- It would be wonderful if the Dodgers could make a deal at the deadline to get a hitter who doesn’t strike out much, hits .280-.290, and has some power. Wait, morons, he is already on the team… and he is leading the team in batting average and second in OPS, albeit in just 42 ABs, but Miguel Vargas needs to play. It could be the guy the Dodgers need to trade for is already on the team.
- I keep hearing that this isn’t a championship team, and it leads me to believe some of you live in an alternate universe. One of the Top 5 players in baseball is on the IL and another player who happens to be the 3B and usually hits 35 HR and drives in 100 runs is on the IL as well. They will be back, Does that make us any better? Duuuuhhhh…
- With Vargas, Betts, Muncy, Buehler, Kershaw, Yamamoto, May, Graterol and others added to the team, this could be an entirely different team… especially if James Outman can return to killing RHP.
- Willy Adames would look great in Dodger Blue next season. I’d take him over Bichette. Mookie and Miggy Ro can hold down SS this season.
- BTW, some fans like to rag on Robert Van Socyoc, but all you have to do is look at his record and also remember what he has done with Rojas. It doesn’t work with everyone, but the Dodgers lead all of MLB in Runs, OB%, and OPS, and they are #17 in Strikeouts while being #3 in HRs. As they get healthy, they will be the best offense in baseball… wait! They already are. BTW, HERE IS a recent interview a high schooler did with JD Martinez who is a RVS disciple.
- Justin Wrobleski will allegedly start on Sunday. I have been waiting for this. This could help decide whether the Dodgers go after Crochet or not.
- Kyle Hurt can’t be far off…
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I agree with this post. We are not desperate for help from now to October. Guys like to imagine trades and I guess its fun for them. That’s the fun of this blog. Maybe we can trade Lux for Aaron Judge -even up where Yanks pay the balance of his contract.
Have a great weekend all
Finally the Dodgers apparently wise up and at least think about giving Vargas some run at 3b. Have been saying that for weeks they should give him an occasional start at the hot corner to keep his bat in the lineup.How about that “dead horse”, Bear ? 😉
Insane they according to Roberts will bench him immediately again today vs Peralta after showing one more time he can hit RHP . Just stupid.
If they are even more stupid and trade Vargas at the deadline they better get some real top talent back for him.
He is exactly the hitter this team badly needs. High average and OBP with decent power. Isn´t that what we are looking for ?
Looking forward to Sunday and Wrobleski. Dodgers have put him on the fast track.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good stuff, Mark
Heart of a champion
Agree on Vargas. He’s earned more playing time.
Good win last night and a big night for Will Smith.
Glasnow seems to sail along until he doesn’t.
Do the Dodgers need to make a trade or two at the deadline? No, they don’t. But they will. If they do, will it be for pitching or hitting? They’ve got a lot of pitching, but most are broke right now. According to the LA Times, the Dodgers sustain more pitching injuries than any other team in the MLB.
Muncy will supposedly return soon and that will help the line-up. Losing Mookie hurt. Okay, Rojas is playing well so I’m guessing that Mookie slides to second when he returns. Could Lux be on the trade block? Young player who will eventually hit his stride. Probably.
Okay, Bellinger would be a fan favorite to acquire, but Robert may make more sense if he’s available. I like Crochet, but the Dodgers do have pitchers returning like Kershaw, Buehler and hopefully Yamamoto. The Dodgers do have trade assets to make a big or small deal.
Always enjoy the trade deadline. Good write-up, Mark.
“Moises Brito, a 21-year-old left-hander who was part of the Mitch White trade at the 2022 deadline, struck out two in two scoreless innings in his Low-A debut.
Joe Kelly made his second rehab appearance in Low-A, this time on the road. He allowed a single — the only hit allowed by Quakes pitchers on Friday — and walk to his first two hitters in the fifth inning, but got out of it with a strikeout and double play. Kelly also got a special introduction in Visalia”.
Saturday schedule
2:05 p.m. PT (doubleheader): Great Lakes (Jackson Ferris & Peter Heubeck) vs. West Michigan (Joe Miller & Carlos Marcano)
5 p.m.: Tulsa (Kendall Williams) vs. Wichita (Cory Lewis)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Hyun-il Choi) vs. Las Vegas (J.T. Ginn)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Roque Gutierrez) at Visalia (Adonys Perez)
Probably be some scouts at the GL DH. Ferris & Heubeck are both top ten pitching prospects in our system. Have to think we’d like to hang onto River Ryan & Wrobleski. Any other arm might be fair game.
MLBTR on Wrobs:
“Wrobleski, 23, has quickly risen through the Dodgers’ minor league system since making his professional debut in 2022. He made a name for himself last season at High-A, tossing 102 1/3 innings over 25 games (23 starts) with a 2.90 ERA and 3.22 FIP. That performance helped him rocket up Dodgers prospect lists ahead of the 2024 season; Baseball America ranked him #6, FanGraphs ranked him #11, and Keith Law of The Athletic ranked him #9. All three publications agreed he was the top left-handed pitching prospect in the organization.”
That’s pretty impressive to jump from High A to MLB in a year.
As a long time supporter of Lux it is getting very tiring seeing the same slow roller to the right side of the infield.
Especially after seeing Vargas & Freddy adjust their swings to get hits – I definitely do not see this same ability from Lux and especially Taylor.
It would be nice if the Dodgers would play Vargas for 5-10 games in a row, if for nothing else just to shut up all of us on this site:).
If Taylor plays today and not Vargas it just shows that even high-powered intelligent organization still can and do get it wrong.
If they trade Vargas I definitely see the Paul Konerko scenario re-playing itself out.
Vargas has never had difficulty hitting RHP. The only time he has not been successful was when they let him hit with broken fingers. He should play today. This is a dumbass move.
Agreed, it’s frustrating! What’s so wrong with holding off playing Outman this one game to keep Vargas’ momentum going?? And why risk clogging his mind with a position switch to 3B? My gosh, it’s like the FO are purposely trying to stymie his progress in the majors!
Nice to see Vargas playing well.
But he certainly had difficulty hitting any kind of pitching after he was called up in ’22. I remain dumbfounded that Vargas, dealing with an injury, was handed the 2B job in ’23. But then, AF also was convinced that Lux would be a swell shortstop.
Now Vargas is looking like a new player–and made a nice defensive play in LF too, running down a fly ball in foul territory near the wall.
Interesting that the Dodgers are now considering Vargas for 3B again, at least until Max gets back. Let him play; the other guys can make errors too.
In trade-market news, old friend Tyler Anderson of the Angels just threw 8 shutout innings against the Cubs. He’s having a strong bounce-back season, 8-8 on a crappy team with a 2.81 ERA. He’s under contract through ’25.
.Would a reunion with Anderson make sense?
The Dodgers are treating Vargas like they still want to trade him more than they want to keep him.
“More time needed to prepare” Vargas to play 3B.. simply gives the Dodgers’ brain trust another excuse to limit his playing time.
They’re stalling, ..because I think they prefer to trade him. Why? I’m guessing some time in the past (maybe last year) Vargas’ camp and the FO butted heads over something baseball-related, and it still doesn’t sit well with the organization, ..so they want him off their reservation.
I know I’m speculating, ..but it’s the only narrative about Vargas that makes sense to me.
I was bored so I made up a list to predict the 28 player roster on Sept 1st. Note: roster expands to 28, must be 14 pitchers and 14 non pitchers. I did not take into account trades or season ending injuries. This post would be my 14 position players. Please play along. Throw in who will be on the roster and take into account trades if you’d like. Smith, Barnes, Feduccia, Freeman, Taylor, Lux, Rojas, Muncy, T. Hernandez, Vargas, Pages, Heyward, Betts and Ohtani. Later I’ll list my 14 pitchers. A lot depends on where they play Mookie when he comes back.
Replace Feduccia with Outman….
To Kike or not to Kike?
Mark, we the fans have no control of who plays every day. Of course when mookie and max come back the dodgers are better. I said earlier this morning they would sit Vargas today. I guess they will give kiki, taylor, biggio some more “run” to let them figure it out! Figure what out?? Dumbass move today? absolutely! What does the guy have to do? Reps at 3rd for Miguel? wouldn’t it be a better idea to leave him in left field as to not put pressure on him to worry about his defense? …… A world series team? probably, but not without removing some of the dead weight first!
My prediction is that if a position player is traded it will depend where they play Mookie. If Betts plays 2nd, Lux would have been traded. If Betts is moved to the outfield, Vargas would have been traded which, in my mind, would not age well.
Dodgers need a outfielder that can hit consistently. That’s who they need to get in a trade. Sure another homerun hitter is great. But a guy that doesn’t swing for the fences every at bat. Like Chris Taylor and Keke Hernandez and Heyward do. Here are some outfielders that would help. Jessie Winkler, Lane Thomas, Cody Bellinger, Michael Conforter, Kyle Tucker, all these guys would give a spark in the lineup. Which also these players can at least move the runners over and not strikeout every at bat. And Lux he needs to go to like the Cubs. And the Dodgers get Nico Hornier. He can play all over the the infield and hit. So, instead of looking at the Whitesoxs they should look at the Cubs to trade with.
Not criticizing your choices here Bradley, just giving their stats at this point in the season. Winker, .266 avg. 10 homers, 40 RBIs, 12 steals, .806OPS. Bellinger, .274 avg, 9 homers, 37 RBIs, 4 steals, .757 OPS. Can opt out next year. Lane Thomas, .238 avg, 8 homers, 35 RBIs, 20 steals, .710 OPS. Excellent outfielder. Probably the only one as good as Bellinger. Michael Conforto, .239 avg, 9 homers, 31 RBIs, no steals, .743 OPS. Giants would probably not trade any player to the Dodgers during a pennant race. Interdivision trades at the deadline are rare. Kyle Tucker, .266 avg, 19 homers, 40 RBIs, 10 steals, .979 OPS his OPS+ is 179. He would be my first choice. He is currently on the IL and won’t be back before the All-Star break. Astros are in the race now in the AL west and most likely will be adding, not subtracting. Verlander is hurt, so they will be in on any pitchers who become available. The Dodgers need at least one starting pitcher, and they could use an infielder who can hit.
Bear Bear now. Any of those guys that I mentioned the protection in our lineup would be better then what they have now. Those guys would be better to have then the six guys we have that swing for the fences and strikeout. Taylor looks like a over the hill softball beer league guy tha swings for the fences every time when all he needs is a base hit. And Lux oh my gosh. I saw him the other nite watch two go right down the pipe. Then he swings at one down in the dirt strikes out on three pitches. Hernandez same with him as Taylor swung as hard as I can and hit a homer or hit a deep fly ball. Same with Heyward swing out of your shoes and hit a dribbler to the second baseman for a double play. And Biggio oh my dosh how is he still on the team and not bring up Hoese or Lipcicus at least they would make contact. And Barnes he can’t hit. But he can call a good game behind the plate. Except he can’t throw out runners on base. And the other team knows that. So even if we could take the guys from the minors and replace those six guys on the majors. That would make the Dodgers better just doing that then what we have now.
Well Heyward has already been replaced by Outman for the next few weeks. Heyward played well last year, and at this point he is the best defensive outfielder they have. Biggio is not long for the roster, a trade or Max returning gets him his release, but do not expect any big moves until the deadline. Taylor has no trade value and his contract for next year is also a huge deal that LA would have to pay a chunk of to get a team to take him. Releasing him and eating all that money is not an option they are likely to use. Lux could be moved in a deal for a pitcher, or another infielder. He at least has some value since he is under team control until 2027. The only two players on your list that they would have a legitimate shot at trading for are Winker and Thomas. Bellinger would be a long shot, but doable. Conforto plays for the Giants. LA has not made a trade with the Giants since 2007, and that was for Mark Sweeney. With the Astros as close to first as they are, it is highly unlikely they would trade Tucker. Very few of the players at AAA have any MLB experience at all. They would be just as big of question marks as the players on the roster are. And there is really no way AF makes that big of an adjustment to the roster at one time. I understand your feeling that moves need to be made now, but it just does not work like that. AF has to assess the market and see who is dealing at the deadline and who isn’t, then assess which players he feels will help the Dodgers. He is not going to overpay for any player, one reason I think there is zero chance that Robert Jr gets traded to LA> Sox are asking for a Soto like package.
I don’t understand why the majority want to trade Vargas with so much desire, he will be the LF of the Dodgers next season.
Personally I hope he is the next and first Latino star (not pitcher) since… I can’t even remember who, maybe Pedro Guerrero.
And no, Beltre doesn’t count since he became a superstar on another team.
Does Manny Ramirez count? Was a star for a short time here
I think 48 home runs and 121rbi’s is close to superstar stats. What an awful decision to let Beltran to walk. Guerrero was great to watch on offense. One knew the ball was going to be hit hard somewhere. He’s defense could have been a little better. To trade Vargas would be a huge mistake in my opinion, which matters little.
You are forgetting Adrian Gonzalez. But I think you might be referring to a home-grown Latino player. Guererro was not home-grown. He was acquired in a trade with the Indians for Bruce Ellingson. Last one might be Raul Mondesi as a position player. On a sad note, Raul just was sentenced to six years in prison for embezzlement when he was the mayor of San Cristobal. The Dodgers have had many more Latino’s as pitchers than position players.
Not sure why the
concerns over Bichette’s defense over the last few yrs.
Add in his offense and you have a very good and potential All- star SS for the foreseeable future.
Use the prospect capital it will take to get him, resign him to an extension and he is your shortstop for the next 7 yrs.
From: Just Baseball
Bichette had a nightmarish defensive season in 2022, but improved significantly in 2023, and his growth defensively makes him a pretty special player when you considering his offensive contributions.
Over the last three season’s the 26yr old Bichette is second to only Trea Turner — more on him in a minute — in hits among shortstops, with 555. Across that same period, Bichette has an .815 OPS and has made two All-Star Game appearances.
The most encouraging part of Bichette’s second All-Star campaign in 2023 was how much he improved defensively. Bichette had 47 errors between 2021 and 2022, but cut that down to just eight in 2023. He went from having an unsightly -16 defensive runs saved in 2022 to five in 2023.
2024 -7 errors and a fielding % .970.
He is an excellent hitter having a bad first 1/2 of the season so far.
Dejong is a worse defensive SS in 2024 with 12 errors and offensively not very good.
Some power with below avg bat to ball skills.
He already has struck out 94x’s and his strikeout rate is almost at 34% TY.
We have enough of those guys already.
Bichette frees up Rojas to be your number 1 infielder to come off the bench or come on in late innings as a defensive replacement were needed
I don’t believe Rojas keeps up his current offensive stats as we get into sept/oct.
I would rather make no move if we can’t get Bichette, and hope Rojas can hold up and continue to hit.
Off season I would look at Adames if they can’t get Bichette.
And if Muncy can’t come back or is unable to stay healthy, Rojas can play 3rd in the playoffs or if Mookie is needed in the outfield Rojas could play 2nd in the playoffs.
Would you rather have Lux/Taylor or Kike starting at one of those positions or both of them in their if Max can’t go or Mookie is needed elsewhere?
Dejong is nothing more than getting another Kiki/Taylor clone who can’t play the outfield.
Add Bergman in the off- season ( with reverence to Dodgerdad) and the left side of the infield is good for the next 5yrs.
The white Sox I would look to get is Tommy Pham for the stretch run. Good bat off the bench and a good defensive outfielder that can play all 3 positions, maybe a jerk, but has some dog. We need some dog.
Andrew no more checkers.
Go Dodgers !!
I’m with you on your shortstop analysis NJ.
Cannot for the life of me understand the fascination with DeJong.
As a longtime Lux fan, it pains me to say this but I would like to see someone else take over that position, whether that be Mookie sliding over from ss to make room for someone like Bichette or Mookie staying at ss for the rest of the year and getting a better second baseman, such as Hoerner from the Cubs. Actually, Hoerner has played shortstop as well so if they traded for him they could figure out the best combo up the middle between him and Mookie.
Both Bichette and Hoerner are having off years so far but I think both would be helped by a move to the Dodgers.
I’m also a big Brendan Rodgers fan. The Cardinals are mostly using him in left field right now but he can also play second and third base. He would come in very handy with Max out for who knows how much longer. Only problem is that the Cards are not very likely to trade him while still in the playoff hunt.
STB,
Don’t know much about Rodgers, will have to look him up.
I agree on Hoerner, like his versatility and like him as a player
He would be a good addition to the team
Brendan Rogers plays for the Rockies. Brendan Donovan is on the Cardinals. He is primarily an outfielder. He has played 10 games at second, but Nolan Gorman is the Cardinals regular second baseman. Rogers has had some injury issues but seems beyond them now. It does not matter that the Rockies are out of the race, they won’t make a trade with the Dodgers. The teams have made one trade since AF took over; Juan Nicasio came over prior to the 2015 season. Bruihl was purchased for cash from the Dodgers in August of 23. But they normally are not trade partners. Rockies front office does not like trading assets to LA.
Damn, those brain cells are disappearing really quickly. Thanks for the correction Bear. I was actually referring to Donovan of the Cards, not Rodgers of the Rox, although I like both of them.
I know you like to say that teams don’t like to trade within their division, but the new breed of GM doesn’t feel as strongly about that as the old guys. There are certain guys like the owners of the Rockies and Angels who are just plain stupid and wouldn’t trade a favorite player or in Moreno’s case wouldn’t trade out of spite, but I think if AF presented any of the Giants, Pads or Dbacks a deal which they felt would make them better, they would do it.
In the Rockies case, the GM is little more than a figurehead. Charlie Monfort runs that team, and like Moreno, he does not want his players going to LA. AF might be able to deal with Zaidi, but c’mon, trade a valuable player to your biggest rival in the middle of a pennant race? Not happening and hasn’t happened between the Dodgers and any of those teams. Maybe at the winter meetings, not during the season. It is no surprise to me at all that AF’s biggest deals at the deadline have been with teams not in his division, but usually in the other league. Darvish and Machado. Scherzer-Turner was the one big trade with an NL team. Last big deal with San Diego was the Kemp-Grandal trade. From the time they tried to trade Jackie Robinson to the Giants until February 1968 when they traded for Tom Haller, there were no trades at all between the Giants and Dodgers. They did not make another deal until the winter of 1985 when they traded Candy Maldonado for Alex Trevino. The next trade between the two did not come until August of 2007 when LA traded a minor leaguer for Mark Sweeney. Since then, other than picking up players off of waivers, which both teams have done, there has not been a single trade between the Dodgers and the Giants. The last in season trade of any note with the D-Backs sent Shawn Green to them. Last trade with the Padres was the pre-season deal for River Ryan. Rockies only deadline deal with LA sent Tom Goodwin to the Dodgers for Chad Hollingsworth and two minor leaguers. I checked all of the transactions the Dodgers made between 1958 and this month. Did you know the Dodgers actually had another player named Michael Busch? He was a third baseman and first baseman who spent some time with the team in the mid-90’s. I found his baseball reference page after seeing his name on a transaction page. Farhan has an affinity for exe Dodgers just like AF loves former Rays, but Farhan does not want to trade for them unless they come from a team other than the Dodgers.
7:15 PM ET
Brewers (52-37)
Dodgers (54-35)
SP Freddy Peralta R
6-4 3.83 ERA
SP James Paxton L
7-2 4.28 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
LF T. Hernandez R
RF Andy Pages R
CF James Outman L
SS Miguel Rojas R
2B Gavin Lux L
3B Chris Taylor R
90° Wind 2 mph Out
No Bregman! mcmahon from the Rockies.(if you can make a really sweet offer), one they can’t refuse! Vargss in left , Bellinger in center, Teo in right. Mcmahon 3rd , rojas short, mookie 2nd, Freddie at first. Lux and prospect to white sox for dejong. to backup rojas. dump biggio and kiki. Taylor can play all infield and outfield positions. keep pages for insurance if cody opts out after 1st year. And last but not least, Barnsie can stay as backup! …. As far as pitching, Hell No to Verlander! He’s close to done! Maybe sweeten. the lux deal and try to pull the big lefthander from the white sox into the deal! There, all done. You’re welcome!
Dodgerdad. Charlie Monfort, who owns the Rockies would absolutely not allow their GM to trade his favorite player, no matter how sweet the offer. Especially not to a team in his division who he happens to dislike immensely. GM has virtually no power on that team, all moves pretty much need to be approved by Monfort. One reason most Rockies fans want to see him sell the franchise. The trade of Arenado being another.
i know Bear, just wishing. I would pull ron cey out of retirement before i would trade for Bregman!! …. I would not put Vargas at 3rd at this point in the season. put him in left field and leave him alone. I’m still saying, dump the dead weight!
Who would you trade to get him? Remember, their GM has said neither he nor Guererro are on the market. The Yankees, who desperately need a first baseman, were ready to make a huge offer for Guererro. Likely now they will turn their attention to Bellinger and move him back to first.
if bichette is available, the dodgers should pounce! But, only if he signs an extension. i would personally prefer bichette over adames in the long term. and if RVS is as good as advertised, no problem! Love Rojas, can’t imagine where they would be without him! But he’s bound to wear down eventually playing every day. there has to be a scenario where the dodgers put a better lineup on the field. As i said earlier, dump the dead weight! Bellinger is going to be available. Bring him back!
just can’t sit will tomorrow!! but they probably “WILL “
Hate the City Edition boring uniforms.
will they play him now?
I think it is more important that we give Taylor, Hernandez, Biggio (and Heyward when he comes back) a long runway to show they are capable of getting above the Mendoza line. Obviously, tongue in cheek but what more does he need to do?
Vargas LF
Pages/Outman CF
T. Hernanadez RF
Logical, Simple ..but nooooooo…
AF & Co are cooking up something BIGGER ..BETTER …something SPECTACULAR!!
Just wait and see. It will all reveal itself soon enough.
Maybe tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year.
Just be patient, ..and have faith. 🙂