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The Dodgers are trying to trade for Jose Fernandez
Monday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes the Dodgers’ attempts at replacing Greinke, the Royals and Alex Gordon and the Cubs’ plans for Starlin Castro.
Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images
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The Dodgers missed out on Zack Greinke, losing him to the Diamondbacks, and it has left a gaping hole in their rotation. This is the Dodgers, though, the team who spends more than anyone else in baseball while also showing off a great farm system, so they can afford to try out a Plan B or two now that Greinke is lost to them. The first of those seems to be Hisashi Iwakuma, signed to a three-year deal worth roughly $45 million, but it's the move they are trying to make that really sticks out: Los Angeles is reportedly talking to the Marlins about trading for ace Jose Fernandez.
Let's get it out of the way now: any trade for Fernandez is unlikely. He's so young, so talented, and so inexpensive that the Marlins are telling teams that, in order to deal their ace, they would need a return that makes them better not just in the future but also today. It's hard to imagine anyone making that deal, but the Dodgers have the high-end prospects to move, like Corey Seager and Julio Urias, if they would rather bet on the more established Fernandez.
It would be a little weird if the Dodgers did pay the price for Fernandez, though, as they could have had Greinke just for the money. Their dollars, at least comparatively, are contained in a bottomless wallet, but the farm system, like that of anyone else, has limits. All that being said, a trade seems unlikely given Miami’s demands, but this is the Dodgers we’re talking about, and it is the Marlins, so “never say never” is the kind of thing that applies to this situation, no matter how implausible it might sound.
- The Royals might still have a shot at Alex Gordon, in part because no one else seems to be targeting him aggressively just yet.
- Kansas City did reunite with another old friend, signing Joakim Soria to a three-year deal.
- It was a busy weekend for significant reliever contracts like Soria's. Darren O'Day returned to the Orioles for four years at $31 million. Ryan Madson's rebound with the Royals earned him a three-year, $22 million contract with the A's.
- Almost all of this is bad news for the Blue Jays, who were targeting high-quality bullpen help after letting David Price walk and settling elsewhere in their rotation. Now they've lost Mark Lowe to the Tigers as well.
- The Cubs told Starlin Castro that they planned on keeping him, so don't expect him to be traded in spite of his tough 2015.
- Javier Baez, on the other hand, is a target of the Rays at the winter meetings.
- It might seem like the pre-meetings activity was plentiful, but there are still plenty of Grant Brisbee's top 40 free agents left. This is especially true in the outfield, where it's not just Gordon who remains available, but Justin Upton and Jason Heyward, too.
- The Orioles might be the frontrunners for Chris Davis by default, because almost no one has been cited as interested in the free agent slugger. Once everyone becomes aware of that at the meetings, though, things could change. That, or the market has just been very focused on pitching before all the hitters sign in the next few days.
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