December 7th, 2020 at 12:00 pm 
by Ron Cervenka As Dodger fans have come to know and accept, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations and 2020 MLB Executive of the Year Andrew Friedman likes to ‘Play his cards close to the vest,’ as they say.
This, of course, immediately brings to mind another old – and popular – saying: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’
It ain’t broke.
…but it could use a little tweaking.
I am, of course, referring to what will eventually become the Dodgers 25(-ish) and 40(-ish) man rosters for what will undoubtedly be another COVID-19-shortened season in 2021.
Although this may seem rather negative and pessimistic, the cold, hard truth is that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – worldwide – is trending in the wrong direction; very much so.
In addition to this less-than-pleasant news is the glaring fact that, to date, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have yet to agree on whether or not the universal Designated Hitter Rule, which worked exceptionally well during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, will be used again in 2021 and beyond.
That special one-time rule worked so well, in fact, that many longtime opponents of a universal DH have since changed their opinion on it and now actually favor the idea.
As fans know, that rule came about as a result of an emergency Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the MLBPA, which addressed several extremely crucial health and safety issues brought about by the deadly pandemic.
The catch is that the next CBA is not scheduled to happen until after the 2021 season and postseason. Unfortunately, this catch has, thus far, been completely overlooked (or perhaps intentionally ignored) by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and team owners, and by MLBPA executive director Tony Clark for the 2021 season and postseason.
The blatantly obvious problem with this is that right now, right in the middle of the extremely important Hot Stove Season, team executives must decide whether or not to trade for or sign (or resign their own) free agents and/or arbitration-eligible players.
In the simplest of terms, by not extending the DH rule for the 2021 season (via another emergency CBA), MLB owners and the MLBPA are effectively shooting themselves in the proverbial foot.
A quick but very poignant example of this is that the Dodgers (i.e., Andrew Friedman) must decide whether or not to re-sign 36-year-old All-Star fan-favorite third baseman Justin Turner who, quite frankly, would make an outstanding DH/part-time third baseman for at least one and perhaps even two more seasons.
(Video capture courtesy of Fox Sports)
In (finally) getting to the point of this article, on Monday morning, MLB Network Radio’s Jon Morosi reported (via Twitter) that the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) had posted highly-touted 26-year-old shortstop/third baseman Ha-Seong Kim, thus making him available for MLB teams to pursue as a free agent.
Make no mistake about it, Kim will not come cheap. But teams looking to upgrade (or replace) departing or possibly departing shortstops and/or third basemen would be foolish to not at least kick the tires on the career .294 / .373 / .493 / .888 hitter and seven-year KBO veteran … including, of course, the Dodgers.
It’s your move, Andrew. Pull the trigger on this one … regardless of where you are holding your cards.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
Good article. I think the main thing with the dodgers is that if David Price plays this yr the Dodgers are immediately a much improved team.
So since we are the World Champions I would like to maintain the status quo for 2021 and not do anything earth shattering. I would also like to see the club try and sign C Seager. In the meantime if I had my choice DH or no DH of JT back, trading for either Bryant or ARenado I would sign Turner for 2 yrs and if it took 3 at 14 per I would be fine with it, as I am counting on DH by 2022. Plus Turner made 20 last yr so 3 at 42 mil is almost the same as 2 at 20.
One really good thing is that if C Seager sign elsewhere, the Dodgers have a choice between a plethora of real good Free Agent SS next yr to replace Seager.
This all being said we do need one arm in the pen to replace Treinin or Treinin himself.
So keep the Status Quo.
Price pitching in 2021 immediately alters the status quo, in a good way! If he pitches like a number 3/4 starter in the 5th slot of the rotation, it will give LA a competitive advantage every time.
Corey Knebel immediately changes the status quo too. Possibly in a very good way! Or maybe he’ll just be an adequate replacement for Baez. Hopefully no worse than this.
Joc and Like probably aren’t coming back. Odds are there will be more playing time elsewhere. Another couple dings on status quo. But the present roster has both depth and versatility that LA could go without any free agent signings.
This dang DH wishy-washy feet dragging baloney is atrocious. Odds are they being Turner back. A 3B/DH timeshare between Turner and Rios should be solid.
I’ve been all for LA signing Ha-Seong Kim since the first scouting report I read. Functionally, at the least he would replace Hernandez on infield. And given how many questions LA could have at 3B, SS, and 2B after 2021, he’d be a great player to have around. Defense and speed should translate well, and even if he was only a league average hitter, he’d be valuable up the middle. Potential for more than that at his age too.
Friedman won’t be exclusively concerned with 2021. I’d love to see LA extend Seager, but Boras may not be accommodating. There *could* be a huge SS supply next off-season, but it’s still to early to even know how this off-season will work out. Players may take low-ball extension offers just for long term security. A few SS this off-season may sign one year deals. Getting a guy now, like Kim, whose 25 is a smart move for 2021, 2022, 2023 etc.