. Thank god by 2021 that 93 million dollars will be coming off the books. I mean hey we don’t want the Dodgers to actually spend resources on pitching or anything.
I would be totally fine with Ryu returning to LA for the record. With Strasburg off the boards and a better likelihood of me playing third base next season then the Dodgers signing Cole, makes me want to see Rendon brought in even more. Hey look, there’s another rumor of this happening and the Dodgers transitioning Justin Turner to first base.
I’ve had it with Friedman. I want to see action this winter. I want to see at least one top free agent signed this offseason. I want to see Ryu brought back and either Rendon, Donaldson, or Cole signed. No stupid trades. No journeymen or injury riddled pitchers. No inactivity. Because if the highlight of the Dodger’s hot stove is this…..
Then it will be officially time to end the Andrew Friedman era. It’s time to make some moves.
Day 2 and no action so far. As for the Rendon rumors, yardbarker this morning had a story that the Dodgers have not been in contact with either Rendon or Cole. With the rumor now swirling that Cole is going to get 300 million plus, count LA out. No way they come close to offering that number, so he will either be in the Bronx, or with the Angels. It might be the time for a big splash, but my take is that if they make a major acquisition, it will be through a trade. The guys who obviously would be huge additions are just not in the price range where Ol Andy feels comfortable. Yep, he is doing exactly the same thing he has done every year since he got here, NOTHING. He never strikes early, and waits just long enough for the real difference makers to end up somewhere else. And this even though Passan keeps saying that he believes Rendon is going to sign a 5 year 200 million dollar deal with LA> Kind of hard to do when they have never even talked.
Michael and Scott, what you both have talked about on this page here is EXACTLY the reason why for not expecting anything out of these meetings. But also remember that perhaps these said top FA’s in Cole and Rendon would not necessarily want to be on this team and there are some reasons that are most likely already known. I said this before that the top FA’s in this year’s off season will be on any other team NOT named the Dodgers and worth repeating again is this in regards to Andy:
Some teams have what it takes….
And Dodger Andy just has excuses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There will be action on the fringes only. The Dodgers are not going to swing for the fences or shake up the team. I bet they sign a career middling starter hoping to improve him via a different pitch mix that will be effective during the regular season but fade by mid September, another starter returning from a long injury absence and who will likely be injured again in spring training, and a few no name relief arms that have favorable stats but in very small sample sizes.
And I don’t think they do any Impact or even MLB starter level trades.
They think the team is good enough and they will wait to see whether the kids improve more.
Any trades they do will be to improve the minor league pipeline and extra mid round to late round draft picks.
Took a break from my busy job to take a look with winter meetings going on. As much as I hate the Yankees. They always strike and get what they want. The Dodgers strike out just like the batters in the post-season. It really is frustrating for the fanbase. Yankees play hardball, Dodgers are little leaguers. They never do what it takes. We have the all-star game at Dodgers stadium next year. Make a splash dammit. Do the Dodgers think they can beat Cole and the Yankees.
According to Joel Sherman, now that Yankees have Cole, they have already won the 2020 WS.
Sherman is a moron. You still have to play the games, and what if Cole goes down with an injury? The rest of the Yanks starting rotation does not instill fear in anyone. What an idiot.
Well, basically it is the last day of the meetings. Most deals get done on a Wednesday. Tomorrow is the rule 5 draft, and I doubt Ol Andy is even there for that. I do applaud AF for not being a nut case and signing one of those guys to a contract that is that long for that much money. 9/324 is crazy, even what Strasburg got is nuts. Neither guarantees you squat. Oh, they make you better, but they are no guarantee you hoist that trophy come next fall, no player is. And according to everything I am reading, the Dodgers were in the neighborhood, but when it went over 300 million, I do not blame them for bowing out. Cole is going to one of the hardest places to pitch on the planet. If he gets off to a bad start, the people in the Bronx are going to let him have it, and he really, outside of a pretty good bullpen, has no supporting cast save Paxton. Colorado is willing to listen to offers for Arenado. Who I would much rather have than Rendon. But I doubt the Rocks would trade him to LA, their fans would go bonkers. Also read a story that the Dodgers are planning to use Lux as an outfielder some this year. Ok…….
Michael, I do agree with you as far as that Cole deal goes. with that kind of $$$ Dodgers could sign Rendon AND another front line starter
Michael
Sorry, I do not believe any of the propaganda about the Dodgers being close on Cole. They always say these kinds of things but you would think sometime they would hit on somebody but they never do. This is just their way to appease the fans. LIE. I still expect no movement just as I said weeks ago. They will stand pat with maybe some small move because THEY say it would not have been prudent. Ha Ha.
Package206, I have said similar to what ya said a couple weeks back. I KNEW Dodgers would not get Cole, and yes that 9 year deal for $324 million is a reach. But Strasburg is off the board and chances of them even getting close with Rendon are slim and none. BTW Roberts is a current lair on this list because of him telling everyone Dodgers were 100% in on all these players.
Unfortunately Pack, it is true. They went to 8 years and 300 million. The Yanks tacked on the extra year and money and that was that. The Angels came in under 300 mil with a lot of the money deferred. It is not propaganda, it is reported fact. More than one source has confirmed this. Bottom line, Cole signed with his favorite team growing up. That is what tipped the scales. The did just sign reliever Blake Treinen to a one year 10 million dollar deal. They are talking trade with the Indians and targeting Ryu and Bumgarner for the rotation.
Well it looks as if Ol Andy is going to leave LA fans frustrated and let down one more time. Unless something really dramatic happens in the next 18 hours, they will leave the meetings with Treinen as their only addition. Astros asking about the availability of Austin Barnes. Really>>? I guess someone besides AF thinks he has value.
I think they want Barnes for informational purposes mostly.