Dodgers predicted to land former All-Star from Mets in marquee offseason signing

There is no team in Major League Baseball with more star power in 2024 than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

There's the biggest star of them all in Shohei Ohtani, but even if he's taken out of the picture, the Dodgers lineup features 2024 All-Stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Teoscar Hernandez. It's almost comical how deep the talent runs in L.A.

Looking ahead to 2025, though, it's entirely possible to think the Dodgers might acquire more star talent, especially if they come up short in the postseason this year. In the latest round of free agency predictions, one baseball writer believes they could pilfer a New York Mets slugger.

On Friday, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report projected all 30 teams' Opening Day 2025 lineups and predicted that the Dodgers would sign Jesse Winker, currently of the Mets. He also predicted that L.A. would sign shortstop Willy Adames, and that Hernandez would walk to the Detroit Tigers.

"Swapping out Teoscar Hernandez (129 OPS+, 28 HR, 87 RBI) for Jesse Winker (127 OPS+, 14 HR, 58 RBI) would save the team a significant chunk of money, and with a huge offensive upgrades at shortstop in Adames, the offense as a whole would still be upgraded," Reuter said.

It has been a resurgent 2024 for Winker, who signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Washington Nationals after back-to-back disappointing seasons. His .798 OPS and 128 OPS+ are both his best since 2021, when he was named an All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds.

Since coming over to the Mets in a trade deadline swap, Winker has developed a penchant for clutch hitting. He mashed a pinch-hit walk-off home run against the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 21, then hit a first-inning grand slam on Wednesday to key a sweep of the Boston Red Sox.

Because Winker doesn't provide much value with his fielding or baserunning, he would be something of a bargain for the Dodgers, likely to command only one or two years on any contract.

For the value he could bring with his bat, especially given L.A.'s recent track record of getting the most out of veteran free agents, Winker could wind up one of the steals of the offseason if he heads out west.

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