Dodgers meetings: Urgency for pitching, Clayton Kershaw update

1

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — No major moves materialized for the Dodgers at this week’s general manager meetings.

But, over three days at the Omni Scottsdale Resort just outside of Phoenix, groundwork was laid for what is expected to be a busy offseason for the team.

As expected, the Dodgers will be in on the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. They are looking for at least a couple starting pitching additions. And they’re taking stock of other ways to improve the team following a 100-win season but a sweep in the National League Division Series.

Coming out of the general manager meetings, here are five takeaways on where their offseason stands.

2

Heightened urgency for starting pitching

Padres pitcher Blake Snell could be a potential target for the Dodgers as they try to upgrade their starting pitching.

The Dodgers have needed starting pitching in past offseasons.

However, in Andrew Friedman’s tenure as president of baseball operations, they’ve never entered a winter coming off the kind of rotation struggles they endured this past year.

After leading the majors in rotation ERA each of the previous four years (and ranking top-five in the four seasons before that), the Dodgers slipped to 20th in that category with a 4.57 ERA in the regular season, then watched their starting pitching implode in a three-game sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the playoffs.

Because of that regression, Friedman acknowledged that the club needs to be more aggressive in its pitching pursuits this winter — signaling a potential shift in strategy after the Dodgers settled for lower-cost alternatives Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney and Noah Syndergaard the past couple offseasons.

“It’s reasonable to say that [our aggression level in the pitching market] would be more than what it has been when we come off years of top production,” Friedman said.

General manager Brandon Gomes echoed that sentiment.

“Right now, [we’re focused on] adding a starting pitcher or two,” he said, “and making sure that we are striking the balance of depth and keeping a high-end top tier of pitchers.”

There should be plenty of targets to pursue.

Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, Jordan Montgomery, Sonny Gray and Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto will headline the free agency class. Corbin Burnes, Tyler Glasnow and Dylan Cease are all established aces who could potentially be traded by their current teams.

Any of them would immediately upgrade a Dodgers rotation currently expected to include Walker Buehler (in his return from a second Tommy John surgery), Bobby Miller (who will be entering his first full-length MLB season) and a couple other younger arms such as Ryan Pepiot, Emmet Sheehan or Gavin Stone.

Such an addition would also represent the Dodgers’ biggest offseason pitching acquisition since their infamous signing of Trevor Bauer three years ago.

Of course, a move of that caliber wouldn’t come cheaply (Snell and Yamamoto could command more than $200 million, while any trade would require significant prospect capital in return). In recent years, the Dodgers have often bypassed pitchers requiring such lofty prices.

Then again, the team hasn’t encountered rotation woes as pronounced as this past year either, seemingly leaving them no choice but to be more aggressive in the pitching market this winter.

3

Clayton Kershaw update

One pitcher who won’t be able to help the Dodgers right away in 2024: Clayton Kershaw, who intends to continue his Hall of Fame career next season but will miss much of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery last week.

Despite that newfound uncertainty, Friedman said the Dodgers are still hopeful that Kershaw will return to L.A. for a 17th season next year. The pitcher is also expected to consider a jump to his hometown Texas Rangers.

“We are very respectful of Clayton and [his wife] Ellen’s decision and are giving them the time and space to make the best decision for their family,” Friedman said. “But selfishly, we hope it’s for him to continue and finish his career in Dodger blue.”

Gomes reiterated that message, adding that the team wasn’t surprised by the 35-year-old’s decision to keep playing, even though it will require the first surgery of his career.

“He’s one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever seen,” Gomes said.

4

Gavin Lux’s return

Despite missing all of this past year with a significant knee injury, Gavin Lux is in line to “take down a good amount” of playing time at shortstop next year, Gomes said Wednesday.

After struggling in his first couple years in the majors, then finding success at second base in 2022, Lux was supposed to succeed Trea Turner as the Dodgers’ starting shortstop last year — until he suffered a torn ACL and other ligament damage in his knee during a spring training game in February, knocking him out for the entire season.

As things stand now, the soon-to-be 26-year-old will assume a “similar” role next year, Gomes said, with the Dodgers remaining confident in Lux’s ability to handle the infield’s most demanding position. Gomes also noted that Miguel Rojas’ sure-handed glove gives the team a security blanket at the position as well.

“I think Gavin has done an amazing job of handling his rehab,” Gomes said. “We’ll bet on his makeup and desire to get back and perform at a very high level.”

5

Other position player needs

Dodgers right fielder Jason Heyward gets high-fives from teammates.

The rest of the Dodgers infield largely looks set, including Max Muncy penciled in at third base (despite his defensive struggles there last year) and Mookie Betts expected to spend significant time at second base again.

That leaves the corner outfield spots as the Dodgers’ biggest area of need in the lineup, especially with Jason Heyward, Kiké Hernández and David Peralta all hitting free agency.

Heyward and Hernández are the likeliest candidates to be re-signed. Other options loom in free agency, including former All-Star slugger Teoscar Hernández, whom the Dodgers have shown early interest in, The Times’ Jorge Castillo reported.

On Wednesday, Gomes threw a couple other names into the potential mix: Prospects Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch, both of whom are infielders by trade but have yet to stick at any one spot defensively.

“I think that it’s possible,” Gomes said of using Vargas and Busch in the outfield. “We’ll just see how the rest of it plays out and how they fit in. What they’ve done in the upper minors and their ability to move around the diamond is only beneficial.”

6

Injury updates

While Gomes said the Dodgers remain confident in Buehler’s ability to produce next season, the general manager said the team is “still talking about” whether the right-hander will be subject to an innings limit in his return to the mound.

“There’s a lot of different ways to go about making sure he’s in the best position possible for the stretch run,” Gomes said. “We’ll keep having conversations with him as we get closer to spring.”

The Dodgers are also optimistic of getting a bounce-back season from reliever Blake Treinen, after they picked up his $1-million club option last week. Treinen missed most of 2022 and all of last year with shoulder injuries, but is now a full-go and, the team hopes, will benefit from having a fully healthy offseason.

“The last time he did that,” Gomes said of Treinen, referring to the reliever’s standout 2021 season, “he came in really strong and healthy and then went out and had a monster year.”

One pitcher who remains a ways from returning: Dustin May, who has yet to begin a throwing program after undergoing a season-ending flexor tendon repair surgery in his right throwing elbow in July.