When speaking to Los Angeles Dodgers fans, the always-candid Kike Hernandez, known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve, asked for everyone's help in getting re-signed to the club now that he is officially an unrestricted free agent, per Medium's Matthew Moreno. It may or may not help that some fans were chanting, “take it off!” to Kike Hernandez.
“I really appreciate you guys coming in. Really appreciate the support through all these years since 2015. I love you guys. I love being a Dodger. I love winning. This is what we do here, we win. I appreciate you guys. I really, really hope I'm back next year so we can run it back. So make sure you guys talk to [Dodgers' president of baseball operations Andrew] Friedman and those guys and let them know.”
The Dodgers should be expected to be very active in free agency during the offseason, as they are almost always rumored to be in the mix for every big player and prospect.
Dodgers are already leaders for major free agents
The next big name out of Japan, Roki Sasaki, is already believed to be a “heavy favorite” to sign with the Dodgers, per MLB insider Ken Rosenthal.
“The suspicion is, among many in the industry, almost everyone in the industry, [is] that if this guy is posted, Roki Sasaki becomes available, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the heavy, heavy favorites to sign him.”
Sasaki, a 23-year-old pitching prospect out of Japan, has a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts over 394.2 innings in his four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. The only potential roadblock is that his Japanese team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, must reach an agreement with his eventual club to allow him to play professionally in the MLB.
The Dodgers are also rumored to be in pursuit of LHP star Blake Snell. The two-time Cy Young Award winner spent last season with the San Francisco Giants.
The better question may be, who aren't the Dodgers going after? They have also been connected to rumors about Chicago White Sox LHP Garrett Grochet.
Los Angeles recently opted not to extend Walker Buehler a qualifying offer; however, that doesn't mean he won't return to the team. The Dodgers could still offer him a multi-year deal if they prefer.
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