Who Will Play 2B

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1. Interesting choices. But I still believe they are committed to seeing what Lux can do. If not him I would prefer DJLM. But that is just me. I thought they should have signed him 2 years ago before he went to NY.

2. I posted last week that I wondered if Friedman was having any thought’s about Ha-Seong Kim, I think he would be a very good signing for the Dodgers and a good backup at second if Lux fails to win the second base position. Also can play short and third and only 25 years old.

3. Molly Knight again with an article that makes sense to me. Probably not to those who think I’m dug in on my p.o.v.. Just re-sign Turner for two years. He’s earned it. She also mentions then moving Seager over which with I also agree, but I know how unpopular that is in some circles.

   As I have repeatedly said, I don’t give up on Lux, but that’s me and for those who want to sign DJLM that would be fine but I believe that means trading Lux. He’s a middle infielder who hits and wouldn’t be at all difficult to move.

   I think the team looks good as is. The rotation appears to be set 6 deep and the starting lineup is the one that just won a championship. If we lose replacement players to free agency just find more replacement players to replace them. Ours were actually pretty good, but replacement players are replaceable. I’m thinking there are some veteran players out there that would love to be sitting on our bench.

   This isn’t rocket math. Friedman has proven to be pretty good at what he does. I trust the team will be good again.

   1. I hope they bring back JT and just let Lux do his thing. The kid obviously has talent or he would not be where he is. You can get over the yips with hard work. Look how much Rios improved over a relatively short period of time. I watched recaps of the last 3 playoff games against the Braves and all of the World Series games. I do not think Turner is as far gone as some claim he is. He made a couple of plays that saved their bacon, including a DP on a ball that was scorched. And everyone on the team contributed except poor Beaty who never got a shot. The team is well stocked. May be one or two of the other free agents return. I do not know what AF’s plan is. But you can bet he has one. And with all the uncertainty as to whether there will be fans in the stands will be a factor in determining how much money they feel they can afford to spend. I have even seen some posts by fans who said they are pretending to be broke and are laying off employees. What idiots. They are not broke by any stretch of the imagination, but they for sure lost money.

      1. As everyone knows what JT did was not smart,but we don’t always do what’s smart when we are involved in emotional situations. And those of you ,like myself who have put their everything into something they want so badly,well you should understand how you might do the same.I sure do.Those who have never competed and loved it your whole life don’t understand.

   2. I read that article on the Athletic.

      Cmon Molly we don’t want to know nor care which way your politics lean.

      What a crappy piece of “journalism”. Want to write about Turner fine but don’t re-hash to COVID thing over and over and over again, its DONE with.

      Yeah Im sure LOTS of Dodgers fans went to bed angry that night. I went to bed never happier….at 4AM EST…..

      1. Based on your comment, I went ahead and read the article. Well, I made it through half. Molly Knight sucks and I’m getting to the point of cancelling my subscription because of her. I’m so sick of politics in sports and every other facet of our lives constantly shoving opinion pieces presented as facts down our throats. I was extremely livid to find out that JT was pulled for COVID at the end of the game. I was even more infuriated to find out that reporters and staff that came into contact with the players were permitted to come in and out of the “bubble”.

         If anything, MLB was negligent, not JT. I could not believe that MLB couldn’t get JT’s results in before any players reported to the park. By the time JT came back to the field, everyone he was in contact with had already been exposed to him. It just makes no sense whatsoever to pull him for the last couple of innings in a deciding game. If there was an error at 3B which made the game go the other way, it would have been bedlam.

         1. I believe you may be sick of it because you disagree with her take on politics. I think she’s a gifted writer and a spot on journalist.

            1. No it was pure click bait hit piece.

               So you went to bed angry???

               Give me a break.

         2. 100% agree

         3. “It just makes no sense whatsoever to pull him for the last couple of innings in a deciding game“

            You missed the point completely.

            1. I think I made my point completely. I think she missed the point completely. She’s blaming JT, I’m blaming MLB and I think you like her because you agree with her politics. I’m of the opinion that I shouldn’t even know any sports writer’s politics because it doesn’t belong in sports. You are constantly bringing political opinions into this site, I do not.

            2. No, the point you missed is why he was pulled from the game.

               This has nothing to do with national politics, so please don’t attempt to make it so. It has everything to do with MLB’s position on testing positive. I’ve said repeatedly that him coming back on the field was a mistake. I believe he now knows it was a mistake.

               Did you read the article?

      2. I’ll take your word for it, Matt. I’ve seen Molly’s Twitter feed. No thanks. Unfortunately, she’s almost the norm now in our current culture.

         Angry, judgmental, lacking empathy for others unless as an opportunity to signal virtue, vengeful, endlessly preaching and quick to ruin lives and reputations over ideological infractions – Molly wrote a good book about the Dodgers, but she’s a testament to why it’s a good idea to keep that toxic political culture outta here.

         I had a moderator over at Dodger’s Digest try to smear me in real life over a single innocuous post. This stuff’s scary.

         1. I think you described yourself patch.

            Scary stuff? What are you afraid of? Words? People lie. Some people lie a lot. I’d watch what they do.

            1. What a truly lousy thing to say to say to another member of this community. I think the decent thing would be to apologize for that.

            2. I see. It’s ok for you to use that language about someone you don’t know, but if someone says something similar about you, your panties get rustled.

               I’d say let’s just agree to disagree and move on.

            3. No, that’s not ok. You took a broad statement about our political culture, made it personal, used it as a personal insult, gave a snarky rationalization for that personal insult to give yourself moral cover … and then ask to walk away from it without owning it.

               No, I’m not going to move on.

               Like I said. The decent thing would be to apologize.

               I wasn’t talking specifically about Knight. If you want examples, you can just read the responses to JT’s Tweet after the WS.

               And yes, it is scary. In that other Dodger blog, the moderator used his position to see other things I had written on other more political sites, concluded that he didn’t like what I wrote. Used his position to discover my real identity, where I live and what I do for a living, and then contacted acquaintances of his who may know me or have heard of me in order to hurt my reputation and hurt me professionally.

               Opining on a baseball site is not worth that … but this is the culture we live in.

               Politics is poison. Keep it out of here.

         2. Politics and religion are both toxic. Do not belong on sports blogs.

      3. I didn’t read the article, as I do not have a subscription. I do follow the news, and I see that now Iowa has a 41% positivity rate, meaning almost half the people tested show the virus.. Los Angeles County now has 3,000 cases a day. It is a terrifying problem. Hopefully, a vaccine will be ready, if it can be effectively distributed; and we don’t know how long its efficaciousness would last, people might need several shots a year. I don’t know what Molly Knight said, but in general, it is obvious that there are millions of people in this country who for whatever reason, do not think the virus is real, or serious, or maybe they just think they will not get it, so they refuse to wear masks, thus jeopardizing everyone. I wish that none of this were the case, but it is. I wish that the virus were gone, and I could stop canceling tickets to concerts that I had purchased months in advance, and do other things that I am not doing. I wish that the vast majority of Americans would take this very seriously, and do what is necessary to stop the spread of the virus. That may or may not have anything at all to do with this article, but it would color my reaction to whatever Molly Knight wrote. Dealing with the virus should not be a political issue at all, any more than whether to step into a sinkhole. That everything gets turned into a political issue, is really the core of the problem in America.

         1. Amen

         2. No wiser words were ever spoken:

            Dealing with the virus should not be a political issue at all, any more than whether to step into a sinkhole. That everything gets turned into a political issue, is really the core of the problem in America.

            1. Well said

4. I really like the idea of DJLM and I love that career OPS against lefties. I think he’s very much like a JT type hitter. He makes a lot of contact and has pretty good pop and hits mostly line drives. He has hit in the top of the order pretty much his entire career and could easily slide into that 3 hole in the lineup. He can play second and give Lux another year of seasoning. He can play 3rd, or even wind up in LF at the end of his contract, or when Pollock ultimately gets injured as he frequently does. I would say he’s a perfect fit. Maybe, just maybe he would like a shot at a ring and wants to sign with the Dodgers.

   Ha-Seong Kim is an interesting thought. But, a team that needs a RH bat in the middle of the lineup with World Series repeat aspirations should avoid such a risky endeavor. I think we need more of a sure thing. Korean hitters have been pretty hit and miss transitioning to the MLB.

   The others on the list don’t excite me whatsoever. Especially Left Handed Hitting Tommy La Stella as he does not solve the problem.

   I’ll be holding out hope for DJLM or Kris Bryant. Or, maybe the longest of longshots, Nolan Arenado with JT as the fallback plan. No need to consider DH until we hear that the DH in the NL has been agreed to.

   1. Even with JT starting to decline offensively, he’s still as good or a better offensive player than DJ is right now at Yankee Stadium.

      If you give him the nearly identical JT like contract for 4 years, maybe. That still would potentially create some salary cap headaches in a couple of years if you want to pay the young guys.

      I doubt it.

      1. With 400 at bats I think Justin could easily OPS over .850 again. He’s projected to do close to that. His defense is adequate and he’s a great clubhouse influence, even with the gaffe at the end of the year. His teammates didn’t care about that. Turner is a Dodger and he should stay here as long as he wants. We need more like him, not less. Pay the man and look for the periphery pieces elsewhere. Not a whole lot is needed here.

5. No one knows which way AF will lean. It is all guess work until it isn’t. We do not know what his strategy will be during the winter meetings which now are just a little over 2 weeks away. Who do they protect from the rule 5 draft? Although there seems to be a murmur that not many teams are going to go that route this year. Too much uncertainty. We know the NBA has cut the schedule to 72 games from 82. The Pac-12 is playing 6, and have already had some cancelled due to positive tests. The meetings will be sort of surreal since they will be of a virtual nature. No face to face in smokey hotel rooms. It will all be done by phone. I watched part of the NBA draft last night and it was weird to watch with all the interviews and no fans in attendance. And I only watched it because there was nothing good on TV. There has been very little movement in free agency with the Braves signing of Smyly the only free agent of any significance to sign. I was surprised he got 11 million. AF is going to do what he deems best and I can live with that. Even as much as I like JT, if AF goes in a different direction, well there is nothing we can do about it. Most pundits think the Yanks will bring DJ back. And I think he really wants a shot at a ring. I do not think AF even considers Bryant unless he is non tendered by the Cubs. He won’t trade a bunch of prospects for a one year rental. Just like he won’t do it for Lindor.

6. The Dodgers are not immune to the economic losses of last season and they sre laying off some employees. So I believe Lux needs an opportunity to succeed or fail. I’m in agreement that a good rh bat coming off the bench would suffice. A proven veteran a la David Freese. We should be spending our time looking for who that player is, probably thru a trade.
   Make that trade, sign JT, get a couple bullpen pieces, and then put the phone down, you’re done!

   1. That is exactly how I see it.

      1. I will get right on that .What posistion or posistions do you fellas want this RH hitter to play?Do you have any suggestions? I will do my best to us hooked up.The website can pay me later with a free subscription!

         1. If they keep the DH that would be perfect because I would want a RH hitting infielder capable of 3rd and 1st at least. Trouble is there are not that many of those kinds of players out there.

7. Lux was the MiLB player of the year just a year ago. He hit almost .400 at AAA in 232 PAs. His OBP was nudging upwards toward .500. His wRC+ was 188.

   To say he raked is almost an understatement.

   I find it premature, to put it mildly, to write Lux off after 69 plate appearances in the weirdest of weird pandemic years in the history of the game. The delay disrupted a lot of preparation and development for a lot of players. He made huge strides in his game because he put in the diligent work. If you remember, he was drafted as almost a glove first 2nd baseman. He essentially flipped the script, retooled his swing, began to mash – and also developed a little Steve Sax Syndrome defensively. Give him a real off-season and Spring Training to put in the work again with whoever it was he was working with, maybe he regains that magic.

   He should be given the leeway to be the frontrunner for the 2nd base job.

   DJ only makes sense to me if the Dodgers don’t sign JT and they slot DJ over to 3rd. He would probably be an upgrade defensively even though it’s not his natural position. Offensively, he’s not as much as an upgrade as you’d think. Yes, he’s had 1 1/3 very good years at Yankee Stadium, but I don’t trust 1.33 years when he entire prior career he’s really been subpar offensively except for 2016, even playing half his games at Coors.

   His last 1.33 years have made him overvalued in the market. If there’s one thing we know about AF is that he looks for value that’s under market (except if it’s a real difference maker like Mookie). …and he’s 32. Not happening,

   1. Fact Check.

      Lux was drafted as the shortstop most likely to stick at short in that draft. With the talk of moving Seager to 3rd and / or losing him to free agency, it makes a lot of sense to keep Lux in the system.

      DJLM has played quite a bit of 3rd base over the course of his career playing games at 3rd in parts of 6 seasons out of his 10 year career.

      In addition to 2016, he hit over 300 in the year prior and the year after with 170 and 192 and 189 hits in those three years and with 104, 95, and 90 runs scored. I hardly call that production subpar even though his OPS only topped 800 in one of those three seasons. Remember that our own JT never OPS’d over 800 until his age 29 year.

      1. True. You are right, he was drafted as a SS. I lot of folks here more knowledgeable about baseball than me didn’t like the pick, especially when he didn’t show a lot early on. He changed his swing and spent a lot of hours doing so, and it showed.

         If DJ’s competent at 3rd he gives that positional flexibility that AF likes. It gives options. DJ can play 3rd, but if you want to get the left hand bat of Rios in the lineup, DJ can spot 2nd for Lux.

         Once JT came to the Dodgers and changed his swing, he became a different offensive player. In all 7 years with the Dodgers his lowest OPS was .832. Last year, which began his period of “decline” it was .881. In 2019, which was DJ’s resurgence year in NY and Turner’s declining year in LA, their offense, both in terms of OPS and wRC+, they were virtually identical.

         We’ve had a consistently excellent offensive player in Turner throughout his LA career. DJ was good in 16, and good the last couple of seasons in NY.

         You’ll be paying top dollar for the risk that his performance in NY won’t translate to LA.

8. Quiz…..who was the first free agent the Dodgers ever signed? history: When Joe Black won the rookie of the year award in 1952 he beat out Hoyt Wilhelm, Dick Groat and Eddie Mathews. 2 of those guys are in the Hall.

   1. Leron Lee?

      The best free agent we ever signed was Roberto Clemente.

      1. Best free agent? You got to give that honor to Kirk Gibson or JT since they actually have World Series rings to show for them. Roberto never played a game as a Dodger.

         1. The question was “who was the best free agent the Dodgers ever signed”. Al Campanis, who signed Clemente called him “the best free agent athlete I’ve ever seen”. HOF inductee months after his death.

            1. Okay then, Rickey Henderson.

            2. Yeah, he was pretty good for the first 20 years of his career. Not so much in LA.

            3. I would agree he was a great signing. But he did all of that for the Pirates, not the Dodgers. But I get the argument for him. Someone who performed at a high level as a Dodger? Well, Gibson had the biggest impact. But his over all performance in the 3 years he was in LA was not that great. Other than 88 he did not do much. Henderson was WAY over the hill in LA. He only played in 30 games and hit .208. And Rickey was about Ricky. Overall contribution is his time in LA, you would have to put Turner up there. He was signed as a minor league free agent and came to spring training as a non roster player. Considering what he has done since he has been in LA, he has to be the best free agent they have ever signed. No one else comes close.

      2. Nope, On Nov 22nd 1977 the Dodgers signed Terry Forster, who had been the saves leader in 74 while with the White Sox. He was coming off of a 6-4 1976 season with the Pirates. He was with LA for 5 seasons compiling a 11-13 record with a 3.04 ERA and 27 saves. But I remember him best for giving up a homer to Joe Morgan that cost the Dodgers a chance at the division title. in 1982.

   2. Willie Crawford 1977

      1. Right year, wrong player.

         1. Reggie Smith?

            1. Terry Forster Patch. They traded Joe Ferguson, Fred Tisdale and Bob Deatherage for him on June 15th 1976. That was the trade deadline in those days. Fergie would come back to LA in 1978 in a trade with Houston for Rafael Landestoy and Jeff Leonard. Only time Reggie was a major league free agent, he signed with the Giants after he was granted free agency by the Dodgers.

9. No fans equals no spending. Got to believe it’s gonna be slow going on free agent signings into first of year or until mlb owners get a sense of what next year looks like.

   1. I would agree with that to a point. Some organizations are above it.

      I do expect fans to be back at some point this year, but not early.

   2. Dodgers and most teams will still get some revenue from their TV contracts but not nearly enough to spend willy nilly.

10. Good morning everyone. Thank you for the write-up, AC. I am a Lux supporter and want to see him do well at 2nd, not left field, and I think he can with some hard work which he has shown in the past to be able to do. Remember, he comes from a city called Kenosha, Wisconsin, who suffered a lot of strife this year. Who knows how that might have affected his focus at the short spring training he had with a late arrival that could have been related to the problems there.

    If he can not win the position, then I would welcome JDLM.

    1. “ If he can not win the position, then I would welcome JDLM.”

       Unfortunately, the decision to sign DJLM has to be made before Lux has a chance to win the 2B job in 2021.

       I to am hopeful that Lux can win the job at 2B. I don’t expect him to be traded. AF does not trade that level of prospect except to obtain Mookie.

       I expect JT to be resigned. Only if that does not happen or if it is not in AF’s plans do I see DJLM becoming a Dodger. His (DJLM) ability to also play 3B makes him an option if the Dodgers move on from JT.

11. Excellent article. Jeff!
    I am still in the camp of re-signing JT and giving Lux every chance to earn 2B position. We also have in-house 2B backup options with Taylor, McKinstry and even moving Muncy back to second.
    Of the options outlined, DJL is by far the best, but would likely be only if JT didn’t resign. Cesar Hernandez and Kim are also more affordable, good options, but probably don’t have the upside that Lux could bring.
    With so much uncertainty still in MLB with virus, DH, and CBA expiring, I expect Friedman to be patient and evaluate many alternatives. It is possible that Bryant, Arenado or another big RH bat becomes available without having to give up any top prospects.

12. I question Turner’s legs more than I question his glove or bat.

    Would Seager get a bigger contract as a shortstop than he would as a 3rd baseman?

    1. Turner: I do too. I think he should lose a few pounds. He looked just a bit soft in the middle. He can still hit, so, he has value.

       Seager: shortstop is the position metrics values higher. SS +7.5 runs. Third base +2.5 runs. He’s a minimally + career WAR SS, 2 WAR in 6 years. He could easily do that at third base. His payday will come for his offense. That said, all SS have egos. That is the alpha position on the infield and no doubt he won’t want to move. That said, I think he should move, but I don’t think it happens until he gets his money.

13. Players will insist on getting full salaries for each game played regardless of when fans can attend. I don’t see payrolls expanding this year.

    Adding Lindor or Bryant would have to be offset by not signing Turner etc. or swapping payroll.

    1. Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, Anthony Rendon, Josh Donaldson, Alex Bregman, Kyle Seager, Evan Longoria vs. Xander Bogaerts, Brandon Crawford, and Didi Gregorius not being able thus far to get a pricey multi-year contract might suggest that 3B could be more lucrative. I think a better point might be are 3B better offensive players and is offense paid better than defense. I doubt that Seager’s desire to get his payday is why he wants to stay at SS. Corey sees himself as a SS. Those who differ need to convince AF otherwise.

       1. Maybe the question should have been does a SS who can OPS .900 get paid more than a 3rd baseman who can OPS .900? Yes, Arenado will get paid more than Andrelton Simmons but will he be paid more than Lindor will get?

          1. Since there isn’t a SS to make as much as Arenado or Rendon, I guess we are going to have to wait and see what the Fabulous Five get next year.

14. I go back to the idea that the most obvious thing is probably the right thing.

    Lux will be given every chance to win the starter’s job a 2B.

    Friedman will have at least 2 backup plans. Taylor is an obvious one. I don’t know enough about McKinstry to have an opinion about him. There will be a dark horse or 2 created by some under-the-radar free agent signing or trade.

    LeMahieu is 32 and will be 33 next July. Friedman doesn’t usually sign long term deals for players over 30 and middle infielders don’t age particularly well. Second basemen tend to develop back problems over time due to the number of times that they are hit by baserunners while in awkward positions. Infielders also lose range over time.

    By the way, AC didn’t mention Kike Hernandez as a free agent who can play 2B. Given his positional flexibility and his ability to hit LH pitchers, while I don’t think that he will return it’s just as likely that the Dodgers keep him as it is that they sign some other free agent.

    1. For the record, I keep Kiké if he’s amenable.

15. Because we just paid Mookie, and we will have to shortly pay, and I mean PAY, Seager, Buehler, and Belly, you can bet your left buttcheek that Gavin Lux will get every single opportunity to fail at 2b. Even the rich Dodgers aren’t going to go pay for stars at every position. 2021, most likely, won’t be a truncated season where every game matters 3 times as much. We’re good enough to allow the #2 prospect in the game last year to get 3 months of full time play next year and learn/grow on the job. If he stinks it up, then we can go get a vet 2b in July.

    In my mind, there is ZERO chance we trade for Lindor, or even Arrenado, unless we plan on moving on from Seager, Buehler, or Belly. The money still needs to be allocated properly. Friedman knows that. Once Kersh and Kenley’s large contracts are off the book (Kersh likely resigns but not a $33mil a year), the next group of guys to get paid will get paid. And that entails having cheaper guys filling other roles. Smith, Lux, May, Gonsolin, Graterol, Beaty, McKinstry, etc.

    And don’t forget to throw Urias into that group too, because he will get a nice big contract in a few years.

    p.s. I’ve read some really nice reports of Kim out of South Korea. I wouldn’t be opposed to signing him at all, if he is willing to come.

16. One of the reports on Kim:

    https://www.prospectslive.com/featured-articles/2020/10/8/crunching-the-numbers-ha-seong-kim-is-the-free-agent-that-every-team-should-be-trying-to-sign

17. Lux has had the “yips” on and off for a couple of years. I still see him as a 2B – I do not think he is MLB SS, but that is just my opinion. However, I thought that putting him in LF could help him focus on his hitting for a while and get hs mind off of the “yips.” Yips are a funny thing – some players NEVER got over them. My thinking is to put him in LF where it is less of a factor, but at some point move him back to 2B.

    I do not think the market for any of the other free agents is great, so all could be back on lessor contracts. Nobody is going to be throwing money around this winter.

    1. I think the yips can be overcome with experience. He’s an alpha side infielder being asked to move. Give him time and 600 ground balls a week and he should be fine.

       He’d also find left field easy, and a platoon with he and Pollock is not a bad idea. Taylor and McKinstry at second?

18. Kim from South Korea sounds like a worthy gamble to me. Only 25 years old, and would easily slot into top 100 prospect lists. And he won’t get the sort of deal established MLB players get. The versatility is a big plus too. He’d be a hedge on Seager not getting resigned and Lux not being an MLB shortstop. Lux needs to get a chance to swing the bat in MLB. 2nd base may be the ideal long term spot, but left field may be where the at bats are. No knowing if there will be a DH is a hang up for NL clubs.

    Bring back Turner. 3B/DH sorta platoon with Rios to help keep JT’s legs under him.

    Sign Kim. Unproven sure, but the glove/arm/fielding should translate pretty well. He’ll take less money than DJLM, and have upside. If Seager isn’t resigned he could be next shortstop. Until then, platoon with Lux at 2nd. Take short when Seager breathes, and even 3rd with Turner and Rios.

    Lux at 2nd and LF. Spot start at short occasionally. He needs 400+ AB’s regardless of where he’s playing.

    My dream scenario is Buehler, Seager, Urias, and Bellinger are extended. Buehler and Urias showed they can lead the pitching staff to a WS win. Seager will be a SS for a while, but maybe he’ll be amenable to 3B at some point with an extension. Bellinger has been a little up and down, but even his down years with the bat are great for a gold glove worthy CF, and MVP upside in an up year. It’d be spendy to lock these 4 down with Mookie but it makes me think of the Yankees dynasty when they had Jeter, Posada, Williams, Petite core that dominated for most of a decade.

    1. If Lux were to moved to the outfield it should be to CF and then Belli would go to first or to the Yankees for Gleyber, that was for you bear.

       1. Thanks Bum. But I am not trading Belli for anyone.

19. What about Daniel Murphy as a RH Bench Piece, and back up for Lux at 2B?

    1. he’s a left handed hitter. But man, I remember how he was sooooo tough for us to get out in 2015 and 2016 playoffs!!

       1. Ha – totally forgot DM was left handed.
          Bottom of the Class.

    2. His projected line is .262 .317 .413 .730 with 269 at bats. Probably better than Kike’ and equal to Taylor so should be in the picture but I would prefer to have Kike’ back if the salary is similar.

20. So here’s a wild, outside the box thought:

    The Cubs will likely have a fire sale to shed salaries. Kris Bryant likely will earn around $18mil next year, after OPS’ing .604 in 2020. The Cubs don’t want to pay that, but also likely will have no takers that would take Bryant, pay him $18mil for 1 year, AND give up some quality assets in return. There’s even talk that the Cubs could just non tender him. I’m sure most teams are waiting for the Cubs to blink.

    What if we jumped in, and said, hey, we’ll take Bryant, pay him $18mil in 2021, and in return give you Pollock, who earns $15, $10, and $10mil the next 3 years. We obviously would give decent minor leaguer(s), and/or pay some of Pollock salary. This would give the Cubs some cash relief, still have a quality LF, AND get a prospect or 2.

    That would allow us to shed the rest of Pollock’s 3 years, and stick Bryant in LF. Assuming he’s healthy, and we can get him back to form, we get a young former MVP on a 1 year tryout, where he’d want to do well to get his big contract after 2021 is over. He could be that RH power bat we want.

    Now, I say all this not having watched him that much the last few years, so I don’t know if he’s injured, or just lost it.

    1. Or, maybe trade Muncy and his $8.5M salary for Bryant. Cubs save $$ and Dodgers swap a lefty bat for a righty bat who can play first base.

       Betts, Seager, Bryant, Bellinger, Smith, Lux, Pollock, Rios.

21. Exceptionally good content here recently.

    I think AF is being coy about the RH bat. It’s clear Turner is as good any option out there but has the right to take a larger contact if offered.

    Even with Turner we could use a bench RH bat beside Taylor [and Barnes]. I’d prefer a true OF as I think McKinstry will be able to replace Hernadez positionally if not in output.

    Of course we’ll add a reliever or three, but I’d really like to shore up the rotation. A lingering memory of the postseason was our bullpen games. Yes the daily format was a factor but still there’s no reason not to devote $5-10 mil for rotation insurance.

    And lock up Seags.

    1. Take a chance on Kluber.

       1. I’d be ok with that. Archer, Morton, etc.

22. Is there any player in mlb we haven’t mentioned yet!

    1. Judge…….I would love to see his bat in that lineup, but he won’t be available. Teams have to submit their rosters tomorrow so we will see who gets protected and who does not. Dodgers have a lot of roster space, but I would guess they only protect a couple of those minor leaguers who can be taken in the rule 5 draft.

    2. Logan Forsythe

23. Speaking of free agency,what about our future free agents and how much do we pay them.Be the GM and propose the contract for our guys.Kershaw is a F A after this season as is Seaver.Muncy,Bellinger and Urias become FA after 2023 season.Buehler becomes FA after 2025. How much will these 2 years affect contracts!

24. Lux will bring energy to the team next year.

    1. Kike would bring even more energy to the team next year. They really need to sign Kike for a number of reasons.

       I saw the curfew being placed on California, man am I glad I moved recently. I’m reminded of the Dead Kennedys song in the 70s when Moonbeam was governor, CALIFORNIA UBER ALLES. Time for an updated cover.

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