It Could Be a Logjam!

I liked what Wood had to say after his first outing against hitters yesterday. If he continues to look sharp in spring he could either make the rotation and give the team another young arm or he could be the young pitcher that other teams want in their rotation.

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Betances might be available but he was not all that good last year and had only two good years (2014, 2015). If because his role in 2016 included more closer and he couldn’t handle it as well as he did as the setup guy, then he might not be able to handle the setup role in the high pressure playoffs.

THE LA TIMES has a good write up about Kazmir’s issues last year and why it might change this year:

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http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-20170220-story.html

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This could bode well for the team.

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When players have a bad year, many fans want to “throw the baby-out-with-the-bathwater.”

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The flavors of the week have been Kazmir, McCarthy and Hernandez.

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I would not be the least bit surprised is all three bounce back and have nice years. There are certainly endless possibilities.

I actually like the idea of both McCarthy and Wood in the bullpen. Good arms; different angles. Solid stuff.

What’s the problem? Trade Ellis and his .194 BA for a playoff run with Ruiz. I seem to remember a very timely playoff home run from Ruiz. After season, wanting to get younger (and maybe better) and definitely cheaper with Barnes, trade Ruiz for Nuno. Nuno adds a lefty reliever to the trade piece inventory for a few months. Need a roster spot trade him, and his salary, for 22yr old Moseley.

From mlb.com last June

“A catcher early in his prep career, Moseley didn’t become a full-time pitcher until he was a senior in 2013 but quickly showed top-five-rounds upside on the mound. He slid to the Rays in the 36th round because he was set on attending Texas Tech, where he moved into the rotation late in his freshman year and didn’t allow an earned run in four NCAA playoff starts as the Red Raiders advanced to the College World Series. His solid sophomore season and spectacular fall had scouts thinking he’d emerge as a first-round pick this June, but he lasted just three starts this spring before getting pulled from the rotation. There’s no doubt that Moseley has enough pitches to start. His primary weapon is a 91-95 mph fastball with power sink. Both of his low-80s secondary pitches can be at least above-average offerings at their best, with his lively changeup more consistent than his slider. The problem is that Moseley’s control and command aren’t sharp, which gets him in trouble because he’s more hittable than he should be and runs up his pitch counts too quickly. His stuff is more electric in shorter stints, so he could become a high-leverage reliever in the big leagues, but pro clubs aren’t ready to give up on him as a starter.”

I know less than 50% of prospects make it to MLB, but not bad!

Definitely a log jam at starting pitcher. I’m not super concerned about the starting 5 at the start. However, I know what I would like to see consistently for the second half of the season and into the playoffs . . . Kershaw, Hill, then a righty, either Maeda, McCarthy, Stripling, Stewart or Oaks), Urias and Wood (or one of the left over right handers). Unless Kazmir is lights out, I would look to move him. He doesn’t strike me as a bull pen guy, so unless he’s dealing, he’s a wasted space in my view. Without injuries my bold predictions for wins by the starting pitchers are:

Kershaw (20- 4); Hill (16-7); Maeda (13-10); Urias (10-6); Wood (11-7); Stewart (5-3); Kazmir (4-5); Stripling (6-2); Mcarthy (9-8 or who knows) ; and Oaks (3-1). I’m not counting on Ryu,though I would love it if he had a successful return. I know that’s far too many wins for the starters, but why not? It’s going to be a great year. We’re going to send the Cubs on another 108 year spiral and then whoop on the Yankees or Red Sox in the Series.

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Just woke up from my nap, and I could hear Jm Croce’s “Dreaming Again” playing in my mind. 🙂

Except that he never signed.

Moseley has always had control problems, even in college. The pitching coaches will have their hands full. Or is this just another throw-away?

I know that I run the risk of being dubbed “negative”, but here goes:

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I expect that Kazmir will be relatively healthy and more effective this year than last but I have read rumblings that he was unhappy in LA last year. I have expected the Dodgers to trade a veteran or 2 for salary relief and to clear up roster spots and Kazmir is one of the most moveable. I expect that he will start the season in the rotation but that he is a candidate for a trade once he establishes that he can pitch effectively.

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I really see McCarthy more as a reliever at this point in his career – if he can recover from the yips. Maybe he has a better chance to stay healthy if he pitches an inning every other day than if he throws 5 innings every 5 days and his stuff will probably be pretty good in short relief. In fact, I see him as a possible 8th inning guy, but predict another DL stay for him if he is a starter (I know, not a tough prediction).

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We have no idea at all whether Ryu can ever pitch effectively again. Labral tears are very tough to recover from and he’s had 2 surgeries in 2 years. If he can, great but it’s tough to bank on him.

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I expect Wood to start the season in the ‘pen – it’s a numbers game. He will probably be needed in the rotation at some point though.

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I figure Hill for 20 starts and Urias for maybe 25. If the Dodgers get full seasons from Maeda and Kershaw (32 starts each) that’s 109, meaning they will need another 53 starts from among Kazmir, McCarthy, Wood, Ryu, Stripling, Stewart and anyone else they can find in the minors who might be ready. If they hold Urias back from the opening day roster to keep his innings down then maybe they open with Kershaw, Hill, Maeda, Kazmir and Wood in the rotation.

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Again, the Braintrust gets kudos from everyone because of “depth” but I would rather have 5 guys to take the ball every 5 days and not spend most of the season on the DL. It isn’t depth if they can’t pitch – it’s guys on the DL.

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As to some of the trade ideas, the Yankees aren’t dumb enough to trade a young stud pitcher like Betances for a broken down guy like Kazmir. Remember – if you wouldn’t make the deal if you were they Yankees, they aren’t likely to do it either.

I know I’m greedy, but I agree with Box in that news that Blanton had signed a one year deal would be the icing on the cake.

I can’t help but have a feeling of unease about handing the ball to Baez in the 8th. TBH I’m not sold on him.

A combination of Pancakes & Romo is much better.

Can’t wait for it to get started, and am feeling more optimistic than I have in years.

In fact, I’ve doubled my yearly bet on the Dodgers. Time to recover some of my loses.

The odds are 12/1 here which are better odds than in the US.

Hello K27

I think FAZ definitely keep AGon this year, especially if they are in contention at the TD. The vibe is that there is a belief in the camp that this is the year.

The signing of Utley suggests that they value veteran leadership, and throughout his tenure, AGon has given that. Also, like Utley mentored Seagar, then Adrian can mentor Belinger.

However, I do agree that if someone will take Ethier then he will be gone.

Interesting article

http://dodgerblue.com/dodgers-news-chase-utley-humbled-clayton-kershaw-corey-seager-widespread-adulation/2017/02/20/

I hear Betances could be on the trading block and the Yankees are looking for another quality starter. The offer of Kazmir and Wood for Betances works for the Dodgers. But I think the Yankees have other trade options that might be more attractive.

To be honest, Dodger baseball seeming almost insignificant with what’s going on these days. Wonder what Koufax thinks…or what Jackie Robinson would of thought……

Let’s spice things up…How about Kazmir and $10 million for Betances? If you don’t like that, how about Kazmir and Wood for Betances?

I agree with Bum – the Dodgers will flip veterans for prospects.

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They have some additional pitching depth in the minors besides the ones mentioned. In addition to Wood, Strip and Stewart, they’ve got Trevor Oaks, Josh Sborz, Walker Buehler, and Jordan Sheffield. Most are projected for 2018 ETA but it’s possible that one of these guys will break out this year and contribute innings for the big club. In other words, with all the young arms available the Dodgers should have enough to fill out their 5-man rotation and keep some spares to backfill in case of injury. That leaves Kazmir, Ryu and McCarthy available to be traded. I think at least one of them will come out of Spring Training performing well enough to draw interest from other clubs.

Bum, I’d agree with you on trading Verdugo and/or Calhoun for the SOLE REASON that we need a big time rightie bat to go with Seager, Joc, and Bellinger.

Mark do I always have to answer this calculus equation below my name and email to be able to post?? I”m not a smart man, Jennie!!!

Add Stewart to the list of young core pitchers.

We are about to have a much better idea as to who is the real deal. I really like our young core of Seager, Pederson, and Urias and I think we will soon know if Bellinger, Buehler, Alvaarez, Toles, Verdugo, Puig, Calhoun will join that young core for many years.

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I will venture to guess that Verdugo and Calhoun are more likely to be traded for a player that would join the young core the Dodgers otherwise now have in their organization. The depth Mark identified hopefully will also be used to add to that young core. My preference is that the Dodgers will not need McCarthy, Kazmir, Gonzales, Ryu, and Ethier and that those players have enough value to build core.

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I also have hopes for Thompson. If his back fully heals and his start to last year is the real Thompson and the bad Thompson was due to injury, then I think the Dodgers have 4 young outfielders in Puig, Thompson, Toles, and Pederson that could be a long-term outfield core.