Dodgers Dugout: A whole lot of nothing going on

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and I can’t wait to tell you what exciting news came from the Dodgers at the winter meetings:

Nothing.

That’s right, a whole lot of nothing going on. A whole lot of former Dodgers went elsewhere, though. Next season’s “These names look familiar” is going to be massive.

Trea Turner went to the Phillies for 11 years and $300 million.

Cody Bellinger went to the Cubs for one year, $17.5 million.

Reliever Chris Martin went to the Red Sox for two years, $17.5 million.

Reliever Tommy Kahnle went to the Yankees for two years, $11.5 million.

Starting pitcher Andrew Heaney went to the Rangers for two years, $25 million.

And they had already lost Tyler Anderson, who signed with the Angels.

The deals above are pending physicals and aren’t official but soon will be barring the unexpected.

The Dodgers also won’t be signing outfielder Aaron Judge, who stayed with the Yankees for a nine-year, $360-million deal. Starting pitcher Justin Verlander went to the Mets for two years, $86 million with an option for a third year. Xander Bogaerts agreed to an 11-year, $280-million deal with the San Diego Padres, who now have three shortstops.

On the good news front, Clayton Kershaw signed his contract, which is worth $20 million next season. And Justin Turner is still a free agent, so a reunion there is possible. The Dodgers also signed five-time Gold Glove outfielder Jason Heyward to a minor-league deal, meaning he will have to make the team in spring training. Heyward is very similar to Bellinger, but with fewer homers and strikeouts. He hit .208/.278/.277 last season with the Cubs. In 2021 he hit .214.

And then, during the winter meetings, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the following about losing to the Padres in the playoffs:

“As a manager, you never want to say that somebody wants it more than you because I think that speaks to the preparation part of it, the mental part of it,” Roberts said. “But I will say that you look at that dugout versus our dugout, there was more intensity there.

“I think we do a very good job in the regular season of preparing [for] each game, washing away good, washing away bad, trying to win a ball game. But certainly, the postseason has to be … higher stakes.”

Andrew Friedman said they were looking at the issue: “I feel like, yeah, we want to change it up a little bit.”

Geez guys, Dodgers fans and this very newsletter have only been mentioning the lack of enthusiasm in the dugout for a couple of seasons now. Way to catch up with the rest of us.

Friedman also said, “The one thing that’s been constant is putting ourselves in the best position to win a championship while also keeping that window open for as far as we can see out.”

So right now, the Dodgers need a center fielder, a starting pitcher (or two), a reliever and a shortstop. Is that all?

During the meetings, Roberts said the Dodgers will add an outfielder this winter, preferably one who can handle center field. He also said they will add another rotation member, probably a lower-cost one similar to the Anderson and Heaney signings last offseason.

The only reason signing shortstop Carlos Correa would be a good move is because he has that intensity that is needed. However, in my mind, the fact he played for the 2017 Houston Asterisks and was very loud about saying they had nothing to apologize for after they were caught cheating almost disqualifies him for playing for the Dodgers. Reports on Wednesday were that the Dodgers feel the same way, not wanting to alienate some or most of the fan base.

And the Dodgers had already said they are comfortable with Gavin Lux playing shortstop next season. Shortstop is Lux’s primary position, though after watching him at second the last couple of seasons, it’s hard to believe he will be as good as Trea Turner or Corey Seager.

It looks like the Dodgers want to remain below the luxury threshold. They are still waiting to hear if an arbitrator will overturn all or part of Trevor Bauer‘s suspension, meaning they could be on the hook for another $34 million next season.

They also could still sign one of the big free-agent shortstops out there, such as Correa or Dansby Swanson. They could add starting pitcher Carlos Rodón. Any of those three would take a big contract to land.

But the guess here is they sign lesser-known free agents for depth, and give their young players ample opportunity next season. That means we could see this starting lineup:

C-Will Smith
1B-Freddie Freeman
2B-Max Muncy
3B-Miguel Vargas
SS-Gavin Lux
LF-Chris Taylor
CF-Trayce Thompson/James Outman
RF-Mookie Betts
DH-Thompson/Outman

Plus a rotation of Julio Urías, Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Ryan Pepiot. No official closer in the bullpen (probably Daniel Hudson or Evan Phillips). No Blake Treinen.

That’s last year’s lineup minus Trea Turner, Justin Turner and Bellinger. Is this a lineup that wins 111 games and cruises into the postseason? No. If the young players step up and perform, they could win the division. And this isn’t the final team yet, so we’ll have to wait and see. But we’ve seen what a lineup that wins 111 games gives us: An early exit and a lack of intensity. Something different could be nice for a change.

Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame newsletter comes out Monday. There were 13,289 ballots this year and there are seven inductees, four players and three non-players.

The current roster

If the season started today, here’s a look at a projected 26-man roster based on the current 40-man roster.

Rotation
Julio Urías
Clayton Kershaw
Dustin May
Tony Gonsolin
Ryan Pepiot

Bullpen
Yency Almonte
Phil Bickford
Caleb Ferguson
Brusdar Graterol
Daniel Hudson
Shelby Miller
Evan Phillips
Alex Vesia

Catchers
Austin Barnes
Will Smith

Infielders
Jacob Amaya
Freddie Freeman
Gavin Lux
Max Muncy
Miguel Vargas
Jorbit Vivas

Outfielders
Mookie Betts
Chris Taylor
James Outman
Andy Pages
Trayce Thompson

We’ll keep track of the changes to this as the offseason progresses.

Stories you might have missed

Before Jackie Robinson, Jorge Pasquel broke baseball’s color barrier — in Mexico

Cody Bellinger’s career with Dodgers ends as he agrees to terms with Cubs

A blue wave at Chavez Ravine? Here’s a look at the Dodgers’ top prospects

Clayton Kershaw is back, but Dodgers miss out on Justin Verlander

And finally

Some of the greatest moments in Dodger Stadium history. Watch and listen here.