Dodgers lose out on Hall, what's next?

Bill Hall signed with the Houston Astros on Friday for $3.25 million. Hall had been linked to the Dodgers for a couple weeks now.

The Dodgers wanted him to be their primary left fielder. Houston grabbed him to be their full-time second baseman.

I'm not sure what it came down to, but Hall's preference for infield duty probably helped in his decision. Also, that short porch in left field is probably quite attractive to Hall.

So, where do the Dodgers go from here? With left-field options dwindling, the name Scott Podsednik is being brought up.

This would be terrible.

Not only is Podsednik not a right-handed hitter with pop, he can't play defense. While I said earlier in the off-season the Dodgers should have offered him arbitration and that he'd be a nice fourth outfielder, many are fearing he'll be the starter Opening Day.

A few right-handed options remain: Jermaine Dye, Austin Kearns, Lastings Milledge and Marcus Thames.

Dye did not play last season, but owns a career .826 OPS. However, his defense in 2009 was the worst of any Major League right fielder. He could be the most intriguing part-time LF option. But how would the year off affect him?

Kearns hit righties a little better than lefties last year, but he hits lefties a little better than righties for his career. Go figure.

Milledge is young but also comes with baggage. The former first-round pick hits lefties much better than righties (.798 vs. .690 OPS).

Thames is a guy who hits lefties better than righties and provides the most power-potential of this quartet.

My preference for the four is as follows:

1. Thames
2. Milledge
3. Dye
4. Kearns

Having said that, Kearns is probably the most likely, as his name is the only one mentioned in connection with the Dodgers at all this off-season.

The best option, a.k.a. the most unrealistic option, is to sign Adrian Beltre to play third base and platoon Casey Blake in left field with Gibbons. But Beltre apparently has a $70 million offer from Anaheim, so there goes that idea.

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Articles from other Dodger blogs

Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts said as of right now, he'd start Tony Gwynn, Jr., as the Dodgers' third outfielder. And he'd start him in center field, moving Matt Kemp to right field and Andre Ethier to left field.

That would certainly give the Dodgers the best defensive outfield possible, as both Kemp and Ethier regressed defensively last season.

It's hard to argue the point, especially if the Dodgers are going with the "pitching and defense" angle.

We'll see what happens.

Mike Petriello of Mike Scoscia's Tragic Illness says Dodger fans should not get too excited about Zack Greinke demanding a trade from Kansas City. He also wonders what's next for the Dodgers' left-field vacancy.

Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. says the Dodgers need to stay away from Podsednik, while making a nice A Christmas Story reference. He also had a great article on how and why the Dodgers need to lock up Clayton Kershaw right now.