Eddie Mathews was born on October 13th, 1931, in Texarkana, Texas. His family moved to Santa Barbara, California, four years later. Eddie got his love of baseball from his father. His dad was a Western Union telegraph operator and former semi-pro ballplayer. His mother got in on the action too. She would pitch to him, and his dad would shag balls. If he hit one up the middle close to his mom, he would have extra chores to do. ” My mom was instrumental in making me a pull hitter,” he said later. My first memory of Eddie came at the coliseum in 1958. He, Aaron, and Joe Adcock all homered in a game started by Sandy Koufax. Braves won it, 8-3.
Eddie excelled at football and baseball at Santa Barbara High School. He had several football scholarship offers. But his prowess as a third baseman and left-handed hitter made him one of the most sought-after baseball prospects in the nation. Back then, the rule was no player could be signed until he graduated from school. Eddie and his parents weighed offers from several MLB teams during his senior year. They decided that the Boston Braves, with veteran third baseman, Bob Elliot, would likely have an opening in a few years. To be safe, Braves scout, Johnny Moore, waited until after midnight on his graduation day to sign the contract. Mathews signed for $6,000 dollars. Other teams offered more, but he and his father felt the Braves were the best opportunity to play sooner rather than later.
Mathews was sent to the North Carolina State League, where he hit .363 with 17 homers over the last half of the 1949 season. The next year he went to AA Atlanta as an 18-year-old and led the Crackers to the pennant with 32 homers, 106 RBI, and a .272 average. The Korean War interrupted his career, but after a few months in the Navy, he received a hardship discharge with his father being ill and him the sole support of the family.
He played for two teams in the 1951 season, ending it with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Brave’s top farm team. He won high praise from Ty Cobb, who said, “ I have seen four or five perfect swings in my time; this kid has one of them.” He was invited to spring training with the Braves in 1952 and won the third base job, beating out Bob Elliot as his father had predicted.
Only 20 years old, Mathews hit 25 homers that year. He only knocked in 58 runs, and he struck out 115 times in an era where strikeouts were a no-no. But he finished 3rd in the ROY voting and capped his year with a three-run shot in Brooklyn that showed what kind of promise he had. He was definitely looking forward to the 1953 season in Boston. But that would never happen. Faced with declining attendance, the Braves pulled up stakes and moved to Milwaukee. The fans there were excited to get a major league team. This kind of thing would happen again later in Eddie’s career when the Braves again would seek greener pastures and move to Atlanta. Eddie Mathews is the only player who played for the Braves in all three cities they have called home.
During the first year in Milwaukee, Mathews blossomed into his own. He had 47 HRs, drove in 135, and hit .302. He continued his hot hitting in 54 with a 40/1-3/.290 line. The Braves, in the meantime, were assembling a team that would eventually challenge for the pennant. Hank Aaron and Joe Adcock were the RH balance to his LH bat. Adcock joined the team in a trade with the Reds in 1953 and the young Aaron in 1954. Meanwhile, Mathews blasted 41 more dingers in 1955. Mathews, who was not a great fielder when he came up, worked hard every day. Coach Connie Ryan would hit him 50-100 balls every day in spring training. Eddie would take them off of his chest and never complain; he just keep working towards being the best that he could be.
By 1954, he had worked his way into being one of the best in the league and he would hold that distinction for the next decade. He was also one of the toughest men in the league. One time in August of 1960, Frank Robinson, then with the Reds, slammed into Eddie at third and received several blows to the face from Mathews. ” Eddie hit him with three punches that Muhammed Ali could not have stopped.” said teammate Warren Spahn years later. He was almost as feared as a fighter as he was a hitter. He did not back down from anybody. A beanball war broke out with the Dodgers in 1957 and ended when Eddie pummeled Don Drysdale. In 1954, after Clem Labine hit Joe Adcock, he almost came to blows with Jackie Robinson.
The Braves were improving every year and finished 3rd in 1954 and 2nd in 1955. In 1957, they finally broke through and won the pennant by 8.5 games over the Cardinals. Most of the Braves hit poorly in the series except Aaron. The Yanks went up two games to 1 and were up 5-4 in game 4 in the top of the 10th inning. Pinch hitter Nippy Jones reached first when he was hit by a pitch, which he proved to the umpire by showing him the polish left on the ball by his shoe. Red Schoendienst sacrificed him to second. Felix Mantilla doubled him home, tying the game. With first base open, the Yankees decided to pitch to Mathews, who was hitting .091 for the series, rather than face Aaron. With Braves fans going nuts, Mathews belted a Bob Grim pitch over the fence for a 7-5 win.
The Braves would clinch the title with a 5-0 win in game seven thrown by Lou Burdette. For the series, Eddie batted .227 with one homer and four RBIs. The Braves were World Champs. They would win the pennant again in 1958. This time the Yanks beat them, and Eddie had a terrible series hitting .170 with no homers and only 3 RBIs. Mathews had a down season in 1958. Batting only .251 with 31 HRs. In 1959 he had maybe his best season, hitting 46 HRs to lead the league, and he finished second in the MVP vote. He raised his BA 55 points to .306 and had 114 RBIs. The Braves finished the year tied with the Dodgers for the pennant. LA won the first game and then took a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning when Mathews hit a solo shot off of Drysdale. But the Dodgers came back to tie the game in the ninth. They went on to win it in the 13th inning.
Mathews and Aaron continued to supply the power for the next several seasons. The Braves would not contend for several years. In 1962 Eddie tore the ligaments in his shoulder swinging at a high pitch from Dick Farrell. He was never as dangerous after the injury. His 29 homers in 1962 broke a string of 9 straight seasons with 30 or more. His first homer in 1963 was the 400th of his career. He rebounded some to hit 32 in 1965. His 28th homer that year, hit in Pittsburgh, made the Aaron-Mathews tandem the best 1-2 tandem in baseball with 773 homers passing Ruth and Gehrig at 772. Between 1954 and 1966, the duo would hit 863 HRs as teammates.
Back and shoulder problems continued to plague him. When the Braves moved to Atlanta for the 1966 season, the writing was pretty much on the wall. Eddie slashed .250/16/53 that year. But the Braves traded for Clete Boyer to play third base after the season. In December, they sent Eddie to the Astros with Arnold Umbach and a player to be named later ( Sandy Alomar) for Bob Bruce and Dave Nicholson.
Eddies’ career was winding down. He did have a bright moment in his brief tenure. On July 14th, he hit a homer off of Juan Marichal of the Giants at Candlestick Park for his 500th. Playing mostly as a first baseman and a pinch hitter, he was expendable. In August after several AL teams inquired about his availability, he cleared waivers and was traded to the Tigers on the 17th of August. The Tigers were in need of a third baseman with the injury to Don Wert. The Tigers sent Fred Gladding to the Astros to complete the deal.
He would hit .231 in limited duty in Detroit. He hit six homers for the Tigers. He went into the 1968 season with an opportunity to compete for the first base job against Norm Cash. But his injuries had caught up with him, Cash won the job, and Mathews again saw very limited playing time. He had back surgery, and everyone assumed his storied career was over. But he returned and contributed to the team a few times as they cruised to the pennant. He got into two games and had a hit off of Cardinals ace Bob Gibson. But the Tigers came back from being down 3-1 to win their first title since 1945. Eddie retired after the season, and he went out with his second ring.
Mathews went into business after he retired, but it was a failure. “I was just not a salesman. I couldn’t close. I would go in and talk baseball for an hour and never mention my product.” He was back in baseball in 1971 as a coach for the Braves. They retired his number in 1969. In August of 1972, he replaced Luman Harris as Manager. His biggest controversy as a manager involved his old teammate, Hank Aaron. Aaron stood on the verge of breaking Ruth’s HR record. He had finished 1973 with 713 round-trippers. He tied the record on opening day in Cincinnati. Mathews then announced that Aaron would sit out the next two games and go for the record in the next series at home in Atlanta.
Commissioner Bowie Kuhn angrily ordered the Braves to play Aaron against the Reds, threatening to fine or suspend Aaron and Mathews. After a heated exchange between Mathews and Kuhn, Aaron sat out the second game and went hitless in the next. On April 8th in Atlanta, in a nationally televised game against the Dodgers, Aaron broke the record with a homer to left off of Dodger lefty Al Downing. The Braves faded in mid-August, and Mathews was fired. He spent the next several years coaching for the A’s, Rangers, and the Brewers with occasional stints as a scout. He was elected to the Hall in 1978 in his fifth year on the ballot. His later years were filled with problems. He had been married four times, and, in his autobiography, he admitted that alcohol had caused him to lose several jobs, including his job as manager of the Braves. In 1982 he developed a serious case of pneumonia and was hospitalized for several weeks. In 1996 he slipped boarding a boat and was crushed between the boat and the pier. It crushed his pelvis. He never really recovered his health after the devastating injury. On February 18th, 2001, he passed away from respiratory failure at the age of 69. Eddie finished with a career line of .271/512/1453. Four hundred ninety-three of those homers came as a Brave. Exactly the same number Lou Gehrig hit as a Yankee. His 512 was one better than Mel Ott.
I always held my breath when he would hit against the Dodgers. You always wondered when he was going to knock one out of the park. During his career, he had 60 homers and 154 RBI’s against the Dodgers. He also was a better hitter on the road than at home. Unusual for most players.
Future Dodgers Down on the Farm
NOTE: The story above is by The Old Bear. What follows is by Mark Timmons:
Last night was a big night for Dodger Prospects… as you shall see:
- OKC was heated by the Sugar Land Space Cowboys 12-7
- Dustin May started and went three innings, allowing 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BB, and 6 K’s! His next action will be at a Ravine near you.
- Dellin Betances pitched a clean inning: No Hits, No Runs, No Walks, No Strikeouts.
- Miguel Vargas was 1-4 with two more RBI.
- Mike Busch was 3-4 and hit his 23rd HR of the year (12th at AAA).
- Tulsa Beat Arkansas 4-2
- Bobby Miller was smoking hot as he pitched six innings, allowing four hits and 2 ER. The key is that he walked ZERO and struck out 11.
- Guillermo Zuniga got the save (his 11th) with a perfect 9th inning. His 100 MPH Fastball is tantalizing, but he needs to refine another pitch, or he will just be a guy who throws 100 MPH. With a killer slider or killer change, he is the closer for the Dodgers… and if chickens had lips, they would be people.
- Jonny DeLuca was 2-4.
- Brandon Lewis (who currently is not on my Prospect List) hit his 12th HR – a 2-run shot. He has a shot at being a prospect, and I love his story: Former Fat Boy who lost a lot of lbs and changed his life!
- Jeren Kendall was 0-3 and is batting .169 – he is suffering from Muncyitis!
- Great Lakes beat the Lansing Lug Nuts 7-2.
- Eddys Leonard was 3-5.
- Diego Cartaya was 2-4 with 4 RBI as he hit a 2-run HR, his 17th on the year. For the season he has a .273 BA, .408 OB%, and a .953 OPS. Send him to Tulsa!
- Emmett Sheehan went four innings, allowing two runs on two hits and 5 BB to go with 4 K’s.
- Rancho Cucamonga won 3-2
- Damon Keith is still at RC, even though they promoted Luis Diaz to GL. Diaz was hitting .277 with a .805 OPS in 282 AB. Damon Keith is hitting .304, with a .406 OB% and a .960 OPS in 319 AB’s and he is stuck at Low A? Makes no sense!
Dodgers Rants & Raves
- Explain why AGAIN that with Urias, Kershaw, Gonsolin, and Freaking Tyler Anderson (11-1 with a 2.61 ERA), White, Heaney, and May and Buehler due back in weeks or a month… that the Dodgers need ANOTHER starter.
- Gavin Lux = .307 BA/.382 OB%/.818 OPS.
- Mookie Betts raised his BA to .269 by going 2-6.
- Maybe it’s time for Gavin to hit leadoff.
- Blake Treinen (do believe everything you read) and CT3 will allegedly be back on the squad Monday!
- The Bazooka will allegedly be back at the same time.
- Andrew Heaney reported that his shoulder was fine after his start. The time before, he had pain – now, he is pain-free. I wonder how he would be in the “Andrew Miller Role?”
- Edwin Rios was hit by a pitch and walked in his two rehab at-bats for OKC. I would think he will be back in a week.
- It was nice to bash the Rockies at Coors. Let’s keep it up!
The flirtation with the prospect of acquiring Soto and Ohtani makes for good clickbait, but the reality is the Dodgers really don’t need any additions down the stretch. I can see a lower middling acquisition to help on the margins, but do not see a blockbuster deal.
With CT3, Rios, Treinen, Walker, May, Kahnle, Duffy, Graterol and V-Gone all potentially returning ….what is it exactly do the Dodgers need? A returning and healthy Blake Treinen is getting one of the best BP arms in all of MLB…better than Bednar or anyone else out there. CT3 is like acquiring Drury or Ian Happ, while a healthy and fresh Dustin May is better than Castillo. If Walker is healthy they don’t need Montas or Castillo and won’t have to forfeit talent that needs to graduate to the big leagues next year and beyond. A return of Edwin Rios and CT3 can push Max to the bench.
Don’t see AF “big game hunting” but you never know about that guy. Going to be fun to see what transpires. Does Farhan sell, do the Padres get Soto, does Ohtani get traded? Buckle up.
Dodgers don’t “need” additions. As Doc has put it, AF will always be looking to improve the organization on the margins.
Again, nobody saw the Scherzer-Trea deal coming. Quite the coup. But the Dodgers only “needed” Scherzer. Of course Trea made it much easier to say goodbye to Seager.
If AF does go big game hunting, there is no prize bigger than Ohtani, a unique star in his prime. And I think the Dodgers top two prospects now are superior to the top two that netted Scherzer and Trea.
Offering Miller + Pepiot + ??? for the Ohtani the SP would be fair. Miller develop into an Ohtani-level ace–but this is always a crapshoot. Gonsolin + Miller could get their attention.
Then what’s fair value for Ohtani the DH? I like Max as a bounceback candidate, plus maybe Busch, plus a lower prospect like Leonard or Vivas or Amaya. Keep Cartaya but throw in a backup catcher type.
No, the Dodgers don’t need Ohtani at all.
But it would be epic. It would be the kind of deal that goes beyond the pennant race to the global marketplace.
And on the field, imagine a six-man rotation that includes Ohtani, May, Buhler, Urias–all still in their 20s. And slot Ohtani between Mookie and Trea in the lineup, with Freddie moving to clean up.
I don’t think this will happen soon.
But maybe this time next year it could.
One thing for sure: Miller and Cartaya have improved their trade value the way they are going currently.
Same for Busch and Vargas.
You can understand why other teams insist on those prospects when talking trade with the Dodgers.
As I said yesterday in the previous blog I have changed my mind somewhat about aquiring Ohtani.
With him you get two players in one. Ace pitcher and monster DH. Could be the difference in winning it all.
It basically opens up and additonal roster spot too.
If we somwhow could get him into Dodger blue without giving up Cartaya and Miller I`d be all in.
I would make everybody out of this group available and say to the Angels pick 6 players you want : White, Pepiot, Grove, Busch, Vargas, Page, Stone, Amaya, Ramos, Diaz, Zuniga, Leonhard.
Lux is blazing hot. I still would leave him where he is in the batting order and not move him up to the leadoff spot. Never mess with a running system.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great write up Bear on a SB hometown boy! Fantastic player but a sad post career life and ending. What an ace like performance by Anderson last night! We needed one at Coors! And do we finally have ourselves a closer!!!!!! And I’m just sayin that AF has done some big deals with Boston in the past!
Thanks Cassidy. I always hoped for the best when he came up in a game with the Dodgers. He had a sweet swing.
I get the fascination with Ohtani. He’s exciting! He throws gas and hits bombs. He’s fast and athletic. He’s just about two players in one, but not quite. There’s also some significant problems with him…
The biggest problem that I see with Ohtani is that if he gets injured, you have two players to replace. The list goes on…
As a pitcher, his 99.1 innings would rank 4th on our staff, his ERA would rank 5th, Whip 5th and Ave Against 4th. He also needs an extra day of rest. He’s a very good pitcher, just shy of great.
As a hitter, his 21 homers would be second on the team. His average would be 4th, OBP 5th, Slg 4th, OPS 4th.
Ohtani is fast, but he doesn’t steal bases all that effectively. 10 stolen, 6 caught.
His price would be sky high in the realm of Soto, or very close.
He only plays DH, and needs time off there as well. When JT needs a breather, he wouldn’t be able to take it at DH, same with Smith. Ohtani’s a better hitter than each of them, so it isn’t too much of a problem.
You need 5 other starting pitchers anyways since Ohtani has to pitch on a six-man rotation. This forces your other pitchers to pitch on a 6 man rotation. How will they respond?
As far as value / cost, he’s going to be the highest paid player in the game. How much higher has yet to be seen. He’ll probably get paid like a top pitcher and a top DH. You can probably get a top pitcher and a top DH for the same price, so where’s the value?
In there here and now, Josh Bell is objectively a better hitter. .302/.387/.490/.877 vs .254/.349/.486/.835
In the here and now, Luis Castillo is about the same pitcher. 2.86 ERA 1.07 WHIP 201 Ave vs 2.81 ERA 1.02 WHIP 210 Ave.
Shohei Ohtani is more valuable to teams that don’t sell all their tickets every night. On other teams, the revenue will increase with additional ticket sales and everything that goes with it. On the Dodgers, the only bump in revenue would be from the merchandise.
As he gets older, will he be more prone to injury since he plays both sides of the field? There’s an unknown risk because there’s no one else to compare him to.
Colorado refused to trade Arenado to the Dodgers. Do you really think the Angels are going to trade him just 30 miles up the freeway so their fair weather fans can skip out on the Angels and go see him at Dodger Stadium?
Excellent points B&P.
Could make him a little cheaper as far as compenstation goes. Still I like him better than Soto.
What would you offer for him in dollars and players ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wouldn’t offer anything because there’s no way in hell the Angels will trade him to us. We would have to overpay significantly. I would rather have Castillo and Bell.
I would be perfectly fine with Castillo and Bell. unless it does not cost Miller and Cartaya.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
All good points. The only way I see the Dodgers going after Ohtani is if there is pressure from ownership. He has unique value from a marketing perspective. Unlike Soto, Ohtani has a massive fan base outside the Western Hemisphere. A team like the Dodgers or Yankees (and probably Seattle) can capitalize on that far more effectively than the fake LA team. But you’re correct in that neither the Dodgers or Yankees need any help filling seats. But they would likely be able to jack up prices even further with increased demand.
But that’s the only reason I could see the Dodgers making a move. Ohtani doesn’t make sense as the team is currently constructed.
Well, Colorado shot itself in the foot refusing to trade Arenado.
The Angels are certainly capable of doing likewise.
But I think the Angels will be willing to trade Ohtani to the Dodgers when they realize that Ohtani could simply leave as a free agent and sign with LA anyway. (The LAT’s Dylan Hernandez, whose mother is Japanese, has suggested that the Angels must be hoping that the culture’s sense of loyalty will help keep him in the fold. Call me skeptical.)
A year from now, he’d be a rental. Let’s say they turn down LA’s offer and they trade him to the Mets.
He could still wind up in Dodger blue, playing alongside Miller, May and others that the Angels didn’t get.
What a wonderful way to start the series at Coors last night. Let’s keep this train rolling!
Gavin Lux just keeps getting better and better. He’s creeping ever closer to being Trea Turner. Hell, he even played some shortstop last night.
Muncy and Belli got a hit in the same game and combined for only 3 K’s! Miracles do happen.
Every starter had a hit except McKinstry. But, he took a couple of walks and scored a couple of runs. Not bad for a guy that hasn’t picked up a bat in weeks!
Anderson went 7 which is almost unheard of these days. Jake Reed is a sacrificial lamb and the Dodgers seem intent on wearing him out. Special thanks to Hanser Alberto tossing a scoreless ninth and giving another guy in the pen an extra day off.
On one hand, we don’t NEED anyone. He have no less than 3-4 very good bullpen pieces coming back in Treinen, Brusdar, V-Gone, and Kahnle. We have 4 starting pitchers that are better than Ohtani and Castillo with May and Buehler due back at some point. The offense is tops in baseball, CT3 and Rios are inching their way back.
On the other hand, if Gonsolin hits a wall and Buehler or May have a setback, we don’t have a playoff-worthy right-handed pitcher to throw against rightly heavy lineups like the Padres, Braves and Yankees. Any hitter that’s having a big year is a gargantuan improvement over Muncy and could slot into DH. We might also be able to improve over the Trayce/Lamb/CT3 triplet in LF.
Right now we have Anderson, Heaney, Kershaw, Urias, all lefties, in the rotation. We also have Vesia, Price, V-Gone, Bruihl and Cleavinger as possible lefties in the pen. That’s potentially 9 lefthanders on the 40 man, not including Danny Duffy. On a playoff staff, you probably only need, at most, 5 lefties total. Two in the 4 man rotation and 3 in the 9 man bullpen.
The last guy we need is Andrew Chafin. He’s having a good season this year throwing 91 MPH up to the plate playing for one of the worst teams in all of baseball in one of the biggest ballparks in all of baseball. He was very good last year pitching in another pitcher-friendly environment for another crappy A’s team and for a crappy Cubs team. In his previous 7 seasons, he was mostly not very good with a sub 3.5 ERA in 3 of those years.
V-Gone, Vesia, Ferguson, Duffy are all better options and Bruihl is about the same pitcher. You can say “Splits”, but guys with even splits are only better against one side, that means they’re worse against the other side.
Career Against lefties…
BA, OBP, SLG, OPS
Chafin
.221/.300/.296/.596
Bruihl
.187/.238/.187/.424
Career totals
Chafin
.226/.304/.322/.626
ERA 3.24
Bruihl
.242/.324/.355/.679
ERA 3.22
You would think a guy like Chafin, who’s been in the league for 9 years would have some playoff experience. But, you would be wrong. Just 1 inning total across 3 games.
We can do a lot better than Andrew Chafin.
Bear & BP –
Bear – Thanks for article on Eddie Mathews! He was a real offensive force back then; I have always felt he was overlooked by the pundits when talking about third basemen. Sorry to hear about his trials and tribulations later in life but thanks for reminding us just how good he was.
BP – Damn you are good! I was ready to get on the Ohtani bandwagon but you talked me out of it. I also like your accounts of the previous game which always includes some humor (“Muncy and Belli got a hit in the same game and combined for only 3K’s. Miracles do happen!” ) LOL – it is always nice to begin that day with a good laugh. Keep them coming!
Also, your assessment of Dodger pitching and the trade deadline was unique and informative. I hope someone in the front office reads it.
Mark – I can’t tell you how much I enjoy LADT! Thanks for all you do to keep it a “must read” everyday…
Anytime Tom, history of the game is my thing. I love it.
And I second that THANKS Mark! And for much and many things for over a decade you’ve proven your friendship. And it’s not poisoned with all those damn adds like every elsewhere. The community here has outgrown me savvy-wise and seems to not get my sense of humor. So thusly I have less to contribute these days but always read.
The other side of the plate matters now, with the 3 batter minimum rule.
Chafin career against RHB .231/.308/.343/.651
Bruihl career against RHB .275/.397/.471/.867
A disaster is going to happen with Bruihl.
Didn’t you see Vesia (who sucks against RHB but is better than Bruihl against RHB) give up that grand slam about a week ago to a RHB? With Doc as the manager disasters happen late in games with the bullpen. Avoid it by getting relievers that are good/excellent against both sides of the plate.
I was looking for good/excellent against both sides of the plate both career and 2022 with experience, not a rookie, 2 year guy, 3 year guy, 4 year guy. I had a smaller pool of relievers to choose from because of the expanded playoffs. Robertson and Chafin were the best I could find matching those criterias.
Doc is part of the problem.
You said “V-Gone, Vesia, Ferguson, Duffy are all better options”
According to what? Not stats.
Why does it matter how many lefties are in the bullpen if you got a bunch of relievers that are excellent/good against both sides of the plate?
Where are you pulling all this untrue stuff and old thinking from? Do you just like to lie?
Next time you try to compare a reliever to Chafin use stats against both sides of the plate. Both career and this year. The closest guy that you listed to Chafin is Gonzalez but Chafin is a lot better against RHB than Gonzalez. Again both sides of the plate matter because of the three batter minimum rule. Also Gonzalez has only 55 innings pitched in his career.
Great article at Baseball America on 40 man roster crunches. Yanks and Cleveland have especially problematic horizons:
($$$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/creative-teams-can-use-trade-deadline-to-answer-40-man-questions/
The next wave of NYY prospects who will need protection includes some of the system’s top pitching prospects, like lefthander Ken Waldichuk and righthanders Hayden Wesneski and Jhony Brito—all of whom are at Triple-A—and lower-level talents like Low-A batterymates Juan Carela and Antonio Gomez.
…
Overall, that’s 21 total prospects who either currently occupy space on Cleveland’s 40-man roster or will need to be protected this offseason.
For the Dodgers it’s only Hoese, Busch, Carrara and the player I affectionately call Jonny Dee.
Hoese will not get protected, and no one will take him.
Busch, Cartaya, and Jonny Dee… Luca all will be… Jonny is the only one who might be questioned.
Hoese could be a nice sweetener in a smaller deal.
Former first-rounder, after all. That looks good in the press release. Plus, he’s not really washed up–just blocked in Dodgers’ organization. Nota top 30 prospect for the Dodgers–but top 10 for some teams.
I really do hope some of the B-level prospects get moved so they can have a better opportunity to get to the majors. For example, I think it’s unlikely that Grove will crack the Dodgersrotation–but he could get a real chance with the Reds or Nats or A’s. Dodgers have a lot of these guys.
I wish Jonny DeLuca had played with Paul LoDuca.
Do we need a starting pitcher for the rest of the regular season? Nope
Do we need an impact starter for October? Likely yes.
We got plenty! 😉
Agreed, or maybe. Hard to tell. If ifs were fifths, we’d all be drunk. Lot’s of ifs.
If Kershaw doesn’t go back on the IL.
If May is as good as he was before TJ.
If Buehler makes it back in time.
If Gonsolin doesn’t fade.
If Anderson is really for real.
If Urias can build on last year’s innings.
We already know that Duffy won’t be built up as a starter.
We already know that the Dodgers have a pitch limit on Heaney.
Kershaw, May, Buehler, Gonsolin have all had recent health issues.
So does Castillo…
Well put.
This might be one of those years where our top prospects are too good to trade. Last year, when we got Scherzer and Trea, we got it done for a couple of guys that we didn’t really want to keep. Gray and K-Bear have ceilings that are nowhere close to Miller and Cartaya. Maybe not even close to Busch and Vargas. Teams probably won’t want to deal with the Dodgers if they refuse to include any of their top 4 prospects because the optics for their fanbase will be horrible.
The Reds reportedly want Pages for Castillo. I would do a package around Pages in a heartbeat. I would love to get Bell as well. But, I don’t want to give up the following…
Busch – If Trea bolts, we’ll have a big hole up the middle. In my mind, Busch is going to be the next Utley. I want to see Busch and Lux up the middle next year if we don’t sign Trea. You can use him as a chip next year if they lock up TT.
Vargas – JT is living on borrowed time. Muncy might rebound and be able to play 3B as early as next year, but Vargas might be the next Adrian Beltre without the glove.
Cartaya – I know I’m dreaming, but he’s our next Piazza or Campy. Some say move Smith? Maybe they just split DH and Catcher for the couple of years they play together.
Miller – Easy 100 with a Plus Plus Fastball, Plus Slider and Changeup and possibly a plus Curve. Ace in training.
It was a fun game, at least as a Dodger fan to watch. I heard some boo’s out of that Rockies crowd. Also heard some Let’s go Dodgers chants too. There are a lot of Dodger fans in Denver. I am convinced that Anderson ” gets it ” now. Anytime a pitcher can dominate a lineup that hits that well and shut them out at Coors, he is on the right track. His ERA at Coors prior to last night’s game was well over 4. Rumors are just that until they become fact. Mets made a trade for Naquin and a minor league pitcher from the Reds. Yankees are shopping Miguel Andujar. Bogaerts going nowhere according to the Bosox front office. Many think the Padres are the front runners in a trade for Soto. The package they offered is rumored to be pretty hefty. Dodgers talking to the Sox about Martinez.
Video Update – Above!
Looks like a dope fiend move to me. Hah……just kidding!
There’s not anything more precious than water and even more so pure water. Of all solvents more things are soluble in water than any other, That’s good but can be bad as many toxins are soluble in water but it takes pure water to leach toxins from ourselves. We never seem to miss it till the well runs dry and that’s happening pretty rapid here on the west coast.
Each day I face the barren waste without the taste of water, cool water. Dan can you see that big green tree where the water’s running free and is waiting there for you and me – water. Cool, clear water. Again, thanks Mark!
Have you seen the National Geographic one season series ‘One Strange Rock’? Narrated by Will Smith, one of them anyways. Fascinating! Especially the first episode ‘Gasp’. If you haven’t seen it yet I highly suggest you stream it as I’m certain you’ll enjoy it.
That is why whiskey’s for drinking and water’s for fighting.
El Culichi Tonight!!!
Have a Modelo…..
* Great stuff Bear on Eddie Mathews. He never really was on my radar screen as a kid. But I’ve certainly appreciated his career as I have gotten older. Too bad about his post career. I absolutely love the tale that he became a pull hitter so he wouldn’t smoke his mother with a liner as she threw BP. That’s great!
* I have a friend who was a college coach. He wanted to emphasize going the other way to his right handed hitters so much that he would park his nice pick up truck at shortstop during BP. If the righties pulled the ball enough to hit his truck, they were in deep do-do. I like to make points that don’t wreck my stuff in the process. But I love the teaching moments.
* To my point yesterday, Trea Turner just makes things happen. I know this was a blow out but Trea just does stuff to win every day. Last night he displayed his sliding ability as well, avoiding a tag at home. I promise to shut up about him soon but we need to try to spend the owner’s money on this guy and do what’s necessary to keep him in Dodger Blue.
* I wish I had a mechanical fix for Muncy. I don’t. Last night, he swung and missed at absolutely center cut pitches. He just misses fat pitches. Maybe he needs to just unplug his brain and Caveman Hit – “SEE Ball, HIT Ball”. You can practically smell his brain burning from one unsuccessful a bat to the next. I suspect something will, and should, happen with Max after the deadline. I personally want to see Vargas at DH and Max can do an IL stint, then come back off the bench. Well we can probably afford to give him more time, due to our big division lead, but I’ve seen enough.
* Bellinger’s hitting woes are well documented but I really appreciate his hustle, defense and smart base running. Early last night as he advanced to 2nd on McKinstry’s grounder, he showed heads up baserunning blocking Connor Joe’s throw to 2nd. Now well coached players at any level know to adjust their path to the bag in make the throw more difficult but Belli re-adjusted in mid flight. Rockie SS took a weird route. Instead of going “inside” of 2nd to give Joe a clear look as Belli would anticipate, Inglesias when “outside”. When Belli saw that he re-routed and went straight at the SS, as you’re supposed to, but on a new path. Sure enough the throw hits Cody in the back and he’s safe. It was a poorly executed play by Inglacias and Belli’s heads up base running made them pay. Great little things that help you win baseball games.
* Speaking of execution, the Rockies sure had a hard time playing catch.
Bonkers Bowden has Keibert Ruiz coming BACK to the Dodgers.
Mark will love him the return of Kay-Bear. Or whatever he called him.
Soto and Ruiz
for
Lux, Miller, Cartaya and Pages
I think I’d do that in a millisecond.
But Bowden just sucks.
Cartaya, Miller, AND LUX AND Pages…..if they threw in Bell…maybe…..
Matt’s just as crazy as Bowden!
If the Dodgers insisted on getting Ruiz back in the deal (which they wouldn’t) the Nats would ask for a 5th player from us.
Soto is a generational player.
We don’t need him.
We need Lux, either as our 2nd baseman or our shortstop next year.
I don’t do that deal.
Would much rather have Trea and Lux than Soto.
Absolutely, STB. A voice of reason.
Somebody here suggested that the Dodgers already have four pitchers who are better than Ohtani.
Please allow a mild rebuttal.
Ohtani is pitching for a team with a losing record. It’s rare that he faces a team that is not stronger than his own.
The Dodgers SPs are pitching for the best team in the NL, perhaps the best all baseball. They typically face weaker competition.
If Ohtani was pitching for the Dodgers, how would his W-L record look? What if the had the Dodgers’ run support? (And I think the Dodgers play better defense too.)
Gonsolin and Anderson have been spectacular, as has Heaney when he is healthy.
Ohtani just had his sixth straight game with 10 Ks. He gave up two runs and lost because the Angels scored zero.
I laughed at that.
I liked Ruiz a lot, but then came Cartaya!
Kaybear who?
New to this site and I must say, you guys are VERY knowledgeable and give GREAT insight on both the big club and the minors. Recently retired so I have plenty of time to read each story along with the comments and it’s almost embarrassing calling myself a knowledgeable fan compared to others on this site especially Mark, B&P and Old Bear. Thanks for the time and effort with all the research and please keep it going, Mark!! Many others on the site are also very insightful and funny.
Imho, we should just focus on trading for a SP, preferably Castillo, as insurance if nothing else. He also provides another year of service before being a FA. Save the prospects for a Soto or Ohtani deal and resign TT ! That should be AF’s priority in the offseason. Bell is interesting but Trayce, Lamb and CT3 offer more flexibility and won’t require giving up any prospects. MM needs to sit or IL stint as many have already suggested.
At the risk of offending some, Mendoza absolutely sucks on the broadcasts and how the heck does a former softball player bring any insight to a MLB game ? Well, she doesn’t! She’s nothing more than a product of Disney’s wokeism and needs to return to CNN, oops, I mean ESPN.
Go Dodgers !!
Welcome Fuzzthatwas. Nice to have you along. I couldn’t agree more about TT. He is a known commodity and is a priority to try to re-sign.
And I couldn’t disagree more about Jess Mendoza. To me she is a pleasant voice in the booth and doesn’t need to over talk to make her point. And she knows a lot about how to play the game. Have you every played or closely watched fast pitch softball? Including Men’s Fastpitch? The game is FAST and has many commonalities to high level baseball. If you can hit quality fast pitch, you can hit. Did you watch the Alo woman at Oklahoma hit? I have no doubt that with some practice she could hit college baseball pitching. And Jess was an All-American against the toughest female pitchers in college and Pro Women’s Fastpitch. It’s big in Japan. 70+ MPH pitches, which are common in women’s fast pitch, are equivalent in reaction time 100mph in baseball fastballs. (and they actually do rise) In order to hit that speed and stuff, you need to know the mechanics of hitting. I’ve listened closely to her and she knows how to hit and talk hitting. If Muncy and Bellinger listened more intently on her thoughts on mechanics, they would be hitting better. I think she knows her stuff but doesn’t cram it down your throat like an A=Rod. Don’t discount her knowledge because she’s female.
She was on the fast track with big assignments until she popped off, criticizing Max Fried for exposing the Asstros cheating. She was wrong on that one and paid a big price. I’m glad she’s back. But she doesn’t suck, as far as I know.
I too enjoy listening to Jess Mendoza on the Dodger broadcasts. She was one hell of a player and I have become a big fan of college softball. The game is so fast, and watching Oklahoma dominate this past season was impressive. AF please resign Trea!
Pretty sure you meant Mike Fiers,Phil
Yeah, no kidding . It was Mike Fiers. I can’t tell a Fire from a Friar to a Fryer.
So all of you who are ok with trading Lux, how do you avoid Max Muncy playing second?
8:40 PM ET
Dodgers (66-32)
Rockies (45-55)
SP Julio Urias L
9-6 2.72 ERA 102.2IP 99K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
DH Jake Lamb L
2B Gavin Lux L
3B Max Muncy L
CF C. Bellinger L
LF T. Thompson R
Partly-cloudy-day
10% Rain
80° Wind 8 mph Out
Hadn’t looked at the leader board in a while. I like where the NL’s top 4 in BA are at.
1. Paul Goldschmidt .335
2. Freddie Freeman .323
3. Trea Turner .312
4. Gavin Lux .307
Yeah, that’s a very fun stat.
Another fun stat: Mookie, despite his fairly pedestrian BA of .270, is still above Trea and Lux in terms of OPS. A big reason is his 23 HRs, or 8 more HRs than the 15 that have been hit by Freddie, Trea and Will Smith–and he’s done this while playing 17 fewer games than Freddie and Trea.
But now Trayce, in his limited time, ranks second to Freddie in OPS!
With Taylor and Rios due back, we’ll soon have a surplus of hitters, and some can be included in a deal.
Castillo is apparently headed to the Mariners… and that’s OK.
We learned tonight (again) that the biggest need may be a closer. Will Treinen be able to step in with Kimbrel so shaky? Brusdar is a work in progress.
I’ve always thought Dustin May might be good as a temp closer…
Passan:
Jeff Passan on ESPN saying that Juan Soto is destined for SoCal. Either the Padres or Dodgers.
Wow.
I guess we hope Bowden is right for once!
Send him to the Padres. They will have to give what they have left of a farm system.
Andrew, Drive the price up!
Feinsand:
How crazy is the relief market with four days until the Trade Deadline? Per sources, the following teams are all out there looking for bullpen help:
Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, Twins, Guardians, White Sox, Astros, Mets, Braves, Phillies, Cardinals, Brewers.
Obviously there are and will be others, but interesting….
Moronta and DPrice are available.
Dodgers are number 1 in team batting OPS. Number 1 in team starting pitching ERA. Number 6 in team relief pitching ERA.
Glad to see Rios and Taylor making their way back. Those are upgrades in offense over McKinstry, Muncy, Alberto, and probably Lamb soon.
Tyler Anderson”s slash line this year is .222/.266/.363/.629, That is solidly good.
Andrew Heaney”s slash line this year is .147/.244/.279/.523, That is excellent, but only 19.1 innings pitched. But still.
And there is still Gonsolin, Kershaw, Urias all excellent/good both this year and careers. Andrew Heaney could be a bridge in the playoffs after Gonsolin, Kershaw, Urias, Anderson to the best relievers we have in the bullpen. But I still would like Freidman to get the 2 relievers I mentioned before just in case.
Lux is in the 800+ range in OPS, good to see that.
I’d take Thompson over Alberto for a right handed batter if there is a roster crunch.
Just my 2 cents for the day.
Not entirely sure you can compare Alberto and Trayce.
Once plays only outfield and the other plays only infield.
And then, of course, we have CT3 coming back soon, who plays everywhere.
There’s a strange smell emanating from Coors Field….. Never mind, that’s just the Rockies defense.
Can traded players play in the playoffs if they were traded before the trade deadline. If this is wrong,someone explain,please.
Correct
Yes, they can.
In order to be playoff eligible, a player must be on the 40 man roster (or 60 day IL) on August 31st.
Passan has Castillo going to the Mariners for four (4) prospects.
Rosenthal has the prospects:
Noelvi Marte, Levi Stoudt, Edwin Arroyo, Dylan Moore. Three of Mariners’ top five prospects,
Another Coors field gem. This time by Julio. Two down two to go
Phillips just keeps doing his job excellent.
Damn just when I thought Kimbrel was on a roll.
Anyone who thinks Craig Kimbrel is going to be just fine as the Dodgers’ Closer is outta their rabbit-ass mind!
Kimbrel is going to lose this game.
Yeah, he saved the game… but he has to go!
This is BS!
Thompson saved Kimbrel’s ass!
Maybe Trayce will be our Eddie Rosario this year
f Kimbrel is our closer in the playoffs, we are going nowhere….
PUT ANYONE IN FOR KIMBREL EVEN PRICE OR BICKFORD!!!!
Even Doc words (which were very carefully selected) just spit serious concerns.
Dodgers on pace for 109+ wins. Don’t look back Dodgers. Do not slip, do not fall. Keep it up, keep standing tall.
Kimbrel made it interesting, and his defense saved him. But a win is a win no matter how ugly it is. His performance this year reminds me a lot of the way Jansen was in both 2017 and 2020. Julio ended up being the closer. It will probably end up being someone else this season too. But if they were to try and trade for a closer now, he would be very costly. Castillo to the Mariners confirmed. 4 prospects back to the Reds. That came out of left field. Not one pundit had the Mariners on the Castillo radar. I still think LA will make some sort of move. Rios on a rehab assignment. Word is that Mitch White was less than enthusiastic about his demotion.
Kimbrel’s performance makes it a distinct possibility that AF goes closer shopping this weekend. Not sure who might be available, but it’s clear that Kimbrel no longer has put away stuff. He now pitches to contact it seems and simply cannot be the closer in the post season.
Hoping Treinen regains form, is healthy and can eventually go on back-to-back nights.