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The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the few teams in the MLB who have had few question marks surrounding their team this offseason.
With a rotation of four quality starters, the only spot the Dodgers have had to worry about in that regard is who will take over the fifth starter option, and that’s with a plethora of front-line guys like Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow.
The Dodgers have struggled to fill two positions: second base and center field. Los Angeles traded away Gavin Lux, presumably to make room for international free agent infielder Hyeseong Kim, but it has already been announced that Kim will start the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Dave Roberts gave some clarity this week as to what the Dodgers will do at both positions:
“I think it’s just going to remain fluid,” Roberts said. “I think that’s a position where we have different players that can play second base, can play center field. So it’s not going to be one certain situation, versus left versus right.”
Utilityman Tommy Edman can play both second base and center field and will likely be one of the players who play every day at either position. Some of the other options Roberts mentioned were Andy Pages and Kiké Hernández. Hernández can float between both positions, and Pages may see many opportunities against lefties.
Roberts also noted that the group of players, including Pages, Hernández, and even Miguel Rojas, will see between three and five games per week, which seems optimal for success considering the talent on the roster. On a team that has very few question marks surrounding them, the biggest concern could be the production they get from the center field and second base position.
Padres Urged to Sign Former Dodgers All-Star in Blockbuster Move
The San Diego Padres signed All-Star catcher Elias Diaz on a one-year, $3.5 million deal as the team’s first major league signing of the offseason.
The deal seemingly secured the Padres’ starting backstop for the 2025 season, but Diaz’s spring sample has not been very strong. In 25 at-bats, the veteran is hitting .160.
To make matters worse, Padres catchers had not recorded an extra-base hit in Cactus League until Luis Campusano homered Sunday. There’s a possibility Campusano will start the season in Triple-A.
With limited options at catchers, Robert Murray of FanSided makes a case for the Padres to sign a familiar face who was also a former Los Angeles Dodgers backstop: Yasmani Grandal.
The 36-year-old made his Major League debut with the Friars in 2012 and spent three seasons with the team before he was traded to Dodgers in 2015.
It was with the Dodgers that Grandal put up All-Star numbers. Over a 13-year career, he’s slashed .236/.345/.424 with 194 home runs and 592 RBIs.
Signing Grandal wouldn’t exactly change the franchise’s fortunes, but it would definitely give the Padres more options at catcher. Ideally, Grandal and Diaz could split time throughout the season.
Grandal has received at least one offer this offseason from the Atlanta Braves, which he turned down about a month ago. However, he is reportedly hoping for other opportunities to materialize.
It appears there could be room for a reunion with the Padres; however, reports also stated Grandal is considering retirement.
President of baseball operations A.J. Preller enjoys making last-minute acquisitions, and acquiring Grandal would fall in line with the rest of the Padres’ signings of mostly veterans this offseason.
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