Dodgers Update on Anthony Rendon and Gerrit Cole Sweepstakes

Veteran baseball writer Bob Nightengale hit twitter with a few late-night nuggets that are sure to start your Monday off right. First, the USA scribe reported that the Dodgers have begun letting teams know 40-man roster players that are on the trading block this winter.

However, on the free agency front, Nightengale dropped something of a small bombshell…

andThe #Dodgers letting teams know that outfielders A.J. Pollock and Joc Pederson, and infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernandez are available at the right price. They have not engaged with Gerrit Cole, but are in on Anthony Rendon.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 9, 2019

Yes, while the news of Los Angeles being in on free agent third baseman Anthony Rendon was heavily reported last week, it’s somewhat shocking to see Nightengale say that the club has yet to engage on right stud Gerrit Cole.

Moreover, this refutes earlier reports that the two sides met in Los Angeles last week as well. Of course, in the crazy world of hot stove rumors, you take what you read with a grain of salt… often especially when approaching 3 AM PT.

Gerrit Cole is the platinum prize of the 2019-2020 off-season — ESPN reporter Jeff Passan will tell you as much. And as such, with pitching help as the biggest perceived need for Andrew Friedman and company, you would expect the club to be in on, or at least talking to ever major player than can put the team over the hump in October.

Or at least that’s what team president Stan Kasten wants you to believe.

The MLB winter meetings begin in earnest today and run through Thursday. While major player signings aren’t usually expected, the groundwork on movement via trades is often laid out during this busy week of off-season excitement.

NEXT: Rendon on Rosenthal’s Mind for Dodgers