Our thoughts and prayers are with Freddie Freeman and his family after the hospitalization of his three-year-old son, Maximus. I have been very blessed in that none of my kids were ever hospitalized for anything serious except for once when my youngest son, at age five, had a concussion playing basketball and was unconscious for about 12 hours in the hospital. That was the worst feeling… ever… to see your child lying there comatose. I’ll never forget that feeling. Happily, he woke up and woke me up as I was sleeping in the bed beside him. I understand how you feel, Freddie, and your teammates will tell you, “We got this.”
I was scared to death when he was unconscious.
I think that the Dodgers will likely place him on the Family Emergency List, which would require him to miss at least the next three days. They could call up Andre Lipcius or Ryan Ward, but that would require opening up a roster spot on the 40-man.
Graterol, Grove, Dreyer, and Feyereisen all pitched scoreless innings after Walker Buehler. BTW, 25-year-old LHP Jack Dreyer has 54 strikeouts in 39.1 IP at OKC. He has a 1.37 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP and has walked just 7 batters. After Tommy John, his velocity has ticked up to 96 and he is a force! BA says this about him:
“Dreyer missed most of the 2019 season because of a shoulder injury, but was excellent in his four 2020 starts before the coronavirus-mandated shutdown. Dreyer was 2-1, 3.12 with 23 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Dreyer doesn’t have a clear plus pitch, but his slider will flash above-average. His 90-93 mph average fastball has enough oomph to make hitters respect it. His slow curveball is a little big and loopy and his changeup needs further refinement.”
Jack is another bullpen option for the Dodgers. Here’s more about him:
Walker Buehler went four innings and did not fare well. It should take him a couple of more games to regain his velocity (if he can). This is just a process, and we have no clue what will happen. I am not counting on him, and neither are the Dodgers… but you never know…
Over the next couple of weeks, the Dodgers should be getting Brusdar Graterol , Michael Grove and Ryan Brasier back from the injured list. That will be a huge boost for a Dodgers’ bullpen that has looked like it has been out of gas for weeks. Then there is Jack Dreyer! The team is also quietly optimistic that Yoshi Yamamoto will also be back as he is re-building the strength in his shoulder after two months of inactivity. He is currently throwing from up to 200 feet.
I feel that Tommy Pham is an option, but I can’t see giving up huge prospect collateral for a top player. Houston is a hot team. They started the season 12-24 and are now 54-49 and in first place in the AL West. With Betts, Muncy, Freeman, Rojas, and Taylor out, some others are going to have to step up to salvage the series. I look for the Dodgers to put Freddie on the Family Emergency list and call someone up… or trade for Tommy Pham today.
Saturday schedule
4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Peter Heubeck) vs. Lake County (Matt Wilkinson)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Bobby Miller) vs. Tacoma (Emerson Hancock)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Carlos Duran) at Frisco (Nick Krauth)
6:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Wyatt Crowell) at Inland Empire (Andre Sanchez)
Prayers for FF´s son! When you have children you know what he and his wife are going threw.
I agree with Blaker Harris. Get Robert jun. to play cf. Biggest hole on the team.#
If they can not get that needed frontline starter I would go after Tanner Scott hard. Built a tough as nails shutdown bullpen. That formula has worked in the recent past rather well in postseason play. October baseball is far different from April -September. Have to be able to manufacture runs when you need to, got to have solid starting pitching for 5 innings and then a shutdown bullpen.
Lux continues to hit well. Two more hits , one even vs a tough LHP.
In the minors Rushing with yet another HR.
Rushing, Knack plus another lower level prospect for Robert jun.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Robert has 3 hits in his last 19 at bats. He has struck out 12 times in those at bats. Pham is 4 for his last 18. He has struck out 5 times. Rooker is 4 for his last 20 with 1 K. He has 3 homers and 5 driven in. Lane Thomas has his BA up to .250. Rooker is hitting .288 and has 72 driven in. Even with his warts as an outfielder, I would stick him in left every day and keep Teo in right. Pages has sunk like the Titanic. Vargas is not very good anywhere you stick him on the field. And right now, his bat is not going all that well either. Oh yeah, Rooker has 25 bombs. Pages is not ready for prime time just yet. He hasn’t hit a home run in well over a month. You need more than that from your centerfielder. As structured, this is not a Championship lineup. They will be lucky to make it out of August in first place unless they add some bats. Does not seem to me that Robert Jr or Pham are a viable solution. Thomas and Rooker might help.
A lot of options.
I don’t see how the small samples you cite could influence the front office’s strategy.
From the big-picture perspective, Robert is clearly the most talented option–and also the youngest, with a team-friendly contract that could keep him on the Dodgers for 3.5 seasons. He’s the best defender by a wide margin and has the most offensive upside. With his injury history, it’s a matter of weighing the risk against the reward.
I wanted the Dodgers to consider both Rooker and Lane Thomas last season, and I still like both. But there’s a reason the A’s use Rooker as a DH. I’d rather have him in LF than Vargas or Pages, but he doesn’t solve the CF problem. Could Thomas play CF? Is he really on the market?
Pham is probably the cheapest upgrade, and perhaps his intensity is something these Dodgers could use.
I am basing what I said on his entire year, but who he goes after is up to AF. I was just using his last 20 at bats to show how inept he has been lately. This team has too much swing and miss as it is. Now with Freeman out on a family emergency, Smith in his second long slump of the year, Betts, Muncy out until who knows when, to be honest, they need someone who is actually hitting the ball consistently. Is that Robert Jr? Not right now it isn’t.
Could it be possible that Pham and Roberts are sleepwalking through the season playing for one of the worst teams in history? Very probable they get a jolt of life getting traded to a contender.
Pham because of his makeup most certainly would perk up. Robert Jr. does not look like he is that kind of guy. More laid back. A lot of talent going to waste in Chicago. My problem is his injurie history and the fact that there are already at least 4 teams in pursuit which is going to drive the price way up.
Truth
6.5 game lead on SD with a rather weak line-up playing until we get some reinforcements back. Prayers with the Freeman family.
Mookie, Muncy, Brasier, Grove, Yamamoto and Graterol might be all the Dodgers do at the trade deadline. If Yamamoto , Graterol and Brasier are good to go, it very well might be enough pitching and Mookie and Muncy might be enough offense. Seen enough of Biggio and it certainly seems as if Pages and Vargas are not ready for primetime. If Lux continues to hit does Mookie go to RF? Is Miggy Ro’s injury a season (or career) ender?
Entering the Dog Days of Summer with a SP staff that includes Wrobleski and Ryan is not what I envisioned at the start of the year. They’re good, maybe even going to be great, but it scares the heck out of me seeing rookie SP heading down the stretch. Stone might be gassed and need a couple of skipped starts to re-set and rest.
Anxious to see what AF and BG will do at the deadline but it is clear to me we need some additional talent whether that means pitchers or position players coming off the IL or acquired via the trade market. Biggio, Pages, Kike, Ahmed etc. won’t cut it.
Ferris has mound presence
Love those reports on both Ferris and Dreyer.
While we rightfully bemoan all the elbow injuries, it’s interesting how many pitchers have improved after TJ surgery.
To land Crochet, the Dodgers may have include either Wrobleski or Ferris in the package….
Nothing tougher than having a child in the hospital. I remember those days well. Prayers for the family.
The fact that Betts is working out at short seems to indicate a very hot Gavin Lux will continue to hold down second.
The Dodgers continue to say they are looking at impact players. But, it’s not like the old days. The new playoff format has created a trade deadline mess with all these teams having or thinking they have a chance to make a run into the fall. There are realistically just a few teams and fewer players available at the deadline. Most aren’t real impact players.
Will Skubal or Crocket actually be traded? If they are the price will be incredibly high. You really want to avoid the trade deadline nonsense and the Dodgers put themselves in great position to do that in the winter. Then injuries happened and here we go again. I still say, the Dodgers are suffering too many injuries to pitchers.. Another one just went down.
What about hitters? You can talk about Robert, but it’s not exactly like he’s setting the league on fire. Most of these trade candidates have very pedestrian stats. Of course you can look at previous seasons and think that maybe a player catches fire after a trade. I would pass. There are durability issues.
As to pitchers, Fedde and Flaherty might make some sense. Much more likely to be traded than the younger hurlers. Another bullpen arm is a must.
Maybe Pham makes sense.
Honestly not certain where the Dodgers go from here. Maybe they make a deal for a player who isn’t being talked about. An old fashioned trade. We’ll see.
The best thing that could happen is that injured players return healthy and ready to go.
We just can’t do nothing with our OF as bad as it is. We have to get a CF’er and I’m taking my chances on Robert jr to rebound coming to a contender. The potential is there. And we are overloaded with young pitching that won’t make our staff.
After much back and forth in my mind about this, I’ve come to the same conclusion as you.
Let’s take our chances and go get Jr.
But hopefully we can do it without giving up DePaula, Ryan or Wrobo.
I assume this kind of trade would probably include Rushing and Vargas or Pages, plus others
and a trade for Crochet or Skubal would definitely include Ryan or Wrobo, or maybe both, but after Crochet’s announcing what he will and won’t do if traded, I say pass on him.
To me Roberts’s upside simply outweighs the risk.
–He’s only 26, not yet in his prime. (Teo is 31; Pham is 36.)
–He has a team-friendly contract for 3.5 seasons, with an AAV below $20 million. (Teo is getting paid $23.5M this season, and might command $100m in an extension.)
–Robert would bring premium defense to CF, as well as 40-HR potential and speed.
No other player on the market comes close to his potential. Off the top of my head, I guess Soto will be the most appealing outfielder during the offseason–but he would cost hundreds of millions more than Robert.
Yes, the injury history is a concern. But the Dodgers may provide conditioning that mitigates the risk. He also K’s too much–but that is something else that might improve within the Dodgers’ lineup and system. (Again, considering the upside here.)
Dealing for Robert won’t be cheap, but he could still bring a lot of bang for the buck.
If Crochet’s demands are a serious obstacle–I doubt that, as he is earning $800,000 this season–a pivot to Robert + Fedde might work. Or maybe Robert alone plus Flaherty from the Tigers?
Just imagine…
Mookie 2B
Shohei DH
Freddie 1B
Will C
Teo LF
Max 3B
Luis CF
Heyward/Pages RF
Rojas/Ahmed SS
Passing on Crochet! No DePaula in package for Robert jr.
Hunter Feduccia is on his way to Houston.
I’ll try and do a better job tonight, folks. Kind of hard wheeling out 3 rookie starting pitchers in the hornets nest at Minute Maid. That said, doesn’t matter who is pitching if you can’t get hits and score runs. The bottom of this lineup is atrocious.
If the Padres get Vlad Guerrero at trade deadline to be there first baseman and a starting pitcher watchout they could catch the Dodgers.
What the Dodgers should do get Flarethy and I know some might not like this but Scherzer okay playoff experience. That would give you this Glasnow Flarethy Scherzer Kershaw Stone and Omamoto then pitching set. On the batters side Issace Paredes to play 3B until Muncy comes back get Pham and Dejong SS from whitesoxs okay . That would put Pham in LF and DeJong would be a shortstop. Moving then Kiki to play second base until Betts returns because you traded Lux to the whitesox. Now we need a centerfielder so they trade with the Nats to get Lane Thomas and Dylan Florio from them. That would make Lane Thomas now the new centerfielder. That’s what I think they should do. Because these teams are not giving up huge talented players in the trades made so far. So, why would the Dodgers give away a bunch of guys. And for one guy when they need about 4 or 5 new guys on this team. Prayers for Freddie and his son that he gets better.
I remember the days when the Dodgers prided themselves on playing solid fundamental baseball.
The base running errors really seem foreign to me. Having two runners each make a base running error on the same play costing a run seems outrageous to me.
It was right up there with the time Bellinger hit a home run, then J Turner ran backwards and passed Bellinger going the wrong way. Turner was called out and Bellinger was put on first base.
Does this stuff bother anyone or am I just old fashioned ?
It’s bothersome, and it should be.
Interested to see the plan for Feduccia, and how it affects the rest of the line-up, while he remains with the big club.
Either way, he won’t last long, no 40 man move needed.
No, Feduccia was already on the 40 man and Freeman was placed on the family emergency list.
Personally I put that whole mishap on Hernández, I played a lot of baseball and watched a whole lot like you guys, unless it might be someone to stretch a single to a double or a situation where there is a decent chance of the other running hard, I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone run hard into home when you perceive there will be no play.
I agree with Dodger Dave. We have a lot of thunder not able to play. It might time to hit behind runners and move the runner up with a bunt. 60’s and 70’s baseball. I understand one doesn’t want to give up an out but circumstances changes the norm.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday that he expects Senga (calf) to miss the rest of the regular season, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
“Senga was diagnosed with a high-grade calf strain Saturday, and an 8-to-10-week return timeline virtually guarantees the start he made Friday will be his only appearance of the year. New York’s skipper left open the possibility of a postseason return for the 31-year-old righty, but that will likely depend on how he’s able to progress through his rehab program. Now without their ace, the Mets will likely be active in the market for starting pitchers ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline”.
7:10 PM ET
Dodgers (62-43)
Astros (54-49)
SP Justin Wrobleski L
0-1 4.40 ERA
SP Ronel Blanco R
9-5 2.75 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
C Will Smith R
2B Gavin Lux L
LF T. Hernandez R
RF J. Heyward L
CF James Outman L
3B E. Hernandez R
1B Cavan Biggio L
SS Nick Ahmed R
In Domed Stadium
This is what a billion plus in payroll gets you in depth.Sad!!!!
This isn’t their depth they planned on. They planned on Taylor, Rojas, Barnes and whoever between Outman and Pages. For going on the fly the front office has done well.
Come on man, take off your Outman glasses.
Yankees To Acquire Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins
“Per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald, the Marlins will receive three prospects as part of the package for Chisholm, headlined by catcher Agustin Ramirez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The addition of Chisholm gives the Yankees another left-handed bat with speed, as he’s recorded 22 stolen bases this season, eight of which have come in July. It’s unclear exactly how he will fit into the outfield rotation, but it could mean that Alex Verdugo could be the odd man out in an outfield made up of Chisholm, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, especially with Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) targeting a return Monday. Chilsholm has also seen time at second base this season, and he could take over the everyday role from Gleyber Torres. For the season, Chilsholm is slashing .249/.323/.407 with 14 doubles, 13 home runs and 50 RBI across 430 plate appearances”.
What’s AF and BG doing while all these trades are taking place? In my humble opinion Tuesday’s trading deadline will determine the success or failure of the Dodger’s 2024 season.
Let’s hope it’s not another year of trade deadline acquisitions of the Ahmed Rosario, Lance Lynn, Joey Gallo variety.
Last year we were left standing at the alter thinking we had a deal for Eduardo Rodriguez to no avail when he wanted a new contract.
Hoping AF/BG have a plan this year and are currently working out the parameters of a deal or two that nets quality players who can contribute in a successful
Post season.
Be glad when the deadline is over with so we can focus on the last 2 months of the season. I agree this will be really telling on how the season is going to play out and who is healthy and who is not. Be really surprised if we win a game this weekend.
With Freddie out, Feduccia is getting the call, apparently.
Very happy about this, even if he has no experience at 1B.
Maybe Feduccia can start at C and Will could move over to 1B for a bit?
I rather see that than Biggio at 1B.
wow! the padres are starting to get scary! starting pitchers are really good. they lead the majors in batting average. if they somehow get Crozet, could get interesting! Rich Hill? come on! really?
Um did I just hear a rumor of Taylor Ward Kevin Pillar Rengifo and Anderson to the Dodgers for DePaula Lux Outman Stone and Cartaya and Fasso. Yes yes do that trade in a heartbeat was reported on the Athletic rumors
I think that is both a good trade for the Dodgers and Angels.
You missed a player Bradley. We’re also sending them Ohtani in that deal.
That one is out there, even for you Bradley! I wouldn’t even take three of those players if the Angels gave them to us.
Is insanity contagious?
That’s a great trade for the angels are you kidding me??’
The ACL Dodgers are in the semifinals tonight in the Arizona Rookie league
ACL Dodgers we’re the best MILB affiliate TY for the Dodgers with a record of 40-20
If they win tonight they play in the ACL
Finals starting TM with a best 2 out of 3
Too Players on this team are :
Vargas -SS (18)
Hope -OF(19)
Quintero- OF(18)
Elkins- OF(19)
All 4 of these kids could be moving up to Rancho if they make some room TY
Hope was already moved to RC. Immediately went 4-5 with a HR.
Vargas and Quintero probably will move up after the ACL season.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe we should trade Mookie. Our current 2nd baseman looks pretty comfortable hitting in the #3 spot. Mark, you may have been too complimentary labeling Outman as. 4th or 5th outfielder. Poor kid just has a huge hole in his bat. And who needs Crochet when you have the Wrob!!!!!!
bradley, are you doing drugs?
BP meltdown by Phillips and Hudson. As teams make acquisitions we have acquired a 17 year-old SS from the Red Sox.
What has happened to Will Smith’s offensive game? Hudson had two outs with six pitches and then shit the bed.
Ouch! Ryan better pitch a complete game tomorrow!
Really? Do you believe that?
That is beyond insane!
Taking out your starter in the 6h with two outs pitching a shutout, having just retired Alvarez, with your bullpen already overworked. And I do not even talk about how the pen imploded after the move.
Well , that is what I call STUPID. Or if you like it better: MORONIC.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!1
Dang Eric, it’s Saturday evening. You had to go and push Mark’s button.
Other than Bregman’s HR, the rest were “excuse me” low velo hits. This type of shit sometimes happens in the game of baseball.
BTW: Wrobleski is on a hard pitch count!
His pitch count was just fine.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winker and Thomas and florio is who I want the dodgers to get but I guess most of you don’t want that. Need to improve the outfield for the playoffs people.
Winker going to the Mets
Winker was traded to the Mets a little while ago. Thomas adds a lot of speed, and he is a very good outfielder. Some don’t like his splits; He definitely hits lefties better. But his best season, 2023, he had 19 homers off of right-handers. The Dodgers will be in San Diego when the deadline comes. Will be interesting day.
The ACL Dodgers won their semifinal game
Tonight 7-1 and will play in the ACL finals tomorrow.
Best 2 out of 3
What a game tonight with Houston .
I was told at an early age if you have nothing good to say don’t say anything!!!
Tomorrow that could change.
I have no clue what AF plans on doing. But it does get just a wee bit frustrating that he takes so long to do whatever he is going to do. He struck a little early last year with the Rosario trade. Lynn and Kelly came a little early too. But viable pieces are already off of the board with more likely gone before Tuesday’s deadline. If they had a clear date on which they could expect help back, then I could see waiting. But there is no clear timeline. Buehler, (yesterday) and Miller, tonight, did not look good in their re-hab assignments. Miller gave up 6 earned tonight in 3 innings. And that is AAA guys. They do need at least one front line starter. Skubal won his 13th game tonight. He went 7 innings and struck out 8 while giving up just 2 earned runs. Go ahead, spend the prospects. I have changed my mind. He could help especially down the stretch with so many pitchers out or iffy. Problem now how willing are the Tigers to trade him, and will the Dodgers have a package Detroit can live with. They seem to be targeting a mid-tier outfielder according to Dodger Blue. That leaves out Robert Jr. But they mentioned two I have mentioned. Thomas, I know the arguments against him, but he has played much better of late, and he brings a lot of speed to the lineup. He has 27 steals. He is a better outfield option than Pages. Pham was the other fielder they mentioned. He definitely has a lot of fire in his belly. Just wish he would hit with a little more power.
Miller and Buehler very likely will not help this season. Clayton ? Maybe. Will find out soon enough.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
You probably hit the nail on the head. Miller seems to have lost it pretty fast. Buehler said after the outing that he “ran out of gas.” Too much uncertainty in the starting rotation, and now the back end of the bullpen looks gassed. Roberts made a huge mistake not letting the kid finish the inning. They were still up four. Let Phillips start with a clean slate at the beginning of an inning like he did against the Giants. Hudson and Treinen just awful last night.
Skubal would require a mighty big swing.
It would be ironic if Crochet’s reported demands prompted the Dodgers to make a bigger deal for a better pitcher.
At this point, it’s hard to get overly-excited about anything the Dodgers do by the deadline with all the uncertainties surrounding their injured players trying to come back, along with their young outfielders clearly not ready for ML prime time. Even a “blockbuster trade” won’t change these realities.
Fill in a couple of pieces— see who gets healthy—Hope the relievers get some rest—See you in October
i don’t blame doc for taking JW out. but as well as Honeywell has been throwing, couldn’t he have used him for a couple of innings?? Phillips looks like a beaten pitcher. …. that loss stings. plain and simple. JW looked like a keeper last night. you could tell he wanted that win badly. Bullpen might need some reenforcements soon! And one more thing, i’m not on the “fire’ doc wagon, but the way lux is hitting, and the way Vargas is hitting, yeah doc, leave lux alone!!
Well, dodgerdad, if you do not blame him for taking JW out yesterday you will never ever blame him.
Even Doc himself said as soon as he took him out the momentum of the game turned. What makes the decision even worse : Doc admitted in his postgame interview that they only had pitchers out of the pen available today. And yet with this knowledge and an overlall burned out bullpen he still took the kid out after only 82 pitches with tow out in the 6th, pitching a shutout and having just retired Alvarez. there was a huge chance to give the pen some rest and he blew it big time. Who knows how long Ryan can go tonight, if he does not have it the pen will have to do heavy lifting yet again.
That is such a bad decision it is beyond belief. Listen to any of the Dodgers blog (for example listen to D-Mac on Dodgers nation) out there and their is an outcry over Roberts. It is decisions like that which lead to more and more Dodgers fan asking for his head.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
addition to my post above:
had only 4 pitchers available out of the bullpen today.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!