The Los Angeles Dodgers will be active this offseason coming off their second World Series championship in five years.<\/p>\n
Despite spending over $1 billion last winter, the team plans to be aggressive again, continuing to shore up the roster as they aim to become the first back-to-back World Series champion since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers have made a few minor league signings thus far, and they\u2019re also meeting with the prize of this year\u2019s free agent class, Juan Soto, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Aside from that, the major news that has come from L.A. this offseason was general manager Brandon Gomes announcing that Mookie Betts would be returning to the infield in 2025.<\/p>\n
Betts, who entered last season as the team\u2019s starting second baseman, was quickly moved over to shortstop as Gavin Lux struggled defensively coming back from a torn ACL.<\/p>\n
Betts was then the team\u2019s shortstop until he broke his hand in June, and when he returned in August, he went back to right field.<\/p>\n
While the Dodgers lineup seems to be optimized with Betts in right field, the three-time World Series champion has made his intentions clear about returning to the infield. Thus, the Dodgers are planning on granting him that wish.<\/p>\n
Betts\u2019 return to the infield creates a bit of a logjam, though. Betts, Lux, Miguel Rojas, and Tommy Edman can all play the middle infield, and the team is also linked to star free agent shortstop Willy Adames. It\u2019s unlikely Betts goes back to shortstop, meaning he\u2019s likely going to be the team\u2019s second baseman come Opening Day of 2025.<\/p>\n
With Betts at second base, Lux, Rojas, and Edman would all be options at shortstop. However, Rojas and Edman seem to be the better options defensively after Lux struggled last spring and ended up playing much better at second base. So, at this point, Lux appears to be the odd man out.<\/p>\n
While the Dodgers would love to keep Lux, a homegrown talent and former first-round pick who came into his own last year, the team also has bigger offensive needs in the outfield, and tons of needs on the pitching side of things. Thus, Lux is a perfect trade candidate.<\/p>\n
While Lux could very well headline a package for All-Star ace Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox, who are looking for position players, there\u2019s another trade that makes even more sense for Lux and the Dodgers. Lux should headline a package to the Milwaukee Brewers for two-time All-Star right-handed reliever Devin Williams, who\u2019s entering his final year of team control and is a prime candidate to be moved.<\/p>\n
Here is what the full package would look like:<\/strong><\/p>\n Dodgers receive:<\/strong> Right-handed pitcher Devin Williams<\/p>\n Brewers receive:<\/strong>\u00a0Infielder Gavin Lux, right-handed pitching Peter Heubeck, right-handed pitching prospect Payton Martin<\/p>\n Why the Dodgers Would Do This Trade<\/strong><\/p>\n The Dodgers are getting one of the nastiest relievers in baseball in Williams, a two-time National League Reliever of the Year award winner who has a career 1.83 ERA, and hasn\u2019t had an ERA above 2.50 since his rookie year.<\/p>\n Williams, nicknamed the \u201cAirbender\u201d because of his devastating changeup, would fit in perfectly in the back of the Dodgers\u2019 bullpen as a true closer or eighth inning option alongside Michael Kopech.<\/p>\n A bullpen of Kopech, Williams, Evan Phillips, and Alex Vesia would be downright unfair, and would make the L.A. bullpen even better a year after that same group willed the Dodgers to a World Series win.<\/p>\n Why the Brewers Would Do This Trade<\/strong><\/p>\n As for the Brewers, they\u2019re getting a 26-year-old infielder with two more years of team control who had a solid season coming off a torn ACL, hitting .251 with a career-high 10 home runs, 50 RBIs, and a wRC+ of 104. The Brewers are expecting to lose Adames, and could move second baseman Brice Turang back to shortstop, with Joey Ortiz staying at third base.<\/p>\n That would create an opening at second base, which would be perfect for Lux, the Kenosha, Wisconsin native who grew up 40 miles from the Brewers\u2019 home stadium.<\/p>\n As for the pitchers, the Brewers are getting two of the Dodgers\u2019 top 30 pitching prospects who are expected to debut in the next few seasons.<\/p>\n Heubeck had a 3.05 ERA across 24 starts in High-A last year, while Martin had a 3.38 ERA across 13 starts in High-A. The Brewers would get the opportunity to develop each of these pitchers, while also getting Lux as their potential second baseman of the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Los Angeles Dodgers will be active this offseason coming off their second World Series championship in five years. Despite spending over $1 billion last winter, the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n