While there were tons of fireworks during the 2022 MLB Winter Meetings, one team that curiously sat on the sidelines was the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers were expected to be aggressive in free agency after coming up short in the playoffs again last season, and while they were rumored to be interested in big names such as Aaron Judge and Justin Verlander, they never appeared to be seriously pursuing them.
One area Los Angeles has a serious need in is the backend of their bullpen, as a reunion with inconsistent closer Craig Kimbrel doesn't seem very likely. The Dodgers haven't really pursued anyone to fill his role, and it's a role that Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friendman may opt to not fill at any point this offseason.
“I don’t think it’s something that we absolutely have to have. That being said, we want to get better. So whatever ways that comes about we’ll be aggressive to act. But I don’t know yet what that will look like.” – Andrew Friedman, The Orange County Register
This is a bit of a strange response from Friedman. He doesn't entirely shut the door on the Dodgers pursuing a closer, but he also doesn't sound like he's totally desperate to add to the back of the bullpen. This is despite the fact that Los Angeles has already lost Chris Martin and Tommy Kahnle in free agency, and likely aren't bringing Kimbrel back either.
It will be interesting to see whether the Dodgers do anything to address the back of their bullpen, but right now, Friedman doesn't sound too worried about the closer role. Los Angeles could definitely use some help as we see here, but it looks like there's a chance they enter the season without a defined closer, which could be a big issue.
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