Betts batted .307 with a .408 on-base percentage and .579 slugging percentage in 152 regular-season games, finishing with a career-high 39 home runs and 107 RBIs. He’s won the award three times as a Dodger and three times with the Boston Red Sox.

Four other Dodgers – first baseman Freddie Freeman, designated hitter J.D. Martinez, third baseman Max Muncy and catcher Will Smith – were among the three finalists for a Silver Slugger award in the National League, but none of them won.

One player per position is chosen for the award in both the American and National League; an additional Silver Slugger award is given to a “utility player” in each league.

The Dodgers were also a finalist for the first team-wide Silver Slugger award, given to one club in each league. In the National League, that award went to the Atlanta Braves, who led the NL in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

A vote of MLB managers and coaches decides the Silver Slugger Award winners. Each team is allotted four votes, given to the manager and three coaches of his choice. Votes are based on a combination of offensive statistics including OBP, OPS, OPS+, home runs, hits, RBIs and batting average as well as the managers’ and coaches’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value.

Betts will receive a three-foot tall Silver Slugger award from Louisville Slugger, fashioned in the shape of a bat. Each trophy bears a custom engraving of the recipient’s name along with the names of the other Silver Slugger winners in that player’s league.

“If you’re always rational about every free agent,” the Dodgers president of baseball operations said in 2016, “you will finish third on every free agent.”

If ever there was a winter to get irrational about a free agent, it is this winter with Shohei Ohtani, the most unique player in MLB history, available on the open market.

Attendees at this week’s GM Meetings in Arizona competed to say as little as possible about the Ohtani Sweepstakes, hiding behind MLB’s prohibition against talking about specific free agents and offering repetitive “No comments” and “I don’t knows” to questions about Ohtani’s market, potential payday and landing spot.

Friedman and Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto were both asked a theoretical question about how difficult it is to set a value for a player as unique as Ohtani. Both declined to answer. When asked if that wasn’t something he would have to do in his capacity running a major-league team, Dipoto responded only, “Presumably,” the parade of non-answers continuing unabated.

MLB’s decision-makers and talent evaluators were willing to acknowledge Ohtani’s existence in only one way – he’s really good at baseball.

“He’s a special player. That’s probably the only way to describe him,” Texas Rangers executive vice president and GM Chris Young said.

“He’s just such a unique talent,” Cleveland Guardians GM Mike Chernoff said.

“He’s as fascinating a talent as we’ve all seen in our generation,” Tampa Bay Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said.

“He’s a very good baseball player,” Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes said.

“There are 30 teams that would love to have him,” Dipoto said.

Only one team can have him – though MLB might want to consider a rule change that would allow Ohtani to hit for one team and pitch for another (when he takes the mound again sometime in 2025).

The Dodgers are the consensus favorites to sign Ohtani, given that standing by prognosticators in the know – and not. DraftKings Sportsbook has them as prohibitive favorites, -110 with the San Francisco Giants next at +550.

“I mean, I think there are things that are put out there. Sometimes they’re true, sometimes they’re not,” Gomes said of the futures betting on Ohtani’s decision. “We don’t really know how to pick and choose and decipher those things so we just try to have a sound process and be prepared for any possible scenarios that do arise.”

The Dodgers check several boxes expected to be on Ohtani’s wish list as he chooses his next employer.

First of all, they have the financial resources to satisfy the massive asking price, expected to be north of the 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension his presumably soon-to-be former teammate Mike Trout got from the Angels in March 2019.

“I’m not sure where any of that is going to land,” Gomes said uncomfortably when asked about the challenges of mega-contracts. “If we have those conversations, we’ll go down that path. But I think we’ve shown that we’ll play in different areas and go after different players. So when it comes about and however the team shapes up, we’ll be able to handle it.”

The Dodgers have actually not been big spenders in free agency since Friedman took over. They came up short in bids for the likes of Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Gerrit Cole and let in-house free agents like Corey Seager, Trea Turner, Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer walk when the bidding for their services went too high.

They have spent to retain players like Mookie Betts (whose 12-year, $365 million contract came after he was acquired from Boston in a February 2020 trade). But their biggest free-agent splurge under Friedman has been Freddie Freeman, who practically fell into their laps for six years and $162 million.

“Our ownership has shown time and time again that we’re going to do things to create as good a team as possible to win this year and moving forward,” Gomes said.

The New York Mets, Yankees, Giants, Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays all have the financial resources as well and varying levels of demonstrated willingness to spend irrationally.

“I think there are a ton of teams that will be interested in these different players and we’ll be right there with those other teams,” Gomes said, still talking in generalities.

The belief is that a primary factor in Ohtani’s ultimate choice will be the opportunity to compete for a championship. For all of their struggles in the postseason, the Dodgers privately puff out their chests, confident no team can offer Ohtani a better chance to win annually for however long his next contract runs.

But that doesn’t take into account the possibility that Ohtani might want to sign with a team that he could lift to the heights – after all, isn’t that part of what lured him to the Angels six years ago?

There is also the possibility that Ohtani might be motivated to sign somewhere where he could be ‘The’ star, not just one of the stars as he would be with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers were also considered one of the favorites to land Ohtani when he first came to MLB. The lack of a DH in the National League at that time scuttled their chances. But now they are positioned to satisfy Ohtani’s two-way brilliance – he can DH for them in 2024 while he rehabs from this year’s elbow surgery then assume a place at the front of their rotation when he’s ready to pitch again. The Dodgers have both state-of-the-art resources to support Ohtani’s rehabilitation and out-of-the-box willingness to accommodate his needs as a two-way player.

“Our goal is to put together the best team that we can,” Friedman said. “Yeah, we definitely have ‘A’ scenarios of how to best get there. It just may not line up for whatever reason, so we have to be prepared to make sure we have a strong enough team to put ourselves in position to legitimately have a real chance of playing in and winning the last game of the season.”

Reminded of his 2016 pronouncement, Friedman was asked if that might require getting irrational about a free agent.

“Defining ‘irrational’ is not necessarily an easy thing to do,” he said.

Since becoming the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations nine years ago, Friedman has signed a free-agent starting pitcher to a contract longer than three years just once – Brandon McCarthy got four years and $48 million to join the Dodgers just a couple of months after Friedman took over.

Friedman has committed more than $48 million to a free-agent starting pitcher just once with the Dodgers – when they signed Trevor Bauer for $102 million over three years. That did not work out well.

The other free-agent starting pitchers signed by the Dodgers under Friedman have largely been bargain-basement additions. Scott Kazmir signed for three years and $48 million in 2016. But Alex Wood ($4 million in 2020), Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney ($8 million and $8.5 million, respectively) and Noah Syndergaard ($13 million last winter) were all one-year commitments.

During the same time, the Dodgers have watched Yu Darvish, Zack Greinke, Max Scherzer, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Anderson and Heaney become free agents and leave them for multi-year, big-money deals with other teams.

The Dodgers have avoided spending on free-agent starting pitchers because they didn’t have to, Friedman said, not because there is a philosophical principle against it.

“Yeah and until this year we’ve been first in baseball in production,” Friedman said accurately when reminded of his spending history at this week’s GM Meetings.

The Dodgers had the lowest starting rotation ERA in baseball four times in six years before last season and were second the other two years.

“We’ve made big offers on free-agent starters,” Friedman said defensively. “But up until this year, you couldn’t have better production. So it gets into how aggressive you are based on where you’re at from a talent-base standpoint. That changes year to year. The future outlook is different all the time and is something we’re constantly factoring into any and all decisions we make.”

The Dodgers’ approach to free-agent starting pitchers might have to change this winter as well.

Last season, the Dodgers’ starting pitchers ranked 20th in MLB with a collective ERA of 4.57. That was their first time over 4.00 for a season since 2007 and their highest since the war-time Brooklyn Dodgers of 1944 finished with a 4.78 ERA from their starting pitchers, the highest in the 16-team big leagues.

“It’s a priority for us,” Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes said. “We’re looking to add a starting pitcher or two and how that comes about is based on the trade market, free agency and balancing that with our internal options. But it’ll be something we want to do. I don’t think we’re unique to that. I bet you every other team is in that space, too, but that is our mindset right now and a priority.”

The top of the free-agent market includes presumptive National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (Padres) as well as Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola. Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is expected to be posted by his team soon with hot pursuit by a number of MLB teams sure to follow.

None of the three is likely to sign for a deal less than $150-200 million and Scott Boras (the agent for Snell as well as free-agent left-hander Jordan Montgomery) said Wednesday he already detects “a frenzy for pitching” among teams this winter and Gomes’ “a starting pitcher or two” wish list was echoed from every corner of the Omni Montelucia Resort this week.

Friedman acknowledged that the Dodgers are more motivated buyers than they have been in the past.

“I think it would be reasonable to say that it would be more than it has been when we came off years of top production with returning the same (rotation) if not improving on that base,” Friedman said.

The trade market could also offer upgrades for the Dodgers with Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow and Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease the most accomplished starters expected to move (at the right price).

“I think the free-agent group around is talented as well as there are potential opportunities to explore the trade market, more so than there have been in years past,” Gomes said. “So I think there are different avenues to improve our team and make sure we have a high-quality starting staff.”

URIAS STATUS

Left-hander Julio Urias was supposed to be one of the most highly sought-after free agents of this offseason. But he ended the season on administrative leave with his playing career in limbo after he was arrested on felony domestic violence charges on Sept. 2.

Urias was not required to appear in person for a court date on Sept. 27 and there has been no decision on whether charges will be filed. An MLB investigation is certain to result in disciplinary action against Urias who served a 20-game suspension in 2019 for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.

“We have not heard anything from anyone involved in enforcement,” Boras, Urias’ agent, said Wednesday. “So we’re just waiting.”

COACHING DEPARTURE

Jason Bourgeois has been hired as the Chicago White Sox new first base and outfield coach as part of sweeping changes to the staff of Manager Pedro Grifol.

The 41-year-old Bourgeois spent the past five seasons as a baserunning and outfield coach in the Dodgers’ minor-league system.

Ron Washington is an Angel. Bob Melvin is a San Francisco Giant. Stephen Vogt is a Cleveland Guardian. Carlos Mendoza is a New York Met. Even one team that already had a manager decided a change was in order. Within a week after the World Series ended, Craig Counsell was a Chicago Cub and David Ross was a free agent too.

Soon, the attention will shift to the players, and the annual game of musical chairs that reshapes the major league landscape every winter. Here are this offseason’s Top 10 free agents, ranked in order of (approximate) demand.

1. Shohei Ohtani

The two-way superstar won’t throw a pitch in 2024 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. How will that impact the unprecedented contract he is likely to receive?

It’s possible Ohtani will sign a short-term “bridge” contract in the range of two to three years, allowing him to re-enter the market as an actual two-way player a couple of years from now. More likely, Ohtani’s next contract will allow him to opt out after, say, Year 3, or allow the team to re-negotiate the deal in light of his recovery.

For comparison’s sake, outfielder Julio Rodriguez last year signed a contract extension with the Seattle Mariners that could pay him up to $470 million over 18 years, but that deal contains a club option after Year 7 – Rodriguez’s age-28 season.

If Ohtani, 29, is able to opt out of his next contract, whichever team gets him this offseason is not necessarily his last MLB employer. We could be looking at another Ohtani Derby a few years down the road.

2. Cody Bellinger

MLB Trade Rumors, a reliable predictor of salary arbitration winnings, pegged Bellinger’s next contract at a mind-boggling 12 years and $264 million. It wasn’t that long ago that the Angels signed Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $254 million contract; at the time he was one of the best hitters in baseball and a near-lock to make the Hall of Fame.

Bellinger is neither. Yet, in a shallow market for free agent position players, the versatile 28-year-old could be able to cash in at just the right time.

A reunion with the Dodgers seems unlikely, as they never could coax Bellinger’s bat out of its injury-induced slumber, but a reunion with the suddenly gung-ho Cubs could make a ton of sense.

3. Blake Snell

The likely National League Cy Young Award winner is not an archetypal ace. He practically matched a career high in innings pitched (180) and walks per nine innings (five) with the Padres in 2023, neither a traditional hallmark of excellence.

But if you want a left-handed pitcher with electric stuff who can deliver 20 to 30 starts a season – who doesn’t? – the 30-year-old is your man. A team in need of a front-line starter (like the Angels) could do much worse.

4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto

At 25 years old, Yamamoto will arrive from Japan as the youngest free agent on the market. He’ll also arrive with question marks around his height. Listed (perhaps generously) at 5-foot-10, Yamamoto must overcome questions about his durability – particularly after pitching more than 684 innings over the last four NPB seasons.

The right-hander also has a 1.57 ERA over that time. Between his recent performance and his age, some teams might have him higher on their want list than Snell.

5. Jordan Montgomery

On the other end of the height spectrum, 6-6 Jordan Montgomery faces an entirely different question: was his dazzling late-season performance for the eventual champion Texas Rangers (4-2, 2.79 in 11 regular-season starts, 3-1, 2.90 in the postseason) the real deal?

Before this season, Montgomery had been a slightly above-league-average starting pitcher with a slightly below-league-average strikeout rate. It will be a gamble for some team, but Montgomery might also be hitting the market at the right time to cash in on his change-of-scenery success.

6. Josh Hader

He already has the best (only?) free agent hype video of the offseason, and has the market cornered on “impact closers available for only the cost of money.”

With 165 saves over seven seasons, Hader has already reached a point when many high-leverage relievers burn out. Yet his 2023 season in San Diego (33 saves, 1.28 ERA in 61 games) was the best of his career. Not many left-handers are better at mixing a 96-mph fastball with a slider, a well-suited mix for a team looking to make a statement – like the Padres a year ago. He’s the rare reliever who can leverage for a long-term deal.

7. Clayton Kershaw

While some viewed his recent shoulder surgery as a tepid endorsement for his major league future, Kershaw could have delayed the procedure or foregone it altogether. By addressing his health early in the offseason, Kershaw made a statement of intent more powerful than his surprise Instagram announcement.

Now, the question is where does he want to pitch – or, more accurately, spend most of 2024 rehabbing: Los Angeles, Camelback Ranch (the Dodgers’ spring training facility in Arizona), or closer to his Dallas home, with the Texas Rangers? Some believe Kershaw’s expected absence improves the Rangers’ chances; the Dodgers would like their franchise icon to retire where his career began.

8. Aaron Nola

Few pitchers have seen their good work go to waste behind a poor defense more than Nola, who is better than his one All-Star appearance and back-of-the-baseball-card stats would suggest.

Start with his durability: he’s averaged 30 starts and 200 innings in every non-pandemic season since 2018. At 30, he’ll be hard-pressed to continue that into the future, but plenty of teams will put stock in his mighty potential outside of Philadelphia.

9. Eduardo Rodriguez

It’s no surprise Rodriguez opted out of his contract after a bounceback season with the Detroit Tigers (13-9, 3.30 ERA) to take advantage of a relatively weak free agent class. Teams who covet a left-hander and lose out on Snell might quickly pivot to the 30-year-old Venezuelan, who blocked a trade to the Dodgers at last season’s trade deadline.

His decision to block the trade raises the possibility that Rodriguez prefers to remain close to the East Coast. Even the Tigers, who seem to be on the upswing after years in the rebuilding desert, could choose to bring Rodriguez back to anchor a relatively young rotation.

10. Matt Chapman

Chapman struggled at the plate (.240, 17 homers, 108 OPS+) in his only season in Toronto, but still managed to win a Gold Glove at third base – still the best selling point for the Orange County native.

An All-Star and MVP candidate with the Oakland A’s from 2017-22, Chapman might prefer to return to the West Coast, where the Giants (among other teams) could use a steady-fielding third baseman.

In the days immediately following the Dodgers’ postseason elimination, Friedman said he “absolutely” would want Kershaw to be part of the 2024 team – if the veteran left-hander decided to continue his career.

Since then, Kershaw announced that he underwent shoulder surgery which could sideline him for an unknown portion of the 2024 season but that he hoped to pitch again “at some point next summer.”

That does not change the Dodgers’ interest in having Kershaw back in uniform with them next year, Friedman said Tuesday at the GM Meetings.

“We are very respectful of Clayton and Ellen’s decision and giving them the time and space to make the best decision for their family,” Friedman said in an echo of his comments last month. “But selfishly, we hope it’s to continue and finish his career in Dodger blue.”

Kershaw considered signing with his hometown team, the Texas Rangers, before returning to the Dodgers on a one-year contract each of the past two seasons, making it clear that the only way the three-time Cy Young Award winner would leave Los Angeles would be for the opportunity to pitch near home. That would allow Kershaw to continue his career without moving his wife, Ellen, and their four children between Dallas and Los Angeles during the baseball season.

Kershaw and Rangers executive vice president and GM Chris Young are good friends and Dallas-area neighbors. But Young would not comment on the Rangers’ interest in Kershaw – a free agent again this winter – following shoulder surgery last week that will likely keep Kershaw out of action for a large portion of the 2024 season.

“I can’t speak about any specific free agent,” Young said at the GM Meetings on Tuesday. “But certainly, as a friend, I wish Clayton the best (in his recovery).”

The Dodgers did not extend qualifying offers to Kershaw or fellow free agent J.D. Martinez before the deadline this week. In Kershaw’s case, the decision was an easy one because of his surgery. Players extended qualifying offers must accept or decline them next week.

Martinez made $10 million on a one-year deal with the Dodgers this season. If the Dodgers extended a qualifying offer to him and he accepted, the 36-year-old DH would have been locked in to another one-year deal but for $20.3 million in 2024. Extending the qualifying offer would also have secured draft-pick compensation for the Dodgers if Martinez signs elsewhere. Now, they will not receive anything.

“J.D. was great for us obviously – an impact hitter in the batter’s box, was great in our clubhouse and from our standpoint can definitely see real scenarios in which we are continuing that conversation,” Friedman said. “But at this point, it’s just too early to know which direction we’re going to go with our position-player group. But obviously, he was a big part of our success last year.”

What Friedman left unsaid was the Dodgers’ motivation to clear the DH spot for another potential acquisition this winter – free agent Shohei Ohtani.

Friedman would not comment on Ohtani or the Dodgers’ status as the presumptive favorites to sign the two-way star.

ANOTHER SURGERY

Kiké Hernandez is the third Dodgers free agent – joining Kershaw and outfielder David Peralta (elbow) – to undergo surgery since the end of the 2023 season.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Tuesday that Hernandez underwent double hernia surgery on Oct. 24. The 32-year-old Hernandez should be able to resume baseball activities in three to four weeks.

Hernandez also had abdominal surgery following the 2022 season after struggling with injuries throughout the season.

Hernandez hit just .222 and made 14 errors at shortstop in 86 games with the Boston Red Sox this season before he was traded to the Dodgers in July. He hit .262 with four errors in 54 games with the Dodgers.

Betts and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., also an NL MVP finalist, led MLB in FanGraphs’ version of Wins Above Replacement at 8.3. Betts, the 2018 American League MVP, batted .307 with a .408 on-base percentage and .579 slugging percentage in 152 games.

In addition to his outstanding defense in right field, Betts started 70 games at second base and 16 at shortstop as he adapted to a utility role during his fourth season as a Dodger.

Freeman led MLB with 59 doubles while hitting .331 (third in the NL) with 29 home runs and 102 RBIs. His .410 on-base percentage and 23 stolen bases (in 24 attempts) both led the Dodgers.

The 34-year-old first baseman has finished in the top-10 vote-getters for the award each of the last six seasons, winning in 2020.

Acuña slashed .337/.416/.596, scored 149 runs and became the fifth player ever to have at least 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in a single season – and the first to ever go 40/70.

Outman, 26, started and ended the year as the Dodgers’ center fielder in his first full major league season. He finished with a .248 batting average, 23 home runs and 70 runs batted in.

Outman was named NL Rookie of the Month in April and August. His .353 on-base percentage was fourth among Dodger regulars, and only Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll (6.0) had more Wins Above Replacement than Outman (4.4), according to FanGraphs.

Carroll and New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga are the other finalists for the award.

Their season ended nearly a month ago in dumb-founded shock at Chase Field in Phoenix and they’ve already begun the process of building the 2024 roster, signing Max Muncy to a contract extension and declining to bring back pitchers Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly and Daniel Hudson on club options.

Much more work needs to be done and that process begins to ramp up this week with MLB’s team architects convening in Scottsdale, Arizona at the annual GM Meetings from Tuesday through Thursday.

Here’s a look at what should be on the agenda for Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and GM Brandon Gomes:

UNICORN HUNTING

Open season begins Tuesday when free agents like Shohei Ohtani can sign with new teams.

Ohtani’s decision will be the high point of the offseason whenever it comes. The Dodgers are considered the favorite to sign him and a logical destination for the two-way star. Even the Dodgers think so if their recent hire of a new Senior Vice President for Global Partnerships is any indication. No player would open the door wider to global partnerships than Ohtani.

Ohtani’s elbow surgery complicates matters some and could lead to more creativity in his next contract rather than just rolling up a Brink’s truck loaded with cash (it might actually require two trucks). The Dodgers have shown a willingness to get creative in the past – even if it wasn’t successful (i.e. their spring 2019 offer of four years and $180 million was rejected by Bryce Harper). The idea of an opt-out-laden deal for the 29-year-old Ohtani has gained traction in the wake of his surgery.

STARTING PITCHING

In the runup to their National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers spoke of taking an “unconventional” approach to their postseason pitching plans due to the dilapidated state of their starting rotation.

As it turned out, they weren’t unconventional enough. They would have been better off not using their starting pitchers at all.

In the wake of that epic fail against the Diamondbacks – Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller and Lance Lynn allowed 13 runs while retiring 14 batters – a renewed commitment to building their starting rotation should be at the top of the Dodgers’ offseason to-do list. As it stands now, the Dodgers’ 2024 rotation would consist of Walker Buehler, Miller, Ryan Pepiot, Emmet Sheehan and maybe Ryan Yarbrough.

Blake Snell and Aaron Nola are the top names in a free-agent market that is thin on starting pitching (thanks in part to Julio Urias’ fall). But the Dodgers should be casting a wide net – one that includes the mid-level free agent market (Jordan Montgomery, Sonny Gray, Jack Flaherty, Kenta Maeda, etc.) and trade candidates (Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes and Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow, most prominently) as well as the international market (Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto considered the ultimate prize).

Under Friedman, the Dodgers have been reluctant to spend on free-agent starters, preferring to bargain shop for the likes of Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney and Noah Syndergaard. That approach might have to change this winter.

INTERNATIONAL WATERS

The Dodgers’ scouting department has racked up the frequent-flyer miles over the past year scouting a pair of Japanese pitchers – right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and lefty Shota Imanaga.

Yamamoto is the top target and ranks on the same level as Snell and Nola because of his age (25) and credentials. He has won MVP and Sawamura Awards (Japan’s version of the Cy Young Award) each of the past two seasons and the pitching Triple Crown (wins, strikeouts and ERA) each of the past three.

Imanaga is older (30) but he started for Team Japan in the gold-medal game against Team USA in this year’s World Baseball Classic (Ohtani closed) and had a 2.96 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP in eight seasons pitching for the Yokohama BayStars.

Both are expected to be posted soon.

MOVING PARTS

To say Ohtani’s decision will have ripple effects on the rest of the Dodgers’ winter would be underestimating the size of those waves.

If he does sign with the Dodgers, committing that kind of money to one player would obviously affect their resources for modifying the rest of the roster.

If Ohtani does not sign with the Dodgers, it could set off a series of decisions on the position-player side of things.

Do the Dodgers try to bring designated hitter J.D. Martinez back on another contract? He is likely to have other suitors – and definitely for more than the $10 million he made in 2023. Does Max Muncy become a DH? His defense at third base was below average and pairing him on the left side of the infield with a shortstop returning from knee surgery (Gavin Lux) next season might not be ideal. If Muncy moves – does that put the Dodgers in the market for a third baseman? Matt Chapman is a Gold Glove winner at third base and one of the better hitters on this year’s free-agent market. And there is always the annual speculation about a trade for Nolan Arenado. Do the Dodgers finally make that dream come true this winter?

But those are questions for a later day – like Dec. 4-7 when MLB reconvenes for the annual Winter Meetings.

The Dodgers have declined club options on Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Alex Reyes and Daniel Hudson (who is considering retirement after a second consecutive season ended by a knee injury). The Dodgers will pay Lynn and Kelly a $1 million buyout each rather than bring them back at salaries of $18 million and $9.5 million, respectively. Hudson’s option would have paid him $6.5 million in 2024.

Reyes has not pitched since 2021 when he was an All-Star for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers paid the oft-injured Reyes $1 million this season while he rehabbed from labrum surgery in 2022. He underwent a second shoulder surgery in June and will receive a $300,000 buyout.

Treinen did not pitch in 2023 either after undergoing his own shoulder surgery a year ago. The 35-year-old Treinen returned to make three appearances on a minor-league rehab assignment in August but struggled to regain velocity and recover after pitching and was shut down for the season.

Treinen’s option for 2024 was conditional with his salary based on whether he pitched in the majors this past season. Since he didn’t, the Dodgers will bring him back as a low-cost gamble at a $1 million salary.

Kelly and Lynn were acquired from the Chicago White Sox in late July. Kelly pitched well for the Dodgers with 19 strikeouts and only three hits allowed in 10⅓ innings for them. However, the 35-year-old missed a month with a forearm injury and has been unreliable due to health issues, pitching fewer than 40 innings in three of the past four seasons.

The Dodgers also held a club option on third baseman Max Muncy this offseason. They negotiated a two-year, $24 million contract extension instead.

Acquired from the Chicago White Sox shortly before the trade deadline, the Dodgers will pay Lynn a $1 million buyout rather than exercise an option that would bring him back at an $18 million salary in 2024, a source confirmed. The 36-year-old Lynn will become a free agent after having played for six teams in a 12-year career.

Lynn finished the 2023 season with a 13-11 record and a career-high 5.73 ERA. He was better for the Dodgers after being acquired from the White Sox along with reliever Joe Kelly in exchange for outfielder Trayce Thompson and minor-leaguers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure. After going 6-9 with a 6.47 ERA in 21 starts with the White Sox, Lynn was 7-2 with a 4.36 ERA in 11 starts with the Dodgers.

The common theme at both stops, though, was home runs. Lynn allowed an MLB-high 44 home runs in 2023 – 28 with the White Sox and 16 with the Dodgers. Only four pitchers have given up more home runs in a season (Bert Blyleven did it twice), none since Bronson Arroyo gave up 46 with the Cincinnati Reds in 2011.

That trend continued in the postseason when Lynn became the first pitcher in MLB history to give up four home runs in one inning of a postseason game.

A two-time All-Star (with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 and the White Sox in 2021), Lynn has a career record of 136-95 with a 3.74 ERA.

Clayton Kershaw announced that he underwent surgery on his pitching shoulder on Friday morning but hopes to pitch again “at some point next summer.”

Kershaw’s post on Instagram described it as a procedure to “repair the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule” in his shoulder. Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the surgery.

There are three glenohumeral ligaments in the shoulder which give the joint stability. Depending on the complexity of the repair performed by Dr. ElAttrache, Kershaw could begin a throwing program as soon as three months after surgery and return to a mound in six months. The 35-year-old left-hander made no mention of a recovery timetable in his post.

Kershaw pitched with an unspecified shoulder injury for the final two months of last season after spending six weeks on the injured list at midseason. His fastball velocity dipped in the final month and his start in the Dodgers’ National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks was the worst of Kershaw’s major-league career. He faced eight batters and retired only one, giving up six runs on six hits and a walk.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner has battled back issues and other injuries in recent years, but he was effective during the regular season, going 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 24 starts (131⅔ innings). The number of starts and innings pitched were Kershaw’s highest totals since the 2019 season and led the Dodgers, whose rotation was decimated by injuries and Julio Urias’ off-field issues.

Kershaw has signed one-year contracts each of the past two seasons, postponing his decision about retirement until after each season. He played his 16th season on a $20 million contract. After the Dodgers were eliminated by the Diamondbacks, Kershaw responded “I’m not sure” to questions about his future. Friday’s Instagram post seems to clearly indicate he intends to continue his career next year – even if he can only return for a portion of the 2024 season.

Kershaw is currently a free agent and is unlikely to sign with anyone but the Dodgers or the Texas Rangers. The Dallas native has expressed an interest in pitching for his hometown team in the past.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after the end of the season that the team “absolutely” wants to re-sign Kershaw if he decides he wants to play in 2024.

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