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Discussion: What’s Next For The Dodgers?

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The Phillies pounded the Dodgers' pitching staff last night en route to a World Series berth, so now the newly signed Ned Colletti will go to work trying to improve his club for next year.

Los Angeles has a few prominent players due to become free agents, including Orlando Hudson, Jim Thome, Randy Wolf, Mark Loretta and Ronnie Belliard. They also have $42MM in options to sort out between Manny Ramirez, Vicente Padilla, and Jon Garland, although Manny's is a player option while Garland's is mutual. Let's not forget that Russell Martin, Andre Ethier, George Sherrill, Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, and Hong-Chih Kuo are all eligible for arbitration. That could get expensive very quickly.

What do MLBTR's readers think the Dodgers need to do this offseason? Acquiring a front-line starting pitcher would seem like a top priority, so they may choose to make a play for Roy Halladay or attempt to sign John Lackey. They'll also need to figure out who's playing second. Just throwing some names out there – what about a package deal for Dan Uggla and Josh Johnson?

Heyman On Dodgers, Valentine

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The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman, like many writers, believes the Dodgers need a #1 starter.  He says Dodgers people "aren't overly optimistic" about snagging Roy Halladay or John Lackey, however.
  • Heyman believes the Dodgers should consider trading one or all of James Loney, Russell Martin, and Chad Billingsley.  Billingsley was ineffective in July and September, but the 25-year-old is under team control for three more years.  Interest would be very strong.
  • Heyman guesses the Indians might be willing to go to $2.5MM for Bobby Valentine, while GM Mark Shapiro doesn't expect money to be a factor.

Odds & Ends: Torre, Braves, Blue Jays

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In the midst of a tight Dodgers-Phillies game, here are some news tidbits from around the baseball world….

  • Before Game Five, Joe Torre said he wants to (and believes he will) be the Dodgers' manager next season, reports Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Frank Wren is in a bit of a Catch-22 when it comes to re-signing Tim Hudson and Adam LaRoche, and/or trading Kenshin Kawakami or Derek Lowe for hitting help.
  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that new Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has spent his first few weeks on the job talking to the team's coaches and players.  After talking to pending free agents Marco Scutaro, Rod Barajas and John McDonald, Anthopoulos said he wants to speak to their respective agents in the coming weeks.
  • As reported by Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Mark Cuban told a group of Pitt students that he won't be buying the Pirates.
  • Speaking of Pittsburgh natives looking to be involved in MLB ownership, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan said that Pittsburgh lawyer Check Greenberg's investment team made with members of the Hicks Sports Group on Wednesday to discuss buying the Rangers. 
  • Tommy Rancel of the DRaysBay blog outlines why he thinks the Rays should look into signing Kelvim Escobar this off-season.

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Beltre, Ramirez

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Happy birthday to Hall-of-Famer Whitey Ford and (future Hall-of-Famer?) Zack Greinke.  MLBTR's gift to these two star pitchers is this batch of news items…

  • John Hickey of the Seattle PostGlobe outlines some of the holes that the Mariners have to fill for 2010, and speculates that free agent and Los Angeles resident Adrian Beltre might be targeted by the Angels and Dodgers.
  • Peter Gammons thinks that if it weren't for Manny Ramirez's player option, the Dodgers would part ways with the controversial left fielder, reports WEEI's Alex Speier.
  • MLB.com's Steve Gilbert writes that if Conor Jackson can stay healthy in the Dominican Winter League, he can avoid being non-tendered by the Diamondbacks.
  • Joe Mauer's big brother Jake has been named the new manager of the Twins' Class A-Advanced affiliate in Fort Myers, reports Benjamin Hill of MLB.com.
  • Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner discussed Jim Riggleman's chances of being named manager, some recent front office hires and his club's overall plans for the future in a chat with Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

Aroldis Chapman In New York

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Aroldis Chapman's agent Edwin Mejia changed his mind – he won't make MLB teams come to Andorra to see his client.  Instead, according to ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr., Chapman is set to arrive in New York today to visit with several GMs.

Arangure Jr. still sees the hard-throwing 21-year-old lefty getting a contract in the $40-60MM range.  He considers the Yankees and Red Sox top suitors for Chapman, with the A's and Giants in the mix.  The Angels, Mets, and Orioles are also interested, based on previous reports.  The Dodgers are not viewed as a serious suitor, according to one Arangure Jr. source.

Click here to read Keith Law's scouting report on Chapman for ESPN.

Ned Colletti Comments

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Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has the latest from Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who recently signed a multiyear extension.

  • Colletti and the Dodgers agreed to keep the length of the new contract a secret, to avoid future distractions.
  • Colletti's explanation of his bad moves: "In an effort to turn that around as soon as possible, we made some moves that in hindsight you wouldn't do twice.  But in the last year or so, our deliberation and our thought process were keener, were more fine-tuned, were less impatient."
  • Possible long-term deals for arbitration-eligible players will be considered on a "case-by-case basis."  Russell Martin, Andre Ethier, George Sherrill, Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, and James Loney are among Colletti's arbitration cases this winter.  Which would you lock up?

Odds & Ends: Sano, Towers, D’Backs, Fehr

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Links for Wednesday…

  • Kevin Towers has a standing offer from the Red Sox, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  For now, Towers plans on taking a few months off.  In contrast, a week ago ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that "there would appear to be excellent odds that Towers will land with the Yankees as a special assistant sometime in the months ahead." 
  • The Cubs' contract with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo is official.
  • Miguel Angel Sano received his U.S. work visa, according to SI's Melissa Segura.
  • The new Rays hitting coach is Derek Shelton, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic crafts an offseason plan for the Diamondbacks, who have a decent amount of money to work with.  We did our Offseason Outlook for the team back in September.
  • J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics says tendering a contract to arbitration-eligible right fielder Jeff Francoeur is probably worthwhile for the Mets.  I don't sense that non-tendering him is a serious consideration.
  • Donald Fehr will receive an $11MM parting gift when he steps down from his MLBPA position, says ESPN's Amy K. Nelson.  The players were mostly in favor of the decision, according to Curtis Granderson.
  • The Rangers met with Jim Crane's group Tuesday, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Two more potential investing groups are scheduled.
  • Backup catcher Mike Redmond told MLB.com's Kelly Thesier he plans on playing next year, whether or not it's with the Twins.
  • 41-year-old righty Keiichi Yabu also hopes to play in 2010, says NPB Tracker's Ryo Shinkawa.
  • Reliever George Sherrill has no hard feelings about the Orioles trading him to the Dodgers, says Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
  • MLB.com's Dick Kaegel talked to Zack Greinke, who was characteristically blunt.
  • In a Saturday post, Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts said he'd like to see how GM Ned Colletti handles the decreased payroll flexibility once his young players reach arbitration.  Weisman is even-handed in his assessment of Colletti, but here's a funny quote: "I don't laud him for retaining the young core of the team: Kershaw, Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton, Martin, et al. Knowing not to dump those guys is like knowing not to show up to work in your underwear."

Odds & Ends: Johjima, Rockies, Kikuchi

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Links for Tuesday…

NL West Roundup: Giants, Padres, Dodgers

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The Internet is filled with insight into the teams of the Pacific Coast…

  • MLB.com Giants beat reporter Chris Haft answered a number of reader questions, shooting down both the idea that the Giants can stand pat offensively and trade suggestions from a reader for Prince Fielder and Carl Crawford. Haft offers plenty to chew on in this comprehensive piece.
  • Haft's San Diego counterpart Corey Brock answers plenty of Padre questions as well. Brock believes Ken Griffey Jr. is not a good target for the Padres and Kevin Correia absolutely will return. Brock touches on the long-term plan for the Padres and other topics as well.
  • CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler discusses a trade not made by the Dodgers: Los Angeles' failure to acquire Cliff Lee, who shut them down in Sunday night's game.
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