Andy Pages is OK in CF, but Teo is a below-average RF, and Conforto is a below-average LF’er. As players start to get healthy, I think the Dodgers’ defensive realignment will change, and NO, MOOKIE IS NOT GOING BACK TO RF. SS is the most important defensive position, and Mookie is now one of the best. Francisco Lindor has a .977 Fielding Percentage. Mookie is at .984. Lindor has 11 errors while Mookie has 6. You have to be brain-dead to move Mookie to RF. Maybe we do have some walking zombies… Andy Pages is a very good RF’er, and if Tommy Tanks is healthy, he is exceptional in CF. Teoscar is better than Conforto in LF, and with Muncy, Kike, Edman, and Kim die back in September, Conforto’s time is likely up.
Of course, on September 1st, the Dodgers can add a position player and an additional pitcher as the roster increases from 26 to 28. Who could stay and who will go? We all know that the Dodgers have several players who are getting healthy, so let’s take a stab at what the roster will look like as of September 1st.
Position Players
- Ohtani
- Smith
- Rushing
- Freeman
- Edman
- Kim
- Betts
- Rojas
- Muncy
- Hernandez, E
- Hernandez, T
- Pages
- Call
- Conforto or Freeland
I suppose that depends upon how both of them do in the next two weeks. This is the lineup I hope to see in September:
- Ohtani DH
- Betts SS
- Freeman 1B
- Smith C
- Muncy 3B
- Teoscar LF
- Edman CF
- Pages RF
- Kim 2B
There really is no need for Conforto with this alignment. If he gets hot, then he can be on the team, but if he keeps up the .630 OPS, he’s toast when these guys get back. The pitchers are not as clear, but here’s what I think the staff looks like.
- Yamamoto
- Snell
- Glasnow
- Kershaw
- Ohtani
- Sheehan
- Vesia
- Kopech
- Banda
- Dreyer
- Miller
- Yates
- Scott
- The last spot might go to Henriquez or Treinen (it’s up for grabs).
Wrobleski, Casparius, and Diaz all draw the short straws. Then, there’s Roki Sasaki, but I have a feeling he will be shut down at some point. The Dodgers have shown they can be laser-focused when they need to, but they can’t do it against the Rockies.
Reinforcements for the Dodger bullpen and posiotion players can not get here fast enough. It will be a struggle every game till then unless the offense wakes up and starting pitchers can go deeper in games to alleviates the wear and tear on the relievers.
position players
What if Edman can’t play CF? Call would be an option but he’s a platoon player at best. How about Kike’? Ideally Kim could play Cf but he’s a work in progress. Guess we’ll see how it plays out.
No way Trienen is not on the team. It’s between Miller and Henriquez and I’d take Henriquez. He just needs to learn how to throw a ball to first base. If Yates still gas issues Miller takes his place.
Nobody thinks Buddy Kennedy will make the October roster? Come on, all he needs is a little runway.
Good question about whether Edman will be well enough to play CF. His ankle injury has lingered and it might not take much to re-aggravate it. Might have to go with Pages or Kike in CF
Some folks around here think it’s impolite to question the work of Andrew Friedman….But here’s a list of a few outfielders that got swapped at the deadline:
Cedric Mullin (past all-star)
Ramon Laureano (having a career year)
Harrison Bader (GG contender)
Alex Call
Oh, I guess we could add Outman to that list too.
It’s been reported that the AF made a serious offer for Steven Kwan–kudos for trying, I guess– but I think there could have been a better Plan B than Call. Defense often seems to be a secondary consideration with the front office. While Call seems like a useful platoon and bench option, Bader would have cured the OF defense. He could rule CF, enabling Pages to play RF and Teo LF. (Yes, a struggling Outman would have been better that a struggling Conforto, because of superior defense.)
Oh well.
Good to see Roberts call out Teo for his shoddy D.
Deals are not made in a vacuum. My guess is that AF was not going to trade his top prospects. Preller was, which is why the Padres have a .470 winning percentage over the past 10 years while the Dodgers sit at .635!
AF is loath to gut the farm while the (soon-to-be-unemployed) Preller does it with regularity. BTW: Bader has a reputation for doing his best when his team is not doing great (like this year in MN). Bader is hitting .189 with Philly! So there is that!
Outman vs. Conforto: The 2023 version would have been nice, but he is now the 2025 version and is Joey Gallo.
He should have also been called out and fined for not hustling in the Padres last game of the series when he could have gotten to second base when the CF couldn’t field the ball cleanly. He could have scored on the Pages single. No excuse for not hustling. Oh yes and making millions of dollars.
I don’t think there’s anyway the Dodgers pick Bobby Miller over Ben Casparius for the pennant push. Ben, although inconsistent lately, has earned the right to see the rest of the season in a Dodger’s uniform. What does Conforto have on AF or Doc ? He has one decent game every 2 weeks and sucks terribly the rest of the time. Continously coming up with runners in scoring position and failing. WTH ??
Comforto has a beautiful compact swing…
and an ugly miss!
We’ve lost a lot of games out in right field this year and Tao needs to be moved to left where he’s not much better but less of a liability and maybe he might hit a little better like last year. The Dodgers have or will have at least 3 other players who can handle shortstop shortly. Mookie needs to go back to right ASAP and might help his hitting also. And Conforto,I thought was a good move last winter but after5 months he’s just not getting it done. Cut him and move! Doc backs his players and it normally works out, but not this time. Go Dodger
You’ve just got your head in the sand – or worse! about Mookie going back to the outfield. It would make the team worse in maybe the most important position on the field.
In the absence of any of us ACTUALLY KNOWING ANYTHING about Conforto, let’s assume the winningest management team in big league baseball see something or KNOW something about Conforto we all do not.
I think the idea of moving Betts to RF is due to the lack of outfielders, in addition to the large number of injuries this season and Conforto’s terrible season. Once Edman, Kim, Muncy and Kike return, there will be more options.
Dean and Call are not the solution, at least not offensively, but they are much better defensively.
Mookie is in the discussion for Best Defensive SS.
Miguel Rojas can no longer play every day.
You don’t go into the playoffs with a rookie like Freeland
Edman is needed in CF
I cannot see Mookie moving (this year), but he might go to 2B next year. He says RF will cut his career shorter.
Agree on Rojas. Fans that have watched him as long as I have (and you have) can see there are plays and throws he no longer makes he once would have. He’s still a very good fielder, just not the defensive phenomena he once was. Father Time is to blame, not Rojas. We all age and he’s doing it better defensively 95% of players.
Kike may be the best CF on the team, but he should not play against RHP.
Does anyone know about the new proposal for team alignment, or is it just an idea from journalists? Because it really does look interesting, although of course, any new development is interesting until it isn’t.
I just read that this would be with two expansion teams: Charlotte and Nashville.
MIDWEST
Cubs
White Sox
Brewers
Twins
SOUTHWEST
Astros
Royals
Cardinals
Rangers
PACIFIC COAST
Rockies
Athletics
Mariners
Giants
WEST
Dodgers
Angels
Padres
Diamondbacks
EAST
Red Sox
Mets
Yankees
Phillies
NORTH
Reds
Guardians
Tigers
Blue Jays
MID-ATLANTIC
Orioles
Charlotte (Expansion)
Pirates
Nationals
SOUTHWEST
Braves
Marlins
Nashville (Expansion)
Rays
It is an idea proposed by Jim Bowden
If this were to be true, the last two divisions would be the most mediocre and boring.
Story by LA Times
Mookie Betts meets with Dave Roberts, Andrew Friedman after Dodgers’ loss to Rockies
The half-empty Dodger clubhouse was so quiet you could hear a winning streak snap Monday. But amid the silence there was one conversation that spoke volumes.
After a 4-3 walk-off loss to the last-place Colorado Rockies — a loss set up by two poor plays from right fielder Teoscar Hernández — Mookie Betts met with manager Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, in Roberts’ office.
Betts, the Dodgers’ shortstop, is a six-time Gold Glove winner in right field. Hernández is not. On Monday, Hernández threw to the wrong base in the third inning, allowing the Rockies to score their second run, and in the ninth he was unable to hold Ezequiel Tovar’s bloop double. Two pitches later, Warming Bernabel bounced a single up to middle, scoring Tovar to end the game.
The Betts conversation afterward was private. But the circumstances that led to it were not. Clearly the bullpen is not the Dodgers’ only problem.
“He’s got to get better out there. There’s just no [other] way to put it,” Roberts said of Hernández. “It’s not a lack of effort. But, you know, we’ve just got to kind of get better. We do.”
One way to do that is to move Betts back to right field, where he won six Gold Gloves in seven seasons, and use Alex Freeland or Miguel Rojas at shortstop. Freeland played nearly 300 games at shortstop in the minors while Rojas has played more than 940 games there in the majors.
“We should have won that game,” Roberts said. “This is a hard one.”
Hernández is second on the team with 74 RBIs and is tied for second with 20 home runs, so the Dodgers (71-54) need his offense in the lineup. But his defense — especially his range, which is at a premium in big parks such as Coors Field — has increasingly become a source of frustration for Roberts.
It was that and more Monday.
let’s say mookie does return to right field. how does that help the offense? sure that play (or non play) by teo was awful, but 3 runs against the rockies? with kennedy, rojas, call, and to a certain extent, Dalton, in that lineup, do we expect 6 runs a night?? oh, i forgot conforto! bottom line, if the dodgers score early, hold your breath! Cause they don’t score early and often! … And yes , Teo needs to be in left field. whether he wants to or not. And Doc needs to make that decision and quit saying he needs to be better out there in right! Teo probably is better suited to be. a DH, but they already have a pretty good one of those!
A. Andy Pages sucks on the road. Of his 20 homers only 4 have been hit on the road. His OPS is .621 on the road and .933 at home. He hits .307 at Dodger Stadium. He is hitting .236 this month. B. These guys look at way too many pitches that are right over the middle of the plate. Rushing did it three times after he hit his sac-fly. Kennedy did it a couple of times. C. Ohtanis at bats can be maddening at times. He struck out on a ball so far inside it almost hit him. His other 3 at bats he hit the ball hard. D. Kike is hitting under the Mendoza line. How can anyone think he is going to be an improvement on offense at any position? Especially after being out this long. They need Muncy’s bat, not Kike’s. E. The same can be said of Edman and Kim. How effective are they going to be when they do return. Teo has not been the same player since he came off of the IL. Rojas is NOT an everyday SS anymore. 3 days a week maybe. I do think Roberts made the wrong relief choice in the 9th. All of the hitters due up for the Rockies were RH. He should have gone to a RH reliever. One final thing, the way they play defense now opens huge holes where players used to be stationed. Second basemen play too much up the middle most of the time now. Sure, it stops the occasional up the middle shot, but it also puts a huge gap between the second baseman and the first baseman when he is holding the runner. Two runs scored on what many years ago would have been a routine ground out to second. And walks will kill you. Karros scored after walking in the third. The home plate ump missed a lot of pitches against both sides. The offense was 2-11 with runners in scoring position, that is not going to cut it.
Many moons have passed since my high school days when I majored in, shall we say, systems analysis. Bored in the extreme by the useless droning and/or punitive cruelty of overworked teachers I began to consider cutting school without suffering any negative consequences. As it turned out I had a good friend and fellow student who was in essence a double agent in service of his pals who wanted out of the kaka that was the LA Unified School District’s idea of top flight education without getting into trouble. I learned that if a student was absent two days consecutively the registrar’s office would call the student’s home to ask the parents for information as the their child’s non- attendance. As a result of gaining this “intelligence” I reasoned therefor that I could cut class every other day, then present an excuse note at the school office “signed” by moms or pops to go surfing (marine biology as a secondary major…?) or go for a drive and listen to the latest tunes (a music appreciation double major…?) on my four track stereo. And so my plan was put into action and I lived the life of a serial truant without getting caught. Damn, looking back I was a budding sociopath. Thankfully this irresponsible version of myself has mostly evaporated into the way back in the way back. I only share this confession now because without officially checking out the rules I reason I’m on the outside on the outside of the statute of limitations on such high crimes. Not that Andrew Friedman and the rest of the Dodger brain trust would have ever engaged in any such chicanery, or worse, but I think they are as fine a group of baseball systems analysts as have ever existed! The results of their collective efforts are the envy of their supposed peers in the industry. They are always accumulating data, inventing new tools, picking the pockets of other teams hidden gems or manufacturing trades that have netted them such baseball gods as Mookie Betts for crying out loud. They are past masters in the art of navigating the perpetually changing chessboard that is major league baseball. Changes in the construction of the team will be coming, fasten your seat belts! Loving the life of a Dodger fan in exile here in the North West. GO DODGERS!!!
Gotta be something in the water in Oregon man…..
It’s the shrooms dude.
Liberty Caps.
I love your syntax, but I am not always sure what you are saying so I asked ChatGPT to re-write it more consisely:
“Back in high school, I majored in “systems analysis”—at least when it came to ditching class. Tired of droning teachers and pointless busywork, I learned through a well-placed friend that the registrar only called home if a student missed two days in a row. That meant I could skip every other day, forge a note, and spend my time surfing (marine biology, anyone?) or cruising with music blasting (music appreciation?).
Thus began my life as a serial truant, never caught, though in hindsight it feels like a budding sociopath’s resume. Luckily, that version of me faded long ago—and I figure the statute of limitations on high-school crimes has expired.
Why confess now? Because the Dodgers’ front office reminds me of my old “systems analysis” days—except they do it for baseball, and brilliantly. Friedman and crew are masters at data, tools, trades, and hidden-gem heists. They netted Mookie Betts, for crying out loud! No wonder their rivals envy them.
Change is coming to the roster—buckle up. It’s a great time to be a Dodger fan, even up here in the Northwest.
GO DODGERS!
Thank you for the feedback! Words are a terrible thing to waste. Brevity is the new watch word…
I actually like the way you said it Oregon Dale
All I will say is this isn’t about Mookie, its a team problem and he’s a team player. Playing full time SS takes a lot of work and he went at it full bore and I think it affected his hitting. The way we keep leaving runners on we need defense. Mook did the right thing last year cause he knew he wasn’t ready and he’ll do again for the Dodgers!
What the Dodgers do going forward depends a lot on what positions Edman can play going forward. If he plays CF, Pages in RF and Teo in LF looks good.
If he can’t play CF, then Pages stays in center and Betts has to move to RF. Alex Call could be an option but so far he’s not performing to well under the bright lights.
8:40 PM ET
Dodgers (71-54)
Rockies (36-89)
SP Emmet Sheehan R
3-2 3.86 ERA
SP Austin Gomber L
0-6 6.75 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
LF Alex Call R
2B Miguel Rojas R
3B B. Kennedy R
87° Wind 9 mph Out
Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitcher Paul Gervase is with the team in Colorado hinting at a potential roster move.
Wrobleski down.
… just a guess.
At the Loons game tonight. George is a little ball of muscle.
He’s only 3-3 with a SB, but they caught him once. What is up with that?
He had three infield hits and would have had a 4th but the pitcher made a hell of a play to make sure the ball didn’t get to the shortstop. He’s faster down the line than Dee Gordon was. Holy Cow can he run. He also made a diving catch in CF.
First time up he walked and stole second base easily. Then he started to steal third but took off early. When he headed back to second the pitcher choked and threw it into CF. Unfortunately, both Hope and Quintero K’d looking. Quintero K’d looking three times. Two were very questionable calls. He got robbed of one hit. He looked like he has a bit of an attitude. Hope had one double in the gap. Unfortunately, DePaula didn’t play.
Back to George. After, his first single. He actually had second stolen. However, the fielder blocked and knocked him off the base. The Loons manager came out to argue a bit. After the second single, he was gunned out. It was bang-bang. He also got a little dinged on the previous attempt. It was an awkward slide due to the defender’s actions.
He barely got back on a few pick off attempts. Looked like he could improve reading pitchers.
If he can master putting it on the ground and bunting, his speed is a real problem for opponents. The balls he beat out weren’t even close. Like I said, faster than Dee Gordon up the line. I watched Dee as a Loon too. Cecil Espy was a burner too back in the day. I think a track star. George might be faster.
The third hit was a good example of the pressure he puts on a D. The shortstop was back-handing a ball and trying to hurry. It wasn’t deep in the hole or anything either just a couple steps toward third. The shortstop wound up bobbling it and ate it. The score keeper saw George go up that line twice before and decided it was a hit.
I’m not sure if he will ever hit enough but he’s 90 speed on the 80 scale.
I think he is a 4th or 5th outfielder… but even that will take time.
However, speed kills.
And as of yesterday I put Shane Steichen in the moron category with his chicken shit decision. Absolutely disgusted.
Well, what is happening in Indy is that the Colts will tank, sell off players, trade players and take Arch Manning in the draft! When the Colts secure the #1 Draft Pick, he will forfeit his eligibility and follow in his uncles footsteps.
It was good to see Alex answer the Call last night!
Seems like the moving Mookie to RF discussion is over
That was never a thing with the baseball people. The Dodgers have one of the Top 5 SS’s in baseball with Betts there. You don’t put an old man (Rojas) or a Rookie there. Hopefully, Edman’s ankle allows him to play CF, but Kike can play there, too. Pages may be one of the Top 5 RF’ers in baseball. Teo is a bad LF’er (and RF’er) but Mookie can help him out on that side of the field. Pages will still play some CF with Call in RF against LHP (I hope).
will Call ride the pine tonight after a 4 hit game? Will Buddy Kennedy remain the starter at third? Will Ohtani pitch 5 excellent innings tonight? Will Will start 2 consecutive games behind the plate? Will Freddie continue to rake? Will Teo continue to to catch the ball? Will Emmit ever watch that magnificent throw to first on replay? Will Dalton hit a home run in colorado? Will Freeland hit his first homer in colorado? Will Clayton win again tomorrow? tune in again today and tomorrow for another saga in “ how the west was won “
Up next: games scheduled for Wednesday, August 20t
Oklahoma City (Roki Sasaki) at Tacoma (Jhonathan Diaz), 7:05 PM PST
I agree Mark they probable wont move Betts to rightfield. but they should to make the defense better in the outfield. Bear and I have been arguing about this all year that they should to improve Betts hitting. If they do not move him the Kiki and Tommy Edman come back those two can play centerfield and them slide Pages to rightfield and Teoscar back to leftfield. That wat Betts stays at shortstop. So Kiki and Kim both started rehan in minors so those two should be back soon then Muncy I would say two more weeks. Probable by then we will know more about Tommy Edmans and when he will be back. Then when the offeason gets here they look for I say two outfielders an everyday centerfielder and Leftfielder that’s when they use Teoscar as trade bait. Here is and idea how about a trade with the Mariners. For Arozorena and the centerfielder Rodriguez. The Dodgers get the two outfield spots there missing. The Mariners get a good DH in Teoscar Hernandez and I am sure they would like some pitching in the minor leagues. That’s one suggestion that I would see which would help both teams. Or they trying to bring back Bellinger and he plays leftfield and Kendall George is the centerfielder with the Pages in Rightfield but you should use Teoscar in some kind of trade to get pitching shortstop or second baseman or outfielders. Then you have to worry about Muncy at third and wonder how many more seasons are we going to have where muncy get injured and is out for along time. That’s just some of the off season things we will have to figure out.
1. I can see Betts moving to 2B next year. I have always said that.
2. Can Freeland play SS at the MLB level? I think he can, but like Jeremy Pena of the Astros, it will take a couple of years. The Dodgers can do that… IF they are solid elsewhere.
3. At some point, you have to quit trading all your top prospects. Out of the Dodgers’ Top 30, maybe 9or 10 will make it, and 2 or 3 might be stars. I am not sure which 2 or 3!
4. Why would the Mariners trade Rodriguez or Arozarena? Rodriguez is signed for just $18 million until 2030 and Arozarena is signed for two more years and is 3 years younger than Teo.
5. They could sign Bellinger, as he would solve the CF problem and provide a LH bat, but it is rumored that there is bad blood between him and the Dodgers.
6. Kendall George is 2-3 years away and I do not think he will be a starter. Mike Sirota is who I look to be in CF in 2027.
wow! that’s a lot to swallow!
8:40 PM ET
Dodgers (72-54)
Rockies (36-90)
SP Shohei Ohtani R
0-0 3.47 ERA
SPTanner Gordon R
3-5 7.98 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
2B A. Freeland S
SS Miguel Rojas R
3B B. Kennedy R
93° Wind 10 mph R-L
The Los Angeles Dodgers have made a roster move ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
Right-handed pitcher Paul Gervase was called up. Right-handed pitcher Alexis Diaz was optioned.
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Won’t Play in Thursday’s Game vs Rockies
“Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is planning on giving two-way player Shohei Ohtani the day off during Thursday’s series finale against the Colorado Rockies, manager Dave Roberts announced”.
conforto and kennedy need bus tickets.. don’t think we should give rockies pitchers too much credit with the dodgers sleep walking. this lineup is not good!
Not to make excuses, but I really think the altitude affected Shohei tonight, he really seemed to be laboring.