As baseball fans, we like to make up trades – it’s in our DNA! We can’t help it – it’s a form of BOCD (Baseball Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and is the root cause of “dope-fiend moves.” Andrew Friedman was a “recovering dope fiend”… that was until he signed Michael Conforto. That was a classic example of a dope-fiend move. He is now back in recovery, and I am hoping that he is back on the wagon. No Harrison Bader, No Kyle Tucker, No Steven Kwan, No Cody Bellinger, and No Jaren Duran. I can make a good case that the Dodgers should stand pat and ride with what they have.
- Shohei Ohtain DH
- Mookie Betts SS
- Will Smith C (Dalton Rushing catches twice a week)
- Freddie Freeman 1B (Dalton Rushing catches twice a week)
- Andy Pages RF (He’s the #5 hitter… I expect more progress)
- Max Muncy 3B (with Miggy Ro playing against tough LHP)
- Teoscar Hernandez LF (with Dalton Rushing playing against some RHP)
- Tommy Edman CF (after surgery, he should be much better)
- Hyeseong Kim 2B (let’s see what he has)
Bench: Alex Call, Kike Hernandez, Rushing, MiggyRo
The Dodgers have plenty of bullpen arms. Keep the farm intact, and maybe someone will be ready by the All-Star Break. There’s also Alex Freeland.
Stand Down!
Here’s a new group that really like:
Discussion (29)
Disagree, not disagreeable
The Rule 5 Draft is being held today in Orlando Florida at the MLB Winter Meetings at 2PM ET.
Per Dennis Lin:
According to people in the room, Logan White announced his retirement tonight while accepting his award as one of MLB’s Scouts of the Year recipients. White, the former Dodgers scouting director, has been with San Diego since 2014.
Ardaya on the Diaz signing ($$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6877125/2025/12/09/dodgers-mlb-winter-meetings-edwin-diaz/
“We are in a really strong position right now, financially,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who couldn’t discuss the Díaz signing directly since the move isn’t yet official. “If we were on a really tight budget, we probably wouldn’t allocate in the same way.”
If Rushing slides to third and 1B backup, maybe we need to pick up a few catcher prospects. We have nothing in the minors right now. Maybe an old pro with a few years left with some pop as a backup for Will. Framing will fade away next year with the challenges starting so it’s back to the pitch blocking and steal defense skills the way the Baseball Gods intended.
I’m saying this because we really don’t need much else since we got Diaz to close.
I have a Segway NinebotMax that I use for tooling around our 100,000 sq/ft plant. Well, today the floor was slick and I took a nasty fall. I’m OK, but damn sore!
I think we are getting to the point where upgrades will be of the significant variety. Need a closer? Here’s the best one. Can’t wait to see the OF next!
If Teoscar stays, he is definitely going to LF.
I am somewhat surprised that the Dodgers were willing to lose a draft pick and international signing bonus money, but I am sure they know better than I do.
I do expect Scott to bounce back, so this should give the Dodgers a devestating closing duo,
The only trepidation I have is that over the past 2 years, Diaz has lost about 2 MPH on his fastball, but it’s still 97.8 MPH.
I too am sick n tired of AF making dope fiend moves and winning WS titles. Now please don’t make any moves with our offense that was awful the second half of the year and through October.
Another big Dodgers offseason addition: Former Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is joining their front office, linking up again with Andrew Friedman.
Diaz? ok. what’s next? Jake Myers from houston? excellent center fielder, not a great hitter, but really boosts outfield defense. that would surely mean Teo goes to left. better defender than Bader, the hit tool? i’m sure more surprises will come.
Don’t like the Diaz signing at all. Too much $ on a high variance position and the team loses draft picks and International money.
Padres not moving MM to the rotation
Puff, puff, pass. Friedman has the good dope.
Lost a good friend yesterday, former drummer for the Desert Rose Band, Steve Duncan. Raul Malo, lead singer for the Mavericks also passed away yesterday. RIP
EDWIN DIAZ
Dodgers just got Diaz!
Phillies finalizing 5-year deal with Schwarber.
I would be down with Bader but only for 1 year. It’s being reported that he wants 3 years and there is zero chance Friedman goes for that.
i like Kim’s speed. i love donovan’s entire game! if kike isn’t ready until may or June, bring in donovan , then decide on Kim. if he hits, trade Call. if kike still not ready, hang on to him.
Be interesting to see where Bichette goes. Could the dodgers really be a player in his future? Cubs, red sox, blue jays all kicking the tires on him. If jays get tucker, will they have enough left for Bichette?
Bellinger supposedly waiting on Tucker to sign. The market for Tucker isn’t quite what he may have hoped. Rumors are dodgers aren’t in on him. you never know!
The Skubal situation reminds me a bit of Mason Miller’s.
Detroit has more $$$ than the Athletics (Sacramento? Vegas? a city to be named later?) but it still seems unlikely the Tigers organization will be willing to meet his eventual salary demands, likely to exceed $400m.
I wanted the Dodgers to pursue Miller because he is a rare talent and at some point the A’s were certain to deal him. The Padres met their price, and It will be interesting to see if Miller goes back to starting.
Skubal is also a rare talent. The Dodgers are among a small number of teams that could pull off Skubal deal–and also afford a contract to keep him.
The Dodgers have engineered three massive $300m+ deals: for Mookie, Shohei and Yamamoto.
It may seem like overkill…. but getting Skubal would really ruin baseball.
Wow, a common sense approach to next season. Don’t buy youth, promote it as necessary.
Putting Kim and Edman at the bottom essentially puts speed on and base possibilities in front of the power hitters after the first pass through the lineup. Both of them deserve a chance to get steady playing time.
What a strong showing by the Dodgers giving Miggy Ro a dignified finish and a chance to be a Dodger for life.
Only suggestion would be trade Teo for a strong catching prospect , something we don’t have currently. Not saying Ward or other prospects would be better in LF but they would be cheaper.
Other than that, Mark’s lineup is something we can live with until you he trade deadline or beyond.
Edman will likely not be available at the start of the season after his surgery.
Kike Hernandez does not make the Dodgers better. He is 34 now, hit right at the Mendoza line and he supplies no power off of the bench, in the case of the Dodgers, a serious problem. They have no real batting threats on that bench.
I like it, Mark. A principled approach. We might he able to trade an extra arm for a young position player. At least to throw in the mix.
https://x.com/davidpingalore/status/1998118745785737539?s=42
We have a lot of chess pieces. It will be interesting to see how they will be moved around
Mark, I agree, unless Brandon Donovan can be had for a fair exchange . His OBP would have a major impact on the 2026 lineup
I don’t think they will be wanting Tommy as everyday CF
We all Like Kike, but when will he be available?