MLB 2020-2021 OFF-SEASON NEWS AND RUMORS

I don't think there is much of chance for it to happen unless a couple of scenarios came in to play:

1. They have no intention of bringing Turner back or he wants a big pay day.
2. After a year up close with Lux, they think he is a bust and are ready to move from him for 1 year of a superstar. That would be a bummer as the ceiling of the Lux is that of a superstar MIF, so them feeling that way would be frustrating that we could potentially be trade 6 years for 1.
3. Either ownership is ready to spend big money or they're going all in for 1 more run at the ship before the core starts to break up and we go back to being more solid playoff team instead of undoubted favorites. I don't think anyone is comfortable spending right now, though.
4. Seager is completely ok sliding to 3B in his walk year after drew rave reviews for his play at SS during the playoffs... or they are planning on moving him which seems like a 0% chance thing.

Not saying these can't be the case, but it seems incredibly unlikely that we will do much of anything now that we won it. I think what they are going to do is spend some money on the pen for 1 year deals and try to bring Turner back on another team friendly deal. Beyond that, not sure what else they will really want to spend money on. Trading a superstar player right now is a really dangerous idea without the ability to have scouted other teams farms. The Indians are likely going to regret holding onto Lindor the way they did.

 

MLB Trade Rumors has their FA Predictor... Some interesting ideas
#1 Trevor Bauer is going to us on a 4 year $128M deal. Boy does that seem incredibly unlikely for a multitude of reasons. He does not seem like a personality that would mesh with our clubhouse at all.
#14 Justin Turner returning on a 2 year $24M deal. That would be fine with me.

and that is it for us.
#18 Joc going to the Cards on a 2 year deal
#29 Treinen going to the Marlins on a 2 year deal

 

Some more rumors, rumblings and news on this Monday morning before Civil War Part Deaux begins...

• The Padres declined the option on Mitch Moreland. Moreland was owed only $3M and the Padres had just given up some decent prospects for him. He was terrible for the Padres, but still an odd move after he was so excellent early in the season and solid the two seasons prior. Belief is that the lose of the DH next season had a lot to do with this decision.

• Kevin Gausman received the QO from the Giants, but the two sides are rumored to be discussing a multi-year deal. Gausman was very good in his inaugural season with the club.

• The Dodgers outrighted Terrance Gore off the 40 Man, but he will remain with the organization.

• Feelings are that the Angels are going to be big spenders this offseason after not only another embarrassing year, but their SoCal rivals winning it all has owner Arte Moreno very upset. The AL West is expected to be a bit more wide open in the year ahead as expectations are that the Astros will be weaker and the A's could be an interesting watch if they do in fact lose Billy Beane this offseason. The Angels still owe big money to Pujols(1 yr $24M AAV) and Upton (2 yrs 21.2 AAV), but may be set up to spend big with their two stars locked in and some interesting cheap talent on the way. The Angels could take advantage of the landscape this season and nab some solid fillers for cheap to place around their star core.

• Along with the Angels, the Mets and Giants are both expected to be big spenders of the offseason. The Mets with their new ownership has already said they plan to spend big while the Giants owners have always had that willingness. This offseason could play into Zaidi's hand with getting decent players for cheap 1-3 yr deals that he can sit on and allow their very good, but very young farm to continue to develop. The Giants are entering 2021 with only Evan Longoria guaranteed big money beyond next season with a bevy of young/cheap talent. They are said to be a team to watch in the Lindor/Kris Bryant sweepstakes. So keep an eye on that.

 

I wanted him, but I wanted the Marlins to eat a bunch of the contract and they did which made the deal more palpable, IMO. I was also a nervous wreck that he was going to go to the Giants and be a major thorn in our side especially if he and Harper paired up a year later. That was the really scary part.

He was coming off of an absolutely monster year and at $22M AAV, that seemed like an awesome deal for a guy who looked like he had 6 seasons of prime years left and we were desperate for a middle of the order RH power bat. You always need to be wary of big guys with lower body injuries, he had had a few and now he's played in 41 regular season games over the last 2 years. He was a monster in the playoffs this year though and when he has played, he is still a superstar. As of now, I am glad that we didn't make the deal for him, but at the same time, had we done it we may have won in 18 and still be able to snag Mookie this year. At this point though, it would have only made sense/ worked if the DH came to the NL full time as his days in the field could be getting close to over now. That is where things could get bad for the Yankees. Having him lock up the DH when they have Judge also struggling to stay healthy and Voit being a pretty mediocre defensive first baseman is not a great outlook. Sure they could be a team of mashers, but if they continue to breakdown they are going to have some expensive problems on their hands.

If I were them and the DH rule comes to the NL fulltime this year, I would immediately call the Dodgers and offer them Stanton for Pollock and Kelly, forward the $30M from the Marlins from 26-28 while sending an additional 24M to the Dodgers over 21-23. That ends up making Stanton a yearly $19M AAV hit through 2027, is basically an offset in AAV 2021, freed up money for the Yankees in 2022/23, then they are free of him from there. That is probably a pretty one sided deal for the Dodgers, but NY is not too fond of Stanton right now and we know he only wants to play in LA, so they can once again use that to their advantage. Granted, the DH has got to happen.

 

Rosters were expanded to 26 pre pandemic with no September expansion. Expect that to be what happens

 

As much as many here hate the DH (frankly I don't give a damn), it plays right into the Dodgers' hands with their roster depth.

Might facilitate the return of JT and more swings for guys like Rios.

 

This may allay any future hesitancy of other teams from dealing with the Dodgers.
Might be moaning about this somewhat were not the team winding.up the champions...I did during the season, for sure. Just thought Ryu and yeoman Kenta were as good as Strip and Julio at the time. And crappy early Ferris.
But it sure turned out just fine...

 

A couple years ago, there were rumblings that GM's felt trades with the Dodgers were a bad idea as the guys they gave up, usually faceplanted while the untouchables thrived. I remember I was on here saying that we NEEDED someone to be decent that we sent out as it was just not happening and people were talking about it. Cotton pitched well then quickly broke, after that it was basically Montas in 2018 that finally showed promise. I was excited to see him do well, then annoyed that he looked like he WAS becoming an ace, but that has all evened out thanks to it being steroid induced. Since then there has been a solid stretch of former Dodgers doing well with Yordan Alvarez, Alex Verdugo, Dean Kremer and Devin Smeltzer being some of the more immediate prospects that come to mind. Former pitchers like Ryu and Maeda doing well is good too, but also not great on our own FO when both put up monster seasons. We do need to remember that this was in basically a third of a season and teams never had the chance to adjust. So for now, I will withhold judgement on letting those two go, but it is nice to see some of our guys finally play well so our FO can maybe make some more moves. Also, 3 former Dodgers were nominated for Cy Youngs this year and all were from Asia.

 

Kris Bryant can probably be had for very little. Two years of control. Injuries and a poor season hampers his value and he will cost about 20 million per year. Not many capable suiters.

This guy is still young, mvp caliber player. Any interest?

 

Wow, I thought he as gonna be a FA after next season. The only way the Dodgers do anything is if they are cool with going over the tax, which there is no indication they are going to do that after the year that just was. I would not be shocked if we see the club nudge up to the tax by re-signing Turner and then stealing some of these relievers, but beyond that it is hard to see them take a chance on a guy that would almost certainly not be back in a couple years.

 

I fully expect us to try to stay under the luxury tax, which would mean very little moves. Like you said, probably resign Turner and fill in the rest with some cheap bullpen arms and probably a cheap utility guy and 4th OFer.

The only thing that gives me some pause is that a team willing to spend (like the Mets, for example), could have a huge offseason that sets them up for several years. Friedman has shown the willingness to zig when everyone else zags, so it's not crazy to see the Dodgers go over the tax threshhold to get some longer term deals that they feel will be a steal a few years down the road. I think this is low likelihood, but we should see pretty quickly which path they chose.

 

We've been throwing around the possibility of the DH for year. This is an excerpt from a Jeff Passan article on espn.com.

Is the DH even happening in the NL next year?

Still unclear. Players want it, sources said, but owners want the players to agree to expanded playoffs for the 2021 season in exchange. Understandably, the players don't find that to be a particularly equitable trade. The complicating factor is that most front offices would love it. Going back to pitchers hitting after a full season in which they didn't doesn't register right, particularly when the issue is going to be adjudicated for good in a new collective-bargaining agreement after the 2021 season.

Some executives believe the universal DH will stick around, even if the MLBPA doesn't agree to the expanded playoffs. What MLB would trade it for is unclear.