Monday was the opening day of baseball's winter meetings, and surprisingly, some of the biggest noise came from the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, day one was ultimately full of sound signifying nothing. Given that the Dodgers made several moves prior to the meetings, which are held in Orlando, Florida this year, they were expected to not make a big splash this week. So, when a report from Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles said the Dodgers were, according to sources, in talks with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire Prince Fielder, it was quite a bombshell.
According to Jackson, the Dodgers were discussing trading first baseman James Loney and closer Jonathan Broxton to Milwaukee for Fielder. This was quickly supported by many online Dodger fans, which was the first sign the the deal was too good to be true. The move was quickly shot down by several sources, which makes sense given that, if the Brewers were to trade Fielder, they would likely want a starting pitcher in return rather than a reliever.
In other news, Loney has drawn interest from the Cubs (per ESPN Chicago), and the Nationals, per Bill Ladson of MLB.com. However, per Ladson, Dodgers general manager aimed high, asking for both pitcher Jordan Zimmermann and shortstop Ian Desmond.
The expected move by the Dodgers is to go after a right-handed hitting outfielder, and in that regard Matt Diaz is on the Dodgers radar, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Diaz makes sense in that he has hit .335/.373/.533 in his career against lefties. Presumably, Diaz would platoon with Jay Gibbons in left field for the Dodgers. Gurnick also reported the Dodgers were interested in reliever Jeremy Accardo, and Jayson Stark of ESPN said reliever Matt Guerrier was also targeted by the Dodgers.
The lesson of day one of the winter meetings: if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true.
For more Dodgers winter meetings news and analysis, be sure to read the SB Nation blog True Blue LA.