One of the problems the Dodgers have of going “big game hunting” is that in order to get someone special, one needs to give up someone special. More than most teams, the Dodgers are very reluctant to give up their top prospects. Is it any surprise that teams are requiring Gavin Lux or Dustin May for an elite difference making pitcher (or Lindor or Mookie)? There is a big gap between Lux and the next level; Jeter Downs, Jacob Amaya, Omar Estevez. The Dodgers have four middle infield prospects in their top 15. That is also not to slight middle infield prospects the Dodgers are also high on…Zach McKinstry and Devin Mann. Nor does it include 2B Michael Busch who may just be a better future DH candidate
Downs might get some interest in a package for a top player, but Amaya and Estevez are not going to be top prospects other teams are looking to latch onto. I like Jacob Amaya, but he is all of 9 1/2 months younger than Gavin Lux, and Lux is now a ML player and Jacob has 21 games and 80 AB at Rancho. Jeter Downs who is 8 months younger than Lux had 40 AB at Tulsa. Who do you think Cleveland is going to insist on for Mike Clevinger or Frankie Lindor?
As good as they were for the Dodgers, who do you think is calling AF non-stop to check into what they can get for Matt Beaty/Edwin Rios/Kyle Garlick/Josh Sborz? Like Mann and McKinstry, they are role players, not difference makers. The only potential difference maker of that group is Rios, but he is more of a DH candidate than 3B/1B.
I consider Lux and May as the only two “untouchables”. But it would take a lot to trade Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz, and next level, Downs and Tony Gonsolin. Those four could be traded if the return is a significant upgrade at the position sought. It was rumored that AF was willing to trade Ruiz in a deal for Vazquez, so it is safe to say that Ruiz could be traded. With Smith having several years of control remaining, and Diego Cartaya not that far behind, Ruiz could be the focal point in a trade for a difference maker. For the current time, Austin Barnes can be an adequate back up catcher at the ML level. That is also not taking into consideration another top catching prospect, Connor Wong. Yes Wong can also play 2B, but what that tells me is that he is more valuable as a utility player than as an everyday catcher, which is what catcher starving teams are looking for.
One of my pet peeves is that the team seemingly holds onto these prospects too long. AF seems to do that more than any other President of Baseball Operations/GM. He obviously believes in his prospects. But at some point, the team needs to move some of their prospects for an elite player/pitcher, or risk losing the trade value at their zenith.
How many catchers do the Dodgers really need after Smith and Barnes. Ruiz, Cartaya, and Wong are top prospects. The next level seems to be Hunter Feduccia and Jair Camargo. While neither project to be starting ML catchers, both Feduccia and Camargo could be MLB backups.
The Dodgers have a luxury of starting pitching talent up and down the organization. Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Josiah Gray, Michael Grove, Ryan Pepiot, Edwin Uceta, Robinson Ortiz, Andre Jackson, and John Rooney are all starting pitchers listed in the Top 30 prospects. That does not include Jimmy Lewis who should make his professional debut this year. It also does not include any of the break through potential pitcher candidates at the lower levels, like Leo Crawford and Jack Little. AF loves his depth at starting pitching.
Some of those pitching prospects will lose their potential as starting pitchers, but could be huge relief options. Three previously considered top starting pitcher prospects seem destined for the bullpen. One is there already (Jordan Sheffield), and two others may start at AAA (Mitchell White and Dennis Santana) where starters are needed, but with the Dodgers they are definitely forecast to be relief pitchers. What would White and Santana have been worth in a trade a couple of years back when they were still considered legit mid-level starters. Now they are more valuable to the Dodgers as potential lightning in a bottle late inning high leverage relievers than they could be as trade chips. Does the same future loom for Gray/Gonsolin/Grove/ etc.? Gray and Gonsolin’s value are not going to get higher as prospects. Might it be a better leverage of talent to move them while they are still highly considered rather than let them suffer the Zach Lee syndrome?
The Dodgers seem to have a huge prospect talent level at middle infield, catcher, and pitching. It seems reasonable that some of the depth could be moved to make room for either someone special at the ML level or for high prospects at positions where the Dodgers are not very deep at all at. If one of the higher rated prospects at middle infield, catcher, or pitching are moved, surely the one deemed right below the prospect that is moved is capable of moving up. That is not to say that a prospect has to be moved for no real return, just to make room for next man up.
With Max Muncy, Edwin Rios, and Matt Beaty all capable of playing 1B at the ML level, they certainly have sufficient 1B for right now. Maybe Tyler White impresses at ST, giving them a fourth 1B (or maybe not). Muncy has the least number of years of control, and he has three years remaining. By the time he is ready to become a FA, I am betting that the NL will have DH, and Max would be great in that role. Do they need both Rios and Beaty? If Muncy and JT are future DH candidates, then Rios is a luxury who showed significant power to be a valuable LH bat for some team. But who is capable at the minor league level? Christian Santana and Miguel Vargas are both 3B and 1B candidates. After that, Dillon Paulson is much further down the food chain.
After it is determined that JT is no longer capable of playing regularly at 3B, who do the Dodgers have in the waiting to replace him? Christian Santana and Miguel Vargas are both considered 3B prospects as well as 1B. Devin Mann and Zach McKinstry can both play 3B, but they are more utility players. The closest 3B prospect may be Kody Hoese. He is capable of playing ML 3B, and he seemingly has the power to be a legit 3B prospect. The downside is that he was just drafted and has not played past Great Lakes. He is certainly not Alex Bregman, but he could be a legit ML 3B by 2022 or 2023. Mark likes to push these guys faster than they are capable, but Hoese is someone who needs to be pushed because 3B is a position of need. Let’s see what he has and determine if he is the future LAD 3B or do they still need to keep looking.
The biggest logjam at the ML level is also the biggest weakness at the MiLB level…OF. The Dodgers have all of two OF prospects in their top 30, and one of those (Luis Rodriguez) is 17. The other is DJ Peters, and he could be a terrific OF candidate if he could only cut his strikeouts to an acceptable level. He could be the Dodgers top RH hitter or be a bust. The Dodgers need to probably hold onto DJ because they have no one else. The AAA OF is Zach Reks and Connor Joe, and AA is Drew Avans, Donovan Casey, Logan Landon, Carlos Rincon, and Cody Thomas. Every one of those OF has a ceiling of AAAA. At the Rancho level, the cupboards are also bare with Jeren Kendall, Starling Heredia and Brayan Morales. The Dodgers have no choice but to continue to work with Kendall because of his outstanding GG capable CF and speed, but he still shows no signs of making sufficient contact to become a ML hitter. Jayne Cobb talks about what a wonderful young man he is, and I am more than convinced that he is exactly that. But he needs more to be a ML CF.
Someone like Andy Pages may emerge from the lower levels, but the team needs better options than what they presently have.
Let’s assume that no team is going to trade a true difference maker to LAD without one of the untouchables or near untouchables going back. AF has shown he would rather walk, and that does not mean he does not want to win. It means his strategy is that the best elite players are developed internally, and he would rather hold on to Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, Alex Verdugo, Will Smith, and Julio Urias than trade them. The same appears to be true with Gavin Lux and Dustin May. Thus maybe it would be best to move some of the surplus at middle infield, catching, and pitching talent for highly considered lower level prospects to keep the pipeline moving and not stall out. After all, they ALL cannot play for LAD
Nice writeup AC! Thank you for that.
As far as outfield goes, we do have one big crutch to lean on as we replenish the elite minor league OF talent: that is that our current big league OF options are cheap and young. Sure Pollock is 32, but he’s on a relatively cheap contract. Otherwise, Belly, Verdugo, Joc, Beaty, Kike/CT3 are all young and quite cheap, so there isn’t an immediate need for an impact OF to be pushed. If/when we do trade for Mookie, and resign him to a long deal, we will have CF (Belly) and RF (Mookie) for the next 10 years locked up, barring injury. That gives us amazing flexibility to find the cheapest, most talented, young left fielder we can get. Some have said Jeter Downs could be a fit in LF (and even 3b).
But your article does point out why I think we need to make that deal for Betts. There is no elite guy coming anytime soon, so getting and resigning Betts takes care of that issue for several years.
By the way, I’m glad we’re talking about this, and not about trash cans and buzzers!
A lot to cover on an early Saturday morning, so please pardon my rambling. I believe Jeter Downs should be considered for third base. I watched him play and practice several times in spring training 2019, and I think his quickness and hands would play very well at third, and it appears that he has lightning in his bat. Apparently the Dodgers are also considering him for the OF. Some have written that the team is considering him as a utility player, but I don’t agree; it may work out that way, but I think Dodgers are giving themselves options where he might play regularly. Pursuing elite talent will always result in the other team wanting the best players / prospects in return, but when the elite players only have one (Betts), or two seasons (Lindor / Bryant) before free agency asking for Lux and other top prospects is just hoping that Friedman blinks — and that is not going to happen. I like Betts, and Bryant for the right price — not so much Lindor as I prefer to keep Seager at shortstop. Fortunately the Dodgers will not need an OF prospect to step up for a couple of years, at least. After 2020 season Betts and George Springer are free agents, and possibly Bryant who can also play LF. And, Downs, Hoese, and Busch could be moved to the OF if necessary. Pitching – Dodgers have 4 pitchers who can become free agents after 2020 (Baez, Treinen, Nelson, and Wood), and three more after 2021 (Kershaw, Jansen, and Kelly) — you can never have enough pitching.
If Friedman had been in the 90’s he would never have changed Pedro Martínez and Konerko and Piazza would have given him an extension, the same for Beltre later.
To the special prospects he does not change them (Joc, Seager, Urias, Bellinger, Buehler, Executioner, Smith, May, etc.) and to the special players he gives them an extension (Turner, Kershaw, Jansen).
Or not let a FA like Adrian Beltre go.
Good column, AC.
The debate in baseball for the last few years is whether teams overvalue prospects and that certainly has been a point of contention and discussion regarding the Dodgers. There is the prospects are suspects crowd, who firmly believe you take every opportunity to get better and set up the team for a post season run, even if it means trading those elite prospects.
Some point to the Cubs decision to trade Gleyber Torres to the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman (if not now, when?).
Was Chapman the difference maker and the reason the Cubs won the World Series? Well, you could make the argument, he contributed. But he was far from lights out, had a nearly 4 ERA in the NL title series against the Dodgers. Had a 3.52 ERA against the Indians in the World Series. But he ended up winning a game in each series. The Cubs may have won both series without him. We’ll never know. But Torres is an exceptional talent performing at a high level for the Yankees. Oh yes, the Yankees re-signed Chapman, the best of all worlds for New York.
The Cubs? They seem to have fallen on hard times and are stuck with some pretty bad contracts, Jason Heyward, Jon Lester and company. Torres would look like a gemstone on that roster, someone to build around.
Do the Dodgers overvalue their prospects as some have suggested? I don’t think so. They protect the elite ones (Gavin Lux, Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Walker Buehler, Will Smith, Dustin May, Julio Urias).
They have made big trades. They acquired difference makers such as Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez … and some very good young pitching talent like Alex Wood, who had a big role in the 2017 run. Darvish pitched well in ‘17 until the World Series, Hill performed well and helped lead the Dodgers to several NL West titles, Ramirez was a key to the 2013 run and may have helped the Dodgers get to the World Series, if not for getting hit by a pitch in the wrist during the playoff series against the Cardinals.
Overall you have to give credit to Andrew Friedman and before him Ned Colletti for not trading the elite prospects who now form the foundation of the current team.
And AF has yet to trade a prospect that has gone on to become an MLB everyday player much less a star so I would assume a lot of GM’s are a little leary of doing business with him. He’s got a great eye for talent
Yordan Alvarez may fit the bill here.
Got me there
Under no circumstances do I trade Josiah Gray he should be considered Untouchable.
To you it is Jo Jo Gray. To Mark it is KayBear. To others it is Jeter Downs. Some like Gonsolin more than May. Almost everyone believes that Lux is a must to stay. And my guess is that none of them will get moved. All of the top 7 are deserving in some respects as untouchable.
Then there is DJ Peters. With no real OF depth at all, how can he be moved unless AF plans on extending Joc. That would seem absurd from the outside looking in because with Belli and Dugie, they are already loaded with LH bats. But AF likes his own players rather than FA, and if Joc is comfortable platooning with AJ (or CT3), is it really that unthinkable that AF will make Joc a very good extension offer? Or he really believes he can outbid other teams for Mookie or George Springer next year. It certainly looks as if Mookie is more mercenary than most others and will go where the big bucks are. That does give the Dodgers hope. I have no clue about Springer, but he will be 31 after this year, and with one last shot at the big money and length of contract, what will he be looking for?
The Dodgers are blessed with a good to great MiLB organization, and with the relative youth on their existing roster, they have all sorts of avenues to improve the 26 man come October.
AC…I really liked your breakdown of the Dodger minor league players, their values to the team now and in the future. It really gave me a good idea of the depth we have. I agree, there are some very good players that I wish were not blocked from coming up to the big club. It is true, you can not play them all and a lot of them might be starters on another club although, as a fan, and in a “mom’s” fashion, hate to see them leave.
Good article AC!! The Dodgers have an abundance of talent, although not necessarily top-tier all-star quality. I think this coming year will be very informative as to which prospects take big steps forward and separate themselves from the pack.
A couple of prospects from the Dominican Summer League to keep and eye on are: Jeremy Rosario, a 17 year old pitcher who is up to 95 MPH and had a .178 BA against and a 0.95 WHIP last year over 43 innings. He profiles as a starter. There is is also Alex De Jesus, a power hitting shortstop, who looks very intriguing.
I love to follow the DSL. You just never know. I wrote about Jerming Rosario and Alex De Jesus a couple of weeks back. Another one I mentioned that I hope to be following in the US in 2020, is 17 year old RHP Heisell Baro. Luis Rodriguez (LRod – he already has a nickname) will start in the DSL, but should be in Arizona by the time the AZL starts in June. Luis is not as touted as the Marlins Victor Victor Mesa or NYY’s Jasson Dominquez, but he is considered a special talent.
Other International players to watch this year: Kristian Cardozo, a Venezuelan righty, who’s ranked comparably to Jerming Rosario was last year. Cardozo has been up to 92 mph and also features a curveball and changeup, and his fastball has some tailing action as well. He should stay in the DSL all season
Former LL star Yeiner Fernandez, yet another Venezuelan catcher to follow Keibert Ruiz and Diego Cartaya.
Slick fielding Dominican SS Darol Garcia who is reportedly good enough to stay at SS. He also has that JT big leg kick as a hitter which we know LAD loves.
The Dodgers have their own OF named Sosa…Victor, and still another Venezuelan. There are multiple others to follow next spring in the DSL.
Next summer the Dodgers are expected to ink another Venezuelan, SS Wilman Diaz.
David Vassegh interviewed Alex Wood last night and Wood said he spoke to Friedman about his role on the team and basically said that he and Friedman agreed that he would be a starting pitcher.
So with Maeda demanding to be a starting pitcher along with Wood, that leaves only 1 spot in the starting rotation for the young guys.
Wood is A LOT better as a reliever, but oh well. Urias is another that is A LOT better as a reliever and yet Friedman said he could be in the starting rotation too.
In the small sample that May has, he is better as a starting pitcher and I believe May was strictly a starting pitcher in the minors.
Interesting. Friedman has already stated that Urias would be in the starting rotation, so that is 5: Buehler, Kershaw, Urias, Wood, and Maeda. I think Nelson also expects to be a starter at some point.
It sure seems that AF is not yet ready to start the season with May and Gonsolin on the 26 man . It looks as if he expects May and Gonsolin to start the year in OKC and then come up as needed. I do trust AF to know when it is time to fully cut loose on the kids. As a fan of the kids, I would like to see May in the rotation, but apparently AF has advised Urias/Maeda/Wood that they will all be in the rotation. With Nelson and Strip in the pen ready to start if needed, and May and Gonsolin (White and Santana) down in OKC to be recalled, that is 11 potential starting pitchers. Will they need all 11? In some capacity I am sure. That is an AF team.
Didn’t Friedman make the comment about Urias possibly being in the starting rotation right after the season ended when the Dodgers had multiple openings in the starting rotation? Or did I miss a comment from Friedman recently?
He did say Urias would start. With Buehler and Kersh locked as starters, and with Maeda, Urias, and Wood seemingly being told they are starters, that leaves May and Gonsolin probably starting the year at OKC.
You need to read between the lines folks. I don’t recall AF saying that Buehler and CK are going to be starters in 2020 so obviously they’re moving to the bullpen. Glad I was available to interpret that information for you. 🙂
But for AF the starting rotation is now 6-7 pitchers instead of 5.
As Bill Plunkett of the OC Register pointed out, the Dodgers, over the past few years, have used at least nine starters each season.
A well done article which pinpoints what is really at the crux of many of the discussions which we Dodgers fans have. Do we hold onto our prospects too parsimoniously, and thus make it almost impossible for us to land a proven major league star in a trade? It would seem so, although some would of course differ as to whether it is “too parsimoniously<" or "astutely." But at least we might agree that we obviously have trouble consummating any major trades, because most teams want prospects in return, and we are not inclined to give any of them up, not the major ones. So no trades, except some minor league deals, or dumping salary for prospects from the other teams.
I am not knowledgeable enough to precisely rate the talents and potential of our minor league players. Few are, though some here are more involved in ,and better at, than I am. But of course Friedman has the edge over any of us in terms of having access to all the scouring reports, talking to his minor league managers, etc. So it is always speculation on the fans' part, which is understandable, though it does give the organization cover to rationalize any non-deals.
I think that this organization has overrated its prospects for decades. Not all of them, of course. But I remember so many players whom we held onto, until they were not worth anything on the trade market. Greg Brock, Dave Anderson, Billy Ashley come to mind. I think we've held onto Pederson too long, though obviously he hits home runs. Maybe Stripling, too, though of course some feel that he is on the cusp of being a very good pitcher. Maybe even Urias, who has been with us for five years or so, and hasn't really done too much, though obviously a major injury was a big factor. We don't have many stars at the major league level, and so we have almost no one to trade except prospects. Refuse to trade the prospects, and unless we spend big for a free agent, we get no stars from other teams. Other franchises manage to do so, though of course some of the acquisitions turn out to be mistakes, but some pay off big.
Other GMs are not stupid, the quality of front offices has generally gone up over the last decade, an d of course they have vast access to analytical data, whereas forty years ago, it was mostly "eye tests," and acumen. We are not going to bilk other teams , we will have to give up good talent in prospects to get already proven talent. That really is the game: teams contending for titles are willing to give up prospects to teams which are not contending and want to rebuild. But we don't do it. So ultimately, apparently like this offseason, we make no trades, and then we have to fall back on counting on our young players to make up for it.
I would be inclined to trade for Arenado, who certainly is not someone of whom we could say, "Well, he just didn't want to play here." He would upgrade the lineup. What do we do with Turner? We could put him back on second base, and ease Lux in, figuring that Turner always misses about two months worth of games now. Perhaps Lux could play the outfield some, we move everybody else around, and we have an open outfield spot. If Arenado isn't at the ideal position for us to trade for, we still need a strong right-handed bat, I thought that was one of our major needs, but we have done zero to fix that. Or trade for Betts, IF we are willing to pay big money for him as a FA, and he seems interested in being here. That would be a great addition. Or we could just hold on to all the prospects, and let Arenado go to the Cardinals to team with Goldschmidt, and improve a team which got to the NLCS last year.
What makes a GM truly great is the capacity to take a few risks with trades, and to know which prospects should simply not be traded, and which are valuable prospects, but ones whom your added proven talent will be worth it. We can go through a list of our prospects and pick out ones whom we would be wiling o give up because they are not as good as the others, but the other GMs mostly know that, too, they are not dupes. You have to give up something to get something in current baseball. It is never fun to lose a young player, some fans are very attached to the new talent, maybe because it is "unsullied" by disappointments in play at this stage. I do remember the Dodgers of past eras obtaining players like Moon, Osteen, John, Messersmith, Smith, Baker, Hooten, all of whom were important in winning pennants, and sometimes titles. Such acquisitions can make the difference. Give up something to get something more immediately helpful. In baseball, the future is more “now” than five seasons away.
AF certainly knows when it is time to bring up the rookies. He does not rush then. I thought Lux should of been up mid season last year. I agree with AC that Gosolin and May will be at OKC until they are needed. AF does not throw them into the fire. If one does really well this spring they may force AF’s hand. I like our home grown kids. He will not trade Seager. He is loyal to his players.
Great article AC! So much detail on the prospects!
If AF insists on keeping the elite prospects, then he needs to spend more on top free agents.
I agreed with his pursuit of Cole and a $300 million offer was very aggressive. Acquiring Cole would have made the dodgers the WS favorite instead of the Yankees. I commend AF for his bid, however, it is disappointing that AF did not sign any of the top 20 free agents this year. Yes, Cole, Rendon and Strasburg preferred other locations, but AF should have known their preferences early on and should have executed on a Plan B. The biggest need for the Dodgers to be a postseason threat is a top starting pitcher, and they let two starters walk without adequately replacing them. Yes they could use an elite bat like Betts, Bryant, or Lindor, but starting pitching is even more important, IMO.
Now that free agency is effectively over, I believe the following were the biggest missed opportunities for LAD.
1) Ryu – He signed for 4 yrs/$80 million as the MLB era leader in 2019. Even at this price tag the dodgers have more than $20 million under the CBT to make it work. However, the dodgers had multiple opportunities to extend Ryu at a lower cost. Last off-season, Ryu likely would have signed for 3yrs/$40 million. During the season or immediately after, the season, the cost to resign him would have been less. And even if they would have given Ryu 3yrs/$60 million with 4th year vesting option, he likely would have chosen dodgers over Toronto. Ryu was a respected dodger who performed well, and the team is not as good without him on the roster.
2) Cole Hamels – Signed for 1 yr/$18 million. Hamels pitched very well for the Cubs in 2018 (2.36 era) and in 2019 until pitching hurt (2.84 era until Aug). Hamels provides an option as a 3rd starter without any long term commitment.
3) Corey Kluber – traded to Rangers for their 30th rated prospect. Contract of 1yr/$17.5 million plus team option for another year. Kluber struggled early in 2019 before injury ended his year. He was a top 5 pitcher in baseball from 2014-2018, and while this comes with risk, he has the talent to be a #1 starter.
4) Will Harris – 3yrs/$24 million. Harris had 1.50 ERA and 0.93 Whip in 2019. Yes he is 35 yrs old, but has had 5 good years in a row with lifetime era of 2.84. I would have preferred Will Smith, but he preferred ATL or SFG and signed early.
5) Josh Donaldson – signed 4yrs/$92 million with $20 mill AAV. After failing to land any top pitchers, the dodgers could have easily pivoted to filling the need to add a top RH bat. A 4 year contract is risky but the AAV is low and could easily fit in Dodgers budget. Donaldson has been a 5+ WAR player for 6 of last 7 years. The biggest issue with this signing is moving JT off of 3B, but it would provide great depth, and allow LAD not to rush Lux until ready.
I will likely be wrong on these preferences as the free agent market has more misses than hits, but these seem like good options that the dodgers passed up. Of course, AF and dodgers are much smarter and have much more information than me, so hopefully, their approach works.
1. Don’t forget who Ryu’s agent is. He was not going to sign an extension last year. Boras would not have let him. I also believe he was dead set on 4 years. The other option for Ryu was he would have been happy to go back to Korea to end his career. Ryu is a fine young man, but I cannot see him being good for three years much less four. I hope I am wrong.
2. Hamels for one year could have been interesting. High AAV, low # of years. I think Atlanta picked him up more as a mentor for the “kids”, but believe he will be fine in the rotation. Probably a #5 at this stage of his career.
3. I would be a real hypocrite if I did not agree with you on Kluber. I have been pining for Kluber since the end of the 2018 season. Texas is going to be an interesting team to follow.
4. I still believe the #1 and only real difference making FA reliever was Will Smith. But after he chose to go to Atlanta rather than accept the SF QO, there really wasn’t any FA reliever that I was enamored with. With that said, once Blake Treinen was not offered a contract and he became a FA, I was a huge advocate. There was no FA reliever that has the ceiling that Treinen has. Like all relievers, he is a risk, and at $10MM a fairly expensive one, but if he is right, and with a one year contract he has every reason to be right, he is a game changer. AF seems to get these guys. With the number of Dodger MiLB relievers coming hard, one year of Treinen at $10MM very well could be a better deal than 3 years and $24MM for a 35 year old who did not pitch well at all in Games 6 and 7 in last year’s WS.
5. I am not at all convinced that Josh Donaldson is a better overall 3B than JT much less at 4 years and $92MM. I am also not convinced he is worthy of holding Lux back for another year. Now Nolan Arenado is another matter.
Excellent points, AC!
At this point have to hope for young pitchers to excel, and make a move for a top starter and/or bat at the trade deadline!
The first 4 lines of the chorus of The Gambler by Kenny Rogers says it all, in my opinion.
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
I think AF does this well.
You beat me too it DBM. I was just going to post the same lyrics.
Great minds 2D2, lol.
Greetings from SF. Staying at the Argonaut Hotel @ Fisherman’s Wharf. Nice view of Alcatraz. Heading out to dinner and Rutherford’s tomorrow.
Rutherford Grill, no doubt.
Winner, winner Chicken Dinner.
I hope to see a fellow Dodger fan there as well.
Sounds like a great visit MT. Enjoy! Say hello to Farhan if you should happen to bump into him.
Farham and I run in different circles.
His loss 😉
Sounds like hamsters.
Mark check out Biscuits and Blues for a fun night of music while you’re there
With all the talk of possibly completing a deal with Boston for Mookie Betts, I was wondering whether or not the Dodgers are wary of doing a deal for Betts before the results of MLB’s investigation into the Red Sox is completed. Until that happens the Dodgers are in the dark regarding Betts’ involvement in any Red Sox scandal. Also, Betts is no doubt a very talented player, but there still has to be some questions regarding the MVP numbers he put up in 2018.
I was thinking the same.. 2 of the RH bats are OFs that are from teams that cheated Betts and Springer. I’d rather the Dodgers go after Bryant… afterall he could play 3B and LF and comes cheaper..if he’s ruled ineligible for free agency until after 2021 you’ll have 1 or 2 more quality prospects to add to get a deal done.. I would go after him with both barrels..get him.. and sign an extension..Kris is gonna be a superstar… one more thing while I’m rambling. Matt Beaty is gonna be good if he gets the chance. Look at his stats throughout his career.. He hits everywhere he’s been. I would make him part of the rotation somewhere. Get him 400 ABs. He’s gonna look just like Muncy.
I break it down this way. Trade prospects for the short term gain, keep them for the long term gain.
I was thinking the same.. 2 of the RH bats are OFs that are from teams that cheated Betts and Springer. I’d rather the Dodgers go after Bryant… afterall he could play 3B and LF and comes cheaper..if he’s ruled ineligible for free agency until after 2021 you’ll have 1 or 2 more quality prospects to add to get a deal done.. I would go after him with both barrels..get him.. and sign an extension..Kris is gonna be a superstar… one more thing while I’m rambling. Matt Beaty is gonna be good if he gets the chance. Look at his stats throughout his career.. He hits everywhere he’s been. I would make him part of the rotation somewhere. Get him 400 ABs. He’s gonna look just like Muncy.