The Dodgers have been in talks with the Rays about young right-hander Jake Odorizzi.
Los Angeles was in the mix for several big-name starting pitchers on the market, but have not had much luck so far, with NL West rivals Arizona landing Zach Greinke and San Francisco signing Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. As a result, the Dodgers are seeking alternative options.
Odorizzi, 25, missed some time with an oblique injury in 2015 and was limited to 169 1/3 innings. He finished 9-9 with a 3.35 ERA in his second full season with the Rays.
It has been reported by Asahi Degital of Japan (via Kazuto Yamazaki) that the Dodgers are backing away from their three-year, $45 million agreement with Hisashi Iwakuma after an issue with his physical exam.
If Iwakuma is out of the picture, the alternatives for the Dodgers would appear to be Mike Leake, Wei-Yin Chen, Yovani Gallardo, Ian Kennedy, Scott Kazmir (free agents) or Jose Fernandez (via trade).
