Dodgers Analysis: Three Areas of Improvement for the Dodgers as the GM Meetings Begin

LAS VEGAS, NV—The 2026 offseason continues to roll along after the conclusion of the 2025 season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in the Fall Classic.

Now, it’s back to business as usual, and with free agency offically starting on Friday, the next date on the calendar is the annual General Manager Meetings, which will take place tomorrow, Monday, November 10th, and run through Thursday, November 13th, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Dodgers, fresh off their second consecutive World Series title, the first such instance in over 25 years, will now look to raise the stakes with a three-peat, but before that, they’ll have a few key areas to tighten up on the roster.

Back-End Bullpen Help

It’s no secret that the top area for the Dodgers to address this offseason is their bullpen.

Despite signing multiple high-profile free agents to multi-year deals (Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen) while also taking a chance on right-handed veteran Kirby Yates for a 1-year deal, the bullpen, which was the team’s strength during the 2024 season, was essentially a reason why the team failed to secure a top two seed in the National League.

Tanner Scott, who inked a massive multi-year deal with Los Angeles last winter and was expected to get the bulk of save opportunities, ended up having one of the worst seasons of his career with an ERA of nearly five while posting an NL-worst 11 blown saves.

Yates did not fare better with the 39-year-old posting an ERA north of four while ending the season on the 15-day injured list with a hamstring injury, not throwing a single pitch for the Dodgers in October.

Treinen, the Dodgers’ go-to arm in the bullpen just a season ago, was unable to match that dominance he rediscovered in Dodger Blue, forcing Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to look for other options late in the game.

Andrew Friedman and Co. hoped that the acquisition of Brock Stewart would refortify the back-end of the pen while also giving them a much-needed right-handed look, an area where the team struggled, but he was only able to make a handful of starts before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.

Overall, while the Dodgers ranked 4th in bullpen fWAR (6.0), that was primarily due to the sheer amount of innings they had to pitch throughout the season, with multiple members of the starting rotation placed on the IL.

The Dodgers still posted the 10th-worst ERA (4.27) while ranking 17th in FIP (4.05) and, despite their best efforts in October, still came away with a World Series win.

According to Alden González of ESPN, the Dodgers are expected to be aggressive for a late-inning right-handed relief option for the bullpen and a closer, while also keeping tabs on top free agent Kyle Tucker and top trade chip left-handed starter Tarik Skubal.

There are many names scattered throughout free agency, such as former NL All-Star Devin Williams, who figures to get a 1-year provit-it deal after a down season in the Bronx.

The Dodgers had interest in Williams before his trade to the New York Yankees last winter, and despite losing his closer job, his advanced metrics looked promising, including an elite 34.7 strikeout percentage and a 2.68 FIP.

Another arm the Dodgers had been connected to in the past, now a free agent, is Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Pete Fairbanks.

The Rays declined Fairbanks’ 1-year, $11 million club option for the 2026 season, and while his strikeout numbers are down from seasons past, the righty still posted a 2.83 ERA in 60.1 innings this season.

Then you have the big fish, which is New York Mets free agent closer Edwin Díaz, who declined his 2-year, $38 million player option seeking another multi-year deal.

Díaz would solve a bunch of problems for the Dodgers, giving them a bona fide closer who also happens to be right-handed and has been dominant in his role for years.

Still, whether Andrew Friedman goes big on another free agent contract for a relief pitcher remains to be seen, as it did not work out in his favor last offseason. Also, Díaz was offered the $22.025 million qualifying offer, which he’ll likely decline, meaning the Dodgers would also lose a draft pick, something Freidman does not like to do for most players.

Corner Outfield Help

Another area the Dodgers need to address this offseason — and start doing so at the GM Meetings — is the hole in the outfield.

While the team has Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages set to man the outfield right now, where they’ll be remains a question.

Pages proved many doubters wrong this season, particularly on defense, ranking in the 97th percentile in OAA in center field this season, while also possessing one of the best arms in baseball.

Hernández, on the other hand, was a much different story. Not only were his regular-season numbers down from a year prior, but his below league-average defense was also on display on multiple occasions this season.

The Dodgers would probably like to move Hernández back to left field, where he played most of the 2024 season. While that won’t be a surefire fix, it would give the Dodgers a much better alignment.

So, who plays right field, or who plays center field if the team opts to move Andy Pages back to right?

Internally, the Dodgers could have Tommy Edman return to center field, their original plan for the 2025 season, but whether Edman’s ankle can handle it for an entire season is a separate issue entirely.

The Dodgers’ one-year shot on Michael Conforto backfired hard, with the left-handed hitter posting just an 83 wRC+ in 486 plate appearances this season and not making the postseason roster.

While the team will be connected to top outfield free agents such as Kyle Tucker and a possible reunion with Cody Bellinger, there are also multiple players on the trade market, with Steven Kwan, Brendan Donovan, and Luis Robert Jr. being the most logical candidates this winter.

Prioritizing the Now, but Also the Future

One issue that is always hard for contenders is not only staying in connection, but also building toward the future.

Since 2013, the Dodgers have been the only franchise to maintain their level of success while also working on the future through their farm system.

Coming into the 2026 offseason, the Dodgers’ farm system ranked number one, per MLB Pipeline, and heading into the winter, they’ll have multiple prospects to use as trade capital to improve the team.

Perhaps the biggest trade chip the Dodgers have to offer is young catcher Dalton Rushing, who made his highly anticipated debut this summer but hit just .204/.258/.324 with a 62 wRC+ in a limited backup role to full-time catcher Will Smith.

With Rushing’s role to start blocked for the foreseeable future, the Dodgers could opt to trade the former number one overall prospect in their system for an impact-ready level player, or, like they did with infielder Michael Busch a few seasons ago, trade him to recoup some extra depth in the minor leagues.

Regardless of what they decide to do, the Dodgers, led by Andrew Friedman, usually have a keen eye on making sure not to “overpay” for players, as the method of sustained success is essentially the new-look Dodgers’ motto over the last ten-plus years.

In short, the Dodgers will make moves this winter; they’ll make moves to help secure their shot at a third consecutive World Series, but they’ll also look for moves to help them for 2026 and beyond.

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