Maybe now Dodger fans can put their brains back into their heads and think logically… or is that too much to ask? Two wins in one day!
Some good things happened during the games, including the Dodgers coming from behind to win Game 1 and Gavin Stone’s Gem in Game 2 where he became the 13th pitcher in MLB to go seven scoreless innings while striking out 7 and walking zero. Finally, Andy Pages got some hits.
Miguel Vargas hit his first home run of the year.
I have said that Miggy is a guy who can hit .300 and also hit 30 HR (not every year, but he has that potential). They better start him again today!
I loved what Daniel Hudson did in shushing the crowd. He has the guts of a cat burglar!
Alex Vesia is a Lockdown Reliever and many of you wanted him gone! HA! That’s why you do what you do (run your mouth) and AF runs the team!
Here’s part of the reason Kike is on the team:
Now, let’s get Miggy some at-bats.
Everyone is saying that they wouldn’t have won without CT3’s bunt, but it was the error that made it successful. Bunting seldom works. We just remember the ones that were successful. It’s selective amnesia!
James Outman is OPSing over 1.000 at OKC, but his underlying stats are alarmingly Joey Gallo-esque: 11 strikeouts in 22 AB’s. That is really troubling! He won’t see the light of an MLB day as long as that continues.
It is not about bunting per se. It is situational smallball that many of us want to see the Dodgers use more. Yesterday was a prime example when to use it. It was the absolute correct decision to have CT3 bunt in that situation. If Heyward would be able to bunt (somewhere they said his last bunt was 2018) he should have laid down a bunt right after CT3 when there were still 1st and 2nd with no out. Sure you do not have Shoei or Will or Muncy bunt in that same situation but CT3, Barnes or Kike ? Sure, 100 percent sure.
On the internet there are some articles that rate the success rate of a bunt anywhere between 40-60 percent, considering situation, pitcher and hitter. So no, you are not right, that a bunt seldomly works. Correct answer: It depends.
Good to see Vargas get that dinger. Now lets write him in the lineup card today too, Doc.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
Contrary to the current popular narrative, modern analytics did not kill the sacrifice bunt. It’s been steadily dying out for nearly a century, on a steady decline since its deployment peaked during the dead-ball era of the early 1900s. In nearly all situations, bunting actually lowers your run probability, and even bunting for a hit has a lower probability of the hitter reaching first than a straight up at bat.
There are some situations where one run matters A LOT, and there’s a batter on second with no one out. In these situations, a sacrifice bunt makes sense. It’s just relatively rare, and because of that teams construct their lineups with guys who aren’t skilled bunters.
According to FanGraphs, the average MLB bunter has a 49.6% chance of putting the ball in play on a given pitch. Once the bunt is in play, the batter has a 58.1% chance of reaching safely against a shift. However, studies have shown that between 15% and 30% of sacrifice bunt attempts fail to move runners, and 4-5% can even result in the lead runner being out.
Bunting may have made much more sense until the shift was banned, but with the average fastball rate going up, and spin rates going crazy. It’s simply not that easy to bunt a 100 MPH pitch that is moving like crazy. The truthful answer is just that teams/statisticians did the math and realized that it wasn’t really as good of a move as we all thought it was for so long.
“On the internet there are some articles that rate the success rate of a bunt anywhere between 40-60 percent”
Can you share?
Just google (or use the search engine you trust) “success rate of bunts in baseball” , many, many articles.
One thing Mark said is true: With pitchers throwing harder and harder the bunt is tougher to execute then before. However, the bunt as an element of situational smallball can still be an effective weapon .
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!
I might not be correct.But I believe I heard one of my Ms.State Pitchers say when he was playing in the mid 80s Clark and Palmeiro days,we had 3 guys who could throw in the 90s. Now,this was 2 or 3 years ago all 17 guys could throw in the 90s.
Interesting. When I did what you recommend, I don’t find data anywhere near what you wrote. In fact, the common success rate is:
Studies have shown that between 15% and 30% of sacrifice bunt attempts fail to move the runners, and 4-5% even result in the lead runner getting out.
Perhaps that’s what you meant?
What is the success rate of not bunting?
Brilliant pitching. Bats still pretty quiet. 5 runs in 18 regulation innings. We could have lost both games if not for our staff. Let’s get on another 5 run per game stretch. Vargas and Pages have to play every day and see what we have. I’d platoon Heyward and Teoscar in right for time being. T is lost against RH slider
Or could Vargas play some 3B while Muncy is down? I’d just like to see his bat in the lineup every day for a couple of months.
No, he’s an OF now.
I agree; he’s here for his bat. Let him play one position and just hit.
Then T Hernandez and Heyward platoon?
Bottom of the order and the bench still the problem . One day and two wins has not changed that.
But the team needed that day.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
T is too good to platoon.But Vargas has got to get his chance.Maybe you could rotate the 4 of them.
whether it was a good bunt or bad bunt, i thought it was the play of the game!! without it they lose. But prior to that same ole Taylor!! It’s a shame because of how valuable he is defensively. We say Barnes is so important calling a game, but Chris can play anywhere and play excellent defense! Shame his bat didn’t stick around with his defense!! …. Paxton has a chance to pick up his 6th win today. So far won – loss record his great! Just need more consistency! ….. The starting pitching and bullpen will be healthy and strong very soon! Just need more offense!….. Mark, haven’t seen , but why did Vargas come out after the homer?
He came out for defensive purposes. He is still learning LF and we were trying to protect a small lead, so you want your best outfielders out there.
Agreed
Taylor had struck out three times already that day.
One reason Roberts had him bunt is that he couldn’t trust him to put the ball in play by swinging away.
It worked, but just barely. The bunt could have been a double-play–but Ottavino couldn’t quite get it.
That’s just baseball.
Great pitching already knew that. When healthy our pitching staff measures up. The wins yesterday were great. Every Dodger fan loves that. A bit of situational hitting in which a bunt was used by Taylor. He only bunted because he would probably strike out if he hadn’t. Which brings me to the real problem.
All us people who go crazy when we lose one so now we win 2 and we r happy. I submit it is not about 1 loss or even a losing streak it is about this roster construction. On any given day we have 4 outs in the lineup and mostly cannot put the bat on the ball. 2 wins does not change that. The change on offense has to come from 7,8,9.
The Dodgers are committed to teo ( not platooning a guy making 23 million) and Muncy, and of course Ohtani. They are going to strikeout. But u can’t have the rest striking out. Taylor is now a defensive player, baserunner, bunter but does not fit the roster we have. Kike can’t hit righties can play d. One of those have to go. Put Vargas in the lineup n c if he can put it in play. Platoon Kiké, Taylor, Heyward in cf if they are on the roster. Rojas can b infield sub. Go get a quality hitter who can put it in play.
I’m probably wrong but a thought, Taylor is playing more to show case him and see if anyone would want to trade bad contracts or put Taylor with a prospect. Seems they have him playing all over the field. Just a thought.
Unless Taylor has some miraculous turnaround, his value in trade is below zero. A bad contract swap seems to be the only way to unload the contract and get something in return. But I still think at some point, they have to consider just cutting him loose.
I agree Bear. But the last week he was getting more playing time after sitting for a long stretch. One can rationalize Barnes though my mind thinks that we should bring up Hunter F for a look see. Really don’t think that will happen because good pitching beats good hitting and pitchers seem to have a good day when Barnes is behind the plate. I along with million other people would love to see Taylor turn it around. I don’t see it happening in LA unless he goes somewhere to clear his head and make the necessary adjustments. His mental state can’t be in a good place.
4:10 PM ET
Dodgers (35-22)
Mets (22-32)
SP James Paxton L
5-0 3.49 ERA
SP David Peterson L
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
RF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
3B E. Hernandez R
SS Miguel Rojas R
LF M. Vargas R
77° Wind 7 mph Ou
Mookie at 2b today and Rojas at ss ?
Why flip them again ?
go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
Maybe Mookie needs a break. SS is more grueling than 2nd base.
Because AF is trading for the Colonel from the Nats to play SS and Lux is in the deal.
Maybe AF is considering trading forSS Bichette of the Blue Jays
Probably just want’s Rojas to get some reps at SS with Mookie out there against a LHP.
No I think it is to get Bichette from Bluejays. Who is the shortstop for the Nationals? Bichette is starting to hit and in the dodgers lineup he will see better pitches then the Bluejays lineup.
No Bradley, it is not. Doc explained it was just one day to give Mookie a reset. Also to keep Rojas sharp at SS. What happened later in the game? Mookie went back to SS and Rojas moved to third. They are not trading for Bichette. They are also not trading for the Nats SS, Adams. He is the young star the team is building around. What makes you think the Jays are even interested in trading Bichette? He is one of their stars and they don’t have many. Mookie is hitting over .330. Bichette is hitting .246. Mookie is playing the position well considering it is the first time he has done so. Quit dreaming of getting other teams stars just because the team itself is not that good. That is not how or why trades are made.
Wednesday schedule
8 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Chris Campos) at West Michigan (Jaden Hamm)
5 p.m.: Tulsa (Jared Karros) vs. Northwest Arkansas (Luinder Avila)
5:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Payton Martin) at Lake Elsinore (Jose Luis Reyes)
6:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (TBA) at Albuquerque (Tanner Gordon)
05/29/24 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned LHP Nick Ramirez to Oklahoma City Baseball Club.
He was the 27th man and would be gone anyway. Bradley, I don’t care about trade scenarios posted or talked about by pundits on the media. Why would the Dodgers want a SS hitting in the .240’s when their own SS is hitting .338? Mookie doesn’t want to keep moving around, and he definitely is not going back to the outfield. You said that Arenado wanted out of St. Louis because it is a sucky team. Arenado has never said that. He loves playing in St. Louis and has said that several times. You also said the same thing about Adames and Yelich. Sorry, the Brewers are not a sucky team, they are leading their division by 3.5 over the Cubs. I also told you that the Dodgers won’t take on the contracts of aging stars who have close to 100 million dollars still owed to them. You might not believe it, but the finances of a player are taken into consideration before a trade happens. Both Yelich and Arenado fall into that category. Lane Thomas is hitting under .200. He just came off of the IL. DC DFAd Robles to get him back on the roster, why would they consider trading him? Doesn’t make sense. One other thing Bradley, when have any of these so-called trades the pundits say are going to happen, happen? Rarely if ever. They are usually wrong by a long shot.
Baseball is updating Josh Gibson’s career records, and he is now the all-time leader in career BA, slugging, and OPS. He also is now the single season leader with a .466-mark, highest slug, and OPS. Gibson was considered one of the greatest hitters ever, and he displaces several baseball legends with those stats. Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth. He is rumored to have hit over 800 homers in his career, but that mark cannot be verified.
That was a nice at bat by Vargas, and the idiot called him out on a pitch that was high
Vargas wuz robbed!
He wuz indeed…. but that at-bat is definitely a plus in the eyes of the front office.
When he first came up in ’22–before the broken fingers–Vargas seem so determined to show off his hitting skills that he only had two walks in about 50 plate appearances. He didn’t hit much either.
Obviously this should have been a walk, and those passing judgment on him know that.
IF he can deliver at age 24 what the Dodgers expected last season, AF may not need to shop for another outfielder.
Looks like we have another angel Hernandez umpire today
That’s messed up; Vargas battles back after down 0-2, fouls off a few, takes a few (good eye), works the count full and gets rung up on a pitch that was a ball out of hand, in the air, across the plate, in catchers glove, etc. I’ve heard/read Bear say it: bring on the roboumps—not sure if I’m there yet but the past few games have been shyt, for both Mets and Dodgers. It almost coincides with the Angel Hernandez news, like his boys are showing solidarity by being equally inept…
Quick hits:
-An assessment on the Dodgers still seems like a futile exercise; too many moving pieces; pitching staff still unset despite some solid contributions; unbalanced lineup. This is not the team the Dodgers are going to the playoffs with; the core, yes of course, but I can’t see Friedman and his boys standing still before the deadline….
-with all due respect to pugilist Marco Antonio Barrera and Stephen Curry, a new Baby Faced Assassin is on the scene and it just may be Gavin Stone. After some serious growing pains last year, this season he’s shown a steely demeanor with that stone cold disposition, pun TOTALLY intended. Whether he’s having a rough start or mowing down hitters, Stone has the ability to stay even keel and move on to the next batter; Bobby Miller, and maybe Sheehan a little too— take notes….
@Bear
-It’s been a month or so but wanted to thank you for answering my oldest Dodger alive question after the death of Mr. Erskine. I realized after asking that the answer probably needed some research so I appreciate it…and the rabbit hole I found myself in by then reading a bit on Tommy Brown, Fred Kipp, Jim Gentile and Bob Aspromonte. Thanks again…
-and yeah, that George/Tammy miniseries has been in queue for me for too long, I need to watch it. I love Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon is always solid. I’m still relatively new to country and I’m still learning, but something about George Jones makes me keep looking up his catalog. I read somewhere that in the 70s someone asked Sinatra who’s the best singer in America, and he said after himself, The Possum was the best …
Cheers….
Your welcome Pee Wee. I watched the George and Tammy miniseries. Well-acted and Shannon did a bang-up job playing George. I never thought Jones was a great vocalist, his voice though was probably more country than any other country singer. He had that sound. But Twitty had more range vocally, so does Vince Gill and Larry Gatlin. They are more of what I would classify as pure singers, with a lot of range. Ricky Van Shelton had that kind of range too. So did I before I got scar tissue on my vocal cords in the late 90’s. But many consider George’s recording of “He Stopped Loving Her Today” as the best country record ever. I know it is heavily requested at most country venues. I also feel Twitty’s It’s Only Make Believe is in the same category.
Dodgers will get Bichette and Arozrana from the Ray’s watch thats why they will play Vargas some more then use him as trade bait.
I think it would be awesome if Bradley was indeed the first time-traveller.
I think Vargas will be better than Arozarena, and right about now, Randy is hitting .159. No, thank you.
That has about as much chance of happening as Mark has of managing the Dodgers. No shot at all. Arozarena at this point in time is worse than any outfielder on the roster except Taylor.
Miguel Vargas needs the aggressiveness of Andy Pagés and Andy Pagés needs the patience of Miguel Vargas
Pages will always be a hitter who strikes out a lot but hits for power.
Vargas is a professional hitter who works counts and does not always swing from the heels.
We saw the results on his double when he went with the pitch resulting is soft contact which at the very least would have been a sac fly, but ended up a double.
They are different players.
We need a Vargas type hitter. Tries to put it in play and works the count. Pages looks good against lefties. Vargas left
Pages/Heyward platoon in center.
Teo in right
Agree!
Those traits are difficult to develop. The LAD need to see what they have in Vargas. The leash should be long enough to allow Dodger brass to make a reasonable determination. I could think of worse ways to invest ABs on the bottom of the order bat(s).
Vargas needs to prove he can be a Vargas-type hitter on the ML level.
He shows flashes, but let’s not get carried away.
Just a few weeks ago, it looked like Pages was the Dodgers’ breakout star of the season.
Miguel has an excellent knowledge of the strike zone, he is very patient and has ice in his blood, all of that is very good in a hitter, but many times that patience works against Miguel since he often allows good pitches to pass hit and they don’t swing. He should be more aggressive with those pitches that are in a comfortable zone to hit.
Today Miguel had a very good game, he also made a great catch on the LF.
I said that in June Miguel was going to take over the LF and that’s how it will be!!!
Big for Vargas right there! Bottom four did some damage today. Keep it rolling!
Vargas now showing he can provide a spark at the bottom of line-up.
Uh-oh ..time to sit him again for awhile. 🙂
Mets are a mess.
Those two hits Heyward got today kicked his average up to .225. Watch out for J-Hey. The man has skills, and when he gets a little more playing time, he is going to be a force. Both of those balls were scorched.
I think J-Hey and Pages should platoon,
Put Teoscar in RF and Miguel Vargas in LF.
CT3 is the odd man out.
Sorry, Let’s roll.
I could live with that, and I am pretty sure so would Heyward. He is one of those great clubhouse guys who loves to mentor the young players. Vargas was saying the same thing about Teoscar. Imanaga got rocked today. Guess he isn’t as invincible as the Cubbies thought. D-Backs, Giants and Padres all lost today, so the Dodgers picked up a full game on everyone. I also think Taylor needs to go. I feel bad for the guy, but it is time.
Works for me.
If it works for the Dodgers, they may not need to shop for an outfielder–but they still might.
They need at least one more productive outfielder. One with some solid post-season numbers. Pham has that, and he would not cost much, plus he can play left or right. They also need in my estimation, a left-handed bat off of the bench with some power. But I also think Vargas needs to play every day, so, and I know Mark won’t agree with me, but that is ok, send him to OKC, play him every day, bring up Lipcius who is tied with Ward for the PCL lead in homers, stick him at third, and see what the kid has. If he can’t cut it, no harm no foul. But get some use out of his bat. Kike, Barnes, and Taylor make for a really weak bench although Kike looked a little better today, and Rojas had a nice game. He pulled his average all the way up to .284. That is 38 points higher than what Bo Bichette is hitting in Toronto. Trade some of that prospect capital for a solid back end of the bullpen arm, and a contact hitting outfielder. Also, since it has been noted that the Astro’s will probably have trouble re-signing Kyle Tucker, blow their socks off with an offer for his services. He improves the outfield a bunch.
tucker probably will cost a kings ransom. Starting with dePaula and maybe Sheehan or Frasso.
Don´t know if I would make such a deal.
Pham IMHO would be the better alternative or Robert jun.
Need one more big bullpen arm, a true late inning shutdown guy. Graterol has apparently not even started throwing, same with Brasier. And Kelly is a walking time bomb as well. Hudson and Treinen have been injured in the past two, so there is a lot of uncertainty around our high leverage guys.
Too bad the Padres got Arraez. He would have been the perfect addition to our big sluggers with his high average and OBP.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it is more likely the Astros will trade Bregman than Tucker and Tucker will get paid big time. Sheehan and Frasso will not be traded while rehabbing. Tucker would cost DePaula, Knack, Rushing, and Ryan… at least!
If Kyle Tucker really winds up on the market, AF should definitely make a strong offer.
While I remain bullish on Mason Miller–he looks like the best closer talent in years, perhaps ever, and came up last season as a starter–I’m really not that worried about the bullpen. The Dodgers should handily reach the playoffs with the bullpen resources that they already have.
The Dodgers have tremendous pitching depth, including several guys in the minors who would make the rosters of other ML teams. This includes both relievers like Vanasco and starters like Knack. If Kershaw comes back, Gavin Stone could be moved to the pen. Dustin May is expected after the all-star break, and it’s probably better to ease him back as a reliever. If the Dodgers decide they really need another lefty, perhaps they can trade for Tanner Scott, or perhaps Wrobleski could be promoted and moved to the pen. And it always seems the Dodgers find a tarnished gem that could be polished. Last season, it was Brasier; this season, maybe Banda.
How deep is the pitching? Consider: Michael Grove has been a stalwart in the pen this season, pitching in 22 games. That is second to Vesia’s 23 appearances and just ahead of Hudson’s 21. He’s pitched a lot better than his 5.40 ERA suggests; a couple of bad outings can do a lot of damage to a reliever’s ERA.
Anyway, Grove has been a go-to guy this season–but it’s hard to imagine him being one of the 13 pitchers on the playoff roster, unless the staff is really ravaged by injuries. Righties who might wind up in the pen for the playoffs: Phillips, Treinen, Graterol, Kelly, Brasier, Stone, Knack, Bobby Miller, Buhler, May, Hurt….
Yes, some of these guys are injured–but most should return. Miller and/or Buhler and/or Stone could end up starting.
As for lefties, Vesia has been terrific and Paxton could shift to the pen. Yarbrough has been fine but he could be squeezed out, especially if the Dodgers add Tanner Scott or ???.
Perhaps no bullpen was as bad as the Texas Rangers last season… on paper.
They were 17th in team ERA (the Dodgers were 4th with a decimated starting staff).
They were 29th in Bullpen ERA (the Dodgers were #3).
Their closers blew 31 of 61 save opportunities during the regular season (you read that right), yet they won the World Series. If that doesn’t speak to the randomness of postseason baseball, I don’t know what does. They did not go get a Mason Miller-type and Andrew Friedman is not going to do that either.
As I write this, the Dodgers are 3rd in Relievers Team ERA, and that should get much better as everyone gets sorted out and other players get healthy.
Evan Phillips has been nails this year. He has 0.66 ERA – Mason Miller is at 1.88 and is the flavor of the week. His arm is also going to fall off. Watch and see!
The Dodgers simply do not need to go after any more pitching. They have a glut of it. Banda is looking very promising as another lefty out of the pen. Treinen has been filthy. Hurt will be back later. So will May. Miller and Phillips are close and Clayton, Brasier, and Kelly, should all be back. Don’t forget that JP Feyereisen was one of the best setup men in baseball three years ago. He sometimes pitches like he has missed a couple of years but has shown flashes of his old self.
Of course, some will under-perform, others will over-perform, and some will be injured. That’s why AF buys them cheap and stacks them deep. The Dodgers bullpen is just fine. It’s the hitting… especially the bottom-of-the-order hitting.
The Dodgers have more than enough bullpen arms and starters. It is up to Lux, Taylor, Outman, Heyward, Pages, and Vargas to deliver. Some will step up. I think Vargas is ready, but he needs to play every day. If not, he might as well go back to OKC. His approach is exactly what the Dodgers need at the bottom of the order. Let him play every day for two weeks, and then you will have a better idea. I remain hopeful that Gavin Lux can get it back and that Miggy Rojas is embracing his super-utility role.
I think Pages needs more time at AAA, but right now, he’s the best we have in CF. James Outman could be back after the All-Star Break or AF could trade for a centerfielder, but there is not a lot to choose from. I really would like to see Lipcuis at 3B before Max comes back (he can also play 2B) and CT3 should voluntarily do what Jose Abreu did and volunteer to go down and work on his swing.
Barnes also needs to step up like he did in the second half of last year.
Let’s roll!
Can we not ever see the “z” pitchers again in a close game? Offense!
Rojas is having a great year
Mets To Designate Jorge Lopez For Assignment
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/05/mets-to-designate-jorge-lopez-for-assignment.html
AF should sign him!
At least he showed some fire in his belly after he got lit up. Umps this year have been so bad. Mitch White was DFAd by the Brewers. Darvish will be examined today, tight hammy. And Manoah also is having problems. Joey Wendle is now a free agent after the Braves cut him loose. The Braves also signed Ramon Laureano to a minor league deal. Laureano recently released by the Guardians.
Wednesday scores
Oklahoma City 6, Albuquerque 1
Tulsa 6, Northwest Arkansas 5 (10 innings)
West Michigan 2, Great Lakes 0
Lake Elsinore 5, Rancho Cucamonga 4 (10 innings)
Thursday schedule
3:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Jackson Ferris) at West Michigan (Dylan Smith)
5 p.m.: Tulsa (Justin Wrobleski) vs. Northwest Arkansas (William Fleming)
5:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Cam Day) at Lake Elsinore (Sam Whiting)
6:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Landon Knack) at Albuquerque (Tyler Danish)
Hudson former Dodger reliever just gave up 2 homers to the Cubs. 4-4 tied in ninth.
Jorge Lopez looked like he has some nasty stuff. Mb attitude is slowing him.
Lopez is the kind of pitcher AF covets.
Todays rumors I just read Bear and Mark the top five guys that the Dodgers are looking at too improve there team.
1. Randy Arozaran LF Tampa Bay
2. Tyler Oneal. Rf or LF Boston
3 CJ Adam’s and Lane Thomas that would be SS and RF
4. Connor Joe Rf Cf Pirates and used to be a Dodgers
5. Bryan Delecruz CF Lf Miami
Oh and of course Maaon Miller and your favorite old reliever and good Dodgers Jansen from the Red Sox see both O’Neil and Janesn will be free agents so they would take who ever the dodgers would give them. So you think I didn’t do my research in this if they got Jansen Oneal CJ Adam’s and Lane Thomas bam problem solved better hitters then what we have now in 7,8,,9 slot. A outfield of Oneal Thomas and Teo Heennandez yeah I would take that in the playoffs.
Item A. The Nationals are not going to trade CJ Adams. He is 23 years old, under team control until 2029 and is the face of the franchise. He is no upgrade at SS. He has almost as many errors as Mookie in less chance. Understand this Bradley, the Dodgers are not in the market for a SS. Adams is hitting .260. Mookie is hitting .332, has more steals than Adams, and more runs driven in. For this season at least, Mookie is the SS. Now they might trade for one, or sign one this offseason, but there won’t be one this year. Item B. Lane Thomas. Thomas has 100 at bats, is hitting .203, and has been on the IL until last week. He could get traded at the deadline, but he is a -0.3 WAR player right now and not an upgrade to the outfield. Item C. Arozarena is having the worst season of his career. He is hitting .160. All of our outfielders except Taylor are hitting above that number. His OPS is .571. Awful. His WAR right now is worse than Thomas at -0.6. Item D. O’Neill is on the IL, if he comes back and is healthy, then maybe he is an option, but he is also injury prone. Item E. Connor Joe is hitting .286. He plays mostly RF; he is not a center fielder and has played most of his games at 1st base. He is also not a very good outfielder. He is arbitration eligible after this year and won’t be a free agent until 2028. He played 2 seasons in the Dodgers system but was originally signed by the Pirates. He could be on the block, but that depends on where the Pirates are at the deadline. Item F. Brian De La Cruz. De La Cruz is Miami’s DH. He has played some in the outfield, but DH is his primary spot. He plays primarily left field when he does play the outfield. He is hitting .248 with 9 homers and 25 driven in. His OPS is below .800 and his OPS+ is 100. MLB average. I do not see him as an upgrade at all. Especially since his defense has him being the primary DH. Item G. No way the Dodgers bring Jansen back. He is almost 37 years old. He has only pitched 17.2 innings all year. He has an ERA of 3,06 which is decent, but his WHIP is 1.245. He is nowhere near the pitcher he used to be. You also have to look at what it would take to acquire all those players you mentioned. But you can forget Adams, Arozarena, Thomas, Jansen, and Joe. Boston might trade O’Neill, but the Dodgers would not bite unless he was healthy. I do not know which rumors you are reading, but that is all they are.
Bradley,
Put down the crack pipe!
But, I love the comedic relief!
It’s like Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor.
Wow red that’s what guys that are potential trade targets for the Dodgers on baseball rumor mills. AnD says the Dodgers need two new outfielders badly. So Einsteins since your the gods on here. Who do they go after to improve the outfield because it surely isn’t Pages Vargas and Lux and Taylor.
Well, they could target Tommy Pham. Pham is having a good year with the White Sox. He is a decent fielder, and he could be had pretty cheaply. He is hitting .294 right now, and he was hoping he would be traded to the Dodgers last year. One huge plus with Pham, he is a .313 hitter in the post season. I like Brent Rooker, but many do not because he strikes out a lot. But he hits for average, .281 right now, and power, 11 homers. We are not gods Bradley; we just do not believe the rumor mill. Rarely is any of that stuff accurate. I will give you an example. In 2021, when the deadline was approaching, no one had a clue that Trea Turner was going to be included in the Max Scherzer trade. Oh, the rumor that Shcerzer was going to be traded was out there, but few thought he would go to the Dodgers. Do yourself a favor and check baseball reference page of the players you think the Dodgers might target. The star players always get mentioned because the Dodgers spend a lot of money. But, in reality, the finances come into play when trading for someone like Arenado or Yelich. They both are older and owed close to 100 million dollars still on their deals. Adding those players adds close to 20 million each to the Dodgers payroll, which is already over the limit for the CBT. Which means a higher tax hit. Just because a team is floundering, doesn’t mean they are willing to trade their stars. Unless they go into a rebuild mode and want prospects. If you had read their baseball reference page, you would have realized just how bad Arozarena has been, and that Lane Thomas had been on the IL and was not playing well.
Gallen of Arizona out with hamstring issue after 6 pitches tonight.
Wow, I thought he was dealing with that earlier in the year. Alonso got lucky and nothing was broken from him being hit the other day. He actually had a clutch double last night to help the Mets beat Arizona. Going fishing today. Been a while. Can’t watch the game tonight because of it being blacked out and the Rockies do not have a local TV station here anymore. They moved from Altitude Sports to AT&T Sportsnet. The service that shows them costs 80 dollars a month. No thanks.
Here is a list that Newsweek put out this week of the best players at each position THEY believe will be traded. C Elias Diaz, Rockies. Hitting .299, 33 years old and a free agent on the worst team in baseball. 1B Pete Alonso Mets, another rental player. Not having his best year, but a power threat for a contender. 2B. Luis Rengifo: Angels Hitting .343, solid defender. Has one more year of control. If LA decided it needed a 2B, he would be a great fit, but would Moreno trade with LA? SS, Bo Bichette: Blue Jays. Not hitting at his normal level yet, but with the Jays struggling, they MIGHT go into rebuild mode. Has one year of control left. 3B: Alex Bregman: Astros. Bregman is another rental player. Having a down year across the board but would bring a nice return to the Stros. The only outfielder listed is Tommy Pham. White Sox. Cheap contract, playing very well on a really bad team. Obvious trade fodder. SP: Tyler Anderson: Angels. Having a good rebound year on a bad team. ERA under 2.50. Might be better pitchers available, but he will most likely get traded. RP: Tanner Scott: Marlins. He is one pitcher I think the Dodgers should target. High K rate and a lefty to boot.