Dodgers Trade Rumors: LA Looking to Reshape Payroll by Dealing Outfielders, SP

Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger and Rich Hill reportedly headline a star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers trade block as the team attempts to reshape its payroll ahead of the 2019 MLB season.

On Tuesday, Buster Olney of ESPN reported Joc Pederson and Matt Kemp join Puig and Bellinger as the outfielders L.A. could move, while Alex Wood and Hill are the available starting pitchers.

The Dodgers are projected to have the league's fourth-highest payroll next year at $148.3 million, per Spotrac. They trail only the reigning World Series champion Boston Red Sox ($167.8 million), Chicago Cubs ($167 million) and San Francisco Giants ($151.8 million).

Those figures and L.A.'s placement could change once the remaining free agents, led by outfielder Bryce Harper and shortstop Manny Machado, ink their lucrative new deals.

That said, it sounds like the Dodgers would like to shed a little salary and clear out a couple of logjammed spots on their 25-man roster.

Andrew Friedman, the team's president of baseball operations, hinted toward those types of deals during his comments Monday at the winter meetings.

"[W]e feel really good about our talent level and feeling we are in a position of depth to entertain different conversations and possibly reallocate that depth in a little different ways that provides opportunity," he told reporters.

Trading Kemp, who's owed $21.5 million for 2019 in the final year of his contract, is probably the Dodgers' ideal move. He's coming off a bounce-back campaign in which he hit .290/.338/.481 with 21 homers. He could struggle to earn consistent playing time next year with a likely starting outfield of Pederson, Bellinger and Puig, though.

If the Dodgers can't find a suitor for Kemp, moving one of the other three may be necessary to avoid having a high-priced player sit each day.

Meanwhile, Hill and Wood are slated to fill the back end of the L.A. rotation. Ross Stripling or Julio Urias could take on that role at a cheaper price.

So it's no surprise the Dodgers are seeking to deal from those areas of strength and will likely look to upgrade at catcher and in the bullpen if they do make some trades in the coming weeks.