DALLAS — Last year, the Dodgers entered Major League Baseball’s winter meetings as one of the most intriguing clubs in the league, as they awaited an outcome to the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes.
This year, the team has been somewhat under the radar at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, having already executed several key pieces of offseason business.
Last week, the team addressed its need in the starting rotation, landing two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell on a five-year, $182 million contract. On Sunday, it re-signed Blake Treinen in the bullpen and added veteran Michael Conforto for outfield depth — all while another target, Juan Soto, agreed to a record-breaking $765 million deal with the New York Mets.
Nonetheless, the Dodgers’ winter to-do list isn’t complete yet. And after manager Dave Roberts and general manager Brandon Gomes met with reporters on Monday, here are five story lines to follow as the rest of the meetings, and the winter, progress.
Coming off his resurgent 2024 season in Los Angeles, outfielder Teoscar Hernández has desired to remain with the Dodgers. Last week, talks between the sides finally picked up as well.
But as of Monday afternoon, Hernández remained unsigned. And in the wake of Soto’s monster contract, he’s now perhaps the most coveted outfielder still left on the market. That means, as other Soto finalists refocus on Hernández this week, the Dodgers could face renewed competition for the two-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger, potentially from fellow big-market clubs such as the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
“I’m always going to be a Teo fan,” Roberts said. “There’s not a whole lot of guys that can start 157, 158 ball games and post and then to be that productive. Then you layer on being in a big market, helping us win a championship. Those players don’t come around very often.”
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