According to numerous MLB sources who are all pretty credible, the Dodgers wanted to re-sign Kenley Janson. However, some fans want to believe otherwise. I will be the first to tell you that every report from an “insider” is suspect and not to be taken to the bank, but when I hear from Kenley Jansen that the Dodgers did want to re-sign him, then I take that as gospel. You see, Andrew Friedman told Kenley he wanted him back. Before the lockout, the Dodgers had discussions with Kenley, but could not agree on the length of the contract.
After the lockout was over, Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman both reached out to Kenley. Doc flat out asked him if he was coming back and Andrew told him that he wanted him, but had to move some contract in order to do so. It seems that Andrew is probably mandated to stay under the $300 Million salary threshold. That player who needed to be moved was AJ Pollock. It appears that if Andrew had signed Kenley right after the lockout was over, he would have stayed in LA. That is home and all he has known. But, it was not a given that Friedman could move Pollock.
Before we go any deeper into this trade, here’s something that factored into Kenley’s decision BIG TIME: Kenley’s older brother was drafted by the Braves in 1999, and Kenley shared that he dreamed of wearing a Braves jersey like his brother. So, when Andrew was not immediately successful in trading AJ Pollock, Kenley was afraid that he might be left out in the cold, so he jumped to sign with the Braves. It had been rumored that the White Sox were willing to trade Kimbrel for Pollock, but that did not solve the Dodgers’ salary issues.
So, when Kenley signed with the Braves, the Dodger and White Sox were set to make the deal. Kenley was the Dodgers’ first choice, but they had to settle for Kimbrel when there were no takers for AJ. If you think Friedman was playing both sides, that’s fine, but Kenley did not think that. He flat out said that Freidman would not lie to me to my face. I believe that is true. Even players who have been traded or let go by the Dodgers still respect Andrew Friedman because he doesn’t lie to players… maybe writers and bloggers, but not players.
I think that Kenley Jansen was ready for a new chapter in his life. He grew up rooting for the Braves. He grew up idolizing players from the Braves. Now, he gets to finally wear that uniform. I can respect that. So, Craig Kimbrel was in the “fallback position.” I suppose either player could lead the league in saves and Closer ERA, but that’s why they play the game. Both players have had moments when they were very, very good and very, very bad, but both have been very, very good a lot more than they have been very, very bad!
Career Statistics
- Kenley Jansen (age 34 Season) – 12 Years – 37 W 26 L; 2.37 ERA; 0.928 WHIP; 350 Saves; 45 Blown Saves
- Craig Kimbrel (age 34 Season) – 12 Years – 36 W 29 L; 2.18 ERA; 0.953 WHIP; 372 Saves; 43 Blown Saves
You can’t get much closer than that. It’s so close it’s eerie! It all boils down to “Who is going to age better?” I haven’t a clue, but the Dodgers are stuck with Kimbrel because there were no other takers for AJ. Yes, AJ was arguably one of the Dodger’s best hitters in 2021, if not THE best hitter. It’s easy for fans to say “well, just trade Pollock to Team-X – they need a LF’er.” but they really have no idea how other teams align as trade partners. Also, let’s face it: AJ Pollock is an injury risk and he will be 35 in December. He has played over 130 games just twice in his 10-year career. He was 17 points above his career OB% and 16 points above his career BA last year. I do not think he will continue down that path – just my opinion.
Add to that fact that Chris Taylor is signed for 4 more years, wants to be in LA, and is 3 years younger and certainly more versatile in that he can fill at CF, RF, 3b, SS, and 2B.. CT3 has played in 130 or more games 3 times in his 8-year career, so he is less of an injury risk. Chris Taylor needs to play. That was also a factor, but the biggest factor might not be yet seen. A bigger factor is that one Miguel Vargas is dang near ready for the show. At this juncture, I have no clue where he might play: 3B, 1B, DH, LF. When he plays at OKC this year, maybe we will get a clue. All four positions are a possibility. Vargas is of the same ilk that the last two Dodger Rookies of the Year were. Seager and Bellinger burst on the scene as difference makers. Both Seager and Bellinger were 21 when they became the ROY. Don’t forget that Seager and Bellinger did not lose a season to COVID-19 as Miguel did in his critical development. Miguel Vargas is now 22 and his time is now. If he can get off to a hot start at OKC we will see him sooner than later. His bat will play at this level. He is a special player and ultimately, you cannot BLOCK a player like this.
AJ Pollock blocked Vargas from the roster. Now, it’s up to Miguel to show out at OKC and we will see him much sooner than later. Where he plays in the issue. DH might be his best position right about now. Andrew Friedman is shuffling his cards to allow for the youngsters to grow into their roles. Also, we have no idea how well Max Muncy’s elbow will hold up this season. He still has pain and does not have a full range of motion. Gavin Lux is going to get every opportunity to earn the 2B job. Andrew has to see what he can do and give him every opportunity. It would not surprise me if Muncy, Freeman, and JT do the majority of the DH’ing early this season. Lux plays just about every day. Andrew is giving him every opportunity.
It’s Not All Black and White
Andrew Friedman made a statement last night to the effect that “I rarely see the world in black and white.” That contrasts with most fans who always see the world in black and white. That happens to be the same way I look at the world. There are lots of shades of gray – everything is not always black and white. Gavin Lux is certainly not black and white. He has a world of talent, but I question his confidence… but is that really the issue? He just needs to play. Lots of fans predict great things for Lux… so does Andrew Friedman – I hope they are right.
The Bullpen
Last night, Andrew was asked what he worried the most about and he immediately said “The Bullpen” but then also said “The Starting Pitching.” He knows bullpen pieces are fickle: good one year, bad the next. I think he has the pieces – we just have to see how they are deployed. Again, just like last year, the bullpen that starts the season will not be the bullpen at the end. At the beginning of the season, we will not see May, Bickford, Duffy, Ferguson, and Kahnle, but we will see most if not all before the season is over.
The Starters
Buehler, Urias, and Kershaw seem healthy and if so, will be fine. What is questionable is the rotation past that. Andrew Friedman is getting a lot of flack from fans for signing Andrew Heaney. Many are comparing that to the signings of Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir, and Brett Anderson (of course, it could be argued that Farhan Zaidi was the GM who signed those pitchers). There is simply no comparison. Brandon McCarthy was oft-injured, as was Kazmir, and Anderson was just a soft-tossing, lefty who hung on because he was LH. Andrew Heaney has some elite stuff although he frequently pitches pretty badly. McCarthy, Kazmir, and Anderson did not need “fixed,” as they were unfixable. Heaney needs to be “fixed”. I do not think Andrew Friedman has ever taken a flyer like this on a starting pitcher who looks so “bad.” If he cannot fix him as a starter, then I suspect they will try it in the pen… but I’m getting ahead of myself. Heaney needs about 6 weeks before we know anything. In the end, I think he will be “fixed” or DFA’ed! I don’t think there is much middle ground.
Tony Gonsolin has a golden opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation. David Price is also there, and Tyler Anderson could be the first starter traded (to cut payroll) if the other two or three do step up. Gonsolin just needs to stay healthy and if he does, he will be very solid. Lots of teams will need starters by the trade deadline. One of the main reasons why Andrew Friedman did not acquire a stud starting pitcher is that the Farm is loaded with starting pitchers who are close, starting with Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, and Ryan Pepiot. You have, HAVE, HAVE to make spots for those guys. You cannot block them by signing other free agents starters to deals. Sean Manaea would have done just that. I don’t think he was ever a possibility. End of story!
Game Notes:
- Tony Gonsolin looked like an All-Star in his first inning last night… not many of the Dodger pitchers looked good, but Tony got his innings in (4) and threw strikes.
- Cody Bellinger is going to break out and shut a lot of people up!
- The Angels are going to be a great offensive team. Well, they already are.
- Hanser Alberto is going to be a really fun player to watch.
- Garrett Cleavinger has some electric stuff, but he nibbles too much. He seldom has a clean inning. Until he fixes that, he will be mediocre! He has a chance to be really good.
Minor League Season Starts Today
OKC begins its season today against Albuquerque at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with Ryan Pepiot starting the game. Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar, and others should be in the game. The roster is not yet finalized as I write this. This team should be strapped this year with Vargas, Outman, Avans, Martin, Alvarez, Amaya, Romero, Burns, Wolters, et al. The game is on MiLB.TV.
Good article. I watched every ST game. The farm looks good. Vargas looks good. He can play right now. Pepiot, Miller and Knack may all be up sometime this year. Just depends on need and how they do at OKC.
I have total confidence in Friedman. He builds the team through the farm system. He fills in with trades. Every year at the dead line he trades based on need. He will not block a young prospect if he is ready. Our bench was weak last year. He brought in veterans like Lamb and Pillar to solve that problem.
I think Doc last year wore the team down trying to win the West. Doc admitted it, and that is a good sign.
Tonight we see Miller.
Last night was the first time I thought maybe Bellinger may make it. Early this Spring he was missing pitches by 2-3 inches. Friedman said Bellinger has worked very hard with the hitting coaches.
Weird year last year with all the injuries. I blame Kenley and Muncy’s injury for last year’s failure. Kenley got butt hurt he was snubbed in the All-Star game and blew 3 save right out of the break. That cost the Dodgers home field advantage. The Dodgers lost the first two games of the Braves series by one run. With home field advantage and Muncy not getting injured on the last day of the season, we probably win those games.
Bellinger looked better last night, but not quite just letting it rip. It was a good sign at least. Just not 100% comfortable yet. I can’t wait to see Miller.
Nice take on Jansen. I will miss Kenley., Greatest closer in Dodger history and now that he has a reliable slider/curve I bet he has some good years still ahead of him. I think he has a better year than Kimbrel. But I still think it was a good trade. Loved AJ but the chances of him staying healthy 2 years in a row at his age are slim. And I want to see Vargas. He’s not gonna play first base so I’ll be shocked if he isn’t in LF for OKC. And I think if we’re gonna win a WS then one of our young starters will need to be a playoff rotation piece. Hopefully Miller is the real deal
Your Kenley narrative is insightful and certainly makes a lot of sense. All the same, I would rather have Kimbrel. An interesting note is that they might not have either if they would have resigned Seager. Maybe they should have signed Kenley, kept Pollock and not have signed Anderson and Heaney.
I was a little surprised that Outman wasn’t assigned to AAA. I’m looking forward to seeing if Vargas can play LF or Second Base as 3B is pretty crowded right now.
Last night was another stomach ache of a game. I hate losing to the Angels, even if it’s pre-season. The Angels look ready for the season, we do not. I guess our pitchers were “tinkering” again.
Belling just missed getting a hold of a couple and he didn’t strike out. Baby steps.
Hanser Alberto reminds me of Juan Uribe.
With all the talk of Muncy wanting to play second base, it sure doesn’t look like he’s going to be playing there much. I honestly thought there was a chance he would start the season on the IL.
I’m really excited to see Bobby Miller in tonight’s game. I haven’t heard of many starting pitchers “sitting” at 99-100, depending on who you believe. He might arrive ahead of schedule.
The season begins in just 3 days. What a weird Spring. I’ll be glad when it’s over. I can’t remember the last time they were this bad in the pre-season.
I’m interested to see if the DH extends JT’s hitting ability a year or two. I expect him and Muncy to spend the most time DH’s early on until Muncy is fully healthy, with JT taking over that spot most of the time towards the end of the year.
Hey Doc, just a thought. You don’t have to adhere to R L R L … Just go ahead and bat TT second and Freddie 3, you dumbass!
Should I be worried that Bueller, Gonsolin and Urias have all looked horrible in their latest appearances? Fun fact, none of these pitchers have a lifetime ERA over 3.10. It might be surprising that Gonsolin has the lowest of the three checking in at 2.85 and Urias has the highest at 3.09. Bueller’s career ERA is 2.90.
So far, Clayton looks like he’ll be the only pitcher that PRP worked on. My fingers will be sore from being crossed all season.
I would be so much more excited if our team played up their capabilities this Spring. But, those games don’t count. Maybe the switch is broken and will be fixed by Friday.
I hate Coors field. Let’s hope everyone comes out of there healthy.
Turned the game off after they went down 5-1. I had other fish to fry. Sad to lose Tommy Davis on Sunday. He was one of my favorite players back in the day. It is spring, and some teams like to be on a roll when they come out of spring. I did not pay much attention to the Friedman interview in game. Todd Frazier and Andrew Miller both have retired. White Sox signed Johnny Cueto to a minor league deal. Lance Lynn, one of their starters, has had some soreness. The Rangers have a lot of exe Dodgers besides Seager. Sborz, Santana, Calhoun. Reks was sent down to AAA by the Rangers. DJ Peters is now in the KBO along with Yasiel Puig. We will have to wait and see what kind of a team we really have. I never have liked a short bench, and the Dodgers several times over the last few years have chosen to have one. All that will go away in May when they are forced to carry only 13 pitchers. Trade deadline this year will be 2 PM EST on the 2nd of August.
Turned the game off after they went down 5-1. I had other fish to fry.
Sad to lose Tommy Davis on Sunday. He was one of my favorite players back in the day.
It is spring, and some teams like to be on a roll when they come out of spring.
I did not pay much attention to the Friedman interview in game.
Todd Frazier and Andrew Miller both have retired.
White Sox signed Johnny Cueto to a minor league deal. Lance Lynn, one of their starters, has had some soreness.
The Rangers have a lot of exe Dodgers besides Seager. Sborz, Santana, Calhoun. Reks was sent down to AAA by the Rangers.
DJ Peters is now in the KBO along with Yasiel Puig.
We will have to wait and see what kind of a team we really have. I never have liked a short bench, and the Dodgers several times over the last few years have chosen to have one. All that will go away in May when they are forced to carry only 13 pitchers.
Trade deadline this year will be 2 PM EST on the 2nd of August.
Could not think of anything original to say there Bum? Sheesh. Not only that, took you almost two hours to think this one up. Either that or you are mocking me in some way.
Didn’t try to mock you Bear. You add a lot here. It’s just hard sometimes to see everything you say when you bury unrelated thoughts into one paragraph.
I’m guessing the Dodgers wanted to bring Kenley Jansen back on a short term deal, but just about everyone before the lockout thought he was going to get a long term deal, some team was going to make an offer the Dodgers weren’t willing to match.
The Dodgers may have wanted to alter the roster somewhat, but I’m not buying they couldn’t trade AJ Pollock. But with Kenley out of the picture, a trade for a closer made some sense. The White Sox had a need, Pollock filled the role, and the Dodgers needed a closer quality reliever. A good, old fashion baseball trade.
If years were the issue, Kenley wanted more, the Dodgers wanted less, it probably had to do with flexibility and uncertainty. While Kenley had a great 2021, except for the one week with three blown saves, he wasn’t a primary factor in ‘20 and had pretty much lost the confidence of Dodgers decision makers. That had to play in all this.
The $290 million mark was repeatedly listed as a don’t cross zone, yet the Dodgers plowed through it. Hey, they still signed players after the lockout, increasing payroll. So what is the bottom line?
What’s real, what isn’t? No idea.
But Mark’s take is probably as good as any. Maybe we’ll find out more later, like Corey Seager was reportedly offered an eight year, $250 million deal last spring.
If Kenley agreed to the one year deal that Friedman probably offered or was it two years then he would still be a Dodger.
Should we believe that Seager left the Dodgers because he had a connection with Chris Woodward and liked Chris Young. Or was it two more years and $75 million in added money.
I thought Cody Bellinger had better swings last night, especially against lefties, so maybe he might be taking steps forward and Coors awaits, an opportunity to gain confidence. I agree that with Lux it’s about feeling confidence.
Since Trevor Bauer lost the phone access case, there is some thinking that might lead to a final decision on his future. Hope that’s the case. Limbo needs to be resolved.
Don’t see Taylor Anderson being traded. Dodgers will need the pitching depth. He has looked pretty good. Not sure about Andrew Heaney, but it’s just spring training, right? But I’ve seen Heaney when he’s lights out so there’s that.
It’ll probably take a month or so before everything begins to shake out.
Looking back at the Dodgers situation and Pollock, I think the depth, particularly in the outfield factored into the trade. They could use a closer and figured other hitters could make up for Pollock’s loss. A logical approach, the line-up enhanced with Freddy Freeman and a belief that Bellinger is healthy and will be an offensive factor and Taylor’s return made AJ expendable.
Good column today, Mark. You may be right about Vargas. Certainly an impressive prospect.
Tyler.
The Dodgers are signing reliever Dellin Betances to a minor league contract. He used to be good but hasn’t pitched well over the last few years due to injuries.
He had some lightning stuff when he first came up. An interesting addition.
Kenley was a solid closer for us. He had some good moments, and he had some bad. What I remember most are his World Series meltdowns. Remember, it was Julio who closed out the NLCS and the Series in 20. Jansen’s blown saves when they needed him the most will not be forgotten. 2017 against the Astros. And especially the one in 2020 against the Rays. His maddening inability to hold runners also was something I will not miss.
Any idea how is Kimbrel wrt holding runners?
I think Monday addressed that issue during the broadcast last week and the answer was much better.
Kenley Jansen gave up 13 stolen bases last year, none caught stealing. Kimbrel gave up 10 in the last 3 years, 2 caught stealing.
I would have to say that he’s a lot better than Kenley at holding runners based on these stats.
My son-in-law is a Red Sox fan and said there were no problems from his Red Sox days.
Dodgers, Dellin Betances Agree To Minor League Deal
By Anthony Franco | April 5, 2022 at 9:27am CDT
The Dodgers are signing reliever Dellin Betances to a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). He’d lock in a $2.75MM base salary if he makes the major league roster, with an additional $500K available in incentives, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
Betances is coming off a difficult three-year stretch. He made just one appearance in 2019, his final season with the Yankees, on account of successive shoulder and Achilles injuries. Despite the lost season, the Mets signed him to a two-year deal the following winter. That proved an ill-fated investment, as Betances threw 11 2/3 innings of ten-run ball during his first season in Queens. The big right-hander made just one appearance last year before landing back on the shelf due to another shoulder issue. He underwent season-ending surgery in June.
April 4, 2022
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that White’s chances of making the Opening Day roster are increased by the fact that the team opens the season in Colorado, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.
I am rooting for Mitch White, seems like he needs another pitch for him to be able to sustain his stay at the MLB level.
The Dodgers seem to be making a bet that if they sign enough injured pitchers who are attempting to recover from surgery that one of them might work out.
Duffy, Nelson, Kahnle and now Betances, plus home grown injury recovery candidates Ferguson and May. Of these 6 pitchers, how many actually pitch well for LA this year?
I for one am not crazy about the trade that made Kimbrel a Dodger. His results during the last 3 seasons, except for the first half of 2021 are not good. He had knee surgery in 2016 and has had bouts of knee soreness ever since. He was on the DL in 2019 first with knee and then with elbow soreness. He only got into 23 games in 2019 with a 6.53 ERA and 1.597 WHIP – FIP was 8.00!
In 2020, he did not go on the DL but had a 5.28 ERA and 1.435 WHIP.
Last year he was brilliant for 1/2 season with the Cubs but after the trade to the Chisox had a 5.09 ERA and 1.217 WHIP.
I would say that the 1/2 season with the Cubs in 2021 is likely the outlier here – that’s what worries me anyway.
That’s interesting that you choose to believe that 36.2 innings with the Cubs pitching as the closer where he had a .49 ERA is the outlier and the 58 bad innings in his career is the norm?
While digging through the sats, I noticed he didn’t start pitching in 2019 until Jun 27, he was injured as you pointed out. He gave up 5 ER between in his second and third appearance, then gave 4 earned runs over his next 17 games. After that he gave up 3 ER on Sept1 and didn’t pitch again until Sept 19 and 21 giving up 1 and 2 ER in those games, then he was done for the season. So, he was pretty much injured for most of 2019. That’s the definition of an outlier.
In 2020, the Covid year, he lost his job to Jeffress after giving up 7 ER in his first 4 outings. He gave up 2 ER the rest of the way, over 14 innings. I would probably call that an outlier as well.
I guess that 14 innings earned him the closing duties for 2021 where he gave up 2 ER the entire season up to the trade deadline. He had 2 3 run doozies one was in a tight game they wound up winning, the other when he came into the 9th with a large lead. He never gave up more that 1 run in any other game the entire season.
I’m hoping you’re wrong about him being unhittable from the beginning of last season to the all star break being the outlier. I’m choosing to believe that the injury season, the covid season and post trade deadline were the outliers. I would imaging that going from the Cubs to the White Sox was bad enough, then being demoted to the setup guy for a guy that had 5 blown saves and 2 points higher ERA at that point in time didn’t bode well for him.
Kenley had 4 games where he allowed 2 or more runs last year. Kimbrel 2.
The OKC Dodgers team is possibly better than, or very close to, the Orioles, Pirates and Dbacks-
That team will be a lot of fun to watch.
Tonight’s Last Spring Training Game at Dodger Stadium vs the Halos:
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
SS Trea Turner R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Turner R
C Will Smith R
CF C. Bellinger L
LF Chris Taylor R
2B Gavin Lux L
SP Bobby Miller
OKC’s Lineup tonight:
1. McKinstry SS
2. Lamb 1B
3. Burns 3B
4. Noda RF
5. Tellis C
6. Martin LF
7. Estevez 2B
8. Avans CF
9. Kelly DH
Pepiot – SP
This lineup would give the Pirates and Orioles problems.
And that’s without Vargas, Alvarez and Pillar….
Ryan Pepiot looks outstanding through 4 Innings.
4 IP
1 H
1 BB
3 K
0 R
49 pitches
How soon can he get to Colorado?
Bobby Miller has big time stuff
Maybe you now have a clue why Andrew Friedman did not get another starter.
BOBBY FREAKING MILLER is the real deal and will be in the rotation VERY SOON!
He’s not just a thrower – he is a dadgum pitcher!
#BetterThanAdvertized!
Haven’t seen you this excited since carbon nanotubes! I’m so excited I can’t even spell my own name correctly
Jordy Mercer and Drew Butera retired today. Butera caught Beckett’s no hitter against the Phils in 2014. Kahnle is in to pitch. Miller was electric.
Hey. Kahnle looked good in that inning !
Taylor with a long ball. Bellinger has been outstanding on defense tonight. And he got a hit. No K’s.
Yes, Miller time could come soon. When’s the last time somebody jumped straight from Tulsa? The reports on him this spring have been terrific.
Such a relief after Buhler, Julio and Gonsolin all got rocked.
And the Dodger offense woke up a bit. Not spectacular, but Mookie and Trea got a couple of hits, Freddie walked and scored twice… Hey, even Belli got a hit, lifting his spring average to .139!!!
And yes, no Ks for Belli, as Bear points out. That’s a good sign.
And 2 Ks for Kimbrel…. Fingers crossed.
Wow, Bobby Miller looked TERRIFIC!
Awesome stuff . To hold that Angels lineup scoreless with only one hit …
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!