Four things the Dodgers can do with their four empty roster spots.

Russell Martin

Former Dodgers catcher Russell Martin batted 290 with 11 home runs and 67 RBIs for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014.

The signing of Ryan Jackson and the release of Scott Elbert yesterday put the Dodgers’ 40-man roster at 36 Monday. Today is the first day free agents can sign with any club. With four empty roster spots, what should Andrew Friedman do?

Here are four free ideas:

1. Sign Russell Martin.

When he was introduced in October, Friedman emphasized the importance of paying players for future performance, not past performance. If he is going to make an exception to that rule this winter it should be for Martin, who is expected to reject the Pittsburgh Pirates’ qualifying offer. It doesn’t help the Dodgers that the market for catchers is particularly thin this winter. Other than Martin, the only available catcher with an OPS-plus above 100 last season is Geovany Soto (114), and that came in a sample size of 54 games for the Rangers and A’s. Even if Martin costs, say, $50 million over three years, the Dodgers can justify that contract. No team got a lower oWAR (per FanGraphs) from its catchers than the Dodgers last season. Expecting A.J. Ellis or Drew Butera to take a giant leap forward with their bat in 2015 is more of a gamble than signing Martin.

2. Promote Julio Urias and Corey Seager to the 40-man roster.

Maybe the Dodgers will choose to hold off on this decision until spring training — there’s no risk of losing either player in the Rule 5 draft — to see how Urias and Seager compete in their first major-league camp. But this isn’t an unreasonable goal at some point in 2015 for the two prospects, who could help plug immediate holes at shortstop and in the bullpen if they’re ready. If Hanley Ramirez accepts the Dodgers’ qualifying offer — which would be a surprise — promoting the 20-year-old Seager can wait. Urias is expected to be a starting pitcher in the long-term, but the Dodgers could use short-term bullpen help, particularly from a left-hander. Some within the organization believe that Urias, who turned 18 in August and already has an effective three-pitch repertoire, could help the Dodgers now. Same goes for Seager.

3. Trade an outfielder.

Most discussions on this topic have focused on the lack of trade value for Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford. The two high-priced veterans feel they should be a starting outfielder somewhere, but they can’t do that in Los Angeles without denying the other playing time. A more practical solution might be to trade Scott Van Slyke. His .297/.386/.524 slash line in 2014 makes him a rare commodity in this market, a power bat under team control through 2020. Van Slyke’s lefty/righty splits weren’t as diametric as you might think; he posted a .353 OBP against right-handers in only 14 fewer plate appearances. He’s a nice weapon off the bench, but the Dodgers could get by without him. Friedman could probably use Van Slyke to acquire a fourth/fifth starter type.

4. Sign a starting pitcher.

Let’s say the Van Slyke-for-fifth starter plan comes to fruition. There’s still the potential for a severe drop-off from the Dodgers’ top three of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu, to Dan Haren and that fifth starter, and to a Triple-A rotation currently headlined by Zach Lee, Matt Magill and Barry Enright. One injury to the top four could expose a real weakness. The market bears more impact starters than impact hitters, so the Dodgers might want to wait to see how it shakes out before dipping their toe in. A reunion with Chad Billingsley, whose 2015 option year was just bought out for $3 million, is not out of the question.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.