Dodgers' bold statements seize spotlight at Winter Meetings

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Dodgers did not get any new deals done at the Winter Meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Actually, they didn’t even stay at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, preferring instead to house their especially large traveling party off-campus.

But boy, did the Dodgers -- and more specifically, manager Dave Roberts -- manage to make some waves away from the transaction wire. For the reporters gathered here, Roberts was the MVP of the proceedings, strolling in on Monday to casually drop the news that Mookie Betts is now a full-time second baseman for 2024 and, potentially, for the rest of his career, then using his scheduled Tuesday media availability to -- in the shock of shocks -- actually admit that the Dodgers have interest in the great Shohei Ohtani and met with him at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers also confirmed the signing of Jason Heyward to a one-year pact that had been reported last week and confirmed that former All-Star pitcher Chris Archer has joined their front office as a special assistant. (A reported one-year deal with reliever Joe Kelly remains unconfirmed by the club.)

Roberts’ revelation was a curious controversy in the super-secret process that Ohtani’s agency designed, and the baseball world was left wondering if the skipper had potentially impacted his club’s chances of landing the two-way superstar and two-time American League MVP. On the flip side, perhaps Shohei’s camp will appreciate Roberts making clear that Ohtani is “clearly” the club’s “top priority.”

Whatever the case, as the baseball world began filtering out of the Opryland and leaving it for the holiday tourists, MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi reported that an Ohtani decision is expected before the end of the weekend.

That jibes with what Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters just before his departure from Nashville. Amid rumblings that the rival Padres were close to dealing Juan Soto to the Yankees, Friedman said the trade market was crystallizing and that he expects “the next couple of weeks will be action-packed across the industry.”

You know the Dodgers, with plenty of financial flexibility and incentive to put recent postseason disappointments behind them, will be firmly in the mix. Here’s where things stand.

BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS

1. Shohei Ohtani
The skipper acknowledged him as the Dodgers’ biggest priority, and so we have no choice but to label him their biggest need. In declining to give J.D. Martinez the qualifying offer, the Dodgers ensured their designated hitter spot is available to Ohtani for 2024, and certainly they’d be happy to accommodate him in their rotation in 2025 and beyond. Ohtani is an entity -- and a need -- all to himself.

2. Starting pitching
Regardless of where we rank it here, this is the Dodgers’ most worrisome deficit at the moment, given the way their seemingly strong rotation was ravaged by injury in 2023 and free agent Clayton Kershaw having had offseason shoulder surgery. Los Angeles will have Walker Buehler coming back from Tommy John surgery, but the club will be careful with how it doles out his innings. So, the Dodgers are very active in both the free agent and trade markets. They will be one of many clubs to meet with 25-year-old Japanese free agent starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and their ample farm system makes them a real player for the likes of Dylan Cease, Tyler Glasnow, Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber and any other impact arms available via trade.

3. A non-Ohtani DH, if it comes to that
Obviously, the Dodgers hope it doesn’t. But there’s only one Ohtani, and should the Dodgers not be able to land him, their best option might be to bring back Martinez on the heels of his bounceback 2023. Alternatively, the Dodgers could get creative with the position. But it goes without saying that they are all-in on Ohtani for now.

RULE 5 DRAFT

With the Heyward signing confirmed, the Dodgers did not have an available 40-man spot to make a Rule 5 selection (and they’ll have to clear a spot when the Kelly signing is completed).

No Dodgers players were selected in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

In the Minor League phase, the Dodgers lost right-handed pitcher Darlin Pinales to the D-backs and catcher Carson Taylor to the Phillies.

BOTTOM LINE

Turns out, the end of the Winter Meetings does not signal the end of the offseason. The Dodgers will continue to make waves -- this time, with actual transactions.

“I think we're leaving with a lot more clarity and, you know, some uptick in traction on a few fronts,” Friedman said. “The difference between that and getting a deal done isn't that big. And I just think it's more timing. It just so happened to play out where it didn't get to that point in these three days. But I think a lot will come from the work done over these three days for not just us, but across the game.”