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The Los Angeles Dodgers have won three straight National League West titles, and they really didn’t need to do anything else this winter to have a good shot at making it four in a row in 2016.

But why settle for “good enough” when you can go for “even better”?

This line of reasoning would seem to be responsible for the Dodgers’ latest move. As Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was first to report, the Dodgers are bringing back veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick on a two-year deal.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Kendrick’s deal guarantees him $20 million. That’s only a few million more dollars than he would have gotten if he’d accepted the $15.8 million qualifying offer at the start of the winter, which would have been for only one year.

So, behold the rarest of finds on the free-agent market: a steal.

Going into the offseason, Kendrick figured to get roughly the same sort of deal as fellow second baseman Daniel Murphy. He’s nearly two years older than Murphy, sure, but Kendrick has clearly had the better career.

So much for that. Murphy signed a three-year deal with the Washington Nationals that will pay him $37.5 million. No thanks to his ties to draft-pick compensation and his long wait on the open market, Kendrick is only getting a little more than half of that.

Too bad for Kendrick, but good for the Dodgers. Because lest we forget, they’re getting a pretty good player in addition to a pretty good deal.

Kendrick is coming off a 2015 season that admittedly wasn’t his best. Injuries limited the 32-year-old to 117 games, and, at least according to the advanced metrics, his defense took a big step back.

Kendrick remained an effective hitter, though. He hit a solid .295, making it three straight years in which he’s hit better than .290. He did this the way he always does: by putting his bat on the ball and, as Brooks Baseball can show, wearing out the opposite field with line drives.

Those last two habits make Kendrick a classic No. 2 hitter, which is mainly where now-former Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly used him in 2015. In 2016, new Dodgers manager Dave Roberts figures to do the same.

“He’s a heck of a ballplayer,” Roberts said of Kendrick before the news hit the wire on Friday, via Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. “I know that he enjoyed his time here last year. If something does work out, it makes us a better ball club.”

At the least, Kendrick certainly makes the Dodgers lineup better. Slot him into the No. 2 hole in the lineup, and you get a pretty impressive unit. Here’s Dodgers Nation with a sneak peek:

Granted, there are some question marks present in the Dodgers lineup. Justin Turner and Yasmani Grandal were pretty banged up by the end of 2015. Yasiel Puig was banged up for most of 2015 and wasn’t at his best when he was able to play. Joc Pederson struggled down the stretch of his rookie season, and Corey Seager has fewer than 30 major league games under his belt.

Despite these questions, though, the potential is as clear as day. By adjusted OPS, every single position player in the Dodgers’ projected Opening Day lineup was an above-average hitter in 2015. And going into 2016, a few of them have the goods to be way above average.

It’s no wonder that the early (well, not too early at this point) projections see good things in store for the Dodgers offense in 2016. According to FanGraphs, the Dodgers are projected to score the most runs per game of any NL West team (except the Colorado Rockies, who play half their games at elevation).

It wasn’t even that close before Friday, but adding Kendrick gave them a nudge anyway. And in addition to padding the Dodgers offense, the Kendrick signing also pads their depth.

The Dodgers will now move Chase Utley to the bench, where they already had under-the-radar 2015 breakout star Enrique Hernandez. Another spot on the bench will go to whoever is not playing between Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier, and the Dodgers will also have Trayce Thompson, Scott Van Slyke and Alex Guerrero to call on.

Of course, anyone out there who’s not sold on the Dodgers going into 2016 is probably looking more at their pitching.

The Dodgers did lose Zack Greinke, after all, and replaced him with depth rather than another ace. Neither Scott Kazmir nor Kenta Maeda figures to be anywhere near as good. They also haven’t upgraded a bullpen that has something of a soft underbelly.

However, the Dodgers’ pitching projects to be a lot better than you may think.

FanGraphs’ projections have Dodgers pitchers near the top of the league in wins above replacement in 2016. That doesn’t mean they will be there, mind you, but it’s a good reminder that the Dodgers still have the best pitcher on the planet in Clayton Kershaw. Kazmir and Maeda should at least be serviceable, as should Brett Anderson and Hyun-jin Ryu. And late in games, Kenley Jansen is basically automatic.

None of this is to say the Dodgers aren’t going to get any competition in the NL West. The Arizona Diamondbacks already had a terrific offense and defense, and now they have some pitching after stealing Greinke and trading for Shelby Miller. The San Francisco Giants, meanwhile, figure to once again be the Dodgers’ primary nemesis.

The Giants didn’t make the postseason in 2015, but they likely would have if they’d had some starting pitching depth to help support the excellent Madison Bumgarner and a lineup led by Buster Posey and baseball’s most star-studded infield. They corrected that problem by signing Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. For good measure, they also added Denard Span to their outfield.

But though the Giants should be a dangerous team in 2016, you can still wonder if they have quite enough depth.

There’s a steep drop-off in their starting rotation after Bumgarner, Cueto and Samardzija, and there’ll be trouble in their outfield if Span, Angel Pagan and/or Hunter Pence have their 2015 injury troubles follow them into 2016. Question marks like these didn’t keep yours truly from rating the Giants as a more dangerous World Series contender than the Dodgers, but they’re not built as well for the 162-game grind of the regular season.

In so many words: Yeah, we can probably trust the projections on how the NL West is going to shake out in 2016. The Dodgers project to be the best team in the division by a comfortable margin.

And after basically completing the ensemble by re-signing Kendrick, they sure do look the part.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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Legendary Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully is getting honored with a street bearing his name that leads to Dodger Stadium.  

According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday unanimously approved the moniker “Vin Scully Avenue” to be used in place of Elysian Park Avenue. 

Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo proposed the name change, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN.com.

Per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, even though Scully has resisted these kinds of accolades and tributes in the past, he was “on board” with this proposal. 

Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten released a statement regarding the proposal before it was voted on, per Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times: “There’s no better way to recognize such an iconic Dodger as Hall of Famer Vin Scully than naming a street after him. We appreciate Gil Cedillo and city officials bringing this to the forefront, and we look forward to the day when everyone can drive on Vin Scully Avenue when they enter Dodger Stadium.”

It would be hard to think of a better way to honor arguably the most iconic announcer in Major League Baseball history. The 88-year-old Scully, who has said 2016 will likely be his final season in the booth, has been with the Dodgers since 1950 and calls games by himself with no color commentator. 

Accolades are nothing new for Scully, who was given the Ford Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. He’s one of the great voices in sports, always able to call games with a natural ease and tell stories from past decades that relate to what is happening on the field. 

Since it’s probably impossible to get the entire city of Los Angeles named after Scully, a street that leads directly to Chavez Ravine is a pretty good consolation prize. 

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After dealing Craig Kimbrel to the Boston Red Sox in November, the San Diego Padres appear to have found their new closer.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Padres and reliever Fernando Rodney agreed to terms on a major league deal Wednesday, making him the favorite to lock down the team’s closer role in spring training.

Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported Rodney signed a one-year deal with an option and performance bonuses that can max it out at $7 million. However, Sanchez added Rodney’s salary for 2016 is in the $1.5 million range.

After going 5-5 with 16 saves in the first half of the 2015 season with the Seattle Mariners, Rodney was traded to the Chicago Cubs on August 27. And while Rodney only made 14 appearances with the Cubs after being designated for assignment by Seattle, he went 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA, 15 strikeouts and four walks. 

“He still has the good fastball, outstanding changeup, and he’s a great teammate,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said when the Cubs acquired Rodney, per the Associated Press (via MLive.com). 

The 38-year-old is entering his 14th year of MLB service, and the Padres could desperately use some of the 2014 magic Rodney displayed with the Mariners. En route to his second career All-Star appearance, Rodney captured a league-best 48 saves while posting a 2.85 ERA.

“While Rodney’s career has been somewhat of a roller coaster, the veteran has posted a cumulative 2.80 ERA over the past four seasons and still averaged a very healthy 94.7 mph on his fastball between time with Seattle and Chicago last season,” Steve Adams wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. 

As Maddon noted, Rodney primarily operates with a two-pitch arsenal.

According to FanGraphs, the veteran tossed fastballs 61.4 percent of the time last season while mixing in his changeup on 38 percent of his pitches. A meager 0.6 percent of Rodney’s pitches were sliders—a component that has faded in and out of his repertoire since his 2002 debut. 

Although Rodney’s not much more than a stopgap solution at 38 years old, he’s a low-risk, high-reward closing option for a Padres team in need of back-end stability after dealing Kimbrel. And as the 2012 and 2014 seasons indicate, there’s still some gas left in Rodney’s arm. 

With a bounce-back season on his mind, Rodney may end up paying dividends for the Padres as a bargain-bin signing. 

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The Los Angeles Dodgers announced they have signed veteran pitcher Joe Blanton to a one-year contract. According to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan, the one-year deal is worth $4 million. 

Blanton appeared in 36 games for the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates last year, posting a 2.84 earned run average in 76 innings.    

MLB.com’s Mike Petriello assumes some Dodgers fans will rush to judgment about Blanton based on his previous stint with the team and his disastrous season with the Los Angeles Angels:

The bulk of the 35-year-old’s career has been spent in a starting role, but an exceptionally poor 2013 and a yearlong layoff from MLB in 2014 necessitated a move to the bullpen.

Blanton had a nondescript start to the 2015 season with the Royals and then excelled with the Pirates. According to Baseball-Reference.com, he finished with a 1.57 ERA and 2.11 FIP in Pittsburgh, and his 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings were a career high.

FanGraphs’ Neil Weinberg wrote Blanton’s resurgence was all the more surprising given the fact his transition to being a reliever didn’t result in a significant uptick in his fastball velocity, which in part explains Wade Davis’ and Glen Perkins’ success in the bullpen.

Rosenthal noted Blanton’s contract with the Dodgers indicates he’ll remain a reliever in Los Angeles:

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times believes Blanton fills a major hole in the Dodgers’ pitching staff:

If Blanton can repeat last year’s success with the Pirates in 2016, this will be a great deal for the Dodgers. Four million dollars is a reasonable sum of money to pay a better-than-average middle reliever.

And on the days when Los Angeles’ starters are forced to exit earlier than expected, Blanton’s ability to eat up innings in the middle of games will be an invaluable resource.

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Shortstop Alexei Ramirez will don a new uniform in 2016 for the first time in his eight-year MLB career after signing with the San Diego Padres in free agency Thursday. 

The deal will span one year, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Financial terms have not yet been disclosed. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed the report.

Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller broke down the motivation behind San Diego’s move: 

The 34-year-old veteran has spent his entire career with the Chicago White Sox to this point, but after the organization decided to exercise a $1 million buyout rather than pick up his $10 million option, he hit the open market.

Ramirez made the All-Star team for the first time in 2014, as he hit .273 with 15 home runs and 74 RBI, but he failed to build on that fantastic season.

In 2015, Ramirez hit .249 and posted an on-base percentage of .285, both of which were career lows. He did hit 10 homers and drive in 62 runs, however, and his production picked up in the second half of the season, as he hit .277.

In his White Sox tenure, Ramirez was a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and by and large a defensive stalwart.

Ramirez made it clear that he wanted to return to the team in 2016 and beyond, per Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune.

“It’s kind of tough because I have been here for eight years, and I like this team,” Ramirez said. “I like all of the people who work here. They’re like my family. I don’t want to even think about being on another team. I want to be here, and I want to finish my career here.”

Even though Ramirez had clearly grown attached to the only MLB organization he had ever known, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago speculated the Cuban infielder would be more willing to sign elsewhere after seeing the high demand for quality shortstops in free agency.

Hayes proved prophetic, which leaves Chicago with a hole at the shortstop position for the first time in many years.

The White Sox have an elite shortstop prospect coming up through the system in Tim Anderson, but the 22-year-old 2013 first-round pick may still be a year or two away from becoming a full-time starter.

Ramirez would have been a viable stopgap until then, but the White Sox knew they were taking the risk of losing him when they decided against picking up his option.

It will be odd to see Ramirez in a new locale in 2016, but complacency tends to creep in when players are in one place for too long, so perhaps changing teams will be the best thing for him moving forward.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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The San Francisco Giants‘ offseason shopping spree is almost certainly over. After adding outfielder Denard Span and a pair of starting pitchers in Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto, the club has plugged its most glaring holes.

Oh, the Giants might go after a spare bullpen arm or some infield depth (Grant Brisbee at McCovey Chronicles recently floated old friend Juan Uribe). But what you see is likely what you get, roster-wise, for the Giants.

“I couldn’t ask for more,” manager Bruce Bochy said, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. “It’s been a terrific offseason.”

Come on, Bruce, get greedy. You can always ask for more.

See, active as they’ve been, there is a missing ingredient that could propel the Giants from contender to legitimate National League favorite in this—wait for it—even year: one more big-time slugger.

The Giants offense was far from abysmal last season. They finished fifth in the National League in runs scored and led the Senior Circuit in team batting average. It was a dearth of starting pitching behind ace Madison Bumgarner, more than anything else, that led to San Francisco’s distant second-place finish.

The Giants, however, didn’t loom large in the power department, clubbing just 136 home runs—fourth-fewest in baseball. Partly that’s a function of playing half their games at AT&T Park, with its spacious dimensions and long-ball-suffocating marine layer.

But it’s also because this lineup isn’t loaded with boppers.

The Giants are flush with capable hitters. Span figures to take over leadoff duties with his combination of speed, contact and on-base ability. Joe Panik and Matt Duffy boast solid gap power. Brandon Crawford flashed surprising pop last season, cracking 21 home runs to pair with his Gold Glove defense at shortstop.

And the middle of the order—Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt—brings some thump.

No current Giants hitter, however, has ever hit 30 home runs in a season. Pence came the closest, with 27 in 2013.

That’s not a prerequisite for success, as San Francisco has demonstrated with its recent trio of titles. But if there’s one area where this club could use a boost, it’s the game-changing ability to send the ball sailing over the fence.

And, look at that, a few star sluggers remain unsigned two weeks into January.

There’s Justin Upton, a five-tool 28-year-old who hit 26 home runs last year while making pitcher-friendly Petco Park his home. There’s Yoenis Cespedes, who bashed a career-high 35 home runs in 2015, to go along with 105 RBI and an .870 OPS. And there’s Chris Davis, MLB‘s reigning home run leader, whose 47 home runs jump off the stat sheet in this power-starved era.

Upton and Cespedes both profile best as left fielders. Angel Pagan, the presumed left fielder after the Span signing, is a capable hitter when healthy. But he turns 35 in July and has missed 186 games over the last three seasons with hamstring, back and knee issues. 

Instead, imagine if San Francisco added Upton or Cespedes. Or Davis, who could alternate between the outfield and spelling Belt at first base.

Then there’s the possibility of trading for a hitter. Like, say, the Colorado Rockies‘ Carlos Gonzalez. 

Gonzalez, whose name has been tumbling through the rumor mill since before the offseason began, is coming off a strong bounce-back season that saw him club 40 home runs. And the two years, $37 million left on his contract make him a bargain in today’s market.

He’d cost more than money, of course. Any deal would surely start with one (or two) of the Giants’ top prospects, including right-hander Tyler Beede and shortstop Christian Arroyo, and possibly a big league player like backup catcher Andrew Susac.

All right, what the hell, let’s lay out this fantasy lineup:

1. CF Denard Span

2. 2B Joe Panik

3. C Buster Posey

4. LF Upton/Cespedes/Davis/Gonzalez

5. RF Hunter Pence

6. 1B Brandon Belt

7. 3B Matt Duffy

8. SS Brandon Crawford

Pair that with a bench suddenly bolstered by spare outfielders Pagan and Gregor Blanco, the Giants’ revamped rotation and a battle-tested bullpen and you’ve got the makings of a world-beater. We’re talking about a squad that would easily challenge the Chicago Cubs for NL supremacy and quite possibly leave Bay Area fans covered in more orange and black confetti.

Again, it almost definitely won’t happen, and it might not need to. The Giants are a good group as currently constructed; they’re more than capable of challenging the Los Angeles Dodgers and reloaded Arizona Diamondbacks for NL West supremacy.

But, hey, why not dream big? Remember, this is the franchise that set a National League record for the most consecutive sellouts. What’s one more big contract?

With Pagan and Blanco both possibly exiting next winter via free agency and a thin hitters market in the 2016-17 offseason, the Giants would be setting themselves up down the road as well. And an ownership group that’s already the most well-liked in baseball, according to a poll conducted by FanGraphs‘ Jeff Sullivan, could make itself even more beloved.

San Francisco needs more power, and there are premier power hitters left on the shelf. As long as both of those things are true, it’s acceptable to dream. There’s a month left before pitchers and catchers. You got something better to do?

All statistics courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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The San Francisco Giants traded right-handed pitcher Cody Hall to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later, announced Arizona. 

The Giants had designated Hall for assignment on Monday to make room for recently signed outfielder Denard Span, per Chris Haft of MLB.com.

Hall, 28, made his MLB debut this past season, appearing in seven contests and posting a 6.48 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings of work. He’s spent his entire pro career coming out of the bullpen, posting a 2.58 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 323 strikeouts in 289.0 innings pitched across all levels in five professional seasons.

Hall has flashed potential during his minor league career, and the Diamondbacks will be hoping he can live up to that potential and bolster a bullpen that was solid if unspectacular last season.  

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According to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan on Wednesday, the San Diego Padres have agreed to a one-year deal with reliever Carlos Villanueva with a guarantee of $1.5 million. 

The 32-year-old put up a career season coming out of the bullpen for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015, posting a 2.95 ERA in 35 appearances.    

A change of venue to a successful franchise seemed to do the trick for Villanueva. In his previous eight seasons before the Cardinals, which included stints with the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs, Villanueva never had an ERA under 3.69.

Villanueva was a nice surprise in St. Louis, which signed him to a minor league deal in February 2015. He showed an ability to come out of the pen and contribute solid innings for the Cardinals.

He doesn’t have overpowering stuff, with a fastball topping out at the high 80s. But his slider is his go-to out pitch and has some serious movement when it enters the zone.  

If he can replicate his 2015 numbers, the Padres just received a nice piece for their bullpen, which was inept at times last season. San Diego’s bullpen allowed over 4.5 runs per game and had just 63 holds—sixth-worst in the majors. 

He is one of a few arms that the Padres have acquired this offseason, including Drew Pomeranz and Cesar Vargas, in an attempt to revamp their bullpen.

Villanueva can provide an option in long relief, especially from the fourth through sixth innings if San Diego’s starters spin a bad outing. It’ll allow the Padres an opportunity to get back into games if they fall behind early. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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Gerardo Parra is headed to Colorado. The free-agent outfielder and the Rockies agreed to a three-year deal Tuesday that will pay at least $27.5 million.  

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post and Spanish reporter Wilmer Reina provided the news. The deal will have a fourth-year option at $12 million.

Parra, 28, hit .291/.328/.452 with 14 home runs and 51 RBI last season, adding 14 steals on 18 attempts. He split the season between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles, coming over to the American League for the first time via a midseason trade.

Brilliant throughout the first half in Milwaukee, Parra struggled mightily during his 55-game stint with the Orioles. He hit .237/.268/.357, played miserable defense and failed to help the Orioles make a postseason push. FanGraphs credited him with just 0.4 wins above replacement in 2015, a number that would categorize this contract as a massive overpay.

Parra hasn’t been the same since his brilliant 2013 campaign, when he produced a career-high 4.5 WAR and seemed to find a comfort level defensively. Split seasons each of the last two years have hurt his performance, as he’s seen a drop-off in play after each deadline deal.

The Rockies were one of three finalists in the Parra chase, according to agent Jose Mijares, who spoke with Saunders on Monday. The other two teams were not named, but Mijares’ openness in discussing Colorado made it look like the favorite.

It’s unclear at this time what the trade means for Colorado’s incumbent outfielders, but Saunders noted there has been speculation about the Rockies making a trade in the search for starting pitching.

“I don’t know anything about a trade by the Rockies, I’m just trying to find the best fit for Gerardo,” Mijares said. “We will see what is the best offer and the best situation.”

Parra’s arrival should make those trade possibilities easier. His offensive emergence in Milwaukee last season should bode well for his transition to hitter-friendly Coors Field, and Parra’s massive defensive descent feels more like an outlier than anything.

While he’s been graded negatively each of the last two seasons, his level of drop-off between 2014 and 2015 was so big that a positive regression should be in order.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have opened their hefty pocketbooks by reportedly agreeing to a six-year deal with Cuban right-handed pitcher Yaisel Sierra.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network first reported Tuesday on the agreement between the Dodgers and Sierra. Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com confirmed the deal, adding it will be worth between $30 million and $33 million. 

Sierra’s market began heating up over the weekend, with Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com noting the 25-year-old was “expected to beat” the deal Cincinnati gave to Raisel Iglesias (seven years, $27 million) in June 2014. 

After defecting from Cuba last April, according to Sanchez, Sierra was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball on Dec. 28. He was also not subject to MLB’s international spending rules because of his age and professional experience in Cuba. 

With the Dodgers losing Zack Greinke to free agency as well as uncertainty around oft-injured starters Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu, they badly needed to add rotation depth behind Clayton Kershaw. They did sign left-hander Scott Kazmir to a three-year deal in December to serve as the No. 2 pitcher. 

Sierra’s eventual MLB role is very much uncertain. He threw more than 100 innings only once in five professional seasons in Cuba. In a total of 300 innings during that time, he had 221 strikeouts and 166 walks. His ERA increased in his last three years, ballooning to 6.10 in 2014. 

Brian Sakowski of Perfect Game USA did note Sierra showed a 94-96 mph fastball and a plus slider when he had a three-inning look at him, and he believes that a 2016 MLB debut is possible. 

Whatever Sierra’s role with the Dodgers will be, the front office is still piecing this roster together for 2016. Arizona and San Francisco have improved this winter, while the Dodgers don’t look as imposing on paper due to the loss of Greinke. 

Sierra isn’t going to replace one of the National League‘s three best pitchers from last season, but he gives the Dodgers much-needed upside and depth for next season as they look to keep their National League West crown.

Stats per Baseball-Reference.com.

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