Ned Colletti noted what some of us were already thinking, that subtracting from the current rotation won't improve it. That essentially means that Chad Billingsley won't be moved for Roy Halladay, or probably any another pitcher. And it probably means that the Dodgers acquiring Halladay is highly unlikely.
Having said all that, my thinking is the Dodgers will simply try to do what they did last off-season, and that is filling the back end of the rotation with inexpensive signings. Last year they signed Randy Wolf to a cheap one-year deal after Derek Lowe left as a free agent. They also signed a handful of veterans to minor league deals, and eventually picked up Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland late in the season.
They could attempt to bring back two of those three out of Wolf, Garland and Padilla, although Wolf will likely command more of a two- or three-year deal this winter after is stellar season with the Dodgers, or they could look further into the free agent pool at guys like Erik Bedard, Rich Harden, Pedro Martinez, and/or Ben Sheets. All of these guys could probably be had at bargain rates.
Randy Johnson might be a nice fit at the back end of the rotation as well, provided he doesn't retire. The Dodgers nearly signed him last winter when he signed in San Francisco instead, and the Dodgers eventually signed Wolf, so there might be some level of interest there again.
Obviously, the Dodgers want to find a way to improve their rotation, and they'll look at any and all trade options, as well, just so long as it doesn't include Billingsley.
No comments:
Post a Comment