Rants & Raves

Posted By on March 18, 2026

  • Congratulations to Venezuela for doing the unthinkable and winning the 2026 WBC. It’s an incredible feat. They were simply too legit to quit.
  • Roki Sasaki did what I thought he would do: Pitch lights out for a while and then get lit up because of a lack of control and eroding confidence. He can pitch like a superstar for one or two innings and then lose it. They tried to get him back in sync with “shadow-throwing” in the dugout when Robertson was in, and then sent him back in to continue it. They need to convince him he can go to OKC, work on this, and come back in April. He is who I thought he was… but maybe he can change. If not, he is excellent in the bullpen.
  • Santiago Espinal is not invincible as a roster lock. I look at OPS more than BA. There is still a way he does not make the team… especially if Nick Senzel heats up. Look at their OPS.
  • Jack Suwinski is simply organizational depth.
  • Alex Freeland should be looking for apartments in OKC.
  • Hyeseong Kim can hit RHP… LHP? Not so much!
  • The Dodgers are bringing Mike Sirota along slowly. His 2025 injury was a knee injury, and it wasn’t just a minor tweak—it effectively shut down his season. He injured his knee on a slide into second base during a game on July 5, 2025. Think of it as a full-speed sports car hitting a pothole mid-race—everything was humming (.333/.452/.616 slash, rising fast), then boom, momentum gone. They want to see him start at Tulsa and end up at OKC.
  • Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart threw bullpens yesterday.
  • Nice to see Nick Robertson back with the team after two years away. He throws 95-97 MPH and is organizational depth.
  • Don’t sleep on Ryan Fitzgerald.
  • I like Damon Keith, but he’s way down the outfield chain.
  • Seby Zavala will be 33 this year, but is a “defense-first” catcher. He has a knack for hitting home runs… sort of. He hit his first 3 MLB Home Runs in one game in 2021. He has hit 12 since then, including a Grand Slam last night. He may go to OKC, or they could get an offer. He’s a better hitter than Ben Rortvedt. Maybe he’s his equal defensively.
  • Cam Day could be a 2026 Breakout Candidate. He has some of the best stuff in the system, has a refuse-to-lose attitude, and is noted for being cool under pressure.

This article has 36 Comments

  1. I agree. I think Roki should work on command and his 3rd pitch at AAA. River Ryan should be on the opening day roster. If they have an innings limit it in mind. No sense wasting any at AAA when he’s the better pitcher.

  3. Evan Phillips, who will miss the first half of the season or so due to the surgery, participated in his first bullpen session with a squatting catcher of spring training on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

  4. Mark,
    Read an article about Smitty being a little light on framing (-.6 defensive). Mt question is “Does it really matter with ABS now in place. Framings only purpose is to fool the guy in Blue. Catchers job us to catch the ball, block the bad pitches and throw out runners, correct? Their should be less emphasis on framing as ABS head-taps become more refined and accurate. You might fool the upm but not the pitchers, catchers and batters. I think it is a very important training item for new catchers coming up. Any thoughts?

    1. In theory, that is true, but you are only allowed two challenges, so I think it is still important. Maybe slightly less so…

  5. I am ready to run it back.

    Let’s keep the 15-20 arms we need in rotation and expect there will be another 5-10 after that who will play a role.

  6. HS Kim hit lefties just fine in ’25, with .952 OPS.
    I hope he gets a Vargas-esque runway.

    1. Sometimes figures lie… especially if you just look at them on their face.

      He only had 21 AB’s – a very small sampling.

      In those 21 ABs, he struck out 8 times. That’s 38% of the time.

      Against RHP, his BABIP was .372

      Against LHP, it was unsustainable and impossible. 583.

      Babe Ruths BABIP was .340. He had one year over .400 .

      Hyeseong Kim is not Babe Ruth, but a BABIP of .583 is impossible.

      TY Cobb had the highest Batting Average for balls in play with .383.

      It was just 21 ABs, so what can we conclude with his BABIP of .583?

      Pure Luck!

      1. Yes, all of those numbers reflect a small sample.
        The Dodgers should give Kim runway.
        His defense and speed can win some games. If he hits, that’s gravy.

  7. Roki is a two-inning reliever at the moment. I don’t need him starting for two innings and having a 7-inning BP game every time he starts.

  8. 4:05 PM ET

    Giants (81-81)
    Dodgers (93-69)

    SP Landen Roupp R
    0-0 .00 ERA
    SP Shohei Ohtani R
    0-0 .00 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    2B Miguel Rojas R
    1B F. Freeman L
    SS Mookie Betts R
    3B Max Muncy L
    LF T. Hernandez R
    CF Andy Pages R
    C D. Rushing L
    RF S. Espinal R
    DH A. Freeland S

    96° Wind 3 mph In

    Ohtani does not appear to be batting today

    1. “Hurt getting options leaves only a few pitching roster decisions to be made to finalize the opening day roster. Blake Snell, Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol, Brock Stewart, and Bobby Miller all won’t be ready for opening day. That leaves only 15 available pitchers on the 40-man roster who haven’t already been optioned, plus two non-roster invitees in left-hander Antoine Kelly and right-hander Chris Campos.

      In other words, only four more cuts to go to get down to 13 active pitchers for opening day”.

      1. There may be some reshuffling. Kelly has looked good, as has Campos. But Sasaki? Yikes!

  10. Dodgers spring breakout roster
    Left-handed pitchers (4): Maddux Bruns, Cody Morse, Zach Root, Adam Serwinowski
    Right-handed pitchers (4): Cam DayPayton Martin, Marlon Nieves, Christian Zazueta
    Catchers (2): Francisco Espinoza, Victor Rodrigues
    Infielders (7): Moises Bolivar, Chase Harlan, Elijah Hainline, Kellon Lindsey, Emil Morales, Joendry Vargas, Logan Wagner
    Outfielders (10): Charles Davalan, Josue De Paula, Zach Ehrhard, Kendall George, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero, Mike Sirota, James

    Dodgers prospects play White Sox prospects on Saturday afternoon at Camelback Ranch, and on Wednesday all teams finalized their rosters for these spring breakout games.

    “This game on Saturday will be in the big league stadium at Camelback Ranch, and was originally slated for 3:30 p.m., after the Dodgers play the A’s. But due to excessive in and around Phoenix, everything was moved up one hour. The Dodgers Cactus League game will start at 11:05 a.m., with the prospects game coming at 2:30 p.m.

    MLB Network will televise the Dodgers-White Sox spring breakout game, which will be streamed for free on the MLB app.

    The Dodgers trimmed down from their preliminary list of 40 potential players for the spring breakout game to 27 players expected active on Saturday”.

  11. Dave Roberts on Blake Trienen

    “I don’t see confidence,” manager Dave Roberts said of reliever Blake Treinen after the Dodgers gave up 24 runs to the Milwaukee Brewers in Monday’s Spring Training game, in postgame comments relayed by The Sporting Tribune. “The execution is not there.”

    “It’s been three or four outings consistently not throwing the baseball the way we expect,” Roberts added. “There’s no conviction. I see a lack of confidence.”

    Roberts added that the team does not suspect that Treinen is dealing with an injury and that pitching coach Mark Prior agrees that the veteran reliever is mired in some “truly uncharacteristic” issues.

    1. I looked closely at his last outing:

      He came in with 2 runners on.

      1st Batter – First Pitch: Hit Batter (bases loaded)
      2nd Batter – First Pitch: Grand Slam
      3rd Batter – Second Pitch: Double
      4th Batter – Walk on 4 pitches
      5th Batter: K: On 6 Pitches

      All his pitches were between 83 and 94 MPH. He is a junkballer who feels he has to compensate for lack of velocity with more spin. DOESN’T WORK!

    3. Funny… I thought you hated small samples.
      Senzel is good, but Espinal is more versatile and seems to have the inside track.
      We’ll see.
      Senzel is under contract and could be next-man-up in OKC… which would not be good news for Alex Freeland.

  13. Dodgers beat Giants in a heat shortened game 5-1 after 8 innings with temps at 102.

  14. Espinal added to the 40-man roster today. He’s made it. River Ryan sent down.

  15. He has no options left, so he is at the top mix to make the 26-man.

    Nick Senzel is not on the 40-man.

    If Santiago Espinal had stayed in arbitration with the Reds, he was projected to earn around ~$2.9 million for 2026. The Reds non-tendered and removed him, so that $2.9M never materialized. Since he’s likely to make the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, he’ll land somewhere around the MLB minimum, prorated over the season, not $2.9M.

    That’s $750-$800 K depending upon how long he is on the roster… which could be a couple of months.

  16. Don’t write River Ryan off for making the 26-man. There’s still essentially 6 games left. 3 for Sprimng Training and 3 in the Freeway Series.

  17. Beating the Giants in spring training or otherwise never gets old. Looks like Buehler is pretty sure to make the Padres opening day roster. Their injury issues with Musgrove and Darvish out to begin the season, plus the less than inspiring spring by German Marquez has Butane on track to break camp with the 26-man.

  20. Dodgers option Ryan, Hurt to Triple-A as Opening Day pitching staff crystalizes
    March 18th, 2026
    Sonja Chen

    GLENDALE, Ariz. — After two spring cuts, the Dodgers’ season-opening pitching staff has all but taken shape.

    “Los Angeles optioned right-handers River Ryan and Kyle Hurt to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday. After the moves, the Dodgers have only 14 full-time pitchers in big league camp who are both healthy and on the 40-man roster, so the Opening Day rotation and bullpen are essentially set:

    Rotation: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan/Justin Wrobleski

    Bullpen: Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Jack Dreyer, Will Klein, Edgardo Henriquez, Ben Casparius and Sheehan/Wrobleski

    The odd man out of those healthy, rostered pitchers in camp would appear to be right-hander Landon Knack, who should start the season as rotation depth in Oklahoma City”.

    1. I think the roster is set. Itbis strong. Snell is biggest omission but he’s in this for the long run. Freeland, Ryan & Hurt will be back–they are the victims of a roster crunch. Good problem to have. Guts like Graterol, Phillips, Miller, Stewart, Keekay . . . we probably don’t need you but you’re welcome to contribute when healthy. And Mr. Tibbs, don’t sleep with your phone too far away. We’ll be calling you.

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