The winds of autumn blew through Chavez Ravine on Wednesday night and sent scattering discarded peanut shells, memories of Kirk Gibson home runs and any hope for the Dodgers in 2017.

The Houston Astros are your World Series champions, and deserving ones at that.

If the Dodgers are ever going to celebrate like Houston, it’s going to have to make some tough decisions immediately.

While the offseason begins in earnest for players who spent every last morsel of energy through an arduous season and grueling postseason, the real work starts now for a creative and energetic front office.

This is a franchise that has staved off a rebuild thanks to its dedication to the farm system, smart moves and an ability to reload when needed.

Here is what the Dodgers have to look forward to this winter.

Free Agents

Player Age Yu Darvish 31 Curtis Granderson 36 Brandon Morrow 33 Chase Utley 38 Tony Watson 32 Franklin Gutierrez 34

Bullpen

The Dodgers, winners of five straight NL West titles, had to perennially contend not only with the best teams in the league but their own frustrating bullpen.

This postseason, however, it was a reason to celebrate, led by Kenley Jansen, Kenta Maeda and Brandon Morrow.

Jansen is locked up until 2019, when he can opt out of his current contract. Maeda will presumably head back to compete for one of the available spots in the starting rotation and Morrow is once again a free agent.

The 33-year-old was a revelation for the club this season, garnering a 2.06 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched.

He was even better in the playoffs as he gave up just three hits in 8.1 innings of work through the division and championship series.

Exhaustion and a heavy workload took its toll on his arm as he joined other relievers in giving up hits to the Houston Astros in the World Series.

While Morrow was every bit the shutdown setup man the Dodgers craved, it’s highly plausible he gets a relief role in another city.

Joel Sherman recently equated Morrow’s future to that of Ryan Madson who resurfaced long enough to spotlight heroics for the Royals before moving on to the A’s.

The Dodgers were just fine without Morrow earlier in the year. However, his transcendence illustrates how unstoppable this club can be with a deep and powerful bullpen at the most crucial time of year.

Solidifying the staff that sit out in the left field pavilion every home game is paramount to next year’s success.

Left Field

The Dodgers love to stock up on a couple things every year, starting pitchers and outfielders. It seems they enter opening day with a cavalcade of potential suitors for the lineup.

That will change as Andre Ethier may very well be gone with a team option for $17.5 million looming. Considering his age and injury history, the Dodgers are not going to pick up the option and may either bring Ethier back at a considerable discount or see him suit up elsewhere.

It would be great to have the long tenured vet back, but you can’t count on everyday reps from him.

Two names that would absolutely fit the bill are J.D. Martinez and Giancarlo Stanton. The former is the kind of upswinging, patient hitter the Dodgers adore and the latter is a franchise cornerstone that would cost the farm.

Then again, the Dodgers could always bank on another star rising from its depth (Alex Verdugo, Andrew Toles) or move Cody Bellinger back to the outfield if Adrian Gonzalez comes back healthy.

Which brings me to…

What About The Old Guys?

More than likely, the Dodgers part ways with its first baseman to usher in the Bellinger era in an official manner.

Chase Utley is also a free agent and has been an amazing mentor to the younger players and a key role player when needed the past couple of years.

The gray hair on his head matches his .236/.324/.405 slash line on the season. With Logan Forsythe presumably coming back and Chris Taylor a necessity to this lineup, the Dodgers already have a logjam in the infield.

Next year, I predict the Dodgers will be even younger than they were in 2017.

Starting Pitching

The Dodgers might be content to sit back and do nothing as pertains to its rotation. This is not a franchise that is ever content, however.

Yu Darvish was indeed abysmal in the postseason but is the best free agent available along with the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta.

Without any additions, the Dodgers still walk out on day one with Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Alex Wood, Julio Urias, Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir, Hyun-jin Ryu, Kenta Maeda and Walker Buehler.

It’s more than enough to get from the spring to the fall but definitely not enough to close it out when you consider all the banged up arms and backs in that lot.

The Dodgers have a ton of pitching, but they don’t have enough to finish the job, something that has plagued the franchise for far too many years.

If we are considering the future, we see Darvish back in L.A., which means you better prepare your liquor cabinets accordingly. He certainly drove a city to drink the last week of the season.

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The Dodgers are that rare team, as with the Astros and Indians, that head into the offseason devoid of gaping holes.

If the team were to sit back and let prospects mature and veterans to get rest, it would still be a lock for 95 wins or more.

This is a franchise with resources on the farm and in the bank account, so be assured that L.A. is poised to compete as fiercely off the field as it did on it in 2017.

The team will look largely the same entering 2018. However, those small tweaks will pay off tremendously down the stretch one year from now when the Dodgers are back in the hunt for that World Series that has eluded it for 30 years.