Dodgers Dugout: Final day to vote for our Dodgers Hall of Fame

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and there hasn’t been a lot happening lately.

There have been no major free-agent signings. The Dodgers met with pitcher Justin Verlander on Monday. Verlander went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA with Houston last season, striking out 185 and giving up 116 hits and 29 walks in 175 innings. He was the unanimous choice for AL Cy Young. He also turns 40 in February and is being pursued by both New York teams and Houston. Expect a contract short on years but high in value.

The Dodgers also have been linked to Carlos Rodón, who had a 2.88 ERA in 31 starts with the Giants last season. Others they have been linked to in rumors include Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Aaron Judge, Alex Reyes and Mitch Haniger.

The thing to really wonder about is not whom the Dodgers have been connected to in rumors, because they can afford to sign anyone they want. The question is what is their philosophy this offseason? And we don’t know that. Do they want to go after a couple of big-name free agents, such as Verlander and Judge? Or do they want to go after a couple of mid-level free agents and open the door for all the young players in the minors who are ready for a chance? My guess is the latter. Remember, no one was turning cartwheels when the Dodgers announced they signed Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney last offseason, and they pitched pretty well.

On Monday, the Dodgers agreed to a one-year deal with reliever Shelby Miller. Don’t do any somersaults yet though. Since the start of the 2018 season, Miller is 1-9 with an 8.92 ERA, giving up 104 hits and 51 walks in 79.2 innings, striking out 71. And for that, he gets $1.5 million. The Dodgers do have a history of taking pitchers like this and turning them around (Evan Phillips had a career ERA of 6.68 in 67.1 innings before last season), so we’ll see if they can work their magic again.

Cody Bellinger seems destined for a different team. There are 11 teams talking to him, and his agent, Scott Boras, indicated to reporters last week that he is seeking a one-year deal. Among those teams are Toronto, San Francisco, the Chicago Cubs and Colorado.

There is an amazing amount of silence regarding Justin Turner. No rumors of him talking to other teams. He recently was spotted in Europe by a Dodgers fan, who took a picture with him and posted it on social media.

So, we just wait and see. I’ve learned over the years that speculating on what Andrew Friedman is going to do is a fool’s errand, so no real predictions here. We’ll break down any signings or trades after they happen.

Hall of Fame deadline

Today is the last day to vote in our Dodgers Dugout Hall of Fame. How do you vote? You email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. Send me an email with your choices, in any order (up to 12 players and up to six non-players). You have until midnight to vote. Results will be announced in early December. For detailed directions and bios of all candidates, click here. And remember, Roy Campanella, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson, Vin Scully and Duke Snider were voted in last year, so they aren’t on the ballot.

Based on ballots so far, there are three people who are locks to make it and five who are on the bubble. Some readers have asked who I’m voting for, so my ballot appears after the list of candidates below:

Players (vote for no more than 12)

Dusty Baker
Adrián Beltré
Ron Cey
Tommy Davis
Willie Davis
Carl Erskine
Andre Ethier
Carl Furillo
Eric Gagne
Steve Garvey
Kirk Gibson
Jim Gilliam
Shawn Green
Pedro Guerrero
Mickey Hatcher
Babe Herman
Orel Hershiser
Gil Hodges
Burt Hooton
Eric Karros
Matt Kemp
Clem Labine
Davey Lopes
Mike Marshall (the pitcher)
Raul Mondesi
Manny Mota
Van Lingle Mungo
Don Newcombe
Wes Parker
Ron Perranoski
Mike Piazza
Johnny Podres
Pee Wee Reese
Pete Reiser
Jerry Reuss
Preacher Roe
John Roseboro
Bill Russell
Mike Scioscia
Reggie Smith
Don Sutton
Fernando Valenzuela
Dazzy Vance
Bob Welch
Zack Wheat
Maury Wills
Steve Yeager

Non-players (vote for no more than six)

Walter Alston
Red Barber
Buzzie Bavasi
Fred Claire
Jerry Doggett
Leo Durocher
Jaime Jarrín
Tommy Lasorda
Peter O’Malley
Walter O’Malley
Ross Porter
Branch Rickey

My ballot

Players
Steve Garvey
Jim Gilliam
Babe Herman
Orel Hershiser
Gil Hodges
Don Newcombe
Pee Wee Reese
Don Sutton
Fernando Valenzuela
Dazzy Vance
Zack Wheat
Maury Wills

Non-players
Walter Alston
Jaime Jarrín
Tommy Lasorda
Peter O’Malley
Walter O’Malley
Branch Rickey

The current roster

If the season started today, here’s a look at a projected 26-man roster based on the current 40-man roster (Note, players such as Clayton Kershaw and Miller aren’t officially Dodgers yet, so they aren’t on the current 40-man roster):

Rotation
Julio Urías
Dustin May
Tony Gonsolin
Ryan Pepiot
Michael Grove

Bullpen
Yency Almonte
Phil Bickford
Justin Bruihl
Caleb Ferguson
Brusdar Graterol
Daniel Hudson
Evan Phillips
Alex Vesia

Catchers
Austin Barnes
Will Smith

Infielders
Jacob Amaya
Freddie Freeman
Gavin Lux
Max Muncy
Miguel Vargas
Jorbit Vivas

Outfielders
Mookie Betts
Chris Taylor
James Outman
Andy Pages
Trayce Thompson

We’ll keep track of the changes to this as the offseason progresses.

Stories you might have missed

Dodgers meet with Cy Young winner Justin Verlander in pursuit of rotation help

Attorneys for Yasiel Puig say ex-Dodger may have been entrapped in sports gambling probe

Judge rules twice against Trevor Bauer, allows his accuser to continue her countersuit

And finally

Cody Bellinger makes an insane catch on a Fernando Tatis Jr. fly ball to preserve the Dodgers’ lead over the Padres in Game 2 of the 2020 NLDS. Watch and listen here.