Recent rumors surrounding the Los Angeles Dodgers have primarily focused on Kenta Maeda, who was posted by the Hiroshima Carp and is expected to join the MLB before Jan. 8. However, the Dodgers are considering other options as well.
Despite the heavy lefty presence of Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Alex Wood in the starting rotation, the team is reportedly in contact with Scott Kazmir and could still be a destination for Wei-Yin Chen. The two free agent left-handers are among the best pitchers remaining.
"While the Dodgers explore both Maeda and the trade market, they're also talking to free-agent lefty Scott Kazmir," writes FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. "Some rival executives even think they could be the team for former Orioles lefty Wei-Yin Chen, who reportedly wants a five-year, $100 million deal.
"Chen, 30, holds particular appeal for analytics-minded clubs such as the Dodgers and Astros, one exec said. He had a combined 3.44 ERA the past two seasons pitching in the AL East at hitter-friendly Camden Yards."
Kazmir has long been of interest to the Dodgers, even before the non-waiver trade deadline, since president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acquired the left-hander back in 2004.
As for the trade market, the Dodgers have reportedly been in talks with the Miami Marlins regarding Jose Fernandez as well as the Tampa Bay Rays about Jake Odorizzi and perhaps others. The latter scenario seems much more likely than the former because the Marlins want an excessive return for Fernandez, and rightfully so.
It's interesting to wonder if Los Angeles has any other plans in mind if they're truly considering other starters such as Maeda, Kazmir and Chen. Ryu is expected to healthy for spring training; McCarthy should be back by mid-2016; and Anderson just completed his first full healthy season in which he made more than 30 starts. Wood should rebound after getting off to a bad start following his trade to the Dodgers and Mike Bolsinger had a solid campaign despite only making only 10 MLB appearances before last season.
The trade values of Ryu and McCarthy are down since both missed a majority of 2015 and Anderson may not be an attractive commodity considering he accepted the one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer. As a result, it's hard to see how the Dodgers will make room for any incoming starter, but Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi can get creative.
In this day and age, a team can never have enough starting pitching, so maybe that's the Dodgers' philosophy heading into 2016 since it'd be hard for them to rely on the healthy of Ryu, McCarthy and Anderson.
