The first couple months of MLB free agency has largely been quiet as the Winter Meetings and Christmas have both come and gone and all of the biggest names are still available on the open market.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have actually been one of the more active teams, making a number of low-risk, high-reward signings to address their bullpen. While they haven’t yet any big moves, all indications are that those will come as they been linked to some of the biggest names in free agency.
That specifically is the case with Trevor Bauer and DJ LeMahieu, as other clubs believe the Dodgers could easily enter the picture for either, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post:
Trevor Bauer and DJ LeMahieu come up quite often in the “Watch the Dodgers” subset.
Bauer is the best starting pitcher available, so signing him definitely would not come cheap for the Dodgers. The 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner went 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA, 2.88 FIP and 0.80 WHIP with 100 strikeouts and 17 walks in 73 innings for the Cincinnati Reds this past season.
In previous years, Bauer has indicated that he only wants to sign one-year contracts in free agency. Now that he has reached that point, it appears he is a little more open to signing a long-term pact.
If the Dodgers were to sign Bauer, it likely would have to be a short-term deal of one or two years considering they have so many of their own talented players that they will have to pay soon.
So if Bauer is looking for a longer deal, his hometown Dodgers may not be the best fit.
LeMahieu is someone the Dodgers have been linked to since the first time he was a free agent two years ago. While manager Dave Roberts has made it clear that the team hopes to re-sign Justin Turner to play third base, LeMahieu would make for a solid backup option if that didn’t end up happening.
In 50 games for the New York Yankees this year, LeMahieu hit .364/.421/.590 with 10 home runs and 27 RBI. In addition to being one of the best pure hitters in the game, he has the ability to play both second and third base, which would give the Dodgers the versatility that they have come to love so much in recent years.
Friedman hopeful Seager will be a part of Dodgers’ future
As previously mentioned, before the Dodgers spend any big money this offseason, they will have to take into account their own players that are due for paydays in the future.
The first is Corey Seager, who is under control for one more year before hitting free agency next winter. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently stated that he hopes Seager is part of the Dodgers’ future plans.
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