As every off season goes, for all sports, the rumor mill gets very busy. This MLB offseason is being dominated by the Harper and Machado rumors but, we Dodger fans are dealing with our own rumors. Just this past week, there have been multiple rumors involving the Dodgers and a handful of teams or players. I’ve compiled a list of rumors that I think I can break down so we all get the gist of what is happening.
- Dodgers and AJ Pollock are in discussions
- Dodgers have discussed Joc Pederson with multiple teams
- Dodgers and Pirates have had discussions involving Starling Marte
- Dodgers are interested in INF Josh Harrison
I’ll go through all of these one by one with as much information as possible.
First of all, the Dodgers are interested in free agent outfielder, AJ Pollock. This news was reported by Ken Rosenthal last week but said there was no deal close or no specifics on what they may be discussing. Pollock wants to receive a deal similar to Lorenzo Cain on the Brewers, 5-years, $80 million. The reason why this dollar or year amount won’t be agreed upon is because Pollock is “injury prone”. I disagree with that statement but it’s something that comes along with him. Signing Pollock would replace Puig in both defense and offense. If they reach an agreement, I think the Dodgers would only go three years, maybe four years, for around $40-50 million. Essentially a contract that is very similar to Andrew McCutchen’s with Philadelphia.
Secondly, the Dodgers have been having discussions with multiple teams involving Joc Pederson. Personally, I don’t know why the Dodgers are trading off so many players but oh well. The White Sox were the first team reported to have interest in Pederson. If this trade was completed, I’m not sure who the Dodgers would receive in the deal. Back in December the Dodgers were apparently interested in Jose Abreu but that rumor never had any traction to it. Jose Abreu or Carson Fulmer would be a solid return for Joc Pederson. The Atlanta Braves are another team that has some level of interest in Pederson but who knows if they’d want to trade with a team that just beat them in the playoffs.
Something I just saw today was the rumor involving the Pirates. There is hardly any information for this as it just came out a few hours ago but, the Dodgers would hope to acquire Starling Marte from Pittsburgh. Marte has a career .286 batting average and has won two Gold Gloves since debuting in 2012. I believe the Dodgers are looking to acquire proven Major League talent instead of in house options now. Although the discussions have been active, nothing is imminent. Ross Stripling could be a trade piece to Pittsburgh and they might be able to trade Rich Hill as well.
I like Rich Hill and I think it is great what he has done in his Dodgers career but, he’s going to be 39 and owed $18 million. I’d rather see him traded than Stripling.
Finally, we will talk about a former Pittsburgh Pirate, Josh Harrison. There is a list of about six teams, the Dodgers included, that are interested in Harrison. Josh Harrison is a super utility player that fits the Dodgers model of depth but the Dodgers aren’t frontrunners on him. My best guess, Harrison goes to either the Angels or the Texas Rangers.
So as all rumors go, take these with a grain of salt and don’t believe everything you hear or read. As this long offseason continues, hopefully we see more additions to the Dodgers instead of subtractions.
Leadoff Dodgers 