When it was announced at the October 22 press conference that Don Mattingly would not be returning as the team’s manager in 2016, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman was asked when he anticipated having a replacement for the former five-year Dodgers manager.

“Definitely by the Winter Meetings we expect to have a manager in place,” Friedman said.

This past week at the annual General Managers Meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, the Dodgers concluded their first round of interviews and reportedly narrowed down the field of nine possible candidates to four. Out were Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach and third base coach Ron Roenicke, Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez, Mets bench coach Bob Geren and former Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson. This left only current Dodgers Director of Player Development Gabe Kapler, former Padres manager Bud Black, former Padres bench coach Dave Roberts and former Angels outfielder / first baseman Darin Erstad scheduled for a second (and final) interview this coming week.

Although many believe that Gabe Kapler is the favorite to become the next Dodgers manager, the obvious fan-favorite is former Dodger Dave Roberts. (Photo credit – Rick Stewart)

But on Friday it was announced that Erstad had dropped out of the race when he decided to remain as the head coach for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers – a decision which he acknowledged was a very difficult one to make but believes in his heart was the right one.

Former World Series champion Darin Erstad posted this on Twitter on Sunday morning.

It was also announced this past week that Dodgers left-hander Brett Anderson had accepted the Dodgers one-year / $15.8 million qualifying offer to return to the team in 2016, thereby becoming the first player in the National League (and the first pitcher) to ever do so.

But what didn’t happen last week and came as a surprise to no one is that 2015 Cy Young hopeful Zack Greinke and second baseman Howie Kendrick did not accept qualifying offers from the Dodgers, hoping instead to land much more lucrative and much longer free agent contracts, which both undoubtedly will – especially Greinke, who walked away from a guaranteed $71 million remaining in his six-year deal with the Dodgers. Greinke’s contract included an opt-out clause, which the 32-year-old right-hander exercised.

With the Winter Meetings now only three weeks away (December 6-10 in Nashville, TN) and with the glaring needs of the Dodgers (i.e. starting pitching, bullpen help and at second base) it’s safe to assume that this could be a very busy Hot Stove season for the Friedman-Zaidi-led Dodgers in the coming weeks.

As expected, neither Friedman nor Zaidi have tipped their hand as to what their plans are going forward, other than to say that they want to “get younger” overall as an organization. And while this is certainly subject to interpretation, it suggests that perhaps the pair view re-signing Greinke and the also 32-year-old Kendrick to multi-year contracts as simply too risky. Now granted, the Dodgers have 19-year-old left-hander Julio Urias and 23-year-old right-hander Jose De Leon – both of whom are very close to being MLB-ready – down on the farm, along with Jose Peraza as the Dodgers heir-apparent for Kendrick, but simply walking away from the two veterans – who both had absolutely outstanding seasons with the Dodgers – could in and of itself be a huge risk – especially if either happens to land with a division rival, as many are speculating might happen.

Let’s face it, the thought of Zack Greinke in black and orange is simply too much for Dodgers fans to take and could actually put the Dodgers’ most-hated rivals in a position to win their fourth every-other-year World Series title in 2016. That being said, Friedman did say that although he is not a big fan of giving long-term contracts to aging pitchers, each person is different and that re-signing Zack Greinke is still a very real possibility. In fact, when you look at the teams that can actually afford the former (and hopefully current) Cy Young award-winner, the Dodgers might very well be the front runners to do so.

There’s definately one current Dodger who wants Greinke back next season.
(Image courtesy of @kikehndez)

It may not be baseball season but it’s Hot Stove season – which can be equally as fun and exciting.