The Los Angeles Dodgers’ $1 billion offseason last winter was a main driver toward winning the World Series this October.<\/p>\n
Could president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman flex the organization’s financial muscle again to land Baltimore Orioles ace Corbin Burnes via free agency?<\/p>\n
FanGraphs’ Roster Resource shows a crowded Dodgers rotation, but it includes plenty of question marks.<\/p>\n
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is followed by Shohei Ohtani, who hasn’t pitched since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023.<\/p>\n
Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May all finished 2024 on the injured list, while Bobby Miller posted an 8.52 ERA in 56 innings.<\/p>\n
Acquiring Burnes would give the Dodgers an ace who has proven he can take the ball every fifth day. The four-time All-Star has started at least 28 games each year since 2021, including 30-plus from 2022-24.<\/p>\n
His final year before reaching free agency included a 15-9 record with a 2.92 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 194 1\/3 innings for the Orioles. Burnes is the top starting pitcher available in free agency and should get a huge contract.<\/p>\n
The Athletic’s Tim Britton is projecting a seven-year, $217 million contract for the hurler. Could the Dodgers have an advantage in these sweepstakes?<\/p>\n
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand thinks so. He listed 10 potential suitors for the ace and made an interesting point about Los Angeles being a fit.<\/p>\n
“The fact that Burnes hails from Bakersfield — located 110 miles north of Dodger Stadium — could give Los Angeles an edge in its recruitment.” Last winter proved we can’t discount the Dodgers for any high-priced free agents.<\/p>\n
This should especially be the case since that historic spending spree resulted in the club’s second championship since 2020.<\/p>\n
There will be plenty of competition for Burnes’ services, but it would be foolish to think the Dodgers can’t make this happen unless it’s clear they prefer going in a different direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ $1 billion offseason last winter was a main driver toward winning the World Series this October. Could president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n