Reports: Dodgers interested in Jose Fernandez

With the winter meetings heating up, so is the trade talk for many teams. After the Braves dealt Shelby Miller to Arizona for a host of top prospects, the attention now turns to Marlins ace Jose Fernandez and his likely landing spot. With the Diamondback now out having acquired Shelby Miller and burned up their expendable assets the attention now turns to the next closest suitor, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the San Francisco Giants having signed Jeff Samardzija, and the Diamondbacks signing Zack Greinke, and trading for Shelby Miller, the Dodgers need to catch up in the arms race within their own division. Having lost Greinke, the Dodgers added Hisashi Iwakuma to their current rotation with also features Clayton Kershaw, 2014 free agent signing Brandon McCarthy, and Hyun Jin Ryu. Lacking the firepower of a star like Greinke, Fernandez could provide the perfect new ace to fit into the Dodgers already deep rotation.

From the Marlins side of things, the Fish have the last ranked farm system in Major League baseball. Having pawned off Anthony DeSclafani, Andrew Heaney, and Kike Hernandez, the Marlins farm system is one of the worst in the MLB. The Dodgers, however, have one of the deepest farm systems having several showcase prospects that they could potentially offer in a trade. Star outfielder Joc Pederson, pitcher Julio Urias, and pitcher Jose De Leon head the Dodgers farm system, backed up by many solid prospects in the back end of their system.

As far as the offers go, the Marlins have shown interest in Pederson and Urias and the Dodgers have looked into Jose’s medical history. With the winter meetings just heating up, the negotiations should go on, if the Dodgers are willing to pay the steep price, they’ll get Jose, otherwise he will be starting on Opening Day for the Miami Marlins.