This is a couple of weeks late considering the Dodgers were eliminated from the 2008 playoffs and the World Series has been played, however the off-season has just begun. Here's what I see as the Dodgers options for the off-season and what they should do with them...
Needs: power hitting, shortstop, third base, starting pitching
Don't need: depth in outfield, relief pitching
1. Manny Ramirez - LF
Without question, this is the number one issue facing the Dodgers this season. Do the Dodgers want to bring Ramirez back? Should they? How much will it cost? How long of a contract?
At this point it is being reported that the Dodgers have offered Ramirez a contract somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-years $45-million, with an option for a third year. So the Dodgers are trying to get Ramirez back, that is apparent. Frankly this offer is not going to get it done, how could it? In order for Manny to come to the Dodgers at the trade deadline last summer, the Red Sox/Dodgers had to drop the remaining two option years from his contract so that he could become a free agent at the end of this season. So why would Manny accept a deal that he essentially already had three months ago before he went on a tear as a Dodger? The Dodgers, to keep Ramirez will have to expand this deal in the form of years. His agent, Scott Boras, has been hinting that Ramirez deserves a contract that would pay him until he is 42 years of age; this would mean a six year contract. The Dodgers would be insane to give him that length of a contract. At the same time the Dodgers really do need Ramirez, both on and off the field. On the field Ramirez was huge for the Dodgers. But off the field he was important for revenue; more people came to the games just to see him play. He brings a level of excitment to this organization that frankly hasn't been around since Mike Piazza was on team. The man can flat-out hit, and hit for power, something the Dodgers have been lacking for years. I think the Dodgers should try to sign Ramirez for a three year deal and go as high as four years to seal the deal. Anything higher they should let him walk. Three or four years is reasonable for both sides, and I don't really see too many teams going after Ramirez. Hopefully that will get it done.
2. Rafael Furcal - SS
Furcal missed most of the season, but when he was playing he played extremely well. The Dodgers too need Furcal back. Minus Ramirez Furcal may have been the Dodgers most valuable bat in the lineup; he plays a very good shortstop and brings speed to the top of the lineup. It is said that Furcal is looking for a four year deal and many teams are interested in signing him. I don't know if the Dodgers should give Furcal a four year deal considering his history with injuries, but it is not unreasonable. If the Dodgers don't resign Furcal than they are not left with much inside the organization. They would have Angel Berroa and Chin-Lung Hu. Both are good fielders, but don't bring any offense to the table. Signing Furcal should be the Dodgers top priority after Ramirez.
3. Casey Blake
The word is that the Dodgers are interested in bringing Blake back, and he seems to be open to the idea. If the Dodgers don't re-sign Casey Blake than they are left with Blake Dewitt as the only third baseman option. I like Dewitt more at second base because his offensive production is more suited for second. Either way I see Dewitt as either the starting second baseman or third baseman on opening day. I think if Casey Blake would sign a two-year (maybe three-year) deal that would work for the Dodgers. Blake is a solid player who still has a few years of productivity ahead of him.
4. Players under contract
The Dodgers seem to be set in a few areas...
Catcher - Russell Martin
First Base - James Loney
Second Base OR Third Base - Blake Dewitt
Outfield - Matt Kemp, Andre Either
These five young everyday players are set as everyday players for the Dodgers. That leaves the three above free agents as players who are leaving positions vacated. The Dodgers need a shorstop and either a second baseman or third baseman. The Dodgers are still left with two high priced options to fill the last outfield spot in Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones. Unfortunately I don't see either of these players as everyday players if the Dodgers want to compete in the playoffs. The Dodgers need to work tor resign Ramirez, Furcal, and Blake in order to stay competitive. If they don't the Dodgers don't have great options left on the roster to fill out the rest of the team.
5. Starting Pitching
The Dodgers look to have three spots in their rotation already occupied by Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, and Hiroki Kuroda. This leaves two open spots in the rotation.
The Dodgers bought out Brad Penny so it doesn't look like he will be back with the team.
Derek Lowe is a free agent, and word is that he is looking to move on though I would love to see Lowe back in a Dodgers uniform. I just don't know how likely that is considering the Dodgers will have to already spend a bunch of money to try to keep guys like Ramirez and Furcal.
It looks like Greg Maddux is leaning towards retirement, and even if he wasn't he not much more than an OK 5th starter at best.
Although he hasn't pitched in about a year and a half Jason Schmidt is on the last year of his contract. He is an option, though the Dodgers shouldn't be expecting anything out of him.
The Dodgers have a bright young arm in James McDonald who is another option, though he is largly unproven.
The Dodgers could bring Chan-Ho Park back as well, he wants to be a starting pitcher again, though I don't know if he could be expected to be a member of the starting rotation for an entire year.
With Schmidt, McDonald, and possibly Park, the Dodgers could expect to fill one spot on their rotation.
That would still leave at least one spot left to fill.
The Padres are looking to trade Jake Peavy and the Dodgers are on his list of teams he would accept to be traded to. I don't see the Dodgers getting Peavy considering he is in the same division making the high price tag for getting him even higher.
The other big name on the market is C.C. Sabathia. To put it simply if the Dodgers sign Manny Ramirez, they won't have enough money to sign C.C. Sabathia; at least I don't think they will. Plus getting C.C. Sabathia probably means at least a 6-year contract and over $125 million. So I don't think that Sabathia is a big priority for the Dodgers, although I think they are one of the many teams interested.
So it looks like the Dodgers are going to have to sign an additional starting pitcher or maybe trade for one. Ben Sheets, A.J. Burnett, and Oliver Perez are some of the second tier starters that are potential free agents this off-season that the Dodgers may be looking at.
Most likely the starting rotation looks like there is at least one spot and potentially two that will need to be filled this off-season.
6. Relief Pitching
For the most part the Dodgers look set here, as they usually do.
They have Corey Wade, Hong-Chih Kuo, and Jonathan Broxton.
They should also re-sign Joe Beimel.
No one really knows the status of Takashi Saito at this point. Does he want to retire, go back to Japan, or come back to the Dodgers? What is his injury situation? He could work for the Dodgers, but may not be the closer if he came back.
I am still not sold as Broxton as a closer, but he may just get the job because they have been grooming him for a few years now to eventually take over full time.
With Wade, Kuo, and hopefully Beimel, the Dodgers bullpen looks to be pretty good next year. They will need a long reliever, but that may be able to come from McDonald or Park (given he re-signs).
It doesn't look like the Dodgers need to do a whole lot of work in the bullpen this off-season.
7. Other Free Agents
I don't see the Dodgers making any effort to bring Jeff Kent back. I don't see either side wanting Kent back in a Dodger uniform.
I think the Dodgers could bring Nomar Garciaparra back as long as it was in an extremely limited role. A one-year contract where Nomar plays once, maybe twice a week in different places on the infield. I could see Garciaparra being valuable in that role.
There is no reason to bring back Mark Sweeney. He hit under .200 this year.
Pablo Ozuna doesn't really need to come back either. He would only bring some speed off of the bench, utility, and some depth. He doesn't hit at all though, which is a primary concern for the Dodgers. They have players already in the organization that bring what Ozuna brings.
Final Comments
The first priority for the Dodgers is re-signing Manny Ramirez. If Ramirez and Boras can agree to a reasonable 3-4 year contract with the Dodgers, it would be big for the organization. The Dodgers should than look at the left side of their infield, especially trying to re-sign Furcal. Then the Dodgers need to sign at least one starting pitcher, but most likely two starting pitchers. A lot of money is coming off of their payroll this year, but signing Ramirez and Furcal will take a lot of money to do. The Dodgers will probably not be able to sign high priced free agents for third base or second base as well as starting pitching. Another option the Dodgers have is to trade eitehr Andruw Jones or Juan Pierre or even both of them and fill in their needs that way. Unfortunately I don't see many, if any, teams that would want either player and even if there were teams interested the Dodgers would have to pay for a lot of their remaining contract.
Hopefully the Dodgers will spend their free-agent money well, something that they have rarely done in the past few years with the exception of Furcal, which still didn't turn out perfect considering his injuries. The Dodgers could do some trades as well, though I don't see any reason to trade Martin, Either, Kemp, or Loney. I also wouldn't want to trade Billingsley, Kershaw, or McDonald unless if you got a front line player in return.
For the first time in a while it looks like there might be some stability to the Dodgers organization, something they have prided themselves throughout history. The manager, coaches, GM, and owner seem to be on the same page for the most part, which can't be said for the last fifteen years or so. The Dodgers just finished their most successful season since they won the World Series in 1988. Between that time they made it to the playoffs four times and and went 1-12. This year they swept the Chicago Cubs and advanced in the playoffs for the first time in twenty years before losing in five games to the eventual World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Hopfeully the Dodgers will be able to build on their success from this year and it all starts by making the right decisions this off-season.
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