Dodger fans have spoken and they want Bryce Harper and Corey Kluber

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This is probably the slowest time of the baseball offseason. The Winter Meetings came and went without much happening, the Dodgers made a big trade before Christmas, and there have only been rumors since the deal went down.

Things could pick up as early as this week, but definitely within the next couple weeks. With that in mind, I ran a poll on Twitter on Friday about some of the players the Dodgers have been linked to this offseason who still haven’t signed and/or been traded. Here is said poll:

The results were unsurprising. The obviously correct choice would be for the Dodgers to sign Bryce Harper and trade for Corey Kluber — not necessarily in that order. Harper would do as much on the field for the Dodgers as he would off it and Kluber would help strengthen the rotation even more.

The second option of Harper and J.T. Realmuto makes a lot of sense as well. Even with the Marlins’ reported exorbitant asking price, the Realmuto makes a ton of sense for the Dodgers. Austin Barnes probably won’t be as bad in 2019 as he was in 2018, but solidifying the position with Realmuto would be a big boost to the offense.

The third option might be the most interesting. It could be argued the Dodgers don’t need anyone in this poll more than Realmuto. It could also be argued that the guy they need the least is Kluber. While it’d be difficult for the Dodgers to acquire both of them without eating too much into the MLB roster (and no, Cody Bellinger wouldn’t be on the table in either of these scenarios), it’s fun to think about. You’re not talking about a full gutting of the farm system, but you could say goodbye to the likes of Yadier Alvarez, Dustin May, Dennis SantanaAlex Verdugo, either Keibert Ruiz or Will Smith and the newly acquired Jeter Downs (and maybe Josiah Gray) — not to mention young MLBers like Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling.

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Odds are the Dodgers won’t end up with any of these guys. Cleveland could realize they probably shouldn’t trade their ace who’s on an incredibly affordable deal. The Marlins could get better offers from a team like the Astros, Padres, Reds and others. Harper could end up signing with a team that is more willing to meet his financial demands than the Dodgers might (but I hope not!).

The Dodgers could still go after other available players — Francisco Cervelli, Yasmani Grandal, any of these right-handed hitters — but if they were to acquire two of the three players from the poll, that’d go a long way to helping them repeat as National League pennant winners.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.