Dodgers Press Release: Internationally Speaking

This article has 68 Comments

1. Seager to get $13.75 MM per MLB Trade Rumors

2. According to one of the SD beat writers, it’s now down to 5 teams for Yates and the Padres aren’t one of them. They would have to substantially up their offer in order to be competitive. He doesn’t name the 5 teams.

   Maybe by the time the weekend is over we’ll have Yates and JT on the 2021 roster…………………………………….or not.

3. Kluber to the Yankees!

   1. 1 year $11MM. Now we know why DJLM has a 6 year deal. This contract for Kluber didn’t just come together this afternoon. NYY is now projected to be $10MM below CBT Threshold.

      This has the potential for being a bargain like DJLM was 2 years ago, or it could be a bust. He works with Mark Cressey, who is the head of the NYY Training staff and has in own sports complex. Cressey has seen him, worked with him, and I am sure he has advised NYY as to whether Kluber is legit for 2021. Kluber (like DJLM) was always going to be a NYY. I know there are those here who will say that Kluber is done, but Cressey has worked with him throughout his rehab and says he will be a ML pitcher in 2021. Cressey could be wrong, but until proven otherwise, I am going with his prognostication.

4. Phillies offer J.T. Realmuto 5-year, 9-figure deal… allegedly!

5. Damn, the damn has been broken. Can’t wait to see what we do

6. We signed 22 international players today. If you’ll notice, half of them are from Venezuela. AF has obviously found an advantage there and wants to play it for as long as he can.

   1. Good bye Cuba, hello Venezuela.

7. With Bellinger and Seager now under contract at $16.1MM and $13.75MM respectively, the Dodgers are now down to approximately $8MM under CBT. There are three remaining players whose salary is still TBD, and whatever the differences between what Cot’s projects and the actual, will define the final amount south of CBT threshold. Cot’s projects salaries as follows:

   Buehler – $2.4MM
   Urias – $2.6MM
   Barnes – $1.75MM

   I am guessing that Buehler will get closer to what Max Fried agreed to, $3.5MM, possibly more. Buehler’s career numbers are superior to Fried’s.

   As of now, if the Dodgers sign JT, they will be exceeding the CBT threshold, so they might as well add Yates, or Rosenthal, or Colome. For 2021, the Dodgers look to be the only team to exceed the threshold.

   Kris Bryant signed for $19.5MM. I do not see him as a Dodger.

8. Urias signs for $3.6 million. Nice raise for him

9. I don’t see any way they’re under the threshold unless they make Rios the every day third baseman.
   Or find a way to trade Kelly, Pollock, Kenley or Price.

   1. They are now down to $7MM under the CBT threshold. Before all is said and done with arbitration, I am guessing that the Dodgers will be around $5MM – $6MM south of the threshold. JT takes them over the threshold. I am guessing that AF knew that LAD would exceed the threshold. If they are going over, as I previously posited, they might as well go a little bit more for Yates (or Colome or Rosenthal).

      If the Dodgers move any of the four you mentioned, they would have to include prospects for the team to take on the salary. But if you move Pollock, who plays LF? If you move Price, are you comfortable that Gray and White can be a #5/#6 in 2021? The depth that the Dodgers are so known for takes a hit. Just suck it up for the year, and see what the new CBA says about the luxury tax going forward. Also, the team needs their kids to have another year of development before being thrown to the wolves.

      1. Totally agree. They should take the hit on the tax and not throw prospects in to move contracts.

         But just suppose we say to hell with the threshold this year and do the following:

         1) Sign JT for a 4 year deal similar to the way the Yanks worked the DJLM signing (AAV about 10 mil).
         2) Trade Kelly, Pollock, Hoese and Beeter to the Rox and absorb the entire contract (Arenado minus Pollock/Kelly equals about 8-9 million)
         3)Trade Ruiz, Beaty/Raley and Estevez to the Pirates for Brian Reynolds who had a horrendous 2020 but is still a good player and becomes our left fielder for less than 1 mil per year.

         1. I’m in. Make it happen song sung blue.

            1. I knew that would appeal to you Bum. Sorry I couldn’t find a way to include Gleyber.

      2. Throw them to the Wolves

10. Is Belli more valuable than Seager?
    Is Belli earning more beacuse of the MVP award?

    1. Yes, but it’s also the vagaries of the system and Seager’s lost TJ year.

11. Maybe this idea is totally absurd, but could the Dodgers sign Maikel Franco to play third base with Rios?
    Franco vs lefties, would be a cheap option, and he would be the right-hander batter off the bench, in case JT doesn’t come back to the team.

    1. Not absurd at all. Franco signed a $2.95MM last year. But other than last year, Franco has not hit LHP very well at all. In a very small sample size Rios shows reverse splits and hits LHP better than RHP. If you are not going to go over the CBT threshold, you might as well let Rios stay at 3B.

    2. Good thinking but maybe expand that to include anyone who could get some ABs despite Turner’s return.

       I like the price range.

12. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I read that Sean Doolittle and Joakim Soria are expected to get only one year deals. Why not take a chance on them? It’s only one year.

    What the hell is Doc going to do with Adam Kolarek. Bring him in when a situation happens that there’s two outs and a left handed batter is coming up? That’s a total waste of a roster spot in my opinion. Same goes for Scott Alexander. Same goes for Floro against the other side of the plate.

    Does Garrett Cleavinger have options?

    Can we rid ourselves of Joe Kelly?

    1. Erik B make ’em clap to this.

       1. Sean Doolittle clap clap clap Joakim Soria clap clap clap Sean Doolittle clap clap clap Joakim Soria clap clap clap Sean Doolittle clap clap clap Joakim Soria clap clap clap.

          1. So you have the clap?

             1. Just having fun.

             2. That’s how you get the clap.

    2. Cleavenger has never pitched above AA. He has options left. His chances of being on the 26 man come opening day are slim and non existent. As for the 2 guys you keep pushing for, neither is on AF’s radar and there are 4 AL west teams pursuing Soria. And whether you like Kolarek and his splits or Alexander, it makes no difference. The Dodgers happen to like both of them more than Doolittle or Soria.

       1. You sure know a lot about Friedman and his thoughts. Do you talk to him often? If so how often?

          1. First off Eric, if there was any interest from the Dodgers, there would be some kind of chatter on the various web sites and blogs. There has been none. There was some talk of Soria the other day, but not concerning going to the Dodgers. All of the chatter was talking about the interest of at least 4 of the teams in the AL west, which makes perfect sense since he was with the A’s last year. If AF wanted either of those guys he would have signed them already. And since they are only 6 mil under the limit, signing either one of those guys seems pretty remote. And as I pointed out to you before, they are both getting a little long in the tooth. The oldest reliever on the Dodgers is Jansen. And he is younger than both of those guys. They have no need of any more left handed relievers since they have 4 on the roster right now. They will get 2 open roster spots come spring training when they can put Ferguson and Kahnle on the IL. AF seems to sign players for two main reasons. Depth or need. They have plenty of depth, and right now the need is not for those kinds of guys. It is why they are still looking at Kirby Yates.

          2. Here might be another reason they do not sign those guys. The roster right now stands at 40. In order for them to sign any free agent to a major league contract, they are going to have to either DFA a player, or trade them for a minor leaguer. And since they are only 6 mil from the threshold after all of the signings, it does not seem likely they would sign a player who is not a significant upgrade from what they have. You can say all you want about Kolarek, but last season he was one of their most effective relievers and that was with the 3 man rule. He only gave up 2 earned runs in his 19 innings of work. And his WHIP was the lowest in the pen. He also has a very good K to BB ratio. Soria, who pitched only 3 more innings than Kolarek gave up 7 earned runs. Kolarek is a lefty, and lefty’s who can get people out in high leverage situations, which he did last season, are in high demand. Soria is a very talented pitcher, as is Doolittle. But the way things are lined up, neither is that lock down back of the bullpen type that AF really needs. They were at one time, not so much anymore.

             1. I hear what you are saying, but again you don’t look at the right stats and you don’t take in consideration the short season last year and that most of the teams the Dodgers played during the regular season last year sucked. We’ve had this discussion before.

                These are the reasons why Kolarek had a good regular season last year:

                1 A short season.

                2 The Dodgers played teams that sucked for the most part during the regular season.

                3 Doc used him mostly the right way, against LHB.

                4 To expand on #3 He put up a .203 OPS against LHB. Yes you read that right .203

                He sucked in the playoffs against good teams and he sucked against RHB during the regular season.

                If there were no 3 batter minimum rule, he would be in my bullpen because he is absolutely dominant against LHB. I hate the 3 batter minimum rule.

             2. Point taken, but it does not make any difference to the Dodgers. He is relatively cheap, compared to the millions they would have to lay out for either of those guys. And to the Dodgers an over all whip means a lot. Who they played does not matter. They played who they were scheduled to play. Yes, he had bad stats in the playoffs over a total of 2.2 innings pitched. But if you look at Trienen’s post season stats, he was worse. He gave up 6 earned runs in 8 innings. Having one bad inning like Kolarek did can skew everything. Is he a lock down reliever>??? Probably not. But he is exactly the kind of player AF has signed and pursued over his tenure in Los Angeles. He rarely goes for older more expensive players. Those are the facts of how he operates, not my opinion.

13. Buehler asked for 4 mil, the team offered 3.2. Barnes wants 2, and the team offered 1.

    1. Not true

       It’s funny because when people correct me they are wrong and then when they post their own stuff they’re wrong too!

       1. Missed by a little. Buehler wanted 4.150, team offered 3.3. Mid point is 3.725. Barnes wanted 2, team offered 1.5.

       2. I make mistakes and own up to them. I did not read the post on MLBTR all the way through, so I got the numbers wrong….whoops.

    2. I am surprised Barnes isn’t paid more.

       1. Not a starter, or at least considered one. Had a couple of bad seasons.

14. Lay off Dolittle. He is not coming away from the East Coast! Stop it already!

    1. Thank you….Soria ain’t coming either.

15. Tampa is going to allow a little over 7000 people to thier games. MLB wants to keep the 7 inning double headers, man on 2nd in extra’s and the universal DH this season because of Covid concerns. All of this yet to be worked out.

16. Another Minor league team that was contracted sues MLB and their parent club, the Astros. Asking 15 mil in damages.

17. Not sure if this is a real quote or not, but it is funny.
    Houston GM’s explanation as to how they plan to use Baez.

    James Click on Pedro Báez, who is a notoriously slow worker: “We’ll plan to use him in the seventh inning just to give everyone a little bit extra time to get a beer before they stop selling beers at the end of that inning.”

    1. Ha

18. Yates is supposedly close to a deal with 5 teams in the running. Doesn’t look good for us. AF usually stays away from bidding wars. Still think we need another end of game option. Don’t see how we stay under 206 and get better than last year

19. Should we be messing with our future #1 Buehler give him extra $700k or lock him up long term be done with it

    1. He is a super two, and under control for a few more years. Considering the fact that he had some issues last year with blisters and that he only pitched in 13 games all year including the playoffs, the raise was appropriate. He pitched 51 innings, including the playoffs. His time will come. With all the money coming off of the books next season he has a better chance with more success next year of getting paid. And to be honest, except for a couple of games, he did not pitch like an ace last season.

20. If they sign Yates, and they are one of the finalists, they will have to move someone off of the roster.

    1. Thats not a problem for Yates. And Buehler is beyond ace material in October and thats all that matters for me!

       1. Well if you were the GM he would get his money. As a 3 year player, the Dodgers do not think he merits the raise.If you have a problem with their thinking I advise you take it up with management.

21. I will go ahead and open a can of worms and say that young Latin American signees now have a distinct advantage over their American counterparts. I see that the Dodgers signed 22 International players on day 1. They were all Latin American players. Dominican = 5, Panama = 2, Columbia and Curacao 1 each, Mexico = 2 and Venezuela = 11. We will see how many players are finally drafted and the Dodgers have 5.3 million to spend. In 2019, the Mets drafted 61 International players and there were overall,1022 signings. Obviously, the bonuses vary dramatically.
    Latin American is fertile ground. The number of Hispanic players in MLB is now 32% and rising. Kids can sign at 16 1/2. They start being groomed for MLB scouts at a very young age by the Buscones. Depending on your point of view, the Buscones are either surrogate parents/agents/financial advisors or shady flesh peddlers. The truth is somewhere in the middle depending on the Buscone but they take 30% PLUS from a kid’s bonus. Once signed, the prospects attend each MLB’s team academy which provides housing, food, education, instruction in English and of course baseball instruction. A players and the team’s commitment to the education part varies but the kids drop out of their local education system by 17. Nobody there is playing with milk cartons for gloves and balls wrapped in electrical tape. (interestingly, at spring training complexes for at least the Rangers-Royals and Cincy-Cleveland, new hotel-like buildings have been constructed to house and feed young players on site, not using local hotels)
    While MLB has cut 40 MiLB teams in the U.S., no teams were cut in Latin America. The Dominican Summer League (DSL) has 45 teams. 14 teams, including the Dodgers, have 2 teams in the league.
    So, a young latin player now gets advantages unavailable to American kids, IMO.
    A latin kid can sign by 17. He gets trained by an MLB player development staff with quality facilities and equipment and plays competitively against good completion for a couple of years prior to coming to the US MiLB. At age 22 a prospect might have 6 years in professional baseball. And they’re good. Fernando Tatis signed at 16 and in his 5th year in pro ball he made the Padres opening day starting roster at short; by age 20.
    For the most part, US kids can’t do that. They don’t sign until they are out of high school, out of community college or 21 or after junior year in college. While the better prospects play in showcase games for scouts (like the 12 to 16 year olds do in Latin America), most US kids plug along on their high school and summer teams and hope to be drafted in one of 20 rounds now.
    In college, a select few college kids play in high quality summer leagues like the Cape Cod League. Most just plug along in a 60 game, often cold weather, college program until they’re 21. Once done with that, each kid must start his journey in pro baseball where the latin kids have been playing for 2 to 6 years.
    As things have evolved, it’s no wonder we see more young Latin stars and fewer young US kids making am impact.
    The number 1 export of the Dominican isn’t rum or sugar or tourism. It’s baseball players.

    1. PJ,

       That is not a can of worms. It’s a fact. American kids, even more so in the Black community have selected basketball and football over baseball. ESPN has helped engineer this culture shift by glamorizing hits, catches, tackles, dunks, and 3-pointers. Kids perceive baseball is dull and in the Black community, fewer and fewer athletes choose to play baseball. We did not get there overnight and we won’t fix it overnight, but how would baseball look without Jackie Robinson, Bob Gibson, Hank Aaron, Tony Gwynn, Frank Robinson, Willie Mays, and McCovey, Don Newcombe, Junior Gilliam, Tommy Davis, and hundreds of other amazing people who also happened to be very good at baseball?

       My son chose football, but then again was smart enough to see that the price of fame was not a price he was willing to pay. Most of his football buddies who are now in college are on crutches as much as they are not. Several have had three or four surgeries. Baseball has to be able to reach out to the Black Community and convince them there is a better chance at playing baseball than they think. They need to show them how it is fun and “chicks dig the long ball.”

       70% of NFL players are Black. 81% of NBA players are Black. 7% of MLB players are Black. Almost 30% of MLB players are Hispanic. MLB has to fix this. There are more legends to be made and we do not have enough young Black players. It is a major problem.

       1. Good points, Phil. Agree it could be a disadvantage for American kids regardless of color. But what to do about it is the question.

          1. This could be a very long blog post, but it starts at the grassroots. Baseball is an expensive sport to play and MLB needs to subsidize teams so that the cost of entry is not unfair. It involves Players like Mookie Betts, David Price, Aaron Judge, George Springer, and others getting involved to help educate the kids about baseball. It will be difficult, but a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.

             1. Mark, it certainly would be a long blog. Much has been written and discussed as to why young blacks prefer hoops and football over baseball. MLB has made what I consider a token attempt to implement programs to recruit black kid to play.
                But baseball is a hard game to learn later. Just ask Michael Jordan. It’s not just about athleticism. Learning the game takes time. I don’t think young blacks hold much interest in a slow moving baseball game (if you don’t know what’s going on between pitches), minor league cities and bus rides to East BF USA, when they hold dreams of big-time college football, the NFL and NBA.
                The Royals tried to take young athletes and teach them baseball in an academy setting in about 1969. It didn’t work for the most part having few players who learned the game in a short time. I think UL Washington might have been the only one to have MLB success.
                There are no Negro Leagues where many young black men started to play and loved the game. There is no Black fan base. Those players were role models for a couple of generations. But that has dwindled and is practically extinct. It seems socioeconomics is a barrier and the nature of the game isn’t appealing.
                But it would take a lot more commitment by MLB and I don’t think it’s there much interest there. If they spent a fraction of what’s spent in Latin America to recruit American kids, there may an improvement but I see no real interest there, by MLB. Mark pointed ou the numbers between sports. It’s staggering.

22. Got my World Series Champion Justin Turner bobble head today. Pretty cool looking JT holding the World Series Trophy. I was going to get a Mookie Betts one, but they were sold out.

    1. Did he have a mask on?

       1. Nope, just some foam around his neck so his bobble did not break

23. OK, maybe the Dodgers are done! Or maybe they will sign another reliever to a contract that will keep them under the CBT. If JT does not re-sign with the Dodgers, I can see them staying under the CBT. If they sign him, then they will be over the CBT threshold. At least for one year. I could see JT getting 2 year/$20 Million from the Dodgers or 3 Years/$25 Million. Beyond that, it’s a hard NO!

    If they don’t sign JT, why not try and stay under the salary cap and see if Rios or even Muncy can handle 3B. If not, there s always a trade deadline da=eal for a 3B or 1B. Who knows, Rios and Lux may be beasts?

24. According to reports they are still in on both Hands and Yates. But they might be done otherwise. Maybe AF wants to let JT walk. Eric., Soria is drawing interest from an AL East team, the Jays. Reported a couple of hours ago.

    1. AF is just driving up the price. I don’t think he will get Hand or Yates.

       I think you are right about JT. There is no reason to panic and if it doesn’t work out, there is always the Trade Deadline.

       1. The trade deadline is halfway (or farther) through the season. The Padres are vastly improved. Do you really think that AF is going to count on Rios as his every day third baseman and Lux to start most of the games at second for half a year? I don’t.

          We’re going to get someone before the season starts. Maybe that’s a guy who could play second or third. Maybe it’s a guy who just plays third, but there will be someone who isn’t on the roster today. Muncy absolutely cannot handle third and won’t be asked to for more than a few games, hopefully not at all.

          And most people think we’ll probably have the DH this year. AF will get his right handed bat. I am positive of that. It will probably be JT but if not, he’ll trade for someone else.

          1. We better have somebody ready for left field because you know pollock can’t play a full year. Taylor can fill second or left but not both. I really hope it is not Bryant at third because we will be right back in the same position a year from now and a loss of prospects. Ramirez of Cleveland interesting but probably too costly. Muncy is not the answer at third please no. Mb kike comes back for depth at middle infield and of.

             1. Bryant is getting close to 20 million. No way they trade for him. Pollock was in great shape last season and there is no reason to believe he will not be the same this season. Kike is not coming back. He is a Taylor clone, and not really a 3rd baseman or a power hitter, both needs if Turner is gone.

25. I believe that RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, the Dodgers are the best team in the NL. The Padres have narrowed the gap, however, and the Nats and Mets are better as well. The Braves are about the same considering their additions and subtractions.

    When you are forced to make a move, just to make a move, then that move can be of the dope-fiend variety. I would not be afraid to start the season with the team we have. Most here think Lux will be a star… OK, let him prove it and if he can’t, you still have a Top 10 2B in Chris Taylor, who BTW is playing for his first big contract.

    Ed Rios has averaged a HR every 10 AB’s. Yes, it’s a small sampling but the guy is coachable, plays the game right and works hard. He has made himself into an above-average third-baseman. Let’s see what he’s got. Bellinger and Muncy will likely rebound and Will Smith will have more experience.

    Look for Mookie Betts to elevate his game in his second year as a Dodger and then there is Corey Seager. Even without JT or another 3B, that is a lineup better than the Padres. It’s one thing to sign JT and give over the LuxTax, but quite another to trade for a Kris Bryant and be $15 million over after some teams are struggling for their lives. To me, that’s a bad look!

    McKinstry, Reks, Raley, could see time in LF with Pollock… and there could be surprises. AF could execute a blockbuster trade… or he could do nothing and wait and see. The only problem I see is that the Dodegrs have too many Left Handed Hitters, but there are worse problems.

    1. 9 lefty’s, 6 RH< and one switch hitter. The entire infield as structured right now has all left handed hitters.

26. Without question Justin Turner will be our starting third baseman in 2021. Come on!

Comments are closed.