What Can the Dodgers Do This Offseason?

The Dodgers have a busy winter ahead of them.

While fans of most teams will be huddled around the hot stove, waiting to here if their team can nab a coveted free agent, Dodger fans will be waiting to hear about the auction that will determine the owner of their favorite teams. But as Mark Cuban and Dennis Gilbert try to one-up each other in the courtroom, Ned Colletti will be busy trying to string together a team that can rebound after two disappointing seasons.

Colletti began his offseason work early after re-signing Juan Rivera to a one-year deal, but there’s still plenty of work to be done. Here are holes that still need to be filled:

SECOND BASE: The infield is very tricky this year. With Juan Uribe still under contract, only one of second or third need to be filled. I’d rather see a new second baseman due to the rather barren third base landscape. MLB Trade Rumors predicts Kelly Johnson will land with Los Angeles; Johnson has shown good power for someone at his position, and his addition might be beneficial to a woeful offense. However, the Dodgers had the same line of thinking last year with Uribe, and that didn’t work out so well. Johnson is also a Type-A free agent, meaning his signing would require the Dodgers to forfeit their 2012 first-round draft pick to Arizona if he is offered arbitration. Outside of Johnson, Mark Ellis could be a serviceable placeholder and not as expensive.

LEFT FIELD: Rivera is nothing more than a bench bat and platoon option, so left field is open real estate. Jerry Sands will likely win the job thanks to a strong September as he should, but the team might look into a second option for insurance. Tony Gwynn left a strong impression, and his defense was solid enough to warrant a return. Another option could be Grady Sizemore. The once highly-touted outfielder could be signed for a one-year, low price deal and share time with Sands in left.

STARTING PITCHER: The Dodgers have three starters under contract for next year, but two open slots at the back end. Rubby De La Rosa will be recovering from Tommy John surgery, Nathan Eovaldi is still too young to be depended on, and Dana Eveland’s career has been fraught with too many question marks to consider him a lock. The team can hope Hiroki Kuroda wants to return because he’d only return to the Dodgers, but they have to carry Plans B and C just in case. Erik Bedard, Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Rich Harden and Jason Marquis all have something to prove and need use a one-year contract to do so. Harden and Bedard could also take the Vicente Padilla deal: large incentives for both relieving and starting statistics with a low base salary.

BULLPEN: The Dodgers struggled with the bullpen; the only reliable relievers were Kenley Jansen and Javy Guerra. Hong-Chih Kuo could be on his way out, meaning the team could use a new left-handed reliever. One interesting candidate mentioned by Jeff Passan in his Ultimate Free-Agent Tracker is Dontrelle Willis. Willis has had great success against lefties and should be easily convinced to move to the bullpen.

BENCH: With Rivera back, the bench is a bit smaller. Aaron Miles and Jamey Carroll are free agents, and the latter will likely require a sizeable two-year deal to return. Justin Sellers proved he had a solid glove, albeit a poor bat. Wilson Betemit could return to the Dodgers. Jerry Hairston Jr. is a versatile infielder as well.

First base is not much of a question, regardless of all the posturing. Either the team keeps James Loney or it pursues Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. But the rest are questions that could be addressed in any number of ways. We’ll see if the Dodgers can make the moves they want to make or the moves they must make.

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