The Dodgers will offer Zack Greinke the most money to sign, according to Jon Heyman, because they have no concept of a budget.

The Dodgers have an interesting strategy that’s been employed only rarely: Sign the best, no matter the cost.

“They are like theSteinrenner Yankees of the ’70s,” one competing GM said.

Rival executives are beginning to wonder of there’s any chance to compete with the Dodgers in the Zack Greinke sweepstakes. Greinke is said by friends to be an unusual free agent who values comfort and winning right up there with money, so some teams will hang in there with a bit of hope.

But it seems pretty clear who is going to offer Greinke the biggest deal at this point. The Dodgers seem determined to sign him, no matter the cost. As Dodgers president Stan Kasten said, “We are the opposite of the mystery team.”

Asked about their budget, one Dodgers person responded on Monday, “What budget?”

Some wonder whether it might be wise to sign up Clayton Kershaw first, thus in effect capping Greinke’s final price. But one rival exec said, he believes the Dodgers “just don’t care” how much things cost.

Greinke is a unique free agent in the sense that it’s believable that he could make his decision based on comfort over sheer money. Though if the combination of staying in Los Angeles and an offer with the most money comes across the table, I find it hard to believe he’ll turn that down.

This goes counter to what Joel Sherman reports though, as he says the Rangers have every intention of spending right along side the Dodgers on Greinke.

Heard #Rangers right there with #Dodgers in willingness to spend on Greinke, #Nationals still talking #Angels all but fallen out at these $$

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 3, 2012

Could make things interesting since they also have television money to spend.

The sleeper in all of this is still the Nationals, who I think have a lot more money than people would expect.

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Ned Colletti has said that if things continue the way they are, Hyun Jin Ryu is unlikely to be signed.

#Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said talks with Ryu Hyun-jin are moving slowly.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) December 3, 2012

Colletti: At this pace, a deal with Ryu won’t get done.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) December 3, 2012

In response to this, Scott Boras trolled back, saying Ryu could end up in Japan.

South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin could pitch in Japan next season if he doesn’t sign with the Dodgers, his agent said Tuesday.

“Japan is a very viable option for him,” said Scott Boras, who disputed the notion that his client doesn’t have any leverage in his negotiations with the Dodgers.

Never a dull moment with Boras, man.

The deadline is 5 PM on Sunday, so there’s still quite a bit of time, and we knew from before that the Dodgers probably preferred to wait until after the Winter Meetings were over to finalize a deal with him. That makes sense, especially in light of news that they’re involved on a whole mess of players at the moment.

At the end of the day though, I have a difficult time believing that a deal with Ryu won’t get done, especially given the team’s alleged lack of financial restrictions.

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The Dodgers are talking with a whole bunch of teams in regards to trades, according to Colletti.

#Dodgers are talking to 10-12 teams about potential trades, GM Ned Colletti said.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) December 4, 2012

Ken Gurnick says this includes the Mets and R.A. Dickey (along with at least seven other teams), while Molly Knight adds that the Rays and James Shields are involved. Jon Heyman adds that the Rays are increasingly likely to deal a starter and that the suitors include the Dodgers, Rangers, and Nationals.

I’m not sure how legit that Dickey interest is, but I have been hearing about the Dodgers being in on Shields a lot, so it seems that would be their primary target. Wouldn’t be surprised at all to see that rumor escalate today.

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As for the fourth outfielder issue, Ken Gurnick has mentioned that Nate Schierholtz is a target.

One non-tendered player the Dodgers have some interest in is outfielder Nate Schierholtz, cut loose last week by the Phillies, who acquired him from the Giants in the Hunter Pence trade.

Schierholtz doesn’t play center, is left-handed, and had a .698 OPS last year.

I know he has hit righties well over the last two years, but if you look at the larger sample size of his career, there’s like a 30 point OPS difference in his platoon split, which hardly makes him a platoon weapon.

I would hope they can do better.

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Rafael Ynoa is generating interest in regards to the Rule 5 Draft, which doesn’t surprise me.

Hearing some Rule 5 buzz on #Dodgers infielder Rafael Ynoa.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 3, 2012

I would give him a ceiling of a utility player, but I think there’s a chance he could stick all year, so why wouldn’t a team with 40-man roster space give him a shot now? Coming off his red-hot AFL, there’s probably no better time.

ESPN The Magazine: Molly Knight with a must-read profile on Matt Kemp.

Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness: Mike Petriello points out that the Dodgers bullpen is excelling … and on the cheap.

ESPN Boston: Theo Epstein provides a cautionary tale for the Dodgers.

“If I have a regret about the way we handled that offseason (after the 2009 season), it was that instead of being more patient and saying, ‘We’ll strike when the time is right,’ there was a lot of pressure in the environment at the time to do something,” Epstein said. “If I learned a lesson from the offseason, it’s never feel the need to do something. If you’re trying to avoid one move that you don’t think is going to work out, don’t then settle for a different move that maybe doesn’t check all the boxes. Be true to the philosophy and understand the bigger picture. There’s always another day to fight. You don’t have to get everything done in one offseason just because of what’s going on in the environment around you.”

Should be obvious to anybody with a brain that spending a $100 million budget wisely will make a far better team than a $200 million budget and randomly signing the biggest name on the market every now and then.

The Kansas City Star: Zack Greinke is weird … and awesome.

What happens this week?

MLB owners will vote on the three finalists, most likely Tuesday. Approval of all three is expected to be a formality.

Then what?

McCourt and his advisers hold a modified auction, behind closed doors, most likely starting Wednesday. The goal is to pick a winner this week and close the transaction by April 30, the day he must pay his ex-wife $131 million in a divorce settlement.

A relief to everybody involved, surely.

As far as the remaining bidders go, what about Stan Kroenke‘s involvement with the NFL?

If Kroenke buys the Dodgers, would he move the Rams back to L.A.?

Not right away, and maybe not ever. The NFL controls the Los Angeles market, so Kroenke would be in violation of the league’s cross-ownership rules as soon as he bought the Dodgers. The NFL let him transfer ownership of his two Denver teams to his son, but the league has declined to assure MLB that Kroenke could own the Dodgers and the Rams in separate markets, or that the Rams could move to L.A.

Kroenke would not need the Rams in L.A. to launch a regional sports network centered on the Dodgers. His Denver cable channel features the Nuggets and Avalanche.

The NFL has long coveted the Dodger Stadium parking lot as the site for a football stadium. However, the NFL would be reluctant to approve a stadium there if McCourt retained ownership of the property, according to a person familiar with the league’s thinking.

Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal says the NFL would move quickly on a cross ownership ruling.

Goodell on Kroenke and LA, says league considers LA league market. Says if kroenke owns the dodgers it would raise cross ownership issues

Goodell says he told bud selig league would move quickly to decide kroenke cross ownership issue

As a fan of the St. Louis Rams, this would be sort of awesome if it happens, but reading between the lines, it doesn’t seem all that likely.

Getting back to the bidders, Shaikin provides positive news on Steven Cohen.

If Cohen is a major player in hedge funds, how concerned is MLB about the ongoing federal investigation into insider trading in that industry?

Cohen was cleared in an MLB background check. Although four of his current or former employees have been accused of insider trading, neither Cohen nor his company has been charged or indicted.

Ron Geffner, a former federal prosecutor and securities investigator, said there can be no certainty about the results of an ongoing probe. However, he said, the investigation has gone on for several years, and the involvement of four of Cohen’s hundreds of employees does not in itself make a case against Cohen.

“If the government had a strong case, they would salivate at the opportunity to bring an action against a high-profile person,” said Geffner, a partner at the New York law firm Sadis and Goldberg.

Well that’s good news, given that he’s the favorite, according to everybody. Molly Knight included.

Handicap guesstimating Dodgers ownership race: Cohen group 1:2, Magic Johnson group 3:1, Kroenke 8:1.

I’m coming to terms with it, slowly.

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Jerry Sands was sent down, which was expected.

Jerry Sands, who followed up a huge September with a disappointing Spring Training, was optioned to the Minor Leagues by the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Although Sands sent a game-winning single through the hole at shortstop to give the Dodgers a 4-3 win over the White Sox on Monday, it raised his average only to .158. It was only his second RBI in 38 spring at-bats. He had 12 strikeouts and a .184 slugging percentage.

Josh Fields couldn’t be reached for comment as he is currently doing back flips.

Jamey Wright has been signed by the team to fill a bullpen spot, with Blake Hawksworth moving to the 60-day DL, and John Grabow exercising his out-clause.

The Dodgers on Tuesday confirmed the signing of non-roster pitcher Jamey Wright and created space on the 40-man roster by moving right-handed reliever Blake Hawksworth to the 60-day disabled list.

Hawksworth is recovering slowly from two operations — the initial one in January to clean out his right elbow and another three weeks later to address a staph infection.

The Dodgers guaranteed Wright’s contract having informed left-hander John Grabow, another non-roster invitee, that he would not make the club. He exercised an out clause Monday and was granted his release.

Jamey Wright.

Career 5.05 FIP and 4.67 SIERA.

Just saying.

Way to go, ESPN.

Minor League Ball: Three Los Angeles Dodgers prospects make Minor League Ball‘s 2012 Top 120 Prospects. Unsurprisingly, they are Zach Lee (75), Allen Webster (106), and Nate Eovaldi (87).

ESPN The Magazine: Molly Knight on Dodgers trainer Stan Conte, who wants to banish injuries forever.

Grantland: Jonah Keri on Jose Abreu, the best hitter you’ve never heard of.

Molly Knight of ESPN recently revealed that the Dodgers were “looking into” Padres third baseman Chase Headley.

In a surprising change from the rest of the players the Dodgers are interested in, this one actually makes sense, especially considering that Headley would basically be replacing Juan Uribe.

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Chase Headley was a top prospect in the Padres system, ranking at #32 in the majors going into 2008 according to Baseball America after putting up a .330/.437/.580/1.016 line at AA. He followed that year up with a .305/.383/.556/.939 AAA line in 2008 and was called up to the majors for good.

Unfortunately, Headley’s OPS in the majors had been regressing from 2008-2010 (.757/.734/.702), making his big league career relatively disappointing. In 2011 though, he seemed to make things work, posting a .289/.374/.399/.773 line. However, even that had a drawback, as his best season was sidetracked by a fractured finger in August and he only made it back in time to play six September games. Furthermore, his BA and OBP spike can be partially traced to a career high BABIP (.368).

Perhaps most interesting though are his career home/road splits:

Click To Enlarge

I’m not saying that leaving Petco Park for Dodger Stadium will make him into a star, but I do think that he has the ability to at least repeat his 2011 line and maybe add a little bit more if he’s in basically any other stadium.

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Given that Headley has played average to elite defense at third base throughout his career, a 3-4 WAR player isn’t farfetched, and he has two years of team control left, so there’s plenty reason to be showing interest.

MLB Trade Rumors has projected his arbitration salary at $3 million, which likely means he’s due to be a bargain in 2012 and 2013.

Even as just a 3 WAR player, you’re looking at a two year value of around $30 million, so even if you assume a $7 million salary in 2013, he’s a $20 million asset by my estimation.

If the Dodgers are giving up prospects, than they should be prepared to surrender a combination of prospects that total about 15-25 million dollars in value. If the Dodgers are giving up players, I’m not sure what would meet the requirements, because I assume the Padres would want to rebuild and not take on salary.

As with any deal, the sense of it depends on what you’re giving up as much as what you’re getting, but just on the surface, Chase Headley is certainly worth the interest. If the Dodgers can give up a reasonable package for him, they should absolutely do so.