Dodgers Roundtable: Offseason review heading into Spring Training

1. Are you surprised that the Dodgers have not been more urgent to free up space for Yu Darvish? There are pretty easy deals to be made such as Hyun-Jin Ryu or Yasmani Grandal, who are both on expiring deals.

Sarah:

I’m not surprised that the Dodgers have not been more urgent to free up space for Yu Darvish. I think that, when they traded for him back in July, they weren’t intending to keep him in LA. I don’t think that game seven is Friedman and Zaidi’s main reason for wanting to re-sign him, but I do think that Darvish would already be signed with a team had Game 7 gone differently.

The front office has a strong game plan. I doubt they want to trade away Kemp and Grandal to free up space, only to have Darvish sign with another team. The good thing about that is, since he wants to play in LA, all the Dodgers’ have to do make space on the roster.

Grandal is easily an everyday catcher and Kemp has the chance to either start in the outfield or potentially DH in the AL. Once the Dodgers trade Kemp along with Grandal or Ryu, they should seriously discuss a deal with Darvish. In addition, I think that any deal should be made within the next week so that all the players have time to acclimate to their new clubs and focus on the coming season.

Jamaal:

I’m not surprised. It looks like the league front offices have decided to avoid giving out contracts at any cost and would rather the price come down on pending free agents before making a deal, if the rumors are true and Darvish is looking for a seven-year deal then I never see the Dodgers signing him.

Jason:

I am and I am not. On one hand, there definitely is room in this pitching staff for Darvish and it would be relatively easy to free up space. Hyun-Jin Ryu is a super easy piece to trade on an expiring deal and would instantly open up space for Darvish. Moving Grandal may not be on the Dodgers to-do list, but I think you must weigh your options.

However, on the other hand, this pitching staff is just fine without Darvish. I do not think that should lead to the Dodgers settling, no, but if they cannot free up the luxury tax space then they don’t need Darvish.

The team very well could be waiting for the deadline to make their expiring deals shorter and more lucrative to maybe land a guy like Chris Archer. That is all speculation, of course, but I think they plan on acquiring someone that can be locked down for more than one year.

Who that someone is, well, I am not sure.