The Dodgers have an opening at shortstop for next season, and it’s unclear what direction they’re going to go. They could make an all-out effort to re-sign Trea Turner, their 2022 shortstop. They could turn over the job to Gavin Lux, who has been their second baseman but was a shortstop throughout his minor-league career. Or they could go outside the organization and find a new shortstop in free agency or a trade.
MLB insider Jon Heyman wrote in the New York Post that Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson might be LA’s best option to fill that role.
Dodgers people love Carlos Correa as a player, but there appears to be some reluctance there over the Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal, which could cause them to more seriously consider the other three star shortstops on the market.
They obviously like their own free agent, Trea Turner, very much, but there’s an issue there as well. Although Turner has said he loved playing for the Dodgers this year, but will consider any team, they are under the belief Turner would prefer to play on the East Coast, all things being equal. That’s no shock considering his agents initially tried to prevent the trade to the Dodgers at the 2021 deadline.
That could possibly leave Dansby Swanson as their best option, although the belief around the game is Swanson — like his famous former Braves teammate Freddie Freeman — might prefer to stay home in Atlanta.
As Heyman noted, Freeman wanted to stay in Atlanta but ended up in Los Angeles, so the same could happen with Swanson. The Braves have been aggressive in signing their young players to long, potentially team-friendly extensions, but they haven’t shown much willingness to hand out big free-agent deals.
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Swanson is a defensive wizard and has been an above average hitter over the last three seasons. He would presumably be a bit cheaper than Turner or Correa, too, which could help if the Dodgers are serious about ducking under the luxury tax for a year.
Swanson is also close friends with his college roommate, Walker Buehler. Maybe Walker and Freddie can convince Dansby LA’s not so bad once you get used to it.
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