MLB Winter Meetings: Day One

The MLB Winter Meetings opened in Vegas today. This is a week usually filled with crazy rumors that never come anywhere close to going down but there's always a few grains of truth in there. The Dodgers obviously have a lot of holes to address in the roster so let's take a look all the way around the horn to see what rumors are out there today.

Catcher - Thankfully, all the Russell Martin trade rumors are gone. Of course, the Dodgers do need to find a reliable backup catcher still - preferably someone you can use at least once every five games to give Martin a breather. He remains one of the most overworked players in baseball so that needs to change in a hurry. There were still some rumblings that Ned Coletti might go after a starting catcher and slide Martin to 3B to solve that problem but those have seemed to die down. The word today is that the Dodgers aren't interested in Jason Varitek so I'm guessing Martin's safe behind the plate for now.

First Base - James Loney doesn't have to worry about his starting job after the fantastic season he had in 2008. There's still no word on if Nomar is retiring or not. If he's not, I'm open to bringing him back in a supersub role so he can spell Loney at 1B now and again.

Second Base - Everyone assumes that Blake Dewitt mostly likely will get to start here but there is a possibility that they'll go after a second baseman if they can't find a third baseman and move Dewitt to the third sack. The signing of Mark Loretta tonight muddies this situation a little bit but I'm guessing the Dodgers know something we don't and are using Loretta to replace Nomar.

Shortstop - A week ago, it seems obvious that the Dodgers were not going to be able to bring back Rafael Furcal. But Furcal's rejection of the A's offer this week and the news that we've reopened discussions with Raffy tonight provides a glimmer of hope. The Jack Wilson rumors continue to persist too as well as some talk today about Miguel Tejada. My vote is that if you can't re-sign Raffy at a decent deal - let Hu take his shot and see what happens.

Third Base - The Twins dropping out of the Casey Blake race seemed to set up the Dodgers in perfect position to bring back Blake which would be fine by me. Blake seemed like a hard worker and proved to be pretty popular with the players. He was a solid contributor so if he can be had at the right price, he's my top choice. Ken Gurnick reported tonight that the Dodgers "are close" to re-signing Blake.

Outfield - The Dodgers have a surplus of outfielders already (Pierre, Jones, Ethier, Kemp) but one big name still hangs out there. Manny. Coletti expressed disappointment today at how the Manny negotiations have gone so far. I still don't see a major competitor for Manny so I've gotta think eventually, they'll bring him back for an undetermined time period. I still think three years with a mutual option for a fourth would get it done. If they can't sign Manny, there's been some buzz about Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, and a couple others. Personally, I might go with the horses in the stable if you can't sign Manny unless you can move Pierre or Jones which is unlikely.

Bullpen - The big news today was that while Takashi Saito's winter rehab is going well, he may not be ready for Opening Day. That obviously makes it decision time. How much do you trust Broxton? How effective do you think Saito will be when/if he comes back? If you answer in the negative to both, Trevor Hoffman seems to be a valid option. There has been a little buzz in that direction today. With Beimel seemingly gone, you have to expect some middle relief to be signed as well.

Starting Rotation - The Dodgers need a minimum of one starter - probably two unless McDonald is ready to take a spot. Obviously, the big prize is CC Sabathia, who Coletti made headlines talking about today when he claimed that Sabathia told him that he wants to be a Dodger. I really don't see the Dodgers dropping the dollars to make that happen. Derek Lowe is probably the next best option but most people assumed he'd be moving on. He made some news today saying that he wanted to stay. I suppose that's not entirely out of the question yet. Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer are also on the radar it seems. The Pettite stuff seems to have already faded away.

And that's that! I may go ahead and do these until the Meetings are over to keep everyone up to date.