DALLAS — Essentially the most exercise from the Dodgers got here on the eve of the Winter Conferences, however there needs to be extra strikes on the way in which as they proceed to form their roster for 2025.
After agreeing to offers with outfielder Michael Conforto and reliever Blake Treinen on Sunday night time, the World Sequence champions had a comparatively quiet three days in Dallas. The roster is in a great spot because the Dodgers bid to repeat, however common supervisor Brandon Gomes and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made it clear that the strikes they’ve already made do not preclude them from persevering with so as to add.
“We’re all the time seeking to get higher and the way it balances out the group,” Gomes stated. “We’ll take these upcoming weeks and see how we are able to proceed to make our group and lineup higher.”
Outfield: Even with Conforto, the Dodgers are possible so as to add one other nook outfielder. There stays curiosity in a reunion with Teoscar Hernández, who declined a qualifying provide however has been vocal about his want to return. With Juan Soto off the board, although, different groups could pursue Hernández extra aggressively.
“He put himself in an excellent place,” Friedman stated, “and I do know that he has talked about eager to [return]. I do know that we’ve got talked about wanting him to, so once more, that’s useful. But it surely’s not the whole lot. He and his household get to undergo the curiosity [from other teams] and work out what makes essentially the most sense for them.”
Ought to the Dodgers determine to fill the necessity internally, they might flip to Andy Pages or James Outman. High prospect Dalton Speeding (MLB Pipeline’s No. 39 total prospect) has additionally been getting reps in left area, however the group would like that he focuses on progressing as a catcher.
Bullpen: The again finish of the ‘pen is in a greater spot with Treinen again, however the Dodgers aren’t ruling out including depth. There may be some uncertainty round Evan Phillips and Alex Vesia, who handled accidents within the postseason, however Gomes stated Wednesday that he expects them to be prepared come Opening Day so long as their offseason throwing applications go as deliberate. Notably, L.A. will probably be with out Brusdar Graterol for a minimum of the primary half of 2025 after the hard-throwing righty underwent shoulder labrum surgical procedure on Nov. 14.
May the Dodgers exit and get Tanner Scott, who nullified Ohtani within the NL Division Sequence and can possible command a better’s wage? Or maybe they might make a play for Devin Williams, whom the Brewers are reportedly open to buying and selling.
The Dodgers have younger arms they’ll flip to, however the “main precedence,” per Friedman, is signing intriguing Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki.
The Dodgers didn’t select within the Main League part of the Rule 5 Draft, however they misplaced left-hander Garrett McDaniels to the Angels. The 24-year-old has a profession 3.22 ERA in 49 video games (seven begins) and made solely two appearances within the higher Minors whereas within the Dodgers’ system, each with Double-A Tulsa.
Within the Minor League part, the Dodgers chosen outfielder John Rhodes (Orioles) and misplaced 4 gamers: right-hander Hyun-il Choi (Nationals), right-hander Michael Hobbs (Mets), right-hander Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (Marlins) and catcher Jefferson Valladares (Twins).
FRONT OFFICE’S BOTTOM LINE
“I really feel like we have made some strikes which have set a very sturdy basis for a profitable group. And now we’ll take the subsequent couple of weeks main as much as Spring Coaching to discover what’s on the market, and we’ll proceed to attempt to make strikes that we really feel like are needle-movers, and whether or not that is with influence strikes or depth strikes, no matter, all of these play into our quest to repeat.” — Gomes
“My purpose — now, it’s been my purpose the final nevertheless a few years and I failed miserably at it — my purpose is to keep away from ‘July to purchase.’ I don’t wish to purchase in July. I really feel just like the extra occasions I say it out loud, the higher likelihood it has to really be a factor.” — Friedman
