Dodgers Rumors: O’Day Reportedly Eliminates L.A. From Finalists

Darren O’Day — widely considered the best relief arm on the market — has reportedly eliminated the Dodgers from the list of finalists to acquire him this offseason.

We had heard recently that O’Day preferred the east coast, and this appears to have stayed consistent.

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This, via Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.

Hearing O’Day sweepstakes down to #Orioles#Nationals#Braves. Nearing finish line. Decision could come b4 winter meetings. Def by end of WM

— Dan Connolly (@danconnollysun) December 4, 2015

If anyone needs a translator, that last sentence reads “definitely by the end of winter meetings”, which make sense, seeing as O’Day is probably the first domino that would allow all the other free agent relief pitchers to make their decisions.

For the Dodgers, this means they’ll have to get creative in how they fill their bullpen. This might lead to an eventual trade for Aroldis Chapman, given his availability, though the Reds’ asking price is through the roof.

Whatever the Dodgers do, they definitely have their work cut out for them heading into next week’s Winter Meetings even more now that one of the major answers to their question marks seems to be off the board, based on this report.