Well, the horse is dead and I won’t beat it (very long), but I think Andrew Freidman made a mistake in letting Yimi Garcia walk when he could have been signed for about $1.1 million… and if he was going to let him go, why didn’t he do it two weeks ago and put Jordon Sheffield on the 40-man? I know that that AF is not perfect, but this move and the lack of adding Sheffield looks pretty dumb to me.
Maybe I am missing something. It could be that he thinks Yimi needs a change of scenery, but that still begs the question: Why now? Sheff will likely get nabbed in the Rule 5 Draft and keeping Yimi for two weeks is the reason. Puzzling… to say the least… I just call it the way I see it and right now, it doesn’t look good. I would have kept Garcia over Alexander… but that’s just me.
AF will likely sign a few bullpen reclamation projects… most not of the caliber of Yimi, but there are a number of arms out there. Let’s look at a few that intrigue me:
- Aaron Sanchez – He has 4 pitches and amid-to-high 90’s fastball and except for 2016, has been a failure as a starter. I would look at him in the bullpen. Of course, this is predicated upon his buying in.
- Taijuan Walker – Another live arm, but never got it going as a starter. Kind of the same deal as Sanchez.
- Kevin Gausman – Add another one to this above list. I think he should move to the bullpen. Will he “buy-in?” That’s the question.
- Tyler Anderson – He’s a LH’er and has looked pretty bad as a starter. Actually, he has good command and I believe his fastball velocity would tic up to 93-94 in the bullpen.
- Blake Treinen – In 2018, he was simply devastating and the best reliever in all of baseball. He’ll be in demand and will likely cost the Dodgers more than the others… but he is probably worth the risk.
There are many other “reclamation projects” but not many with the stuff of Yimi Garcia. Maybe the Dodgers think Yimi is damaged goods (between the ears)? This brings me to the final bullpen arm I want to talk about: Josh Hader. I know he said (tweeted) some stupid stuff when he was a teenager. Teenagers tend to do that. I have heard that he is not that guy anymore, but I am sure the Dodgers can figure it out. He has 4 more years of control and is arguably one of the Top 3 Bullpen Arms in the game.
Gavin Lux was born in Kenosha, Wisconson, just down the road from Milwaukee. While I do not see him as a SS for the Dodgers, he would be an improvement over Urias, who could slide to 2B or 3B. I think if the Dodgers want Hader, the conversation starts with Lux. One player is not going to get it done. A hometown could seal the deal. Top Prospect It may take Peters and Carrillo as well. I am not big on trading the farm, but I would, in this case, I would trade Lux, Peters, and Carrillo for 4 years of Josh Hader. This would be a game-changer.
It turns out the Dodgers have met with Strasburg and are also courting Cole. Get one of them signed along with Donaldson and they are locked and loaded. Hader makes the bullpen great and he will cost a lot! You have to pay for a player like this… in fact, they may want another pitcher. I won’t pretend to know how Milwaukee values the Dodger prospects, but I think a deal can be made.
Discussion (90)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Those are some wild proposals! The key is signing Cole! Everything else is gravy. I just can’t see AF giving up all that for 1year of Betts and I think your team 59 would be way over the 208. But I’m up,for anything just not standing pat!
Pedro Moira:
It is folly to predict relief acquisitions. Hell, it’s folly to predict relief performance. It’s hard even to evaluate it.
If Maeda, Hernandez or Taylor, and Pederson are traded for prospects or young controllable assets, the Dodgers could sign Cole and Donaldson and be barely over the Luxury Tax Threshold. If they could trade Pollock, then they would be under and I would be fine with Beaty/Garlick/Taylor/Rios/Hernandez (pick a couple) in LF.
I’d take CT3 or Kike and Beaty in LF over Pollock and his salary. The thing is: I don’t think he can be moved… or maybe he can:
1. Trade Meada, Lux, Pollock, and Carrillo for Hader and Ryan Braun. Take on Braun’s salary for 2020.
2. Sign Donaldson
3. Sign Cole
4. Sign Treinen, Gausman, and Lindblom.
5. Trade Pederson, Kasowski, and Sheffield for Bummer.
Lineup:
1. Verdugo RF
2. Bellinger CF
3. Turner 1B
4. Muncy 2B
5. Donaldson 3B
6. Seager SS
7. Beaty/Braun LF
8. Smith C
Bench:
Barnes
Rios
White
Kike or CT3
Garlick
Rotation:
1. Cole
2. Buehler
3. Kershaw
4. Urias
5. May
Pen:
Stripling
Gausman
Treinam
Alexander
Lindblom
Gonsolin
Baez
Bummer
Jansen
Hader
PRINT THE TICKETS!
I actually think Cole signing with Anaheim makes sense (obviously if they offer him way more than we do). They aren’t a bad team now. They will get some financial flexibility soon from Hamilton and then Pujol’s contracts. Cole and then another decent starter gets their staff much much better.
Then throw in the division: Oakland will always be good but nothing more. Seattle is rebuilding. Texas is rebuilding.
And this cheating thing with Houston could bring down the Astro franchise really fast. Combine Houston losing Cole and Anaheim gaining Cole, and Anaheim now has a chance to move to the top of that division.
Of course, this is all predicated on 1) Cole really wanting to go to Anaheim, and 2) Anaheim paying him a LOT more than LA will. But being in LA guarantees October baseball. Anaheim doesn’t offer that guarantee yet.
2 new reports:
“Josh Lindblom Connected to LA by Ken Rosenthal.”
“LA in talks with starting pitcher Kevin Gausman.”
I think you have to look at players ages and realize that Rendon will get a longer contract than Donaldson and Moose is younger than Donaldson.
Mark, don’t spread rumors about Arte. Too funny. I do think the idea of centering a trade for Hader around Kenta Maeda is a pretty good idea. Kenta is a number three on most teams, maybe a number two or even one for the Brewers. I’m not sure you can connect Cole’s thinking to Zack Greinke. Greinke always said it was about the money, the reason he signed with the Dodgers in the first place. He was pretty straight forward about that.
Just read an article a few days ago that Cole may approach things differently, the fact he turned down a pretty good bonus from the Yankees and went to UCLA.
There is some serious buzz about the Dodgers and Anthony Rendon today, maybe because he recently met with them. But, if the Dodgers do sign Rendon, that would seem to eliminate the team pursuing Strasburg or Cole. It has been suggested that Rendon will be the first of the three big time free agents to sign, maybe faster than we think.
If the Dodgers are not concerned about the luxury tax threshold and there are some signs they are not, then signing a major pitcher may be in the cards. They met with Strasburg according to reports, which would be a shorter contract and less money than Cole.
Then again, this is all speculation. But some MLB analysts and Dodgers insiders expect the team with at least one of the big three.
I know Bum you hate to see Joc being offered up in a trade. He just is not a complete ball player. Also next year is his contract year. This is the time to sell, if you have no intention of signing him. I would not sign Joc. Sorry Bum.
USA Today reporting that the Chisox are really going after Joc.
For those of you here who are Joc fans I know this is hard to hear.
On the other hand it’s being reported by Nightengale so that may mean that Joc is about to be given a 20 year extension by Andrew.
I hate to see anyone leave. I guess I am just surprised it was Yimi Garcia before, Floro, Chargois or Alexander. I am not sure just because you are out of options should keep you on a roster if you are non-productive or injury prone. It could tie up a spot for a more deserving player I think.
I agree. Cole gives us a great chance to win a WS. Dont think AF would do Rendon as well but maybe Donaldson if he’d take a 3 year deal. But Moose’s 4 year deal may have killed that idea. No more poking you 59. I love your input on all things Dodger’s
Who do you prioritize between Hader, Cole or Rendon if you can only get 2 of the 3
I had to laugh when 59 called out someone for name calling as offensive
Cole needs to decide if he is worth $40M now or $33M 4, 5, 6, and 7 years from now and so do the Dodgers.
John Heyman tweet: Yankees meet with top target Gerrit Cole in SoCal today. They are all in. But having been rebuffed after drafting him and offering basically a blank check (he went to UCLA instead), they are very concerned he may prefer Angels and Dodgers. NYY will meet w/Strasburg tomorrow.
It’s being reported that the Dodgers have already met with Rendon and Stras.
I find SBuffalo’s post interesting regarding 3-4 moves being made this off-season. I think that is an appropriate amount to retool the team without hurting the core.
If there is indeed 3-4 moves to be made, I would hope to see the fist domino fall soon. A lot of rumors are coming in ahead of the Winter Meetings.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Farhan or Logan White sign Yimi. Some team will find his numbers too good to ignore, even if his results have been lacking so far.
I’m sure that AF has already had discussions with the Brewers regarding Hader. No idea what he’s willing to give up or what the Brewers would accept.
My offer: Maeda/Gonsolin, Hoese/Vargas, Kasowski – I’m guessing that wouldn’t be good enough
Lux or Ruiz? Who’s the trade piece and who’s the keeper any why?
For me the keeper is Lux. His athleticism and work ethic are off the charts! When we drafted him, he was viewed as the shortstop most likely to stay at short in the draft. Just earned a minor league player of the year. He only had 1 bad minor league season, when he was retooling his swing. And he’s had some throwing issues that may have been resolved.
Ruiz is the trade piece. He’s had bad years at the plate two years in a row now. Has a bad CS% his entire minor league career. Scouts love his bat to ball skills and he might be better with the bat than Will Smith some day, but he’ll never have Smith’s overall defensive skills. I loved this kid coming up, but at just 1 year younger than Lux, I thought I would see more from him by now.
Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray for Josh Hader.
I’m not sure of the rule, but since we non-tendered Yimi, if nobody else wants him, or he doesn’t like his offers, can we resign him this year to either a major or minor league deal?
Bidding for Zach Wheeler is heating up. He already has at least one 9 figure offer. Per Jon Heyman, he could sign before Winter Meetings.
Re Lux: from what I recall, last July we were NOT willing to give up Lux in a deal for Felipe Vazquez (granted at that time nobody knew about Vazquez pedophile issues). I would say Vazquez and Hader have/had very similar trade values, as I’d say they’re both pretty equal in terms of dominance, stuff, and success. (Again, comparing the pitchers only, not factoring in the pedophilia or racism)
Now, after seeing what Lux can do in Sept/Oct, I’m quite confident Lux didn’t lower his value in the Dodgers’ eyes, and I’m sure Lux increased his trade value for other teams who want him. I can’t see us trading Lux for Hader, when we wouldn’t do it for Vazquez (similar age, similar contract status)
As far as Hader’s comments, yes they were stupid. Yes they were racist and homophobic and flat out ridiculous. And those of us who aren’t white or Christian tend to see those comments a tad differently and can’t as easily brush them off as “oh he was a stupid young kid, we all did it”. Those types of comments affect us directly. Especially when they come from someone prominent (I’d say a 15-17 year old who’s a dominant athlete in his high school is a prominent figure in his high school and surrounding area).
However, I do agree that people can learn and grow. I do agree that maybe growing up in a certain area with certain people and a lack of people from other races/religions can make people think that certain “racist” comments or jokes are ok. I can see that when someone leaves his environment, and then starts to interact with those from other countries, those from other ethnicities, those from other faiths, and they all just play baseball together, that maybe those previously held beliefs or stereotypes go away and new opinions and ways of thinking arise.
I don’t know Josh Hader, but maybe he has grown. Maybe he genuinely feels bad for what he said when he was younger, and now looks back and thinks, wow, I was trying to be funny and impress my buddies but now I see it wasn’t funny. Or maybe he is actually racist, maybe he meant those things, and he’s only apologizing because the tweets got out. Maybe he still does hate gays and minorities. I don’t know. But I would think that in today’s world, it’d be easy to find that out.
Having said all that, his pitching is electric, and he could be the missing bullpen piece. In 11 playoff innings, he does have like a 1.64 ERA. Small sample size, but it’s better than half the stuff we currently have!
I wouldn’t trade Lux for him, but I’d think a similar package we wanted to send to Pittsburgh for Vazquez woud be our offer for Hader.
No way the Dodgers trade Lux.
I love Hader’s WHIP but his era and HRs allowed have increased 2 consecutive years. He would greatly strengthen the bullpen but I’m keeping Lux.
Why all the talk about Yimi Garcia.
He’s 29, if he hasn’t found it by now it’s unlikely that he will.
He could not perform in any pressured situations. He simply lacks mental capacity to execute when needed.
He is no loss at all.
Hader is a game changer, but Milwaukee will demand more than AF will give.
Do the deal for Rendon and worry about a Co Ace at the Trade Deadline.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to include Peters and lux in the same deal for Hader.
I am surprised that Garcia was non-tendered, but not disappointed that Sheffield was not added. He has never lived up to his potential as a first round draft pick. Last season he walked 43 batters in 55 innings pitched.
Mark,
Talking about Yimi is small potatoes if indeed the Dodgers can nab Hader. If I’m Milwaukee, I wouldn’t do your trade. You’ve got a young reliever in Hader who has proven he’s got what it takes to be a game changer in the MLB. Lux has not proven anything, yet. His slide in the 23 games he has played has left more questions than answers. He may or may not be a star in this league. It’s a toin coss. Lux, Peters, & Carillo is a robbery. This would open up 2B for Muncy to prove once and for all that he belongs as a starter. Do it, FO, if you can!
We have to have either Strasberg or Cole. We need that second ace. Then plug in Kershaw, May, and Urias. I do not like giving up Lux. Why not give up Maeda, Stripling, Joc and Carrillo for Hader. Three starters and a prospect for one bull pen pitcher.
I would swap Turner and Muncy. Muncy is a very good athlete. He can play third. Turner playing first will extend his life as a baseball player. Now you may want to keep Taylor and Kike to sub in the infield.
I think Peters is still a good prospect and we need to keep him.
It’s not like Hader was a 14-15 y.o. when he posted his hate. He was 17-18, really not that long ago. He only apologized because the tweets surfaced. Not everyone growing up in a small town is a POS racist like this guy.
“During the 2018 MLB All-Star game, a series of tweets by Hader ranging from mid-2011 to late-2012 were discovered to contain racist, homophobic and sexist content.[29][30] Friends and family of Hader that were invited to the game were given blank jerseys to wear due to the controversy.[31][32] Hader issued an apology after the game and deleted his account on Twitter.[33][34]”
I guess I’m somewhat surprised and not surprised at the same time regarding Yimi García. I always thought he would rise to the next level. His ball really moved, but some times, too many times, it moved to the middle of the plate and flattened out. He became another face on the poster, failed to reach his potential. Maybe he will discover the key elsewhere and rise to the top. Or maybe not. If I ran a team looking for a cheap reliever with potential, I’d take a shot. But the Dodgers need to invest in a different kind of player.
So why invest in Scott Alexander? Well, he’s a left handed who has the proven ability to get out both lefties and righties. He was hurt last year (left forearm inflammation) and they apparently expect him to bounce back, plus with the new rule change you need a lefty who can out hitters from both sides of the plate. That increases Alexander’s value.
I’m sure the Dodgers would like to acquire Josh Hader, but at what cost? The Brewers aren’t going to give him away. Guessing the price will be high and the competition fierce, if they actually trade him.
We need to get past Hader’s teenage years and remember we were once teens too. Did we do and say dumb things?
I think Taijuan Walker is interesting as a starter or bullpen piece. Coming off Tommy John and then a shoulder issue, he does have good stuff. Wonder if the Dodgers think the same thing?
A couple of Dodger insiders seem to think the Dodgers will offer a five year contract for Anthony Rendon at something like $40 million a year and he will be playing third base in LA next year with Justin Turner moving to first. They also said that a couple of current players won’t be on the roster with the expectation that Friedman will make three or four moves through trades or free agency.
I totally agree with 99% of this. I’m 1% unsure about including Lux in the deal for Hader. As far as Hader’s stupid tweets…
He comes from a small town and was probably a big fish in a small bowl. Just a dumb kid saying stupid things. I see no reason to hold a kid accountable in his professional career for saying some stupid stuff when he was a kid.
As far as the 40 man goes. I agree that it was stupid to cut Yimi now instead of protecting Sheffield. But, the 40 man is full, we still need that Ace, RH Power Bat and Closer. So, we still need to more spots to open up. I’m not crying about losing Yimi when we still need to drop a couple more guys. Even more if we’re going to get one of those reclamation projects.
The thing that really irritates me is that there’s at least 2 other pitchers that are worse than Yimi, but because they have options, they’re still on the team. But again, I’m not crying over spilled milk here, because there’s a lot of hot stove left and we really haven’t done anything so far.
Hopefully there will be roster churn in the near future as I’m not really excited about still having Floro, Chargois, Kolarek, Sborz and White taking up valuable roster space. But, I’m sure we’ll still have some of those guys when Spring Training starts to my chagrin.
Cole/Stras, Donaldson and Hader and Treinen – That would be unbelievable!
If Yimi is gone doesn’t that open up a spot on the 40 man? Couldn’t AF put Sheffield on it to protect him?
BTW, if a team claims Sheffield in the rule 5 draft they have to keep him on their major league roster all season, and he doesn’t look ready for the majors yet. That’s why I think AF didn’t protect him.