MLB 2020-2021 OFF-SEASON NEWS AND RUMORS

My gut reaction is that they are referring to a 4th OFer/Utility types if they say they're looking for RH bats. There aren't many openings for the starting 8. 3B is the only real opening, and looking down the list of options that are RH hitters, Justin Turner stands out as the most Dodger-ish choice.

 

Interesting, that was not the way it said on the report I heard. Nobody has been named was something that they mentioned so it doesn't help.

 

Friedman said it was not at any one position cause they have pieces that can move around to accommodate. So it doesn't on the surface sound necessarily like a bench guy, but yeah it could also just be him saying, "we plan on bringing Turner back."

 

I hereby claim we have won the bid for Frankie Lindor

 

Would not be surprised if both were in it, the one thing that could push the Indians away from the Yankees is not wanting to trade to a team they would worry about facing in the playoffs. Without Lindor it is obviously harder to make it, but they may still think they could get there. Not saying it is the smartest business decision, but teams definitely hate to help their rivals out. *See basically every NL West Team that refuses to do business with us and a handful of other teams around baseball.*

 

Betts/Lindor is equal to or surpasses Tatis/ Machado, and the rest of the Dodger team blows away SD, or any other team in baseball.
Sounds like an opportunity to assemble the true super team which common knowledge dictates you must have to win a championship...certainly for a dynasty.
All it takes is billions of dollars.
No problem.

 

Rosenthal has a couple updates today:

• The Rockies ownership came out with a letter to season ticket holders telling them that things could be tough this offseason. Not a great sign when the team completely fucked up last offseason by standing pat only to see their superstar 3B get pissed and call out their GM. Things are perceived to not be getting any better between Arenado and the club, which many feel is a divorce that needs to happen. Problem for the Rockies are that Arenado as a Full NTC and has said that he would not waive it to not go to a perennial contender. It has long been speculated that Arenado has wanted to come to the Dodgers, but some other teams to watch would be the Cardinals as they are said to have tremendous interest and the Yankees. The other hitch in Arenado is he is coming off the worst season of his career since he was a rookie. Shoulder issues once again have popped up for the 3B and worries about his power going forward are shared by many around the league. He has an opt out after next season, but due to the perceived CBA issues around the league, he is not expected to use it.

• He says the Blue Jays, Mets, White Sox, Giants and Twins are expected to be very aggressive this offseason with their spending and potentially trades. The Yankees are not likely to spend as this season was apparently incredibly rough on them financially, but at the same time they have said shit like this before. The Tigers and Red Sox could look to spend for their new cheaters *cough* sorry, "coaches". The Dodgers are considered a question mark as they have a bunch of FA's this year. The feeling around baseball is they could be quiet the winter before they have a TON of money coming off the books or could look at spending now when they know they have some room in the years ahead.

• Rosenthal echoes what everyone is saying in that Lindor is likely to be traded, but the Indians are in a tough place with him being a FA a year from now and the massive amount of uncertainty around the length of the next season. The Jays, Mets and Giants are said to be the most likely pursuers with the Yankees as a potential as well. The other thing is that next years FA SS class is so massive and this one has decent filler options, that clubs could choose to play it safe and retain their prospects, making a Lindor package more on the lighter side. Since the Dodgers have both Seager and Lux, I would suggest not getting too hyped on the Lindor train. You are just going to get yourself disappointed. They were only interested last year when they were also looking at trading Seager. They ain't gonna do that after the year he just had and they aren't moving him off of SS in his walk year as that could likely mean for a rocky season.

• The Cubs are expected to try to cut some payroll, but he objects saying that could be a dumb move since the NL Central is likely to not be very good again. He also mentions that the Brewers are looking to cut payroll... pretty pathetic when they're looking at $110M for 2021 as it stands. They do not have a lot of spots that they can free up a ton of money at. Rosenthal does not go into detail here, but I could seriously see a Dodgers call on this one. Christian Yelich still has 8 years on his deal with the club and while it was a $200M deal, it is still well below market for a player of his caliber. The Dodgers FO has tried numerous times to trade for him with no prevail. Yelich is coming off of an absolutely horrific 2020, but I would not expect that going forward and he would be going into just his age 29 season. A trio of Yelich, Belli and Betts would be a fun watch and Yelich's $24M a year AAV is very palpable going forward. The Brewers have one of the, if not the worst farm systems in baseball, so I wonder if an offer of Pollock, a large quantity of decent prospects and cash could facilitate some interest from the club. It would make a ton of sense for the Dodgers to pursue someone like Yelich that is already a very active member of the LA community.

• Don't be surprised if the offseason goes incredibly slow until a decision is made on the Universal DH.

• Jon Heyman on his podcast said that HE BELIEVES the Dodgers will still pursue Lindor, but it is much more likely that they just bring Turner back.

• He added that the club is trying to lock up both Seager and Belli to long term deals.

• He too mentioned the Rockies likely trying to trade Arenado this offseason and said the Dodgers are the best destination for him, but reiterated that he feels that Turner will be back at 3B for us next season.

 

Omission of facts is the same as lying
You really have to dig for the truth anymore
The article i read didn't mention it until the small print
Did JT even get sick?
I have a feeling it was a false positive

 

Wouldn't that have been revealed by now?

 

Some more bits from around the web

• Jon Heyman on his podcast said that HE BELIEVES the Dodgers will still pursue Lindor, but it is much more likely that they just bring Turner back.

• He added that the club is trying to lock up both Seager and Belli to long term deals.

• He too mentioned the Rockies likely trying to trade Arenado this offseason and said the Dodgers are the best destination for him, but reiterated that he feels that Turner will be back at 3B for us next season.

 

Oh, just saw it was fucking Nightengale that made the story. Dude fucking hates us, so it makes sense.

 

seriously don't know what to believe about anything anymore

 

Does seem more likely that the Tribe would ship Lindor to the NL. When it comes to trades, feels like the biggest stars always end up switching leagues. Anyway..not so hidden value here because he's an uber-charismatic superstar talent, so he does stand to pull in a haul of $$$ off of the field - if he lands in the right market with the right team and helps them win big

Talking about one of MLB's brightest personalities and best character guys, so I don't think anybody in MLB would actually wish the Mets on this dude..not even the Tribe. Fella deserves better. He's done right by the Tribe for 6 years..how the org proceeds could be pivotal to the way players see them. Should just work with him and try to send him wherever he prefers to go. They're gonna take a loss anyway and it's their own fault for waiting until his walk year

Given his brand of marketability, LA's a 110% fit for Lindor. He's every bit as charismatic as Mookie..probably more charismatic than Mookie + the latin angle

Sure Lindor wants to win and enjoy himself..not land with the Mets, lose, have to deal with the NY media and watch the Yankees win and get all the coverage

 

nice little Rios snippet
https://www.yahoo.com/news/dodgers-infielder-former-fiu-player-183230465.html

 

I understand the want for him and believe me it would be fucking great to have him, I just don't see us actually doing it unless they are sure that they are not or do not want to re-sign Belli, Seager and Buehler in the years ahead, which reports seem to state otherwise. Seager is probably going to be a $300M player now, Bellinger is a huge question mark financially with his ups and downs though he is probably a $25M+ player and then Buehler while not being an ace in the reg season has shown that he is one in the post season so he's probably worth about $200M. That does not include Urias who also seemed to return to front of the rotation form at the end of the season after figuring out his curve. The other thing is Seager has to be ok with moving to 3B. There are no signs that he wants to do this. The club could sell it as a way to protect his body long term, but he may want to stay at SS for a while. The reason the Dodgers wanted Lindor last year was to replace Seager as he was an injury prone postseason underperformer. He re-wrote that script in a big way this year and earned a long term deal with the org.

Lindor + Seager + Betts could tie up close to $75M a year or more in AAV just for 3 positions with a potential another $75M a year added 2 years from now. That is A LOT of money to tie up to only 4 positions and 2 rotation spots. That is also a team that is going to get very old at the same time and cost a ton of money while doing so. As we have seen from the Giants, that can get really bad really fast. Being that one of the clubs top prospects is a 3B and they apparently are very fond of him, it is very likely that they would look to Lindor only if they think a Seager extension is unattainable as they will need to pick their battles on just how much money they can lock up long term. Would I like to see them get Lindor and sign him long term? No doubt, that would be fucking great to watch in the years ahead. Does that come with an enormous amount of risk? Holy shit, yes. The other thing is our farm has seemingly taken a big hit the past couple years as we have graduated or traded a lot of top level or starting talent. So trading for Lindor would mean they are absolutely going to re-sign him long term and maybe even Seager to boot, otherwise unless the Indians give him away, the farm is going to take another hit.

Like I have said, I would love to see them go all in for Lindor, the problem is it is a VERY win now mindset that throws long term flexibility completely out the window, so I very much doubt that we are actually going to be trying to get him unless the buy price is basically nothing.

 

This could all change if the Mets and Yankees get heavily involved, but as it stands I think we could see a light package for Lindor based on teams being cheap ahead of 2021. I don't see how Lindor fits in financially longterm, unless the Dodgers don't have interest in extending their current top players, but if the price is cheap enough, I suppose a one-year-rental could be on the table while we see how Hoese and Lux develop.

The thing I keep coming back to though is Justin Turner, who is just a significantly simpler option if we are talking about Lindor as a rental. Turner probably takes a 2-year deal, he would likely take a hometown discount, he's a fan and clubhouse favorite, he's still a solid defender and middle-of-the-order bat, would be cheaper than Lindor in 2021, and wouldn't cost any prospects. I'm not saying Turner is the same level of player as Lindor, and I would love to have Lindor, but it just feels like an inefficient move if Turner is available.

 

Lindor would be awesome, but I really hope we shore up our BP first. We know Tungis has to be replaced, and we might lose Treinen and Baez. May and Gonsolin fizzed out a bit during the playoffs as starters/openers. Just hoping for a better pitching group.

I also just don’t think we can get a Lindor without giving up too much, especially when I think we have a Turner and Lux that will be perfectly fine for at least next year.

 

Idk if Lux is fine...long on potential, for sure. But pretty underwhelming generally, imo.
Not fair to judge him yet, I guess...but really can you let his potential possibly stop a package for Lindor ?
It's similar to not letting go of Verdugo to get Mookie...would you not do it ? Not saying this is even something at all, but should it arise at any time, I say "adios amigo".
We all love Turner, but how long is he going to perform the way we need him to ?
Not long enough when we're talking about an either/or situation for Lindor...
Seems like no contest to me.