The Dodgers may not be content to shop the usual tier of starters this offseason. If Tarik Skubal is in play, they sound ready to treat him like the prize and not just another name on the board.
That’s the takeaway from speculative reporting out of The Athletic, which suggests Los Angeles could take a very different path if Skubal lands elsewhere. Rather than simply pivoting to the next-highest starter available, such as Freddy Peralta or Michael King, the Dodgers might instead look for lower-cost arms who can help absorb innings while the team prepares for a quicker post-lockout ramp-up. The comparison being floated is Tyler Anderson, whom the Dodgers signed in the run-up to the 2022 season.
The logic is straightforward enough. The Dodgers have a rotation with plenty of talent, but also a few arms that come with obvious durability questions.
Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher all fit that description, and the club will need someone who can cover innings in 2027. How much they can lean on Justin Wrobleski, how Emmet Sheehan finished the season, how healthy Gavin Stone is, how ready Jackson Ferris is and what kind of depth sits behind them all factor into the picture.
As things stand, Los Angeles has Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Sheehan in the rotation, at least until Ohtani is ready to rejoin the fray. The bigger question is what happens if the Dodgers miss on Skubal.
The reporting suggests they may not simply slide down the market and grab the next starter on the list. And, as always with Andrew Friedman, the exact shape of the spending plan is hard to pin down.
Boston, meanwhile, appears to be focused on building out the back end of its staff. According to MassLive, the Red Sox are expected to be in the market for a back-end starter and a right-handed reliever with swing-and-miss ability.
That fits a team trying to push past two straight Wild Card Series losses and sub-90-win seasons. On paper, the rotation has some structure already.
Sonny Gray is headed for free agency, Garrett Crochet is set to return from a nearly full-season injury, and Payton Tolle and Ranger Suárez occupy the 2-3 spots. Jake Bennett looks solid in the No. 4 role.
The rest of the picture is less settled. Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck are all in the mix for the fifth spot, with additional depth also part of the equation. It may not look desperate, but the Red Sox know how quickly injuries can change that.
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Manny Ramirez has surfaced as an intriguing name in the broader coaching conversation, with the former Dodgers slugger reportedly seeking a hitting coach job in MLB and open to beginning in the minors if needed. For a club that has long valued offensive development and star power, the possibility of Ramirez entering the coaching pipeline adds an unexpected wrinkle to a staff change that already carries some weight. [Read more 🡒]