A friend took this photo at Fanfest today. It is being held in the Parking Lot, but the Concessions are open inside, so when he went inside, he snapped that picture. They are making significant progress and ready to work on the field soon.
It looked like a fun time, but we did get a few juicy tidbits:
- Blake Snell is mentoring Bobby Miller – I would encourage everyone not to lose hope in Bobby. His talent is off the charts.
- Shohei Ohtani will likely return to pitching in May – That makes sense – keep him healthy for the playoffs. However, he says he is on track to start the season as the DH.
- The door is still open for Kike Hernandez – According to Brandon Gomes. Most of us have suspected that, and he can be signed now as things change with injuries.
- The Dodgers must value Michael Grove over Ryan Brasier – Grove is 29 and may be a late bloomer, like Brasier, but he has options left. That was the big deal.
- Freddie Freeman expects to be ready on Opening Day – He won’t be playing early in Cactus League Games.
- Miguel Rojas says he is close to 100%.– He should be ready at the start of the season.
- The Padres might be forced to sell – Remember Frank McCourt also denied he would have to sell the Dodgers.
The Dodgers arguably have the best starting rotation and bullpen in baseball. It’s going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.
Time to load the Semi’s and head for Camelback!
*semis
Picky picky picky, I drove one for 40 years, I will spell it any way I want.
Thanks for the Fanfest report.
As it happens, I’ve been watching a lot of FanFest interviews on YouTube.
I’m struck by the questions that don’t get asked, mostly because people are so polite.
“Hey, Landon, Knack, Ben Casparius and Emmet Sheehan, can you describe your frustration when the Dodgers load up with Snell, Sasaki, Scott and Yates, knowing that in some way all of these moves will make it that much harder for you to get back to the majors? Seriously, guys, do you ever hope you get traded?”
“Hey Chris Taylor, how does it feel when you hear about fans on LADT and elsewhere who say that you should be DFA’d for traded to make room for Kike’s return? If you were Andrew Friedman, how would you deal with a problem like your contract?”
OF course those questions don’t get asked. But I certainly would want to understand the frustrations of prospects (especially pitchers) who must feel blocked on this team. Taylor, unlike Kike, is a quiet, reserved guy who seemed uncomfortable handing softball questions at FanFest. It must be a bit disconcerting for him to hear AF and Gomes send out positive vibes about a reunion with Kike.
Sounds like a lot of guys have been working hard to prepare for Spring training. Pretty cool that Snell is mentoring Miller, and Outman is working with Conforto….
And it’s kind of amazing that ESPN ranks the Dodgers as having the Numero Uno farm system.
Excellent questions, Duke.
Would you be willing to commute to Dodger Stadium every day to do the post game interviews?
Could be kind of hairy considering where you live, but hey…………………………those questions need to be asked, along with many others that Kirsten is far too polite to bring up, not to mention the crusty vets like Shaikin, Plaschke, Plunkett, etc.
More Dodger good news and pitching depth:
“As for players who aren’t expected to be ready for Opening Day, Ardaya notes that right-hander Emmet Sheehan provided an update on his recovery from Tommy John surgery for the first time since he went under the knife last May. The right-hander has resumed throwing off a mound at this point in his rehab and added that he hopes to start pitching in rehab games come May or June. That timeline would put him on the mound for those games just over a year after his surgery, putting him more or less on track for a normal recovery and to be a depth option out of the rotation or bullpen for L.A. in the second half this year”.
WHAT?
The Mavericks are trading Luka Dončić, the annually All-NBA 25-year-old, to the Lakers for 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis.
Was hoping the headline would read LeBron, not AD, but apparently the Mavs specifically requested AD when they approached the Lakers.
I was wondering why Max Muncy has been MIA at recent Dodger Community Events and FanFest. Is he pissed off the Dodgers haven’t offered him a contract beyond this year? Play a full year Max,injury free and they may consider it.
According to current reports, the Japanese third baseman expected to be posted for MLB teams next year is Munetaka Murakami. He is currently playing in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and is anticipated to be available to sign with an MLB team after the 2025 season. He was recently seen wearing a Dodger hat. Maybe Max got the news.
… well there are also rumors (and I hope they are not true) that the Dodgers will trade Max to the Yankees and then bring in Nolan Arenado.
Makes sense.something is up with Max. Have you heard the rumor from your sources or have you read it somewhere?
I saw a report on YouTube suggesting that Max would be dealt to the Yankees and Arenado would come to the Dodgers.
Seemed like the wishful thinking of a Yankees fan. A tell-tale sign of BS was the AI-generated audio, which repeatedly mispronounced Arenado’s name as as air-uh-NAY-doe.
No doubt Max would be a great fit for the Yanks, with the short porch and all. Park his lefty bat between Judge and Stanton. Jazz could shift to 2B.
Maybe once Bregman signs, the Cards will find a taker for Arenado.
Imagine that the Dodgers are faced with a choice of three guys: Arenado, Taylor or Kike?
Who would you choose?
Here are Munetaka Murakami’s stats. He hits a lot of HR, but is also a strikeout machine. Today is his 25th birthday.
Shades of Hideki Matsui, aka “Godzilla.” Pretty sure he was the first slugger to try to make the leap from Japan to MLB.
Matsui was great in Japan and very good in MLB, including a few all-star seasons with the Yankees.
In 2004, Matsui played all 162 games and produced a .912 OPS with 31 HRs. Over ten ML seasons, his career OPS was .822.
Murakami may strike out a lot, but like Max Muncy, he also takes his walks. His career OPB is .395.
So Mark, what do they do with Bobby Miller? I’m like you, just don’t give him away! Tony Gonsolin is back. But is he the “Catman “. we saw go 16-2 before he got hurt? Wouldn’t you think Miller has a spot in a 6 man rotation? With ohtani not pitching until May , someone has to fill the void. i believe ohtani won’t pitch many innings until late july / early august. Now Emmit is supposed to be back this summer. That’s another quality arm. Dustin May? now here’s a really intriguing situation. 97-100 mph. Still young. So talented. Will he become the pitcher we all believed he would? Clayton? i’m a lifetime #22 fan! look for Clayton to do special things this season! AF isn’t going to let Kershaw go anywhere else! if he can’t perform, Clayton will make the decision easy for AF. As others on this site, i am perplexed concerning Michael Grove. At times he looks like a stud. other times , he looks like a dud! But i understand letting Brasier go and keeping Grove. i just can’t see him being on the opening day roster. So James is working really hard this offseason. that’s great. But will is “k” percentage help send him somewhere else? I would take him all day long over Pages defensively, but he has to hit. not sure that ever happens in LA. …..Can’t wait for baseball to start! was hoping for a Buffalo versus Detroit super bowl, really not excited for KC and Philly. i am a Broncos fan fan so conspiracy theories about referees are not influencing my wishes for philly to win. just sick of the Chiefs. Andy Reid is a great head coach. So there i said it! …. The NBA sucks! So there i said that too! .. Don’t watch Hockey. Said that also. ….. The transfer portal will destroy college sports if someone doesn’t fix it yesterday!! Everyone says that! . One last thing , Jonny Gomes spoke at my son’s First Pitch dinner last night where my son is the head coach. What a helluva guy! Was throwing with my 11 year old grandson at 8 Am this morning! Solid guy who loves the game and appreciates what baseball gave him! impressed!
Bobby Miller will have his shot. Ohtani won’t pitch until May, and I am sure another starter or two will have some issue.
Andy Pages would be a great platoon partner for Conforto. Last season, Pages OPS’ed .917 against LHP!
I know everyone says Teoscar is going to play RF… I don’t see it! Conforto is as good defensively as Teo and Pages can be his caddy!
Imagine this scenario:
Both Pages and Outman have strong springs. Both prove they belong on the Opening Day roster–but only one job is open. It’s six of one, half dozen of the other.
Who do you chose?
With Pages, you get a platoon partner for Conforto and righty bat off the bench. But Conforto had reverse splits in ’24, so he may not need a partner. At any rate, Pages, as an RH batter, would be the short side of the platoon, facing lefties.
With Outman, you’d have a proven center fielder with a LH bat. He could take the long side of a platoon, which would unlock Edman’s versatility.
I’m not rooting against anybody. But all considered, I’m rooting harder for Outman.
Breaking news: Flaherty signs with the Tigers for a two-year, $35 million. First year is $25 million, with an opt out. He must be happy that this is settled.
I would love to see Flaherty help the Tigers make the playoffs and earn a long-term deal.
agree. still don’t see a spot for James. aftrr his solid season 2 years ago, it’s been downhill. like Outman, wish it were different. why move Teo to right? he was solid in left! haven’t seen those max to the yankees rumors. i’m not wishing for it Mark, but i don’t think it would be that bad. a breath of fresh air might be all the doctor ordered for Nolan. But if it doesn’t happen, Max will be ok.
Some people think I hate James Outman, but that is not true. I love his style of play, and I believed he would be another Joc Pederson: Kills RHP, can’t hit LHP. But in his Sophomore year, the pitchers discovered a hole the size of the Grand Canyon in his swing. I loved Miguel Vargas’s bat-to-ball skills, but I had no way to understand that he could not catch up to high fastballs. My belief now is that neither Vargas or Outman are MLB hitters… and I hope I am WRONG!
disagree with your comparison to Joc slightly. James is superior in the outfield! at the plate? yeah you’re right. who knows, kim may struggle. edman might move to second, and james could have a great spring and play center field! you just never know! just think. the mets got a much better hitter in Soto , but Outman is by far the the better outfielder!! think what James would be worth if he was just a .280 hitter with a decent strikeout rate!
You are correct, sir.
Former commissioner Fay Vincent passed away at age 86. RIP.
If Outman had a career like Joc’s, that would be great. But they are very different players.
He has power, but not as much as Joc. He’s a far superior defender, with superior speed.
Have ML pitchers figured out Outman? Did they find the holes in his swing?
Maybe. But maybe not.
Maybe he’s just another streaky hitter, as he showed in his rookie season in ’23.
He started off fast, outhitting Mookie and Freddie. He and Max were carrying the offense for the first 5-6 weeks.
Then Outman stopped hitting.
Oh no! Major league pitchers had figured the rookie out!
But then, at midseason, he showed signs of life–but after a few decent weeks slipped into into another funk.
And then, Outman finished up nearly as strong as he started, finishing the season with a .790 OPS with 23 HRs (22 against righties) and a third-place finish in ROY.
Peaks and valley. Given a full opportunity–only Freddie and Mookie played more games–Outman was able to work through two slumps.
In ’24, he started off in the Grand Canyon. On less talented teams, Outman probably would have been given a chance to work through it, just as he did in ’23. Instead he was sent to OKC, where he played very well. He was called back up for a brief spell and struggled again. But back in OKC, he finished strong, which strangely inspires some people to say he’s really a 4A talent.
Remember how we were waiting and hoping that top prospect Dalton Rushing, learning to play LF, might get called up?
Rushing did fine with the bat, producing a .907 OPS in 139 ABs.
Outman, meanwhile, produced a .933 OPS in 265 ABs. And he also stole 11 bases in 12 attempts.
And, of course, Outman plays outfield defense better than Rushing or Pages.
Let’s not get carried away by Outman’s CF play. He is adequate but not a great CR’er.
Edman is vastly superior in CF. I’m not saying Outman is bad, but Edman is much better in CF.
Pages is also not a Centerfielder, but he is a good RF’er!
Ideally, Pages will make the team so as to platoon with Conforto. However, Outman could force his way onto the team with a great Spring…