Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
This year’s free-agent class leaves a bit to be desired. After Tarik Skubal, the drop-off in talent is a bit steep. And while the Dodgers figure to be in on Skubal — maybe before the impending lockout? — they probably won’t be dabbling near the remaining top free agents.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t fits at every position for them, even if they aren’t the most appealing names on the market. Sure, it’d be easy just to run off a list of the best players available, but them fitting an already crowded roster is another story. That’s not to say they’ll sign all these guys who are listed — or multiple (or even one) — but these are the guys who make sense for the Dodgers in some fashion.
There are a few caveats to take into consideration here:
- Didn’t finish the 2026 season with the Dodgers
- Playing time taken into consideration
- Potential contract taken into consideration
With that established, let’s take a look at who are the best fits in free agency for the Dodgers are every position.
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Catcher – Luke Maile, Royals (36)
Even with Dalton Rushing‘s recovery from Tommy John surgery that’ll keep him out until July/August, the Dodgers kind of shored up their catching depth in the upper minors/back of the 40-man roster by trading for Hunter Feduccia at the deadline. They also (as of now) have Eliezer Alfonzo on the 40-man, so they don’t necessarily need a catcher at this point. But if any of the free-agent catchers make sense, it’s Maile.
Maile, 36, isn’t much with the bat — and never really has been (career 63 wRC+). But that’s not the reason he’s an 11-year MLB veteran. He’s a solid defender behind the plate, which is all you need your third- or fourth catcher to be. In just 153 defensive innings with the Royals in 2026, Maile was a +3 in fielding run value. He’s solid at blocking pitches, has a decent pop time and can still frame a bit (even if that skill is being diminished by ABS). Plus, there’s a non-zero chance he could be had on a minor-league deal and hang with Oklahoma City, should something happen to Will Smith, Feduccia or there’s a setback with Rushing’s recovery.
First Base – Rhys Hoskins, Guardians (34)
We all now Freddie Freeman has been an iron man of sorts at first base, but he’s entering his age-37 season and probably shouldn’t be playing more than 140 games a season at this point. His second-half production (.286/.341/.339, 90 wRC+) would agree. So, you’d assume a right-handed-hitting first baseman would make sense, because it’d also give the bench another RH presence, which is why the pick is Hoskins, the pride of Sacramento State University.
Hoskins, 34, is coming off a down season with the Guardians that saw hit just .179/.306/.376 with a 94 wRC+ in 317 plate appearances. It was the worst season of his career, as he posted a sub-100 wRC+ for the first time. Hoskins has power and the ability to barrel a pitch, as evidenced by his 12.6 barrels per batted ball events percentage (minimum 150 BBE). It would have ranked third on the Dodgers, behind Shohei Ohtani and Max Muncy, and just ahead of Smith’s 12.4%. He’s always been a 3-true-outcome guy, as he carries a career 13 BB% and a 25.5 K% to go along with his .234 isolated slugging. He’d be a nice guy to round out the bench on a cheap deal.
Second Base – Gleyber Torres, Tigers (30)
This is the position that might be the most open for the Dodgers, where a free agent addition might be for a starting role and not a bench/depth guy. They’d really prefer to shift Tommy Edman to a true super utility role, ala Enrique Hernandez, as playing him as a full-time second baseman hurts his overall value and exposes him to more looks by the opposing team. Finding a starting second baseman (or moving Mookie Betts to second base if another shortstop is acquired) makes a lot of sense, and that’s where Torres comes in.
Torres, once a prized Yankees’ prospect, finished his second (and likely final) season with the Tigers that saw him hit .260/.364/.363 with a 109 wRC+ in 96 games. That 96 games is an outlier, as he has never played fewer than 123 games (non-COVID year) as a pro, and that was in his rookie season with the Yankees. He spent time on the injured list twice for a left oblique strain that sapped his pop a bit (.103 ISO). While he’s not an exit velocity demon, he’s in the 89th percentile in launch angle sweet spot percentage, 80th in squared up percentage and is a guy who simply does not chase. His 18.9 Chase% is in the 99th percentile and ranks him fourth just behind Taylor Ward, Austin Martin and Trent Grisham. Something else he does is hit the ball the other way. A lot. His 37.8 Oppo% overall and 41.8 Oppo% on fly balls were the highest in MLB. It’d be a different look for a Dodger offense that ranked 14th in Oppo% in 2026 (24.1%). Torres has never been much with the glove (-17 DRS career, but +3 in ’26), but they could hide him well enough at second base for a season.
Third Base – Luis Rengifo, Padres (30)
The Dodgers have one of the game’s best third basemen in Muncy, so they aren’t looking to upgrade there just yet. However, he’s going into his age-36 season and could benefit from some additional time off during the season. The Dodgers already have him in a quasi-platoon, so grabbing someone who can handle left-handed pitching would be a plus. While Rengifo’s career 98 wRC+ against LHP doesn’t fit the criterion perfectly, it’d be good enough in a part-tine role, while also providing solid defense at the hot corner.
If the name Rengifo sounds familiar, it’s because he was supposed to be a Dodger (along with, possibly, Taylor Ward) in the Joc Pederson, Ross Stripling and Andy Pages proposed trade in February 2020. The Dodgers were looking to clear roster spaces and, potentially, save a little money. Thankfully, Arte Moreno nixed the deal, Pederson and Stripling went on to win the 2020 World Series and Andy Pages is a 2-time World Series champion who, famously, saved Game 7 of the 2025 Series and earned his first All-Star berth in 2026. But back to Reginfo. He’s a solid utility infielder who had a solid 3-year stretch in Anaheim from 2022-24 before falling off the last two seasons. He actually began the 2026 season with the Brewers before finishing up with the Padres. Perhaps Andrew Friedman can finally land his utility player nearly seven years later.
Shortstop – Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Red Sox (32)
While my offseason plan has the Dodgers trading for Elly De La Cruz and moving Betts to second base, that isn’t an option here. And the Dodgers don’t have to move Betts off shortstop, and there’s certainly no free agent who would warrant such a move. So, this might be more for depth, as Miguel Rojas retired and has left the Dodgers without a defensive infield ace on the bench. The pickins are slim, so we’re going to go with Kiner-Falefa.
Affectionately known as IKF, he originally began his career as a catcher before moving to the infield. Since, he has carved out a solid career as a defensive specialist around the infield. He might have had his best defensive season in ’26 in limited time. He had a combined 8 DRS among second base, third base and shortstop, with him posting +2 at shortstop. He doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he’s sure with the glove. And that’s the main thing, because he isn’t much with the bat (.261/.311/.347, 82 wRC+ for his career), but his glove will play all over the dirt.
Left Field – Austin Hays, Padres (31)
Look, no one is taking Josue De Paula‘s position. And I’m saying that while Teoscar Hernandez is still a Dodger, even thought he’s almost assuredly going to be traded. Left field is De Paula’s for the foreseeable future. I had Hays in my offseason plan and, you know what, he’s actually the best fit. Here’s what I wrote about Hays:
“Pop quiz: Who leads all right-handed-hitting left fielders in wRC+ against left-handed pitchers since the start of the 2024 season? Yes, it’s Hays. Sure, that’s a little specific, but he’s also fifth in MLB among all hitters (minimum 200 plate appearances). Hays, 31, has a 161 wRC+ against southpaws over the last three seasons. He finished 2026 with the Padres after the White Sox released him in August. He would help safeguard against any Josue De Paula struggles against left-handed pitching and could give Kyle Tucker a day off here and there in right field against them. He’s not much with the glove, but he has experience at all three outfield positions. He’d be an upgrade over Alex Call because he can actually hit left-handed hitters with authority.”
Pretty much.
Center Field – Cedric Mullins, Rays (32)
With Pages, the Dodgers are looking for more of a supporting character in center field. With that, he should probably be left-handed so Pages can get a day off here and there against a tough right-hander. He should also be as good, if not better, defensively than Pages is. There’s one guy who fits that perfectly — Mullins.
Mullins is long way from the 30-30 player he was in 2021, but one thing that hasn’t slumped is his defense. He was 4th-best in the majors with +11 outs above average in center field — better than Pages’ +9 mark. He’s not much with the arm, but not everyone is the complete package. Offensively, he’s not much with the bat anymore. He had a career-worst 76 wRC+ with the Rays and his Statcast page is looking like the 2026 Midterms — lots of blue. He might have been snakebitten a bit with a .227 BABIP, but, despite his speed, only had a 29.5 GB%, so maybe the low BABIP is closer to accurate than unlucky.
Right Field – Adolis Garcia, Phillies (34)
Again, this is more for depth, as Kyle Tucker will be the Dodgers’ starting right fielder in 2027 and maybe through the 2029 season. He had a rough first season with LA, but turned it on in September and saw that carry over to October, so there’s some optimism for him going forward. To bring in a guy to give him a day off here and there might not be the worst idea, and Garcia fits that mold pretty well.
Garcia ha da rough go of it in Philadelphia, as he hit just .195/.270/.329 with a career-worst 63 wRC+. His season was cut short in June after surgery on his latisimuss dorsi (hello, 10th-grade health/PE class). It carries a 6-8-month recovery, so he should be ready for normal Spring Training. He still has some pop in his right-handed bat, is a better defender in right field than Tucker and has one of the best arms at the position in the sport. He might not view himself as a bench player yet, which could make this a bit tricky. But if he were willing to be a right-handed bench guy/defensive specialist, the Dodgers could do worse in that department.
Starting Pitcher – Foster Griffin, Guardians (31)
If the caveat of not re-signing your players, Skubal would be the easy answer here (or even Kris Bubic). With or without Skubal, the Dodgers don’t absolutely need a starting pitcher, but it would open some things up. They could trade from their depth, as younger, controllable arms are going to be more attractive to other teams than older, expensive ones. While I went with old friend Flaherty in my offseason plan, I’m going with a different direction with Griffin.
Griffin had a good return to the majors from Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, so much so that he was an NL All-Star for the Nationals in 2026 before being traded to the Guardians at the deadline. He had a 3.60 ERA, 3.96 FIP and a 15.7 K-BB% between both clubs. In the postseason, he threw 10 1/3 innings and allowed four earned runs while running a 13:0 K:BB ratio. For the Dodgers’ purposes, Griffin would give them a completely different look from the left side, ala Tyler Anderson back in 2022. His stuff isn’t overwhelming, but he can command it and has seven different pitches. Oh, and his cut fastball was the most valuable in baseball in 2026.
Relief Pitcher – Steven Okert, Astros (35)
Like with Skubal, Alex Vesia would be the easy answer here (or Evan Phillips). And while the Dodgers have spent big on relievers the last two offseasons (Tanner Scott, Edwin Diaz), they could still afford to invest in a reliever on the market and it’s another spot where they might actually go after an established veteran for a full-time role. If Vesia isn’t retained, a good replacement for him could be Okert.
Okert has quietly become one of the best left-handed relievers in the game in the last two seasons with the Astros. Over the last two years, he has a combined 2.58 ERA, 2.99 FIP and a 22.2 K-BB% while averaging 69 2/3 innings. For reference, Vesia’s career-high in innings pitched is 66 1/3 (2024). Like Vesia, he doesn’t overpower with the fastball, but unlike Vesia, it doesn’t have the same induced vertical break. However, his slider is borderline elite. It was worth +16 runs last season — 6th-best in baseball. Not 6th-best among relievers or left-handed relievers, sixth-best among all qualified pitchers. He’s one of the best relievers in baseball and would be a fine addition to the Dodgers’ bullpen.
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Odds are the Dodgers won’t sign any of these guys, especially since there are guys who finished the season as Dodgers who would be much more likely to return. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if any of these guys were targeted by the Dodgers, as they’d all fit a specific need and wouldn’t break the bank for a team that frankly primarily just needs depth.
