LOS ANGELES — The specter of Clayton Kershaw's possible final days with the Los Angeles Dodgers lingered, akin to the light mist that hovered around Dodger Stadium at dusk Sunday night.
Kershaw can decline two player options before next season, thus making himself a free agent, and has three days to decide. Regardless of whether he does, Kershaw's current organization will seek to answer a vital question: Where must the Dodgers improve?
"I don't know, to answer your question," Kershaw said. "I'm not sure what there is to be done. We had so much depth at every position."
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Putting it another way, how do the Dodgers go from playing in the World Series to winning it?
"Right now, to figure out where we need to go, that's a tough one," manager Dave Roberts said. "We have a lot of time for that. You're talking about backfilling and how things go, and not everyone is going to be back."
"Not everyone" could include these free agents: infielders Manny Machado and Brian Dozier, catcher Yasmani Grandal and left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu.
The Dodgers acquired Machado and Dozier at mid-season to provide infield depth. Machado became the starting shortstop and finished the season with 37 home runs and 107 RBI — most of them for the Baltimore Orioles. But observers believe Machado's agent will ask for a $300 million contract, and the Dodgers are loathe to make such deals.
If Machado leaves, Corey Seager could reclaim his starting position at shortstop. The National League's rookie of the year in 2016, Seager played just 26 games this year before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May and hip surgery in August. The Dodgers anticipate Seager to be ready for spring training.
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Acquired to resolve the Dodgers' problems at second base, Dozier batted just .182 in 47 games before Kiké Hernandez became the starter in late August. Grandal contributed 24 home runs and 68 RBI during the regular season but his subpar performance in the postseason did not help his prospects.
With Austin Barnes' offensive problems this season, the Dodgers could seek another veteran if they believe minor-league catchers Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith are not ready. MLB.com ranks Ruiz second among the team's prospects, with Smith fifth.
Ryu went 7-3 with a 1.97 earned-run average despite missing three months because of a torn groin muscle. Shoulder, hip and elbow injuries have plagued the Korean for the past five seasons, and he turns 31 in March.
If both Ryu and Kershaw leave, the Dodgers could replace them with a combination of left-handers Julio Urias and Alex Wood and right-hander Ross Stripling. Wood won 16 games and made the NL All-Star team in 2017, while Stripling took the loss in this year's All-Star Game.
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Urias, Wood and Stripling belong to a core that includes youth in Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig and Walker Buehler; veterans such as Justin Turner, Matt Kemp and Rich Hill and versatile utilitymen Hernandez and Chris Taylor.
"You have to realize that we are a really good team to get to go to the World Series two years in a row," Kershaw said. "It might not be a personnel thing. It might just be a play better thing."
Roberts expressed that confidence more emphatically.
"I think the culture, the players — the large majority — are in place," he said.
"The arrow certainly is pointing in the right direction. Spring is going to be around the corner. I expect us to be back here next year, but celebrating on the field."