Los Angeles Dodgers rumors leading up to the MLB trade deadline connected the club to front-line pitching for the playoff run. While the team’s focus is currently on competing for the World Series this year, there are already Dodgers rumors emerging regarding offseason targets.

Andrew Friedman will certainly look to make starting pitching a priority again this summer. Entering MLB games today, three members of the Dodgers rotation (Jack Flaherty, Clayton Kershaw, and Walker Buehler) are poised to become free agents this winter.

However, Los Angeles does have more help. Yoshinobu Yamamoto should be fully healthy entering the 2025 season and the emergence of some of the Dodgers top prospects – River Ryan and Kyle Hurt – should allow Friedman to focus more on hitters.

While MLB free agency this winter will be particularly strong with hitters, including New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto and New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, there’s one bat in particular that Los Angeles has long-standing interest in.

Fansided MLB insider Robert Murray shared on The Baseball Insiders that he believes the Dodgers will heavily pursue infielder Willy Dames this summer in MLB free agency.

“I would not be surprised at all if the Dodgers heavily pursued Adames in the offseason. It’s a fit that makes so much sense. They have money available even after the winter they had last year. The fact that they still have no long-term shortstop in place there means that Adames is a strong fit for them. I think that’s one to really keep an eye out for in the offseason and I would not be surprised at all if it ended up happening.”

Robert Murray on the Los Angeles’ Dodgers in Willy Adames this winter

• Willy Adames stats (FanGraphs): .246/.331/.428, 17 home runs, 12 steals, 71 RBI, 113 wRC+, 26 doubles, .758 OPS, 11.2% Walk rate in 481 plate appearances

Adames would provide many of the things the Dodgers were seeking in a shortstop upgrade ahead of the MLB trade deadline. The 28-year-old has made remarkable strides defensively, now ranking in the 89th percentile for Outs Above Average. He’s also delivered career-highs in steals and walk rate this season and is on pace for his fourth consecutive year with 20-plus home runs and 70-plus RBI.

The long-standing interest in Adames is also worth noting. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic wrote in June that the Milwaukee Brewers shortstop was among the Dodgers top trade targets since before the spring, but no deal could be reached. Now that he’s hitting the open market this winter, Friedman will finally have his chance at adding Adames to the Dodgers lineup.