Dozier to Dodgers remains most obvious Hot Stove move

Sometimes, deals make entirely too much sense to not just go ahead and happen already. We just saw this when Justin Turner returned to the Dodgers and Mark Melancon joined the Giants, two fits that seemed so perfect for so long that the only surprise was that they didn’t get finalized sooner. Now that Kenley Jansen and Rich Hill have joined Turner in returning to Los Angeles, the Dodgers have only one truly glaring hole remaining, and the fit is just as obvious:

They need a second baseman. They need Brian Dozier.

Rumors connecting the two teams have been swirling for weeks, and new ones pop up every day. There’s no better fit between seller and buyer anywhere else on the trade market, there’s few other options for either side to turn to. Most contenders don’t need a second baseman, which limits the Twins. There aren’t many other second basemen available, which limits the Dodgers.

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Simply put, the Dodgers aren’t going to get through the rest of the offseason without making a move. The Twins might, yet it’s hard to see Dozier gaining much more value than he already has, coming off a 42-homer season with with two reasonably priced years ($15 million total) left on his contract.

While Minnesota has some fantastic young talent in Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, among others, the Twins are coming off a 103-loss season that’s their worst since moving to Minneapolis in 1961. It’s hard to see them competing before Dozier’s contract is up after 2018. It’s much easier to see a new front office wanting to cash in his power surge for a big return.

So let’s get these two together, beginning with some quick explanations as to why it makes so much sense.

Because the Dodgers don’t have a second-base solution

The Dodgers got roughly league-average performance out of their second basemen last year, but Chase Utley will be 38 on Dec. 17 and tailed off badly as the season went …

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