Looking Back at Ten Years of Dodger Off-Season Activity

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1. Bluto, you may think equating money and championships is silly but having Garret Cole in Dodger Blue next year greatly increases our chances of winning a WS. There’s no question about that! Watch what happens in Vegas if we sign Cole

   1. I wrote the following regarding Bluto’s comments on the last article just as this article was being published:

      You may be right about Dodger Nation, but Blake Williams has more connections than you and me combined. If you don’t want to read about rumors then I would suggest you swear off blog sites. But don’t just come on and call them silly. They are no more silly than your trade speculations. They do not have any relevance or accuracy, but you like to site them. Unless you have a direct line to AF I would not consider any rumor to be any more than rumor. I have no idea why you come on and criticize discussion as silliness. If you do not like it, ignore it. Nobody is going to feel cheated that you find it silly but do not comment.

      1. I enjoy reading most of the Dodgers blogs. Most of them are full of opinions, rumors, and speculation. There is nothing wrong with that. That’s why I enjoy them. It’s nice to see different opinions on the subject. There is a very pessimistic site I do avoid. I won’t name it, but I usually want to jump of a cliff whenever I read one of their posts.

         1. Insanity is rampant there,,,

      2. Rumors are fun and sometimes there is a basis… but most of the time it’s not leaked by the Dodgers.

         If you talk to someone close to the action, most of the time you will not get a straight answer and maybe even misdirection.

         I once did a video interview with Logan White where he jumped all over me for calling Jonathan Broxton a “second-tier closer.” He argued that JB was better than that.

         As I walked out of the interview, he whispered to me “Broxton IS a second-tier closer.” It was understood that I would not repeat that and I didn’t until he left the Dodgers.

         Believe none of what you read or hear and half of what you see, but it’s still fun…

         1. That’s pretty funny. Thanks for sharing that.

      3. Don’t agree about Cole’s impact Cassidy. But I’m glad you have such passion..

         Here is Mr. Williams’ bio:

         I graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Journalism from Los Angeles Pierce College and now I’m working towards my Bachelor’s at Cal State University, Northridge. I’m currently the managing editor for the Roundup News and a writer for Dodgers Nation. Around the age of 12, I fell in love with baseball and in high school, I realized my best path to working in baseball was as a writer, so that’s the path I followed. I also like to bring an analytics viewpoint to my work and I’m always willing to help someone understand them since so many people have done the same for me. Thanks for reading!

         Granted ONE source is more than you and I combined, maybe he has a single source I highly doubt more than that. If someone wants to cite him as credible, I guess they can. There’s zero point zero chance I’m not going to find that silly. I’ll stick to calling those who get paid to do their jobs as credible. Not those like Mr. Williams.

         Sorry.

         Also sorry if anyone took my manipulation of the baseball trade simulator as anything more than making two numbers more or less equal.

         1. Nobody says he has more knowledge or is smarter than anyone on this site or any other blog. But he has more connections than anyone on this site except maybe for Mark. The site he writes for has contacts that he can tap into. He is just beginning. I have some contacts but they are more baseball in general rather then Dodger related. In many endeavors it is who you know rather than what you know. So if Blake Williams says that his contacts say that there has been a lot of discussion for Lux and his sources say AF says no, we are just supposed to dismiss it because Bluto says it is silly. More connected baseball pundits like Jim Bowden have also said that AF will not trade Lux. I suppose Jim Bowden is silly. Ken Rosenthal believes the likelihood that Lindor is traded to LAD is minimal because of their reluctance to trade Lux. Per MLB Tonight last night

            So it is okay for you to throw out silly (using your words) trade simulator scenarios without anyone opining how unrealistic or nonsensical they may be, but others cannot make statements without your telling them how silly or nonsensical the comment is. Okay. Good to know. And we will make sure to thank you for your inciteful and constructive comments.

2. 7 years $245M = Yankees offer to Cole.

   1. Bum is that a legit comment or just a guess on your part?

      1. That’s what’s being reported.

3. Great info D2D. Love looking at all of the names, most recognized, some not so much. Looking forward to tomorrow for whatever the meetings may bring.

4. With a long list like that 2D2, it’s clear the Dodgers have been active. Can’t confuse action with results though.

5. If the Dodgers stand pat, or close to it, I will not follow the regular season. That will not bother the Dodgers ownership, of course, but when they see a great dropoff in general interest, given that there will at least four or five teams out there which will have a better chance to win the title, and thus the fans in general will not want to slog through a long season which will very likely end early in the playoffs, this might. So let us hope that the rumors of the Dodgers doing next to nothing, are wrong. If the Yankees get Cole, they are the clear favorite to win it all. If the Dodgers get him, they are. So which is it to be, Mr. Walter and M r. Kasten and all the rest of the people who make up the large amount of Dodgers owners?

   1. If the Dodgers stand pat, I will still follow them as I always have. I know they have outspent any team in baseball the past 5 years and regardless of what they do, they will be one of the favorites to get to the World Series. I also understand that conventional wisdom is often wrong and teams often win the World Series when it is less likely. I also believe the Dodgers would have already won a World Series if the Astros had not cheated so blatantly. They will soon meet their doom!

   2. I am not sure that I understand this take. I am a Dodgers fan. I love my Dodgers unconditionally. I do not love them any less knowing they have not won a WS in 31 years. I believe they should go BOLD, but if they do not, I will enter the 2020 campaign believing that they have the team to win it all. Gerrit Cole has never won a WS. Zach Greinke has never won a WS. My son has a WS ring that Ted Williams never got all because of a Dave Roberts stolen base. Just because you beleive in a different strategy does not make you right and Andrew Friedman (Mark Walter and Stan Kasten) wrong. Are the Dodgers’ chances better with Gerrit Cole? Or Stephen Strasburg? Or Anthony Rendon? Absolutely, but certainly not guaranteed.

      The Dodgers need to find the IT factor; the Reggie/Gibby/Bulldog/MadBum. Maybe they have to wait until the trade deadline to find that person. Maybe it will be another Max Muncy type, or maybe it will be Alex Verdugo.

      IMO (for what it is worth), I believe the plight of LAD rests with Clayton Kershaw. The same Kershaw that has not been stellar in the post season. I cannot get that look of Clayton all alone in the dugout totally beaten. To me that will drive Kershaw this year more than any CY or ERA Title. That feeling will haunt him forever. I want LAD to win as much for Clayton Kershaw as I do for us fans.

      But one thing I will never do is give up on my team because the FO management/ownership believes in a different strategy than I do.

      1. I am not a fair weather fan. I have rooted and cheered for my Dodgers for as many years as I have been a baseball fan. I take pride in that. I have never wavered in my support for the team win or lose.

      2. I certainly understand what both you and Mark are saying above. I can only speak for myself here. I have followed the Dodgers since I was a young boy when they came to Los Angeles. It has been painful to see this franchise, usually touted as one of the signature franchises, not even win one world title in 31 years. It is even more upsetting to see the current ownership, which is replete with money, apparently be so fixated on profits, that they set limits on spending which a few other teams apparently do not; and then act as if they are doing this for the fans’ own good, this when they raise ticket prices every year.

         I did not follow the Dodgers much during some of the McCourt and Mattingly era, as I could not stand either of them, because McCourt is a grifter, and Mattingly is just inept. There was no real point it in, I thought. Of course this ownership is much better, but their refusal to make major moves in the offseason and to make serious bids for top free agents, is costing us titles. Maybe it will change this year, one always hopes. It is my strong belief that the Dodgers ownership is taking advantage of the fans’ loyalty, knowing that they will always draw at least 3.7 million fans a year as long as the team is reasonably competitive; and thus all the money they do not spend on contracts will go into profits for them.

         Instead of having a Steinbrenner or a Moreno or one of the very rich owners, we have a consortium of owners, all of whom consider themselves investors who are seeking profits. It’s one thing for a wealthy owner to decide that he wants to win a championship or two, and thus spend over the limit; but in our case, Guggenheim continues to seek investors, and thus they set spending limits, to satisfy the goals of their investors, which is to make money from their investment, in a coldly pragmatic way. I will never forget the comment by Bill Shaikin of the Times, that he spoke to one of the Dodgers’ minority owners a few years ago, who said that he was anxious for the Dodgers payroll to get to the middle of the pack. That is about nothing more than greed and desire for profits. I do not think that the Dodgers ownership are our friends, not in terms of striving for titles.

         So I am scarcely making some kind of threat, the Dodgers do not care if I follow the regular season or not. I am just being pragmatic. I enjoyed last year’s regular season, but I am not excited about watching us win more games against Colorado and Arizona and Pittsburgh, if I know that our chances of winning it all are not very good. I wanted the Dodgers to have an ownership which was as committed to winning multiple titles as any franchise out there. And I am convinced, pending the possibility of some big offseason surprises, that they are not, and will probably never be. In my view, we are operating at some kind of deficit of purpose, even though the monetary profits roll in. So if the ownership puts profits over titles, I don’t really feel like contributing to that during the very long regular season which inevitably ends with a playoff loss, and a “Wait until next year, except that we do not want to make any major moves to try to actually win the title.”

6. Dodgers in on Ryu.

   https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/dodgers-interested-in-re-signing-hyun-jin-ryu.html

   The article thinks 3 years 54 million.

   I think with the Yankees bid on Cole the Dodgers should take care of business elsewhere before it’s too late.

   Just sign Ryu for 3 years, sign Will Harris, trade for Giles and Hader, that should cost about 40 million this season and under the luxury tax cap. Make a 5 year 175 million offer to Strasburg, if the Dodgers get Strasburg great, they will be over the luxury tax cap but Strasburg is worth it.

   You get a good starting pitcher, you fix the bullpen and then you wait for the prize Strasburg.

   Just put Muncy at 3B and leave him there and put Turner at 1B to hopefully extend his career.

   1. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/winter-meetings-preview-the-dodgers-infield.html

      Article talks about insisting on keeping Lux makes it very difficult to imagine adding Rendon and says it doesn’t make sense to add Rendon and trade one of the other pieces of the infield.

      I agree. And that’s good news to me because I want whatever money there is to spend to go to upgrading pitching both starting pitching and relief pitching.

      1. I think you may need to temper your desire for elite pitching. Whether anyone likes it or not, agrees with it or not, I cannot see AF exceeding the NYY opening offer for Gerrit Cole, much less agreeing to go to $280MM. I truly believe that Strasburg wants to re-sign with Washington, much like Kershaw wanted to re-sign with LAD. He will get paid big $$$ wherever he signs. Strasburg has been treated very fairly in Washington and is comfortable there. Why would he leave?

         It is just conjecture by me, but IMO the best the Dodgers will do with respect to starting pitching will be to re-sign Ryu. Starting pitching contracts are getting out of control. Cole will get a record contract both in total contract dollars and AAV. The Nats will offer Stras right at $200MM. Wheeler gets a wildly inappropriate $118MM contract. MadBum is now projected to make $100MM++. If Ryu wants 4 years, it will be a tough hurdle for AF who is more afraid of years than he is of dollars. The lone remaining second tier starting pitcher who is available, and one the Dodgers are not at all interested in, is Dallas Keuchel. So it is going to be Ryu, a trade, or no change. With the dearth of elite starting pitching, nobody is going to trade their starters for middling ML players and mid level prospects.

         1. Ryu just had his best year ever. I am not at all sure that he will replicate that. He has had a series of nagging injuries, mostly back problems, I think. He seemed to tire in the second half of the season, then came back with a good September. I think that signing Ryu for four years or even three, would be a mistake; just like it was a mistake to sign Hill for four years (as much as l like Hill), or to pay Kershaw $30 million a year in the last deal, or give Jansen the long-term deal. Cole is also a risk, everyone is, but he is a great pitcher. Ryu is not. There are these few free agents who are worth the risk. Scherzer was, but the Dodgers did not seriously bid.

            To your comment that Cole has never won a title, neither has any player on the Dodgers’ roster, some of whom have been here for several years. The only time the Dodgers signed a big-name free agent, was when the new ownership signed Greinke, and that was clearly (they essentially admitted it) to insure the massive TV deal with Time Warner, to show them that we had a contending team. Once they locked in those billions, they stopped going after the top free agents, outside of making bids which were almost certain to be rejected.

7. I think that getting Cole is an unprobable dream. With teams like NY and the Angels opening up their bank accounts and declaring their intentions they are liable to do something stupid. I hope we don’t, even tho I would love to have him.

   1. But why do not the Dodgers open up their bank account? They don’t have enough money? They are not making massive profits? They do not have either the top or second best attendance in baseball? I thought the idea of having a trillion dollar corporation buying the Dodgers was that they would not be outspent by anyone. But somehow the ownership purveys this narrative that, well, we cannot compete with the likes of the Yankees or Angels (or Red Sox or Phillies or some other franchises?) when it comes to spending.

8. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter that the club is open to discussing trade scenarios involving A.J. Pollock and Enrique Hernandez, along with the previously rumored Joc Pederson. From MLBtradeRumors.com

   1. I read that, but how does trading Pollock help the team to be less LH dominant? With his contract, I am guessing that he would deliver a couple of mid-level prospects in return. It would free up dollars for Rendon or Donaldson, since the RH bat would have to be replaced.

      1. See below

9. This nonsense of trading Seager needs to stop. We only have Turner for one more year if a trade is being made for a 3rd baseman move Muncie to First seater to short lux at 2nd Turner a pinch hitter.

   1. You are not talking about me…

10. No Mark this question was not directed to you,I personally am tired of Seager being mentioned in trade talk. HE a DODGER.

    1. 😉

11. Trade Pollock, Pederson, Hernandez, and Maeda. That should get a couple of relievers and a couple of prospects.

    Sign Cole for 7 years/$265 Million.

    Sign Castellanos… Yes, Casty!

    1. Verdugo RF
    2. Castellanos LF
    3. Bellinger CF
    4. Muncy 1B
    5. Turner 3B
    6. Seager SS
    7. Lux 2B
    8. Smith /Ruiz C

    Rotation:
    1. Cole
    2. Buehler
    3. Urias
    4. Kershaw
    5. May

    Pen:

    Bummer
    Jansen
    Gonsolin
    Baez
    Stripling
    Alexander
    Ferguson
    Harris

    Bench:

    Taylor
    Beaty
    Rios
    Garlick

    1. It is now rumored that Nicholas Castellanos will be asking for JDM dollars. If Moustakas can get 4 years at $64MM, then Casty (and/or his agent) think that he can get $100MM. He is 3 1/2 years younger than Moose. Based on what Will Smith and Drew Pomeranz got, I think Will Harris could get a three year deal. I will speculate that Harris will draw a Joe Kelly type contract. He may be older, but he has been more effective.

       Cole – $265MM (7 years)
       Casty – $100MM (5 years)
       Harris – $25MM (3 years)

       There is somewhere between $30MM-$35MM in savings from the trades you identified. Something tells me that AF will not be spending that kind of money. But I would not be against the roster you have indicated above.

12. What a list of players you compiled 2D2. Some I recognized and knew, some that brought back a lot of trade memories, good and bad, and lots I did not remember, sorry to say. Thank you. It made my morning coffee taste better.

13. After listening to Stan Kasten, I can only conclude that the Dodgers are in on everybody who is a starting pitcher, relief pitcher or a hitter.

    Now we have Scott Boras comparing the winter meetings to movies. Last year, it was Slo Burn, this year Fast and Furious.

    Then you have Jim Duquette saying the two teams at the winter meetings who have to do something are the Dodgers and the Yankees. Are the Angels actually going to spend one billion dollars (Mike Trout contract, purchase of the stadium and land) in a few months because that is what it would be if they sign Gerrit Cole.

    Are the Dodgers really in on Cole? Maybe the target is Stephen Strasburg or Anthony Rendon, not Cole. Just how does Rendon fit? What happens with Max Muncy and Gavin Lux. Maybe Lux plays outfield for a year. Can Muncy play outfield?

    Maybe they just go for Ryu and improve the bullpen. That makes Pedro Moura right.

    Does anybody speak Kasten? He used a lot of words to say absolutely nothing, other than he doesn’t like being called cheap.

    Lux is not available. That’s pretty clear.

    The Dodgers are working the trade market hard. No question about it. But which Dodgers are available. As Duquette pointed out, they’ve got a lot of really good players.

    What’s smoke and what’s real? Did the Dodgers actually meet with Cole? Pretty certain they met with Strasburg and Rendon.

    Will Cole actually reach $280 million or maybe even $300 million. Nobody is that crazy. Or maybe they are. For a guy who plays every five days? It’s all about the playoffs for teams like the Yankees and Dodgers.

    Okay, I’m not certain of much, but enough of the Cory Seager trade talk. That’s not going to happen.

    .

14. I have no idea what your point is.

    We are all the uninformed here. My point in calling that fan blog thing silly is because we are giving it undo respect and import. As we’ve discussed, he’s barely (if that) more credible than i am. Again, we are all the uninformed. I don’t take your posts as anything but ideas and day-dreams AND THEY are much more informed than mine, but they are yours and we take them at face value. Bringing in some other fan and treating him as any type of valued voice is silly. It’s silly.

    As for what i think are your other points:

    1. Obviously my trade ideas are barely worth the pixels they are rendered with. I work in marketing for a music start-up and create trade scenarios using a web-app made by fans with too much time on their hands. If that’s not an absurd scenario, i don’t know what is. If you want to call them silly when posted, you can.

    2. I agree. History has shown Bowden (and Nightengale for that matter) to be barely (if that) more credible than the aspiring Mr. Williams. I would dismiss then all in the same nano-second i dismiss my own and all the others here. They are either click-bait or loosely formed ideas and dreams. But at least Bowden has a resume that import some value. Sadly his history as a columnist has impacted that.

    Let’s have fun and how the dodgers win?

15. Hopefully it is not too silly, but Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Strasburg is close to finalizing a new deal with the Nationals. Rosenthal reports that the Nats are confident it will get done. Fans cannot get upset with AF if Stras re-signs with the Nats. I guess they can, but Washington was always the favorite.

    UPDATE – Jon Heyman says that it is a done deal. No terms disclosed yet.

    1. Strasburg agreed to re-sign with Nationals.

    2. This is probably why the speculation about the Dodgers being interested in signing Ryu is being talked about.

       I don’t think the Dodgers will land Cole and now Strasburg is gone and Friedman insisting to not trade Lux makes me believe Rendon is not becoming a Dodger (which I don’t mind). My suggestion above seems like the best thing to do now. Sign Ryu and Harris and trade for at least a multiple year closer but better yet trade for Giles too because he will come cheap with only 1 year of team control left.

16. 7 years, $245 million for Strasburg. Wow!

    1. That is inconceivable. I guess Boras is feeling a little underwhelmed with NYY’s initial offer for Cole.

       Mark, this absolutely qualifies as a dope fiend move.

       1. Don’t worry Dodger fans, Todd Frazier and Wade Miley are still available.

          1. Where do you think Todd Frazier will slot into the rotation. 🙂

             1. I should have been a little more clear. Frazier would be substitute for Rendon who is probably going to be priced out of AF’s comfort zone.

             2. No, you didn’t need to be more clear. I was just being a smart ass.

       2. This takes him through his age 38 season at $35MM a year. It’s a huge risk, but I guess they were determined to keep him.

          1. Dope fiend

             1. Looks like $80 million is deferred. Wouldn’t a contract for less money but more up-front actually be more valuable?

             2. I think Strasburg is one of the few who consider how comfortable he is with a team along with the $. It was pretty well understood from the beginning that he would go back to DC. Someone may have offered him a differently constructed deal and it may not have made any difference.

             3. There is interest attached to the deferred portion. It was not reported at what rate, but it will minimize the discounted fair market value of the deferred money.

             4. Does the interest earned count against the luxury tax limit? It probably wouldn’t amount enough to make a difference.

             5. No. Only the AAV of the actual contract amount. Strasburg will be a $35MM AAV for 7 years. The interest will only minimize the impact of the deferred portion’s fair market value, but does not change the contract amount.

17. With the rumors surrounding Betts and the Dodgers, what would the Dodgers have to give up to get Betts along with Price. I am not a Price fan but it seems this front office tends to use its surplus cash to make deals where they take on salary. Also, could Price be a reliever option?

    1. Lux and Ruiz!

       1. I would think taking on Price’s contract would allow the Dodgers to pay less.

18. Gotta think this could put Cole in the 8/300 range. Insane! No way Dodgers going there. Looks like we’re back to Ryu. And is supposed AF interest in Rendon smoke or fire? Time will tell but so think best we could hope for is Ryu and right handed bat not named Rendon

19. MLB Trade Rumors reporting BorASS is seeking 9 or 10 years for Cole.

20. Man, oh man!

    Cole 10 years/$320 Million?

    This is beyond a dope-fiend move!

    I guarantee that between Strasburg and Cole, one of their arms will fall off.

    I also would not give Ryu any more than $54/3 years.

    Donaldson 4 years/$100,000,000? Freaky!

    I ain’t drinking that Kool-Ade.

    1. See my post below. Its crazy bonkers this year.

    2. This is where Boras excels. He only needs two bidders to drive the price and years to insane levels and the Yanks and Angels are ready to do it. The fact that the signings so far have almost all come in at higher levels than expected certainly isn’t hurting Cole’s negotiating position.

21. With the Strasburg contract and the rumor that Cole is seeking a 9 year deal, maybe the Dodgers would be wise to keep out of the feeding frenzy. It looks like Donaldson is seeking a 4 year contract now. I wonder what Rendon is looking for? I want the Dodgers to get Cole and Rendon, but with the numbers being quoted in the rumor mill, I just don’t see it. Maybe the team turns to the trade market. Are there any pitchers available for trade?

22. Time to focus on the trade market, or make sure that May, Gonsolin and Gray develop into the next Cole or Strasburg.

    Even though it isn’t my money, it would pain me to pay that much for either Cole or Strasburg. Heck, I would choke on paying Ryu $54,000,000.00. I’m not confidant that bringing him back, gets us over the hump to a WS championship. The $$$ is getting crazy this winter!!!

    1. I guess you’re saying you don’t want Ryu back 2d2, because Ryu will now do a lot better than 3/54.
       MadBum now wants 5 years and $100MM+ and will probably get pretty close to that.
       Ryu will get at least 4 years and maybe 5.

       1. Precisely! I don’t think that I want him for that kind of money. He’s good when he’s on, but the risk of injury is just to great to justify that type of commitment.

23. These dope fiend contracts is why I admittedly stopped watching baseball in 2015 and 2016 and only watched the playoffs in 2017 before returning to watch and follow the Dodgers consistently since 2018. I couldn’t stay away permanently from the team (the Dodgers) that I have followed since 1977/1978.

24. I recognize that there were some frivolous comments with respect to the unconscionable enormity of Stephen Strasburg’s contract. But this craziness started with Middleton and the Phillies spending “stupid money” on a good but not elite (except one year) Bryce Harper last year. That triggered “stupid money” for Manny Machado.

    This year Middleton doubled down on stupid money with the Zach Wheeler contract. Zach Wheeler may have promise (and possibly not), but he has never demonstrated an ability to exact a $118MM over 5 year contract. That much to a pitcher who could very well become the next Jordan Zimmerman? Of course this was subsequent to the 4 year $64MM contract for Mike Moustakas, which was subsequent to the inane 4 year $34MM contract for Drew Pomeranz. Kyle Gibson should fire his agent for a lousy 3 year $30MM contract.

    Where does Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon end up. It is reported that Cole’s market is developing very quickly and will be signing before the end of the week. It has to be in excess of $300MM, a contract that I could not fathom last week. Jon Heyman is reporting a nine or ten year deal is expected at an amount greater than $300MM. It seems probable that he will sign quickly as it appears that only NYY and LAA will be bidding on Cole. I would not be surprised at all to see Cole sign with NYY for 9 years $320MM.

    It is now reported that Boras is asking for a 7 year deal for Rendon. What happened to the less years higher AAV contract that he wanted? If Arenado got $260MM for 8 years, I can imagine Boras looking at 7 years for $250MM. Texas still figures to be the favorite for Rendon.

    Both Cole’s and Rendon’s contracts seem out of synch with what we have experienced with AF’s appetite for FA contracts. Maybe this is the new normal and AF is going to have to pony up to play. But not this year. Next year’s FA starting pitchers will be headlined by Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, and Robbie Ray. If this year is any indication, Mike Minor might be in for a 9 figure contract. Jake Odorizzi has to be kicking himself for accepting the QO. The owners are going to have to come to their senses next year, and that group of FA pitchers is going to take the hit. At least one would hope.

    With these insane contracts for starting pitching, Boras has already stated that he is looking for 4 years for Ryu. Does anyone really believe that someone is not going to offer 4 years $80MM? Teams that lost out on Cole, Strasburg, and Wheeler might be inclined to go after a MadBum/Ryu package. LAA would be better off signing MadBum and Ryu for significantly less money than Cole. LAA needs more than Cole to contend. Cole by himself makes sense for NYY and LAD, but I cannot see AF playing in this arena. He is going to sign with NYY and the Angels will go after 2 of MadBum, Ryu, and Keuchel. The same for Twins.

    What is even more problematic for LAD is that Corey Seager (2022 FA), Cody Bellinger (2024 FA), and Julio Urias (2024 FA) are all Boras clients. Unless the new CBA completely overhauls the CBT thresholds, there is no way LAD can sign all three without getting into the extreme penalty realm.

    1. No matter what your opinion of him, Boras sure knows how to do his job. Sometimes he swings and misses, but more often than not he puts himself in this type of bargaining position, where he comes out on top. So far, he has played this off-season well for his clients.

25. Thor in July

26. I could actually see AF giving Rendon 7/250 if that would get it done. We don’t have a third baseman ready to take over for JT and I don’t see Seager as a long term solution at third. I’m not even sure we’ll sign him when his contract is up in two years. It’s all a matter of how badly the Rangers or Phillies want him because I’m not at all sure that 7/250 will get the deal done.

    1. 7 years $250MM seemed outlandish last week, but it is probably a bargain this week. Arenado was 8 years $260MM, so go from there.

       The Nats AAV is now up to $170MM. They are going to be all over Josh Donaldson.

       1. AC, I remember when gasoline cost 10 cents a gallon, hamburgers 15 cents, a coke 2 cents. If we hold on to these images, the present times will seem troubling and nothing worth having. We have to get used to the mega money that athletes are bringing and stop calling it dope fiend moves, especially the ones that have proved how valuable they really are. Perceptions of value are arbitrary and relative.

          1. Because gas used to be 10 cents a gallon does not mean that I would be willing to pay $8.00 a gallon because I could afford to. I am fine for paying market rate. There is no way that Stephen Strasburg is worth 32 WAR over the next 7 years. He has had exactly two above average years over his career (2017 and 2019). Many baseball pundits thought that he might regret opting out of 4 years $100MM. So from there he gets 7 years $245MM? There is no way that makes any kind of sense. Good for Stras. Not good for MLB. BTW, I think Stras should give a bonus to Trent Grisham. Without his bonehead OF play in the WC game against the Brewers, the Nats do not get into the NLDS, and Stras never gets to become the WS stud he was. Again good for Stras.

             What the Stras contract did was to blow the Gerrit Cole contract well above market value. Last year Bryce Harper waited until February before he signed 13 years $330MM. Now a pitcher is going to get $325MM for 9 years. So while I recognize and acknowledge that cost of living for everyday expenses have dramatically increased, I am not going to pay $8.00 per gallon for gas, $20.00 for a hamburger, or $10.00 for a coke because some other dude is willing to pay for it.

             I would rather see what Walker Buehler can do at $750K, and Dustin May can do at $565K, and Urias can do for $1MM. The Dodgers would be better with Cole, but he does not guarantee a WS win just as he did not for the Astros that had a better group of starting pitchers than does NYY. I am fine if AF re-signs Ryu for a better market rate. Ryu had a better year than Stras until the playoffs. Maybe the reverse is true next year. The Dodgers are better with Ryu and Rendon than they would be with Cole. Plus I still believe that Clayton Kershaw is p***ed and embarrassed about how 2019 ended. I think he comes back and pulls a 2019 Justin Verlander in 2020. Does anyone really believe that Buehler, Ryu, Kershaw, Urias, and May (or Maeda), is not a tremendous rotation? IMO it matches well with Cole, Severino, Tanaka, Paxton, Happ (German). I am also not anointing Scherzer, Strasburg, Corbin, Sanchez, ??? being better than the Dodgers rotation.

             It should also not be forgotten that the Dodgers have a plethora of prospects that they cannot possibly use all of. I trust AF will pick the correct prospects to package for a difference maker. Okay so they were not willing to pay a Bugatti price for a Lamborghini. AF can still put a team together to match other teams. If the Dodgers do get Rendon, I think he makes Belli and Seager even better with a lot less pressure. I am not about to concede anything to NYY because they are going to sign Cole.

27. I don’t think this insane money stops at free agents. I think trades are going to become more pricey in terms of players.

28. I think Friedman anticipated this when he said the Dodgers don’t have to do anything.

    Patience Grasshoppers. Let the game come to you.

    Friedman has them right where he wants them.

    1. What does that mean?

       Most Dodger fans would like to see one or more of the “big 3” free agents in Blue next year; it seems improbable that this will happen at current prices.

       The best they might be able to do is to reunite with Ryu, so there is not an upgrade but hopefully Ryu can repeat last year’s performance and one or more of the kids can excel.

       How does this mean that “Friedman has them where he wants them”? Fans hoping for an upgrade are not likely to see one.

    2. When AC mentioned the “new normal” above he took the words right out of my mouth. I’m not an expert on baseball finances, but if today’s Strasburg deal is indicative of a new threshold for contracts, maybe the Dodgers will be forced to play at that higher level to remain competitive. Whatever the case, I’m certain that AF and Dodger ownership are aware of what’s necessary, and will structure new contracts at a competitive level,

       I still want Rendon, just not sure what it will take. Not very comfortable offering Cole an 8-10 year mega deal. I think that there are other alternatives, including some of our younger arms.

    3. What have you been smokin’, buddy? Talk about moronic. Hero worship, Mark.

29. Maybe the Nats don’t have any money left for Rendon?

    Draft and develop your own studs. Overpriced FA on the wrong side of 30 are for chumps!

30. These salaries are increasing much faster than the luxury tax threshold. Sooner or later the S…. gonna hit the fan!

31. I’m pretty sure at least one of May, Gonsolin, and Gray will be better than Wheeler. May could better than Wheeler in 2020!

32. Maybe Strasburg has made incremental adjustments that have brought his game to a new level. But personally, I have never considered him to be an elite pitcher. Very good, yes, superstar, no. IMO, he is a very good pitcher who got hot at just the right time, and is not worth anything near what he got today. If I’m right (and I’ve been wrong a lot), then today’s contract is the very definition of a “dope fiend” move),

33. Sell the Dodgers to someone who has the money to compete with the franchises which do.

    The long-term contracts can be burdensome at the tail end, but if you can give a great pitcher or hitter nine years, and he is really good for six of them, it has paid off. I wonder how much it was to sign Kazmir, Pollock, Kelly, and a few others, to the shorter contracts, and then have them not achieve anything, at least so far? Maybe all the other owners are stupid, and the Dodgers and Tampa Bay are the only smart ones? I’d rather put a whole lot of money into a great player, then get three middling players . That’s what Cashman thinks. Let’s see who does better in the next five years.

    1. I’ll take that bet!

       1. Okay, an d I would hope that you would win it, even with the money, but I’m pretty sure that the Yankees; achievements w. ill be more than the Dodgers for the next five-year period. Cashman is very smart, and he works for an organization which is dedicated to winning titles, and is anxious to win several in the next few years after a relative drought. I truly do not know what the Dodgers ownership is anxious to do, but it doesn’t seem like it is winning titles.

    2. Corporate management, William. That is the name of the Dodger game.

34. 2022 lineup
    C Smith and Ruiz
    1B Bellinger
    2B Downs
    3B Hoese
    SS Lux
    LF Beatty
    CF Kimdall
    RF Verdugo

    Buehler, Urias, May, Gonsolin, Fergusson

    1. Maybe sub Gray for Fergusson

35. Does anyone think the Dodgers are really in on Cole, or just being used to drive the bidding up?

    Not sure myself.

    1. Maybe but maybe not.

    2. Cole will be a Yankee and the Dodgers will pivot to Rendon and then work some trades to acquire SP. Ryu still a possibility

36. Dodgers still allegedly after “elite” talent, per MLB Trade Rumors:
    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/west-news-rumors-pham-padres-dodgers-giants.html

37. I predicted Rendon and Ryu back in September. I will stick with that prediction. I think it will come down to the Dodgers and Rangers for Rendon. Count me as someone who would be disappointed if they signed Donaldson to a multi-year deal.

38. Cole is most likely out of Friedman’s price range. Friedman is not going to trade Lux (I agree with that). Does anyone believe Friedman would trade any of Muncy, Turner, Seager (if I HAD TO trade 1 it would be Seager but I wouldn’t do it) to make room for Rendon or Donaldson (I don’t want either)?

    So who is left on the free agent market that is a difference maker?
    Ryu? I don’t know if he will be as good as May or Gonsolin (by the way Urias has way better stats as a reliever). Maybe the first year of Ryu’s contract, possibly 2nd year but I doubt it. But Ryu is going to sign for more than 2 years. Do you sign Ryu?

    I know I keep talking about the bullpen, but that is why we lost game 5 in the playoffs. That and starting Hill in game 4 was a huge mistake that I saw coming from a mile away. Also sticking with Pollock and Seager against their weak sided pitching counterparts and not using Freese enough.

    But I don’t want to re-hash the playoffs. How about shoring up the 7th, 8th, 9th innings of our bullpen? It would bump everyone else down a notch and make the bullpen way better.

    Will Harris is still out there on the free agent market (7th inning). Why not take a chance on Giles 1 year contract, it won’t take much to get him (8th inning). The last piece will cost a lot in players in a trade, a closer (9th inning), My preference Hader, maybe Lugo from the Mets, maybe Bummer from the Chi-Sox but that would move Giles to the closer spot (I don’t have a problem with that).

39. Well darn, I wanted Cole in my Christmas stocking, now I may get coal in my Christmas stocking. We still have options.

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