I find myself in somewhat of a dilemma. I never believed the Dodgers would spring for Stanton. That is not what they do. It is not who they are. But yet I was getting excited about the chance of the ONE true game changer available this year becoming a Dodger. I was convinced that the Dodgers only entered into the discussion to get Stanton to say no to the Giants. I do not believe they ever intended to consummate the trade and take on that debt. The one constant this off season has been management’s claim as to their necessity to get under the luxury tax threshold to reset the tax. Why, I do not know. They lose another $60M in salaries next year.
There have been two game changers available the last two off-seasons, Chris Sale and Giancarlo Stanton, and the Dodgers have neither. They are both in the AL East. And if anyone believes the Red Sox will not go hard after JD Martinez, they need to go back and study Dave Dombrowski. Sure FAZ may get involved, but only to drive the price up. Just like Stanton, Martinez will not be a Dodger. Ozuna? The Cardinals will offer one or two of their top pitching prospects and the Dodgers will offer Sborz and Sopko. Guess who wins?
It may seem that I am bitter. A better descriptive is disappointed. I got my hopes up when I knew better. SHAME ON ME. FAZ has proven to be masterful at uncovering the nugget, and building a deep farm system. And as a Dodger fan, I am truly appreciative. But they have not shown a willingness to go for a game changer. I was supportive of not going after Hamels or Price or Cueto in 2015. I agreed that they should not have signed or traded for Aroldis Chapman in 2016. I was on board with the Rich Hill and Josh Reddick trade in 2016. I was surprised when they committed nearly $200M to 3 players last winter. And I thought the trade for Darvish was excellent. But I do believe that not trading for Stanton may turn out to be short-sighted.
The Dodgers were set up. Stanton could have been that RH protective bat for Bellinger. Now it’s Puig. Some of you are convinced that Puig has turned the corner. I am not there yet for an entire season. Everything went right for the Dodgers last year. Cody, Taylor, Wood, Barnes, Morrow all had career changing seasons. Can they duplicate them? Puig reinvented himself. Will that continue? How serious are the injuries to Kershaw’s back and Seager’s wrist? Are Maeda and Ryu anything more than 5 inning pitchers? Can Urias actually make it back from his shoulder injury? Are Buehler or Verdugo ready? Some of the answers will turn out to be positive, but all of them? They no longer have Darvish or Morrow. After all the Cubs won 103 games in 2016 and 92 in 2017 with basically the same team.
What do I expect?
- Some more signings like Pat Venditte, Travis Taijeron, Jesen Therrien, and Guillermo Zuniga. They will continue their search to find that proverbial nugget.
- They will continue their quest to get under the luxury tax threshold.
- They will pretend to be in on multiple high priced FA (i.e Darvish/Martinez) to bid up the “winning” contract, but will not sign them.
- They will check in on multiple possible trades, but there will only be some off the wall trade coming out of nowhere.
- Andrew Toles and Kike’ Hernandez will be the LF platoon. Joc will be the #5 OF and Verdugo will go back to OKC where he will play every day instead of sitting on the bench.
- A-Gon will play the Utley role as a LH bat off the bench.
- There will be multiple 10 day DL trips because the team will have no idea what to do with McCarthy and Kazmir.
- There will be some trade deadline transaction to stay in the playoff run.
- The Dodgers, Cubs, and Nationals will win their divisions.
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What I do not expect is a significant FA signing or trade.
What I hope for, some of:
- Not let the luxury tax dictate the moves.
- A trade of Grandal, McCarthy, Verdugo, Avilan, and Ryu to Baltimore for Austin Hays, Hunter Harvey, and Zach Britton. Either the Orioles are going for a sell-off or they are going to go for it in 2018. Giancarlo Stanton to NYY will dictate what they will do, but I am hoping they will want to go for it. While I do not think he is necessary, the Dodgers are going to have to take on some salary, thus Britton. The O’s have Brach and Givens to close. The O’s get two starting pitchers, OF replacement for Hays, reliever replacement for Britton, and a catcher mentor for Chance Sisco.
- A trade of Forsythe, Font, and DJ Peters to the Braves for Ender Inciarte. The Braves need another year for Ozzie Albies to be ready to be every day 2B, and relief pitching. This is a tough one. The Dodgers may have to sweeten this. THE DODGERS NEED A TRUE DEFENSIVE CF. No more LF (or 2B) that can play CF.
- A trade of Alvarez, Estevez, Joc, and Trayce Thompson to the Marlins for Marcell Ozuna and JT Riddle or Derek Dietrich (LH hitting infielder). I am not sure how much the Marlins want to deal with LA.
- Kazmir will be DFA’d to end the charade of him having a bounce back season.
- Sign Jhoulys Chacin to be the #5 starting pitcher (nothing more than 2 years).
- Sign Nick Hundley to be back-up catcher.
- Sign Brandon Morrow
Again, I do not expect any of these, but I am hopeful that one or two might be accomplished.
There has been some preliminary speculation as to what the Red Sox will do to counter Giancarlo Stanton. I still think JD Martinez will be wearing a Red Sox uni next season. Others believe that the Red Sox will go after Eric Hosmer. I think that would be a mistake. I think Hosmer is another Josh Reddick where he cannot play for a big market team. I think the best place for Hosmer is back in Kansas City. If the Red Sox get Martinez, I would guess that the O’s will be more in a sell off mood rather than try for one more year. However, Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette will not want to go quietly.
Okay, I got all of my negativism out of the way. This is the week of hope for our favorite baseball team. Some may not want any changes. They like the team just the way it is. I do not believe in the status quo, it keeps things stale and stagnant. Just ask the Cubs fans. Change has to be made to keep the team growing. Sure, I will be sorry to see some of the young guns go. Nobody is a bigger advocate for the minor leaguers than I am. But I will be excited if it brings a player or players to take us to the next step in this journey…a World Series Championship.
I have “no clue” but it’s fun to read yours! Keep em coming! John Carpino is a neighbor and they are tickled with their new acquisition! It will make Angel Dodger games more fun than ever!
I totally share your disappointment and will add very frustrated to that. We are not going to play the free agent market at this point. Stanton was a huge opportunity who was mvp and wanted la!! Maybe it is time for the dh because it may have cost us oshtani and Stanton. We do not have the starting pitching to win a World Series. Although Kershaw pitched one good game that is not enough without support. Hill pitched well but they just refuse to let him go deep in the game. What’s ironic is if we would have saved the money blown on Kazmir, Anderson, McCarthy, etc. we would have had the money to get a good pitcher. This kind of reminds me what McCourt would do. He would overpay for a mediocre player so he could get him and then they would perform mediocre. You cannot expect Taylor to be as good, Turner dead tired and no help in series, Bellinger 39 homers I doubt, Seager healthy? Can he swing at strikes?, Puig who knows? The rotation a year older and worse unless Uriah or Buehler can bale us out. Ryu might improve and he is good. Morrow, I would be shocked if they signed him. I would put us behind the Astros, Indians Yankees, cubs,Red Sox, at this point and looking at our farm system there aren’t any difference makers except Buehler and maybe Verdugo. Oaks could contribute but is not a game changer. The one guy who Could breakout in my opinion is kike. He has work to do but I would give him a chance.
Not getting Stanton took the fun right out of this offseason for me. I see it very much like you do AC. We needed a big right handed bat to go alongside of Bellinger and we didn’t get it. I agree we also need a true CF’er. We still need a RHSP who can eat innings and a bridge to Jensen. Turner is going to be a year older and I believe he will age badly. I don’t think Belly hits 39 homers next year and Seager could be damaged goods. And can Taylor duplicate or was that a career year. Stanton was a true difference maker, someone who could have put us over the top. I’m bummed ….over and out.
1 – I agree generally that the law of entropy affects baseball teams too. You can’t stand pat or you will probably deteriorate.
2 – I don’t get the fascination with Enciarte or Chacin. Neither are that good.
3 – What Therealten hinted at is something that Dodger fans don’t want to think about – regression.
*Can Taylor repeat 2017?
*Will Bellinger ever learn to hit the low inside breaking ball or to lay off of it?
*Rich Hill just had his healthiest season since he was 27. Can we expect that to happen again now that he is 38?
*The Dodgers may have had their most effective bullpen in 20 years. Can they repeat?
*Will Puig go back to being the “bad Puig” or was his 2017 iteration the permanent version?
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What is the plan in the event that any of the above (or other scenarios) come to pass?
Rick, Chacin is not a top of the rotation guy. He is a #5 who is a better bet to go past 4-5 innings than either Ryu or Maeda. I can accept one of Maeda and Ryu, but not both as SP. Nobody wanted Charlie Morton last year or JA Happ 2 years ago, and they turned out just fine. Much better than Jordan Zimmerman or David Price. Nobody wants Chacin? I will not lose any sleep over it one way or the other. But then you better have a NYY quality level bullpen.
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When was the last time the Dodgers had a .300 hitting GG CF? CF is a defensive position and I prefer to see strength up the middle. Taylor is a good CF, but nowhere close to GG caliber. Everyone loves Puig for defense. “He saves so many runs in RF”. And yet the most important defensive OF position gets a 2B who is better than any of the other “CF” on the team, and everyone is happy. “We do not need to make a change.” I disagree. The Dodgers would be better with Inciarte in CF and CT3 at 2B. For those that want Christian Yelich, I would be okay as long as he was in LF. He played CF because neither Ozuna or Stanton are CF’ers. Look at his production in LF in ’16 vs. CF in ’17. Not overly significant, but enough to make a difference.
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The Giants would be wise to get Billy Hamilton because of how valuable he would be in that canyon. I hope they go after Cutch and forget about Hamilton. If Kevin Kiermaier or Kevin Pillar were available I would go hard for either of them, but both Tampa Bay and Toronto know how valuable a great defensive CF can be. Ask KC Royals fans how great Cain was with mediocre fly ball pitchers.
A no lesser authority on centerfielders than Rick Monday(and his side kick Kevin Kennedy) has proclaimed Chris Taylor as the real deal in centerfield. I mean what more does the guy have to do to prove he’s a great ball player. I guess just prove it one more time every season. Same as every other ball player. Looking at what he’s accomplished with no one giving him a polar bear’s chance in the arctic….I’m gonna go ahead and give him the nod at centerfield in the immediate future. At least until he proves himself unable to cut it at the position.
I TOTALLY agree that Chris Taylor is a very good CF and will be even better in 2018 with all of Spring Training to learn.
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Let me address Dodger Ricks Concerns:
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1 – I agree generally that the law of entropy affects baseball teams too. You can’t stand pat or you will probably deteriorate. Totally agree
2 – I don’t get the fascination with Enciarte or Chacin. Neither are that good. Enciarte is a nice player and would allow Taylor to move to 2B, where his bat would really be a plus, but FAZ typically doesn’t value players like Ender highly so that probably won’t happen. Chacin is an innings eater and who knows what Honey could do with him? He’s a #5 innings eater, but maybe Oaks is too.
3 – What Therealten hinted at is something that Dodger fans don’t want to think about – regression.
*Can Taylor repeat 2017? I actually think he will be better in 2018 because he has shown an ability to adjust.
*Will Bellinger ever learn to hit the low inside breaking ball or to lay off of it? Cody had that problem in the Series – he has shown repeatedly that he can adjust. Cody will be better in 2018 than he was in 2017.
*Rich Hill just had his healthiest season since he was 27. Can we expect that to happen again now that he is 38? Yes, that’s why they don’t push him.
*The Dodgers may have had their most effective bullpen in 20 years. Can they repeat? It will have to include internal and external solutions.
*Will Puig go back to being the “bad Puig” or was his 2017 iteration the permanent version? I have no clue, but I lean now to the Good Side.
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What is the plan in the event that any of the above (or other scenarios) come to pass? Verdugo, Buehler, Toles, Pederson, Oaks, Santana, Smith, Ruiz, Diaz
I am not saying that Chris Taylor is not a great baseball player, just not a GG caliber CF. If it is between CT3 and Joc or Toles there is no question. He will not make any mistakes. And if that is all you want from a CF’er, okay. Rick Monday, Kenny Landreaux, John Shelby were all fine CF’ers, but there are zero GG between them. Inciarte has two in his four years. He also hit .300, and how many CF not named Mike Trout can say they are a GG CF who can hit .300? CT3 is a good CF, but Inciarte is better, and the Dodgers would be better with Inciarte in CF and Taylor at 2B.
I throw lots of ideas out there for the purpose of discussion. I would like to have a Stanton or Martinez, but I would not take on a 10-year contract. Maybe a 5 or 6 year deal, but even that is along time.
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The Yanks still have some bad deals (Elsbury is owed $70 million) but the Dodgers had about $100 million in bad deals last year. This year it will be a lot less as Ethier, Guerrero and Crawfish drop off. However, in 2018, here’s what is likely to be “dead” money:
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A-Gon – $22,357,000
Kazmir – $17,667,000
Toscano – $1,800,000
Olivera – $4,667,000
Arrrrr – $6,500,000
Kemp – $2,750,000
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TOTAL DEAD MONEY IN 2018: $52,991,000
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Sierra ( $4,500,000) and McCarthy ($11,500,000) could add $16,000,000 to that, but there is a 50/50 chance both could play a role on the 2018 Dodgers. If not, the total DEAD MONEY is almost $70,000,000. Most of it goes away after THIS season.
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FAZ bashers want to point to McCarthy and Kazmir who cost the Dodgers $28 million last year, but the conveniently fail to mention that Ethier, Crawfish and A-Gon cost over $62 million last year. FAZ has made some bad deals and some good deals… actually more good than bad!
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These guys are smart and look at both the short-term and long-term ramifications. FAZ wants to win it all but they also want to win the division or the pennant every year. Arizona’s window is closing. San Francisco’s window is closed. Colorado has no window. The Dodgers window is wide open, both now and in the future.
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I wish Stanton would have been a Dodger, but I get what FAZ wanted and the Marlins would not give in. Neither would FAZ and I think they were right. I’d like to have Martinez too, but I would not sign him to more than a 5-year deal.
I look for them to make a more serious try for Bryce Harper when he becomes available. Or maybe they’re waiting for Mike Trout. Or maybe……
Mark
I don’t hate the front office.
And the only reason I am bringing those two pitchers up, is because I am talking, about next year!
Every front office makes mistakes, and when you are not acknowledging the mistakes this front office has made at times, you put even more expectations, on this front office.
And because of that, everyone is going to expect even more from this front office, so when this front office does make a mistake, people are going to point it out.
And that also happens, when you talk about the mistakes, the prior front office has made, but you are not acknowledging the mistakes this front office has made, in the same breath.
And when you bring up those players like Crawford, Ethier, and Agone, those players might have cost a lot more, but everyone of those players, made some important contributions, to the team at one time.
And I can’t say the same about Kazmir, and McCarthy.
But more importantly, Agone is the only one of those players you mentioned, that will affect the payroll in 2018.
And McCarthy and Kazmir combined, are costing the team more money, then Agone is, in 2018.
I hope the changes that you say are coming to MLB do not happen. Probably will give you an insight into my feelings when I say that a good change would be to restore the pitchers mound to pre Bob Gibson dimensions. Give the poor pitchers a break.
They would have to raise the mound. John Smoltz says that the lower mound causes arm injuries.
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But chicks dig the log ball.
I jumped to a few other sites and read the comments and I wonder how the 2017 BA Organization of the Year suddenly got so stupid? They just got that award and then suddenly turned stupid… according to some.
Unfortunately, the luxury tax will dictate the Dodger’s primary moves for the next couple of years. It will be nice when the “dead” money comes off the books. That however, will be counterbalanced by the new contracts that are going to have to be given to Seager, Kershaw, et al.
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I’ don’t know that I would pull off the suggested trade with the Orioles. If I’m trading Grandal and Verdugo, I would want Michael Givens in return (zero chance of that happening). I have no opinion on Harvey or Hays, although Hays, albeit with less strikeouts, appears to be a lesser player than DJ Peters. I wouldn’t mind obtaining Britton, but at what price? Perhaps Avilan and Ryu would do the trick.
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I agree that we need a GGCF. Strong defense up the middle remains a significant asset to have. CT3 did an admirable job there last year, however, offensively he struggled while playing CF and excelled while at other positions. That has to mean something moving forward.
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I think that Farmer could be a serviceable back up catcher. Several times last year, both Roberts and Honeycutt commented that the pitchers liked to throw to him. Whether or not he can carry the load offensively remains to be seen. At the return price lesser players are receiving in trade, I think that Grandal remains one of our better trade chips, and whether the return is prospects or a bull pen piece, it should be fairly good. If not Farmer, then Hundley or Alex Avila might fit in well as a back-up.
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I like the trade proposed with the Marlins. But, I don’t think the Marlins will trade any significant players to the Dodgers.
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Like AC, I believe the Dodgers need to be a little more proactive in improving the team this winter. I don’t think that all of the players are going to duplicate career years. I’m certainly not ready to hitch my wagon to the Yasiel Puig train. No question he has tons of talent. But as Mark has reminded us – the man appears to be a knucklehead. A little of his act goes a long ways. Right now, the team is set at C, 1B, SS, 3B and ???. We have no set LF, our CF is playing out of position and the RF is, well he is Puig. 2B is semi-set. Forsythe does the job defensively, but his bat remains a question mark. On the pitching end we have Kershaw, Wood, and Hill and ???. Wood and Hill also have their concerns in that they have yet to consistently show they are more than 5-6 inning pitchers. I liked Maeda in the pen, but apparently they are going to make him a starter again. I have no faith in McCarthy or Ryu to be anything more than occasionally effective pitchers. So, while not horrible, the starting pitchers aren’t exactly shut down types (except Kersh). I’m fine with the bullpen as is, though it would be nice to add another shut down type. Could be Morrow, but we saw how well Blanton’s second year went. With a few exceptions, relievers are a fickle bunch. I would love to see the Dodgers get a strong bat/glove for the outfield and one decent starter. I do not, however, think that’s going to happen. I think our future transaction life is going to be filled with announcements of NRI signings and not much more. I hope that I’m wrong.
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I also hope that we get some significant contributions from Buehler, Oaks, Santana and the like, but I wouldn’t be the least surprised if they don’t contribute until next year.
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I enjoy the winter meetings as much as any time of the baseball “season”, but I have to confess, it takes a little too much time away from my work.
Inciarte is an average player if you like War as a measure. He has had a high of 3.6 and was 3.0 last if I read correctly. 3 is in the average group. I like Inciarte but I just think Taylor offers a higher ceiling and he might become a lot better defensively. I would take Inciarte over Forsyth so he would probably help. I like the front office for sure but Oliver’s, Anderson, Kazmir, McCarthy, arabur, Toscano, and more have not worked out. However, the trade put them in a terrible financial position and with the opportunity to get beyond that at the end of the year they can ill afford to be saddled with bad contracts. They could really get in a quality financial position if Kershaw opts out and doesn’t re-sign. If Kershaw wants to come back they will probably sign him. The dodgers are already on the hook for 33million, it will be tough for a team to add 40 million of new money. Maybe the Dodgers can help themselves at the winter meetings.
Oh well – there goes another one
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https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/cubs-nearing-deal-with-brandon-morrow.html
AC
Thanks for giving us your perspective, and your takes!
As you probably already know, I felt much like you did about Stanton, and I voiced my opinion here yesterday, and I heard, about it.
But that didn’t upset me, because I knew most everyone here, really wanted to see Stanton, and Cody, hitting back, to back, much like I did.
I also thought the Dodgers shouldn’t have let that one year, get in the way, because I thought the Dodgers wouldn’t get another chance, to get a player, like Stanton again.
And like you said, having Stanton in our line up, is definitely a true game changer!
I didn’t realize the difference between the Yankees, and the Dodger’s payroll in 2018, but I didn’t think 2018, was that important.
Because both of these teams, will be getting so much money off there books, after the 2018, season.
And the Yankees and the Dodgers, are the two riches teams, in baseball.
And I knew the Yankees had Luxury tax issues, just like us.
I also knew, that most teams never usually get the best from a player, at the end of a ten year contract.
But you would think, the Yankees would know more about long contracts, then most teams.
And the Yankees didn’t hesitate in the least, after they heard, Stanton was willing to go, to the Yankees.
The Yankees got this deal done, over night!
And with the way the Yankees reacted, that convinced me even more, our front office, should have made this deal happen!
Especially after they found out, Stanton would not be going to the Giants, or the Cards.
Because I thought our front office had the upper hand, at that time.
Because the Dodgers were truly the team, Stanton wanted to go to.
The Yankees may regret getting Stanton, but I would think the Yankee’s GM, knew exactly what he was doing, because he has been a GM, for almost twenty years, and how many GMs are with one team, that long?
And the Yankees GM did a pretty good job, of turning the Yankees’ line up over, from an old line up, to a new youthful, line up
And apparently the Yankees GM realized, he wouldn’t get a chance again, to bring a player like Stanton to the Yankees, so he made this deal happen, and he made it happen, quickly!
And Stanton will probably be a lot cheaper then Harper and Machado will be, on the open market.
Was not getting Stanton a disappointment? A huge disappoint – he is a game changer. Othani? Not so much (to many unknowns with this guy), although a #2 SP is one of the biggest needs of this team.
With Stanton and the other HR hitter (another Californian), the Yankees will make annual appearances in the WS. It won’t be Ruth and Gehrig but ‘Bronx Bombers’ will be relevant again. Who do you favor in those two matching up against Hill our present #2, or whoever is our #3? Could be 1977,78 all over again.
If the FAZ win record results in anything approaching what Kasten had with the Braves (1986-2003) with 5 first place NL finishes and 1 WS championship, this fan will be supremely disappointed. The renewed expectations in the Dodgers with now having competent leadership, a commitment to rebuild the Farm System, and initial success in the playoffs has lead in part to those heightened expectations.
But, not getting Stanton leads me to believe they might just be headed in the Kasten direction as a model for success.
In addition, not getting a legitimate #2 SP ( Darvish was not that guy), leads me to think we wait for Buehler, Urias, or some other kid to come through the system. And so we wait, and wait, then hear talk of limited innings, a prolonged spring training, or a revived McCarthy.
A previous poster said SS is set. Really? We have no idea of the condition of Seager’s elbow.
And how long can CK go with his bad back. Being one who has such a back – I know it will re-occur, his #1 SP status is fragile.
I’m hoping for additions to this team which will result in multiple WS championships but reality set in with the Stanton non-deal, and other pending non-deals (some non-deals possibly because these guys while appearing to be smart, also seem to miss out because they are too slow in making their deals or get started to late in the process).
Before last year started I said 2018 was the year this team wins everything – still could happen but this leadership must make this team better. If all you want to do is beat the Giants – this team can do that. If you want to win a WS you must get better, address your needs, make some key trades, not stand pat. Move forward, improve or you regress.
I am not sure the Yankees will make the playoffs, let alone the World Series. They have little depth and not a lot of pitching. Gardner and Ellsbury are over 30 as is Headley and all have expensive salaries. Their rotation is somewhat young and very injury-prone with little depth. Stanton will help them score more runs, but they will miss Castro. They had better score a lot of runs. They will need them.
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They have three more years of Tanaka, Ellsbury, and Headly and have to pay the three of them over $60 million a year. Gardner’s deal is over after 2018 and he adds $11 million.
The only real need is a durable #2 pitcher. That will be the focus for the next few weeks. I still look to the Rays. The rest of the team is good for now with youth backing up. The whole idea of the suits was to build a farm system so that the free agent market doesn’t eat the team up via the luxury tax. It is on track. Our minor league pitchers aren’t ready yet. So, get a #2 and get ready for Glendale.
Who would you suggest? Archer would not be a #2 unless they just put him there.
I continue to ask, what makes a #2? If it is strictly innings pitched, certainly Archer should be considered. He has three consecutive years with 200+ IP. Would you consider Jeff Samardzija a #2? Jeff Samardzija has 200 IP for the past 5 years, and he has done it in the NL, not the AL with a DH. Would Archer have 200 IP in the NL? Highly doubtful.
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In addition, his ERA has been north of 4.00 the last two years. His lowest ERA has been 3.22 (4 years ago). Last year when the Rays were in contention for the Wild Card, Archer went 1-5 with a 7.48 ERA in September/October. He has allowed 57 HR’s the last two years and 76 HR’s the last three years. I see nothing about these metrics that tells me Chris Archer is a better pitcher than Kenta Maeda or Hyun-jin Ryu much less Alex Wood or Rich Hill. What about Chris Archer says he is a legit #2.
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The Dodgers do not highly value high IP totals, so his one true pitching plus is not a highly sought after skill by LAD. His other plus is his contract. He will cost a ton in prospects, who will probably end up better than Archer. I would love to be wrong, but IMO, Chris Archer is not a #2.
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I see nothing that tells FAZ that they NEED a Chris Archer or Gerrit Cole (I would much prefer Cole). If they do anything pitching wise, it will not happen until trade deadline.
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I see nothing more than a Jace Peterson or comparable (LH hitting infielder). Maybe a relief pitching lottery pick like Tommy Hunter. And the biggest RH bat they will look at is Austin Jackson. I can see them being sellers of pitching McCarthy and Ryu, and at catching with Grandal. But the return will only be non 40 man prospects (FAZ specialties). They will then scour the waiver wires and take a shot at more lottery picks.
At 10+ million per year, looks like the Cubs are planning on Morrow being their closer
This may be heresy here but I would have never signed Jansen to that long of a deal. I think you can find lots of cheaper options. Four more years? I hope I am wrong, but I wonder if he can keep it up? Maybe he’s Special!
He certainly wasn’t sharp in the series. He looked great previous to that. With a 3-1 lead you would almost certainly put it in the books. Fax will probably explore his trade value before the contract is up and turner as well.
If Morrow gets $10+mil. per year, welcome to the Dodgers looking in the bargain basement or relatively one-sided trade market for a set-up man or two. Pedro Baez and Josh Fields come on down . . .
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Mark, with Jansen, I believe that he is indeed something uniquely special. Plus, he makes a very attractive trade chip to a contending team, should things go south for the Dodgers. I think he’s worth the risk. Especially in light of some of these contracts given out this year.
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I happen to like Archer as a potential number 2. He’s durable, throws strikes and can go beyond 5 innings. Plus, I think Dodger Stadium might be suited to his strengths. He would come with a cost, but he is also young and controllable.
Not that they are any more knowledgeable than any other pundit, but ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield have written about a proposed trade involving Chris Archer and the Dodgers. Schoenfield opines that the return for Archer would need to be Verdugo/Ruiz/Buehler. Doolittle exchanges Jeren Kendall for Verdugo. Schoenfield responded…not enough.
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If this is the cost for supposed #2…No thank you. I will live with Wood and Hill.
Would be a terrible trade from the Dodgers POV.
I agree. That cost is way too high. It never ceases to amaze me how the prospects on other teams are valued so highly by the pundits, and, for example the Red Sox’ 100 rated prospect should be sufficient to obtain Kershaw or Trout. Yet the Dodgers always have to trade away half their farm system. Oh well, the price of success I guess.
I’ll go with Oaks, if that’s the price for Archer.
Morrow is cub, now
The Stanton contract is a bad contract. I was hoping they would resign Morrow. Ten to eleven million is high and FAZ will not pay that amount. I think Verdugo and Beuhler will be on the club to start the season. They have nothing left to prove at AAA. I really think the problem FAZ has in any trade is the other teams want more from the Dodgers. FAZ will not over pay. We cannot stand still. There is a lot of time left. I do not expect the Dodgers or win over 100 games next year. However, I do expect them to win the West.