CARLSBAD, Calif.
Hernandez will sign elsewhere and Rodon probably will, too, although general manager Rick Hahn said he is keeping the door open while Rodon and agent Scott Boras see what multiyear deals are to be had on the open market.
As Hahn gets together with his peers at the general managers meetings at the Omni Resort in Carlsbad on Tuesday and Wednesday, his aim to improve a 93-win division champion that got buzzsawed by the Astros in the ALDS will center on seeing what he might get for Kimbrel while adding more pitching and a second baseman.
But pitching is always Hahn’s primary focus and will be this offseason, too, starting at the GM meetings, which often set the table for the annual Winter Meetings in early December, but that bigger, industry-wide event might not happen.
Ryan Tepera, acquired at the trade deadline, is a free agent, and if Kimbrel is traded and Michael Kopech goes to the starting rotation as planned, that leaves three right-handers gone from the bullpen.
“Free agency will have certain options to address certain needs and trades will have other,” Hahn said.
Whether free agent shortstop Marcus Semien, a former Sox who clubbed 45 homers and stole 15 bases while playing second base for the Blue Jays, is Hahn’s idea of spending big, remains to be seen.
Top free agent starters include lefty Robbie Ray, an AL Cy Young favorite, right-hander Marcus Stroman, both of whom could command five-year deals in the $100 million and higher range.