Just What the Dodgers Don’t Need: More Pitching…

Posted By on December 15, 2022

We have hashed and re-hashed the state-of-the Dodger’s pitching for what seems like a hundred years when it has only been a few weeks. I have maintained that the Dodgers do not need another starter, as that starter blocks Pepiot, Stone, and Miller. However, when a player wants to be a Dodger and takes less money than you would expect on a short-term deal, what are you going to do?

Andrew Friedman did the only thing he could do – he signed Noah Syndergaard to a $13 Million Dollar deal with some additional incentives. That’s the last time I will call him Noah! In case you don’t know, they call him Thor! We can speculate all we want, but it does seem that he is coming to the Dodgers much like Andrew Heaney and Tyler Anderson did: He is taking a 1-year deal in hopes of being “fixed” like they were. He is still only 30 years old and could possibly sign a four or five-year deal next off-season if Mark Prior and Company can do the Voo-Doo that they Doo on Thor.

While he is a RH thrower, he is one of those weirdos who bats LH! His velocity has dropped 3 to 5 MPH from his peak years when he threw 101 MPH, but I saw him hit 98 last year, and the Dodgers have a history of helping pitchers re-capture lost velocity. MLBTR predicted that Syndergaard would be able to secure a three-year, $36MM contract. Instead, he has opted for a one-year “prove it” deal from the Dodgers. Jon Heyman reports that Syndergaard had larger multi-year offers for more money from other teams but preferred to spend one year with the Dodgers and return to the open market again next winter. Of course, Heyman also broke the news that Judge was going to the City by the Bay… so there is that! Frankly, I am surprised that Thor did not end up back in his home state of Texas!

So now, the Rotation Depth Chart looks like this:

  1. Urias
  2. Gonsolin
  3. May
  4. Kershaw
  5. Bauer
  6. Thor
  7. Pepiot
  8. Stone
  9. Miller
  10. Grove
  11. Jackson

See what I did there? I am already assuming that Bauer will be reinstated. Of course, Pepiot, Jackson, and Grove may end up in the bullpen. Jackson may surprise you the most as a multi-inning reliever, better than Chicken Strip or Mitch White. I like Jackson a lot. Ditto for Pepiot – I am just not ready to pronounce him a reliever. He had a pretty dang good rookie year.

I am, however, ready to pronounce Gavin Stone as a starter. He is ready and should not be held back anymore. Bobby Miller still needs some seasoning. So it will be interesting as the Dodgers pitching staff will likely be among the best in all of baseball… if not THE BEST! The Bullpen looks like this:

  • Vesia
  • Almonte
  • Phillips
  • Ferguson
  • Graterol
  • Bickford
  • Gonzalez
  • Hudson
  • Miller
  • Feyereisen (Septeber?)

Then it could potentially include Grove, Pepiot, Jackson, and Miller. Vesia, Phillips, & Hudson will vie for the Closers’ role, and it is possible the Dodgers will not name one. The pitching is more than set. Expect something that you would not imagine in the form of a trade from Andrew Friedman by the All-Star Break!

For the first time in a few years, the Dodgers are going to give some rookies the opportunity to compete for a starting position. Friedman may or may not be done in the Free Agent Market, but I do lean toward “DONE” unless Dansby Swanson takes a lowball deal. Vargas, Busch, and Outman will get an opportunity, and Andy Pages is not far off! Diego Cartaya will likely start the season at Tulsa and could demand a look in the second half of the season. Ditto for Dalton Rushing. The Dodgers have plenty of catching trade collateral, including Feduccia, Fernandez, and Galiz.

Jason Heyward is a pure wild card: Nothing is expected, but stranger things have happened. I am going into this Spring Training with more anticipation than in a long time. This is going to be fun!

By the way, The Athletic says that Thor is betting on himself. That is partially true, but he is also betting on the Dodgers!

This article has 38 Comments

  1. I like the signing. Every year we think they have to much pitching and every they don’t. You can bet that both Kershaw and Gonsolin will only pitch about 20 to 25 starts. How many starts are they going to give May? Stone and Pepiot will get plenty of chances this year.

  2. Gotta agree with you. Really looking forward to this season and seeing the Rookies get their chance.

    I really like this signing, just hope he can stay fit.

    Jason Heyward is done I’m afraid.

  3. Great analysis Mark. I too am looking forward to what should be a very interesting spring training. Another thing about Thor, he is an intense guy. His post about Correa’s remarks concerning Jeter not deserving any of his gold gloves should make Giant-Dodger games all that much more interesting. I am sure that Correa is going to be the Giants Manny Machado. Every time he steps to the plate in LA, he is going to get booed. And when a Dodger pitcher strikes him out, the cheers are going to be very loud.

  4. Max Fried rumors are swirling that the Braves are considering trading him.He is from Santa Monica. Just saying.

  5. The reset of the payroll enforcer turns out to be a great gift to the talented rookies waiting their turn in the bigs. Instead of doing what the Mets have done, the Dodgers were forced to give the next wave of Dodger superstars their chance. For a change I’m glad we had to reset.

    1. We didn’t have to reset, to be clear.

      It was a business and competitive decision, but the team could have stayed above the threshold.

  6. Thor is a good pickup…you can never have enough quality pitchers. Look at all the injuries we had last year.

    If the Dodgers only signed Dansby Swanson, Freeman’s best friend, I would be ecstatic. I don’t trust Lux and really don’t want him playing every day. Swanson is a beast and his presence would make Freddie very happy. Get it done…

  7. Great signing by Dodgers. Thor is a solid starter with big upside and he is only 30.
    I wanted to keep Tyler Anderson but Thor is $13 million for one year vs 3 years. Plus Thor is 3 years younger.
    Pitching staff is stocked.
    Now solidify the position players with either Swanson, JT, JD Martinez, Benitendi, or McCutchen.

  8. To those of you who questioned WHY AF didn’t sign Tyler Anderson:

    While you were playing checkers… he was playing chess! 😉

    3. As Molly Knight wrote/writes:

      The Red Sox initially agreed to trade Mookie Betts in a package for Brusdar Graterol, then insisted on getting Jeter Downs instead. It was all very dramatic. Graterol throws 100+ and helped the Dodgers win the World Series as a rookie in 2020. Now the Red Sox have cut Downs. Oof.

      1. Same thing came to mind when I saw that Downs was DFA.

        Troubling trends coming out of BoSox nation.

  11. Have enjoyed reading these posts regarding Dodger off-season and next year’s roster. I like the Syndergaard signing. Seems like a typical year requires at least 8 starting pitchers to navigate the IL stints and such. Kershaw and Gonsolin are going to spend some time on IL and May is pitching first full year as a major league starter, hopefully. Don’t want to block Stone, Grove, or Pepiot who would appear to be the next three in line.
    Don’t see them paying Swanson given the money being tossed around for shortstops. I would think a low cost right hand hitting outfielder like McCutcheon makes a ton of sense in a left field platoon. Would not mind starting the year with a Thompson and Outman platoon in center with the flexibility to add at the deadline. The talk from Friedman, Gomes, Roberts, and Kasten sure seems to point at giving some of these younger players a path to playing time. I am all for it.
    The Correa signing and the Padres continued spending with the Bogaerts signing is going to make for an interesting season. Excited about this upcoming season because of it plus a new wave of young players on Dodgers, the balanced schedule, and the rules changes. Very curious if and how it changes Dodger’s thinking and what they value. This upcoming season is more intriguing than some in the past because of the changes internally and externally.

  12. Someone over at TBLA has suggested we should look into approaching Philadelphia about Jean Segura. What say you guys?

    1. I would like to see the Dodgers keep from exploring trade options until key FA options are off the table; i.e. Swanson. The Braves are likely to stick with Grissom at SS. Now that SF has signed Correa, I do not see too many teams having the need or ability to dish out a big contract to Swanson.

  14. If the Dodger Brass sees something in Jeter they might call him and say, “What’s up, Downs?”

    See what I did there?

  15. Like the move. Thor could break out this season. The Dodgers work their magic and other teams just sigh, not again.

    I’m not assuming anything with Trevor Bauer. The Dodgers still need a center fielder and Bauer, if he does come back, will put them up against the tax threshold or at least that’s what I recently read. Maybe the Dodgers are serious about staying under or maybe not.

    1. Well, at some point, they do need to reset it. If not this year, then for sure next year. Simply because it is idiotic!

      1. Below is a link to an article that explains the Dodgers payroll situation as it pertains to the luxury tax and also Trevor Bauer. If the payroll surpasses $233 million, they will be on their third consecutive year over, meaning they’ll pay 50% tax on payroll above the $233 mil. (E.g., if they have a payroll of $253 million, that’s 20 million over, they pay $10 million). A reset would be a real good idea this year.

        https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/how-much-can-the-dodgers-do-under-the-luxury-tax.html

      2. Cohen’s New York Mets now have a projected 2023 payroll of $345 million. There is no doubt he wants to buy that championship.

      1. Probably going to try to sneak him through waivers (may not be all that difficult) and then use him as filler at OKC.

        If he’s on the 40-man come opening day, we have major problems.

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