What Will the Dodgers Look Like in 2024?

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1. Hope you eye surgery goes well, Mark.
   These days those kind of operations are routine.

   Who is that Ramirez guy you have projected in LF next season ?
   I would keep Smith at C one more year. Then Cartaya should be ready. Hopefully. He is in a season long slump but as you say progess is not always linear. What worries me about him is his long swing. At the moment he can not connect on the fastballs he gets.

   Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   1. I meant Rosario. It was early. 😉

      1. Fixed it for you. By the way, he is a free agent. You believe AF is going to re-sign him? He should be on that list.

      2. 2024:
         C Smith
         2B Betts or Lux
         SS Lux or Betts
         3B Busch
         LF Vargas
         CF DeLuca
         RF Outman
         DH Muncy
         Bench:
         Barnes
         CT3
         Those are the players there are for 2024., they are the base to build on.

   2. Cartaya hitting below .200 in double A is not going to magically be ready by 25.

2. Freeman was acquired via FA not trade. I think Lux will be given every opportunity to be the everyday SS.

   Likely AF executes the team buy out on Muncy and Busch is the 3b.

   1. Mark knew that, he had sleepers in his eyes.

3. Mark –

   Good luck on your eye surgery today; from what I read yeaterday Bear is having eye surgery soon too. Hope both of your surgeries go well and thanks to both of you for LADT. It has enhanced my experience as a Dodger fan since 1955….

   1. Thanks Tom, mine is on the 25th of September, and it is for removing excess skin around my eyes. I had cataract surgery a couple of years ago.

4. Does anyone know if Kershaw is starting against the Padres tomorrow?

   1. Hello Andrew.

      No definitely not.

      https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/dodgers-injuries-and-roster-moves

      1. Thank you Watford!

      2. Just read:

         David Vassegh
         @THEREAL_DV
         Dave Roberts also suggested Clayton Kershaw will return to #Dodgers rotation next week.

5. Win tonight! Must win the first game and send a message! A split would be ok. 3 out of 4 fantastic! A sweep? Say goodnight, Friars! I guess I could have included Manny on my most despised list, but as big an aaasss as he can be, he is a big-time 3rd baseman. Tatis on the other hand is a big talent with a lots of space in his skull! Nice to see Julio pitch well last night. Albeit Oakland still major league players. nice call to throw Emmet and save the bullpen. Probably going to be used extensively this weekend. Matt Olsen putting up big numbers, and Acuna having an unreal season, in the clutch I’ll take Freddie! I guess we all gave Eduardo Rodriguez a pass at first regarding his trade to the Dodgers. But now it seems he was playing hardball trying to get more money to waive his no trade! No, he doesn’t make my most despised list, but hope he never pitches for the Dodgers! Having a good year in Detroit, but I was never blown away when he pitched for Boston. When Julio is right there’s no competition between the 2 lefties! Afro Mark on Ohtani, spend some of that money on Matt Chapman maybe. Maybe bring in Salvador Perez for a year to allow Will to save his knees. Think that would be a nice platoon. Trade Max and resign JD. With Lux coming back should be good. Will in left most of the time with Sal catching, Chapman at 3rd, Mookie at shortstop, Lux at 2nd, if Rosario continues to rake, center fielder? Good speed. Bye bye Austin! Hey props to Barnes, got that average up to .130! Sorry, my bad. Hopefully it continues to rise cause Will struggling right now. Hope your eye surgery goes well Mark!

6. David Vassegh
   @THEREAL_DV
   JD Martinez likely will return to #Dodgers lineup Saturday in San Diego according to Dave Roberts.

   David Vassegh
   @THEREAL_DV
   Dave Roberts said Walker Buehler will throw a bullpen session in SD tomorrow. #Dodgers

7. 1B-Freeman
   2B-Vargas
   SS-Lux
   3B-Busch
   LF-Heyward/CT3
   CF-Outman
   RF-Betts
   C-Smith
   DH-Othani
   I’ll bet mine is closer than yours!

   1. Possible, but I like Mark, think Ohtani is a pipe dream. No confirmation that Heyward gets re-signed. Mark has Pages on his list, but Andy will have missed almost all year. Him being even ready by midseason is a stretch. And he hasn’t even played much at AAA.

      1. Out of curiosity, Bear, why is Ohtani signing with the Dodgers a pipe dream?

         If not the Dodgers, then who?

         I recall people said the same thing about LA being able to sign Mookie after the trade.

         Never going to happen was a common theme.

         Then, it did.

         1. A couple of things, he is projected to get maybe 500 million plus for at least 10 seasons. That hamstrings the organization over the last half of his career since he is 30 now. There are rising concerns about his ability to pitch during the length of his contract. He has been having problems with blisters and other ailments in his pitching arm. I do not think the Dodgers want to spend that kind of money on a guy no matter what. If the price lowers some it might happen. But 500 mil plus? No body is worth that kind of money.

            1. Not a pipe dream at all.
               Just add up the AAV in the contracts of Bauer ($34m) and Mookie ($30.5)–and those deals were signed before the most recent round of contract inflation. Ohtani, of course, is both an ace and the best slugger of 2023. If a team lands him for less than $60 million per year, I’ll be shocked.

               The Dodgers wouldn’t just be signing him just because he’d be great batting behind Mookie and Freddie and also leading a six-man rotation. They would sign him because he is baseball’s first true INTERNATIONAL STAR and open international TV revenues like no one before him. His stature is simply unprecedented, and it comes at a time when MLB is trying to take the game global. Marrying the Ohtani brand to the Dodgers brand would open new revenue streams for the Dodgers and Ohtani.
               The Mets’ Steve Cohen could offer Ohtani the most money, but the Mets have turned into a crap team and Ohtani wants to win. We know he likes the West Coast, and seems comfortable in SoCal. We know he is a Mookie Betts fan. We know that polls of players predict that Ohtani will be a Dodger. Plenty of signs.
               So the lineup will look something like this:

               Mookie 2B
               Freddie 1B
               Shohei DH
               Will Smith C
               Max 3B
               Lux SS
               Outman CF
               Vargas LF
               Heyward/DeLuca RF

   2. ok

   3. Yep, Lux deserves to start.

8. Definitely an opportunity to reset the roster in 2024.

   No Bauer, that was a disaster. Still believe Ohtani will be in play. I could make arguments either way, but he does generate an incredible amount of revenue and that has to be taken into consideration. This is not just about the usual free agent signing. So throw out all the usual evaluations.

   All big contracts eventually go bad, the exception is Clayton Kershaw who has done a series of one year deals. MLB is littered with dead money.

   But I believe Ohtani is the player the Dodgers intend to land and his apparent preference for the West Coast will favor LA. Then there are all the reports the Dodgers are all in, I would be shocked if he signs elsewhere. Besides the Dodgers with all their young inexpensive talent is the reason the Dodgers can afford Ohtani and still be able to surround him with enough talent to put a very good team on the field. Most teams are not set-up to do that.

   Time for the Dodgers to go all in to win a championship and more, otherwise the chorus will get louder with comparisons to Stan Kasten’s Braves. The Dodgers still haven’t had a Parade.

   No question, the Dodgers win baseball games, but they fall short in the playoffs. Putting Ohtani into a line-up with Betts, Freeman, and Smith bodes well for the future. Not to mention his pitching skills and the Dodgers youth offer an opportunity to create a six man staff.

   I think Clayton comes back if the Dodgers sign Ohtani.

   I think Gavin Lux plays short. Time to give Michael Busch a real shot, third base? Miguel Vargas will become the player the Dodgers thought he would this year.

   What to do with Max? Time to move on. Not sure about Julio. But do the Dodgers want to sink money in a big contract? Maybe he turns it around in the next two months. But I’d move on.

   Remember the Dodgers have a lot of money coming off the books. Time to roll.

   Jack Flaherty pitched well for the Orioles last night. Scherzer was okay, Lorenzen pretty good for the Phillies and Pittsburgh’s Keller had a bad night. Not all trades that work are about high price talent or up and coming stars.

   Good luck today Mark.

9. Julio was good yesterday but his velo topped out at 93 mph at only a handful of pitches. Most times between 90-92 mph with the heater. That is well below what he usually is able to reach.
   How this will play out vs the better lineups remains to be seen. A´s at the moment are more a AAAA lineup than a MLB lineup.
   Sheehan pitched well. The first homer he gave up was a pretty good pitch but the batter put a very good swing on it. Happens.

   Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   1. Yes, but his breaking stuff was much better this time out. You do not always need to throw 95 to win games. Kersh has done it with a fastball rarely hitting 92.

      1. Against the top lineups I do not think Julio can get away with only 90-92 mph like Clayton.
         Clayton has way better control and his slider is , well, its still Clayton Kershaws slider.

         Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

         1. Probably not. But if Urias is low in the zone instead of hanging pitches like he has most of the year, he is much better no matter what speed he throws at. We just have to wait and see. He pitches against AZ sometime next week. Yarborough joins the team this weekend.

10. For Dodger Dad: Yes, Machado is a great third baseman. He was a better than average SS. But he is a jerk. He was a jerk when he was a Dodger, and he hasn’t changed one bit. The entire Padre team makes me want to puke. They act like they have won multiple championships, yet their biggest accomplishment since the Dodgers began dominating the West is beating LA in the NLDS last year. Other than that, they suck. Muncy got hit on his wrist last night and is day to day. Sheehan, if he sticks, will be out of the pen the rest of the season. Kersh comes back next week, and the rotation is Miller, Kersh, Urias, Lynn, Gonsolin, Yarborough. Buehler comes back on September 1 and is used as an opener for a few games to get his innings up. They go to a six man for the rest of the year until the playoffs. Buehler in the playoffs is a weapon.

    1. Orel said WB texted him that he already is at 94 mph. That is just great news. Hopefully early to mid September he is his old self again.

       As far as Julios velo is converned: Always a red alert when a pitcher loses 3-4 mph on his heater. So often it is a precursor to a major injury.
       A guy like Clayton can get away with it but not all are Clayton Kershaw.

       Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

       1. Like I said, we just have to wait and see. And many pitchers have lived throwing in the low 90’s. McClanahan of the Rays placed on the IL with forearm soreness. Hello Tommy John surgery. By the way, it took Kersh a while to figure it out when his fastball started losing steam. He was pretty pedestrian before he developed that back door slider.

       2. Good news but let’s save him for 2024.

          1. Not the plan. If he is ready, he is going to pitch. Roberts already stated that.

11. So how many first inning runs will Bobby Miller give up tonight facing 3 super stars in a hostile environment?

    I will go first…..I say 3. (Not happy to say that either. Please don’t hate me for being honest with my opinion. Naturally I hope I’m wrong.)

    Sidenote: I would have preferred Miller against woeful As at home instead of the surging Padres on the road, but I guess coach wanted to build up Urias’ confidence.

    1. Hostile environment? Probably over half Dodger fans….
       I think Bobby Ice will do just fine.

       1. As long as they do not limit fans not in their area code from buying tickets. They are pretty chickenshit that way, so is Arizona who a few years ago was embarrassed by all the Dodger fans sitting behind home plate sporting Dodger gear. They made some stupid rule that you could not wear Dodger gear if you were sitting there. Cubs fans usually outnumber D-Back fans when they play there. Lots of retired Chicagoans live in the area.

12. Dodgerram: Here is an excerpt from Torino’s article on mob.com: “Overall, Urías’ velocity was down across the board. His four-seamer averaged 91.6 mph — 1.2 mph below his season average. But Roberts observed him getting stronger as the night wore on, with his fastest pitch of the night — a 94.4 mph heater — coming in the fifth. Three of Urías’ five strikeouts came in that inning, when he ended his night on a strong note by striking out the side.”

    So while you were right about his overall velocity being down, he topped out at 94.4. I watched his entire 5 innings and from the start he struggled with command of the fastball. I believe he was forcing lower veto to get a hold of command.

    I guess we will have to see subsequent starts to know the full story.

13. I just sent a post saying Julio topped out at 94.4 but the post disappeared.

    1. Disappeared? Nope, it is right there.

14. Who’s pitching for friars?

    1. YU

       1. No, you!

          1. YU’s on first.

             Can you just imagine if he won game 7 in the WS. I know we were cheated out of it, but he’d have been a Dodger legend….

             Oh well lets beat him tonight.

15. My oldest son been to San Diego for a game, says it’s beautiful! Shame they have such ugly ass players! Amazing how the Pads supposedly were in on Max, Verlander, and others. What could they possibly have left in their farm system? After Snell leaves and Darvish is done, then Soto leaves and Tatis leaves to climb Mt. Everest on a dirt bike, what do they do? And still no World Series! Tony Gwynn rest in peace. Most of those guys don’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as you!

    1. San Diego is beautiful and fun.

       1. The city is beautiful that is for sure, and the weather is great. But the team is full of jerks and those city connect uni’s are a joke.

    2. Not much, pre-season rank was 22. Traded their #8 as part of the Choi-Hill trade.

16. Old Friend Rich hill vs Lynn on Sunday night.

    Hate seeing Rich in a SD uni….

    1. Padres unis have gotten uglier as time passes. I think the best looking one they had was the pinstripes with the blue, orange and a tint of brown.

17. Gelofs brother was promoted to Rancho from his AZL team.

18. UVA has been constantly supplying MLB with wonderful players. Excellent program and coach.

19. Hope your eye surgeries goes better for you than it did for me. The bastard really kowered my quality of life with my much worsen vision. I am looking to sue, But really, wish you the best.

20. 2024 Dodgers I have some changes why would we want Vargas at second base who can’t hit and now we have a second baseman that can hit or play shortstop so they sign Rosorio then the second base position is filled. Now third base they sign Matt Chapman it be like when they signed Freeman the big grab if the off season he is younger plays great a defense and hit well. They also resign Max Muncy and Kiki Hernandez and trade CT3 and I said Vargas and a pitching prospect for say a Bednar to be the closer okay so I’ve signed free agents which they will get a starting pitcher because I am sure Urias will go some where and rumor Giants Angles Marnier interested in him. And hope Kershaw doesn’t go to the Rangers. So your 2024 lineup here it goes.
    Betts Rf of course RF and will move around just like this season
    Freeman 1b always at first base
    Smith LF moved to LF because we need his bat and he still can play catcher sometimes but with Rushings close they traded for Kirk from Bluejays
    Chapman 3B. Free agent signing
    Rosorio 2b he impressed us in 2023
    Muncy DH Resigned because Martiniz goes to the Yankees
    Kirk C. Trade with Bluejays fro catcher to move Smith to the outfield.
    Outman CF wins centerfield job
    Lux. SS. He recovers and starts at SS if he falther’s they still have Rojas

    Bench. Hernandez, Rojas, Deluca, Heyward, Rushings

    And there’s a more realistic 2024 LA Dodgers team

    1. A couple of things Bradley, first, Vargas is going to get another shot at being the guy at second. They might re-sign Rosario and they might not. But he can also play the outfield, so he might get more playing time there. He has played just a few games at second, so the jury is still out on whether he would move there permanently. The team has an option of 10 million on Muncy. 50-50 they exercise it. Rushing is not going to be in the majors next year. He is still playing A ball. At least two years away. Chapman would be a nice pick-up. But there will be a lot of bidders for his services. They will address the pitching before they go all in on hitters. And don’t forget the winter meetings. There will no doubt be some trades. Kike, Rosario, Heyward, Peralta, Kersh, Urias, Martinez, Miller, all free agents. Marisnick too. The team will have a somewhat different look, but it is way too early to even speculate who will be back and who won’t. Why would the Yankees want Martinez? Stanton, who is nothing more than a DH at this point, is under contract until 2028. If he is healthy, he might re-sign with the Dodgers if they do not retain Muncy. Why in the world would the Jays trade their starting catcher? Why would the Dodgers want him? He has very little power. His OPS is below .700. Smith is not going to move next year. Maybe he will if one of the prospects advances enough in the next year and a half to make the team in 25. Barnes is under contract next season. Doubt he gets moved.

       1. Bradley, Whether you trade for a player or acquire him through Free Agency, there are three possible outcomes:

          1. He plays exactly the way he did last season;
          2. He improves over his last season; or
          3. He regresses over last season.

          Andrew Friedman tries to get the player BEFORE he becomes that player. In other words, he tries to pick up a player and help him grow into something else. The Dodgers did that with Justin Turner, Max Muncy and others. He did not get Rosario for being the weak hitter that he is. He wants to help turn him into something better, most likely a platoon player.

          Vargas may or may not end up at 2B. We don’t yet know where Busch will play, but 3B seems likely. Rushing is likely two years away! He could see the show in late 2025.

       2. They need a upgrade at catcher if their move Smith to outfield or third base so I say they trade for a catcher maybe the guy with Colorado maybe Kirk or Jansen or Casali but they need a better catcher the Barnes okay. Then bring up Feduccia from the minors. So I say what my prediction are and you slam them but mark does prediction with Busch and Vargas and it’s oh my goodness he is a genius. When we all saw this year Vargas couldn’t hit and Busch I don’t think is a starter for the dodgers but for another team yes. Again I was predicting smith moves positions that’s why I traded for a catcher. And the Bluejays have two good ones and Diaz is in Colorado or Casali in Cincinnati. Ones that the Dodgers could get.

          1. Diaz will be 33 in November and has had a rather pedestrian career. This is his best season, but he is too old.

             Casali is even older – he will be 35 in November. He is currently hitting .175 and has a career BA of .220 which is .004 points better than Barnes.

             Why bother?

             1. Oh my God if they move Smith they have to upgrade at catcher right do we agree I just named four catchers the dodgers could get that start on other teams and you two bear and mark say naw they couldn’t start for the dodgers. You guys would rather keep Barnes really and I am the one that gives crazy predictions. I don’t think are catcher is at AAA level he is at single A ball. So there going to either have to get a catcher in free agency if they plan to move Smith and there’s to spots open for Smith LF and 3b which is easier to learn the outfield. So he plays LF and DH when Muncy play 3b sometimes when not DH and you still got to have kiki who plays every where. Chapman thou that’s who I would go after and of course Martiniz but it sounded like he likes some where else but who? So I said Yankees because seems like every fre agent says the Yankees.

             2. Big if Bradley. I understand why you believe he should be moved. But there has been absolutely no discussion about that happening. Only thing I have read about that is from fans. The catchers you have mentioned are not that good. Kirk is 26 and Toronto’s # 1 catcher. They are not going to trade the guy without having a replacement on hand, which at this point they do not. He is also not that great of a hitter. He has zero pop. The Dodgers don’t want a catcher, they have an All-Star catcher in Smith. As for Vargas, very small sample and he was dealing with that hand injury he got in spring training. He has hit since he went back to AAA. Busch might not be the answer at third, but he also might be trade bait this winter. Vargas is going to get his shot next spring just like Lux will. You are predicting trades that have very little chance of happening. Not one of those four catchers you named is an upgrade from Will Smith.

21. DODGERS PRESS RELEASE

    DODGERS ACTIVATE RYAN YARBROUGH

    LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have activated left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough and optioned right-handed pitcher Emmet Sheehan.

    Yarbrough, 31, joins the team after being traded to the Dodgers on Tuesday, August 1st in exchange for minor league infielders Devin Mann and Derlin Figueroa. He made 14 appearances (seven starts) for the Royals, posting a 4-5 record with a 4.24 ERA (24 ER/51.0 IP) and 29 strikeouts. He has been in the Majors parts of six seasons with Tampa Bay (2018-2022) and Kansas City (2023) and he is a combined 44-36 with a 4.32 ERA (303 ER/630.2 IP) and 496 strikeouts against 140 walks. He was originally drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round of the 2014 First Year Player Draft out of Old Dominion University.

    Sheehan, 23, pitched last night, tossing 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on two hits (two solo homers) and striking out three batters on way to his first career save. He made eight appearances (seven starts), posting a 3-1 record with a 5.63 ERA (24 ER/38.1 IP) and 30 strikeouts this season with the Dodgers. Prior to joining the Dodgers, he was 4-1 with a 1.82 ERA (11 ER/53.1 IP) and 88 strikeouts against 23 walks in 12 games (10 starts) for Tulsa. In three minor league seasons with the Dodgers, he is combined 14-3 with a 2.76 ERA (32 ER/137.0 IP) and 228 strikeouts in 39 games (26 starts). He was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 First Year Player Draft out of Boston College University.

22. Dodgers sold Kole Calhoun to the Guardians for cash.

    1. Good for Calhoun. I admire these guys who keep plugging away.
       Now I hope they sign Willie Calhoun too.

23. Padres Shut Down Joe Musgrove With Shoulder Inflammation
    By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2023 at 4:40pm CDT

    The Padres are shutting down starter Joe Musgrove for three weeks after an MRI revealed inflammation in the capsule of his throwing shoulder, the team informed reporters (including Dennis Lin of the Athletic). While the club is hopeful he’ll be able to return at some point this season, he’s obviously headed to the injured list and doesn’t figure to be back until well into September at the earliest.

24. Thursday scores
    Oklahoma City 7, Round Rock 6 (10 innings)
    Tulsa 10, Wichita 0
    Fort Wayne 10, Great Lakes 0
    Fresno 4, Rancho Cucamonga 2

    Friday schedule
    4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Hyun-il Choi) at Fort Wayne (Austin Krob)
    5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone) vs. Round Rock (Robert Dugger)
    5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (River Ryan) at Wichita (Marco Raya)
    6:50 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Christian Romero) at Fresno (Caleb Franzen)

25. Anthony Davis just signed a 3 year $186MM ($61 MM/year) extension. A $50MM/year baseball player is not far off.

    1. Andrew Friedman will not be the first to do it!

       1. You mean the guy who signed Bauer at $34 million per year?
          He wouldn’t offer another $17 million for an ace who might also hit 60 homers?

26. 9:40 PM ET

    Dodgers (62-45)
    Padres (54-55)

    SP Bobby Miller R
    6-2 4.37 ERA
    SP Yu Darvish R
    8-7 4.53 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    2B Mookie Betts R
    1B F. Freeman L
    C Will Smith R
    DH D. Peralta L
    RF J. Heyward L
    3B Chris Taylor R
    CF James Outman L
    SS Amed Rosario R
    LF E. Hernandez R

    0%
    72° Wind 8 mph L-R

    1. Lol right when Rojas gets hot . . .

27. It makes me laugh to see how some are afraid of those stupid clowns, and worried about the “hostile” environment. I would understand and accept it if the Dodgers were a team of children, but they are professional adults, they are leaders, they are not the ones who should be worried. And much less worried about those useless and mediocre assholes… Ha ha ha dangerous? ha ha ha… If you’re going to worry, worry about LA, or maybe SF… And then, just in case you meet in the next round, worry about ATL…

    1. Nothing worse than a useless asshole.

    2. You can hate their guts, Jorge, and still admit they have a very strong lineup.

       I seem to remember your being strangely silent when that team of mediocre assholes beat us in the playoffs last year.

       1. Last year I didn’t give importance to baseball because it was just in those days when my father fell ill and had to be hospitalized, and shortly after he died, for that reason I left this, but it wasn’t because I cared about the game, and not that team.

          And I definitely didn’t care or hurt that LA lost that series.

          1. Sorry for your loss Jorge. I know that had to be a terrible time for you.

    3. 9 runs over the last 3 innings. Made the Pads look bad. Wait, they are bad.

       1. Their awful relievers got stomped.

28. I would watch out for that Giants GM he loves Dodgers players so off-season when Urias Muncy and Martinez are free agents I could see those guys going to the Giants only one I wouldn’t worry about is muncy but supposedly he had a good relationship with Kapler when he was roving instructor with the Dodgers and if the Giants got Urias with the two starting pitchers they have allready and they have a stud pitcher to coming up from AAA in 2024 in Harrison so don’t be surprised this off-season say like Martiniz and Urias go there.

    1. Farhan has some free agents of his own to worry about. Muncy will only be a free agent if his option is declined by the Dodgers. It is only for 10 million, so he could be back. I don’t know why Martinez would prefer going to Frisco. As for Urias, he is going to go to the highest bidder. I can see the Padres making a huge play for him. The reason? He is Mexican and with a large Mexican following, they would love having another Mexican playing for their team. Same reason the Dodgers traded for Adrian Gonzalez.

29. Hope that all goes well with the surgery, Mark.
    I would take a split with Padres right now. Dodgers would be ten up on Padres in loss column with seven weeks left. When you watch this Padres line up it is hard to believe that they are in fourth place in West.
    After two games with A’s this weekend, Giants start a stretch of 28 games against Angels, Rangers, Phillies, Rays , Braves (7 games), Padres and Cubs. Hopefully Dodgers can stretch that margin in West during this next five weeks.
    That is a pretty good summary of AF and his approach to building Dodger rosters. He will pay for stars (money or prospects) and fill in around those keystones. (May explain why he was not willing to trade real good prospects at this trade deadline.) A roster built around Betts, Freeman, Smith, and Ohtani and a deep farm system to fill in seems to make sense.
    A guess at 2024:
    C. Smith
    1B. Freeman
    2B. Vargas
    SS Lux
    3B Busch or Muncy
    LF. runway for DeLuca/Busch/Pages?
    CF. Outman
    RF Betts
    DH Ohtani

30. My most sincere condolences to you Jorge, may your father restin peace.

    1. Thanks Joe….

31. What a game. What a win.

    Man those kits are awful.

    1. The Padres city connect uni’s are the worst. Looks like a batch of sherbet ice cream gone bad. Now the Cubbies Wrigleyville uni’s are classic.

32. Great win by the Dodgers!
    Total team effort with huge contributions by Outman, Peralta, Kike and Rosario.
    This team battles and hangs in games. Padres seem to find ways to lose despite a good lineup.
    Hopefully they can get to Snell tomorrow.

33. Hey, how about that Jimmy Outman?
    Pretty good game. For starters he robs Tatis of a homer and then hammers one himself–and it wasn’t lucky at all. Then he kind of doinks one down the third place line–very lucky!–to drive in a run. Also stole a base.
    And then when he’s going to come up with the bases loaded, Roberts decides to use JD Martinez as a pinch hitter, even though JDM apparently wasn’t healthy enough to start at DH.
    A smart move? Not so sure.
    It worked out OK because JDM walked, bringing in a run.
    But was it the right move?
    My guess is that Roberts turned to JDM with the thought that he could break the game open with a big hit. And JDM would have the theoretical advantage of being a righthanded batter facing a lefty, while Outman bats from the left side.
    But that’s just theoretical. The empirical data suggests that Outman would have had the advantage over JDM.
    Against lefties, Outman has a .288 BA and a very nice OBP of .376. (He’s goes for contact against lefties and shows more power against northpaws.)
    JDM, in contrast, has a .247 BA against southpaws and an OBP of .337.
    For the season, against all pitchers, Outman now has a fine .352 OBP, while JDM’s is .311.
    It’s true that JDM flexes more power, but if the goal was to add an insurance run or two, the stats suggest that Outman should have batted. And this is especially true because Outman has been hot lately, while JDM has been dealing with an injury. (Rojas came in to pinch run for him.)
    Anyway, it worked out because JDM got the walk . But over the last 30 days, Outman has walked 15 times against 18 strikeouts, while JDM has walked 8 times against 21 Ks. Again, advantage Outman.
    Well, I guess we can hope that JDM will be back in the DH spot tomorrow.
    Unless he strained himself in that at bat that should have been Outman’s.

    1. But that’s just theoretical. The empirical data suggests that Outman would have had the advantage over JDM.

       You have no idea what empirical data says! Dave Roberts has a book of it from Friedmans cadre of nerds.

       Why do you always have to need to question moves… especially ones that work?

       Oh, I know – To defend your “Jimmy!”

34. Hey, how about that Jimmy Outman?

35. How good was Gavin Stone on Friday night? In a word, unhittable.

    The Dodgers’ No. 4 prospect racked up 10 strikeouts over six hitless, scoreless innings in Oklahoma City’s 7-1 win over Round Rock. The 10 whiffs matched a season high set in May, while the six no-hit frames were a new benchmark for Stone. His previous longest outing without allowing a hit was four innings — a feat he accomplished last season with OKC and in 2021 with High-A Great Lakes.

36. White Sox Acquire Two Minor League Pitchers From Dodgers
    By Anthony Franco | August 4, 2023 at 10:29pm CDT

    The White Sox announced they’ve acquired right-handers Aldrín Batista and Máximo Martínez from the Dodgers in exchange for international signing bonus space. Both were eligible to be traded because they haven’t been on the 40-man roster at any point this season.

    Both pitchers are low-level arms with no major league experience. They’d each been in the Arizona Complex League. Batista, 20, has a 3.46 ERA while striking out just under a third of opponents in 39 innings. Martínez, 19, has a 4.73 ERA with a 23.3% strikeout rate over 26 2/3 frames.

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