Apparently, the Dodgers aren't going to sit around all winter, waiting for Manny Ramirez to beg to come back. They now have Adam Dunn on their shopping list.
The Dodgers contacted Dunn's agent, Greg Genske, over the holidays, according to an executive of a team interested in Dunn. And that creates an intriguing option for both parties.
Dunn has also drawn interest from the Cubs, Nationals, Mariners and Orioles. But adding the Dodgers to that mix gives him another contender to consider. The Cubs were believed to be his top choice before the Dodgers entered the mix.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, need to infuse power into a lineup that finished 14th in the National League in home runs last season. And with no certainty that they can re-sign Ramirez, they seem to have decided that Dunn represents their best alternative.
Dunn has hit exactly 40 home runs four years in a row -- which would be four more 40-homer seasons than all Dodgers hitters combined have had in those four seasons. No Dodger has reached 40 home runs since Adrian Beltre in 2004.
After batting just .215, with only two homers, at Dodger Stadium in his first six seasons, Dunn has had much better success over the past two years, batting .389 (7-for-18) in L.A., with two home runs and an .833 slugging percentage, in 2007-08.
Dunn also would require no draft-pick compensation because his former team, Arizona, didn't offer him arbitration.
Jayson Stark covers Major League Baseball for ESPN.com.