Because I have no clue as to what the Dodgers will do or what type of players the Pirates actually want for Vasquez, etc., I don’t typically spend much, if any, time speculating as to what type of trade the Dodgers are going to make or what players will be involved. I know for many it’s a lot of fun, and I don’t cluck my tongue at those that do. There was much talk on this blog last year about what type of player package it would take to acquire Machado. Did anyone of you correctly predict the 5 players involved? If you did, the next time you’re in my neck of the woods, I’ll buy you a steak dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. Heck, if you guessed 3 of the 5 players, I would consider buying you that dinner.
For kicks and giggles, I thought it might be fun to go back over the past few years and look at the trades and player transactions made by the Dodgers in June, July and August as trade deadline deals. For the most part, you’ll find they are incredibly underwhelming. I start with Ned Colletti’s last year and follow with each year FAZ was in charge. I included FAZ’s very first trade. Without looking, I wonder how many remember who they acquired.
2014 (Colletti’s last deadline at the helm)
July 28, 2014: Released Erick Threets. (Raise your hand if you remember the Erik Threets era) and traded a player to be named later to the Cubs for Darwin Barney and cash. The Dodgers sent Jonathan Martinez (minors) to the Cubs to complete the trade.
August 7, 2014: Signed Bruce Billings as a free agent and traded players to be named later to the Phillies for Roberto Hernandez. The Dodgers later sent Victor Arano and Jesmuel Valentin to the Phillies to complete the trade. (For no particular reason, I absolutely hated this trade at the time it was made and hated it more after I got to watch Hernandez pitch regularly)
August 9, 2014: Traded player to be named or cash to the Twins for Kevin Correia.
August 11, 2014: Released Tyson Brummett.
August 13, 2014: Released Chone Figgins and Colt Hynes were selected by the Blue Jays off waivers.
August 15, 2014: Signed Anthony Slama as a free agent. (Who?) They also traded future considerations to the Rangers for Justin Germano. (This must have been “National let’s acquire players no one will remember day.”)
Friedman’s first trade (Not a Trade deadline trade):
Traded a player to be named later
to the Marlins for Kyle Jensen. The Dodgers sent Craig Stem (minors) (December
15, 2014) to the Marlins to complete the trade.
(How many of you remember this trade?
It very much seems similar to the White for Scrubb transaction, in that
it may have some underlying reasons to be made, but in the end, does it really
matter?)
May 27, 2015: Traded Juan Uribe and Chris Withrow to the Braves for Alberto Callaspo, Juan Jaime, Eric Stults, and Ian Thomas. (Oh Juan! How you went from being one of the worst players ever to don a Dodger uniform to one who magically captured our hearts)
July 2, 2015: Traded two international bonus slots to the Blue Jays for Chase De Jong and Tim Locastro. (Let’s hope those bonus slots weren’t used to sign Guerrero, Jr.)
July 15, 2015: Released Jeremy Horst. The Dodgers then redeemed the day by trading Chris Reed to the Marlins for Grant Dayton.
July 30, 2015: As part of a 3‑team trade, traded Zachary Bird (minors), Hector Olivera and Paco Rodriguez to the Braves and Victor Araujo (minors), Kevin Guzman (minors) and Jeff Brigham to the Marlins. Dodgers received Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilan, Jim Johnson, Jose Peraza and Alex Wood from the Braves and Mat Latos and Mike Morse from the Marlins. The Marlins also sent a 2016 competitive balance round A pick to the Braves, who used the pick to select Joey Wentz, who is currently their 9th ranked prospect.
July 31, 2015: Traded Mike Morse and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jose Tabata.
August 19, 2015: Traded John Richy (minors) and Darnell Sweeney to the Phillies for Chase Utley and cash. (No matter how you slice it, the Dodgers won this trade!)
August 31, 2015: Traded player to be named or cash to the Blue Jays for Chris Heisey. Also, traded player to be named or cash to the Mariners for Justin Ruggiano and cash.
June 19, 2016: Traded Zach Lee to the Seattle Mariners for Chris Taylor. (Yay!!)
June 22, 2016: Released Antoan Richardson. Also selected Layne Somsen off waivers from the New York Yankees.
June 30, 2016: Traded Caleb Dirks (minors) and Phil Pfeifer (minors) to the Braves for a player to be named later, Dian Toscano (minors), Bud Norris and cash. The Braves later sent Alec Grosser (minors)(who?) to the Dodgers to complete the trade.
August 1, 2016: Traded Mike Bolsinger to the Blue Jays for Jesse Chavez. Also traded Yordan Alvarez to the Astros for Josh Fields. (At the time of this deal, who on this board was upset that we traded away Alvarez???) Last trade of the day was Grant Holmes (minors), Jharel Cotton and Frankie Montas to the Oakland Athletics for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick.
August
23, 2016: Signed Dan Johnson as a free agent.
August 25, 2016: Traded a player to be named later, Tommy Bergjans (minors) and A.J. Ellis to the Phillies for Carlos Ruiz and cash. The Dodgers sent Joey Curletta (minors) to the Phillies to complete the trade. (I could never understand this trade, but later I read some speculation that A.J. was not buying into the new culture and wasn’t a positive clubhouse presence).
June 3, 2017: Purchased Jason Wheeler from the Twins.
June 7, 2017: Chris Heston selected by the Twins off waivers.
June 15, 2017: Released Patrick Schuster.
June 18, 2017: Signed Chris Rearick as a free agent. Dodgers also selected Peter O’Brien off waivers from the Rangers.
June 30, 2017: Signed Eddie Gamboa as a free agent.
July 2, 2017: Traded Jason Wheeler to the Orioles for international bonus slot.
July 10, 2017: Purchased Todd Cunningham from the Cardinals.
July 19, 2017: Signed Tommy Layne as a free agent.
July 22, 2017: Traded Sergio Romo to the Rays for a player to be named or cash.
July 28, 2017: Purchased Luke Farrell from the Royals.
July 31, 2017: Traded Hendrik Clementina (minors) and Scott Van Slyke to the Reds for Tony Cingrani. The also traded A.J. Alexy (minors), Brendon Davis (minors) and Willie Calhoun to the Texas Rangers for Yu Darvish and they traded Oneil Cruz (minors) and Angel German (minors) to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Tony Watson. (This may be the type of transactions we see this week).
August 1, 2017: Released Tommy Layne.
August 4, 2017: Selected Dylan Floro off waivers from the Cubs.
August 5, 2017: Mike Freeman granted Free Agency.
August 9, 2017: Luke Farrell selected by the Reds off waivers.
August 10, 2017: Released Chris Rearick.
August 15, 2017: Traded Chris Hatcher to the As for international bonus slot money.
August 19, 2017: Traded a player to be named later to the Mets for Curtis Granderson and cash. The Dodgers later sent Jacob Rhame to the Mets to complete the trade.
August
20, 2017: Selected Jordan Jankowski off waivers from the Astros.
June 1, 2018: Sold Peter O’Brien to the Marlins.
June 2, 2018: Released C.C. Lee and selected P.J. Conlon off waivers from the Mets.
June 6, 2018: P.J. Conlon selected by the Mets off waivers.
June 14, 2018: Signed Madison Younginer as a free agent.
June 16, 2018: Signed Drew Hutchison as a free agent and they released Chad Girodo.
June 22, 2018: Signed Kyle Lobstein as a free agent.
June 23, 2018: Released Tyler Colvin.
June 29, 2018: Released Guillermo Moscoso.
July 4, 2018: Traded James Marinan (minors) and Aneurys Zabala (minors) to the Reds for Dylan Floro, Zach Neal and international bonus slot money.
July 11, 2018: Selected Zac Rosscup off waivers from the Rockies.
July 15, 2018: Released Logan Ondrusek.
July 18, 2018: Traded Rylan Bannon (minors), Yusniel Diaz (minors), Dean Kremer (minors), Zach Pop (minors) and Breyvic Valera to the Orioles for Manny Machado.
July 24, 2018: Released Erisbel Arruebarrena.
July 26, 2018: Released Madison Younginer.
July 31, 2018: Traded Corey Copping (minors) to the Blue Jays for John Axford. They also traded Luke Raley (minors), Logan Forsythe and Devin Smeltzer to the Twins for Brian Dozier.
August 1, 2018: Released Drew Hutchison.
August 7, 2018: Ariel Hernandez selected by the Brewers off waivers.
August 27, 2018: Signed Zach McAllister as a free agent.
August 31, 2018: Traded Jesus Valdez (minors) to the Pirates
for David Freese. They also traded
Andrew Istler (minors) to the Nationals for Ryan Madson.
There you have it. While I hope we come away with one or two top of the line shut-down relievers, or something else exciting happens within the next couple of days, the chances are that on August 1, 2019, we’ll be scratching our heads and asking ourselves “who is that?” Of course, that will lead to all kinds of interesting discussion among our “family,” so there is that!
2Demeter2’s Minor League Lowdown
OKC Dodgers beat the Memphis Redbirds: 8- 2
Dustin May started for the Dodgers and showed once again why he shouldn’t be traded, except for maybe Gerrit Cole or Steven Strasburg. He pitched 5 very strong innings, allowing but 2 hits, and 1 walk. He tired some in the 6th inning, after getting the first two outs, he walked a batter and then gave up a run-scoring double. He recovered to strike out the next batter looking. His final line was 6 inn. 3 hits, 2 walks, and 7ks. Zac Rosscup took over for May and pitched a clean inning with 3 strikeouts. Victor Gonzalez also pitched a nice inning, 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1K. Shea Spitzbarth pitched one inning allowing a run.
OKC scored 3 runs in the 3rd inning on a Conner Joe 2 run homer, bringing in Lux who had doubled and on an Edwin Rios solo shot. Rios would later double, but got thrown out at home on a Kiebert Ruiz single. D.J Peters added a HR going 2-3 with 3RBI. Joe Kemmer also hit a HR with 2 RBI. No one else got more than 1 hit.
Tulsa Drillers lost to the Midland Rockhounds: 4-1
Justin De Fratus started and tossed 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits, and 3 walks. He added 5 Ks. Yordy Cabrera pitched the final 2 innings allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 1 walk. He had 1 K.
The Drillers did pound out 9 hits, all singles, but they couldn’t turn them into runs. Zack McKinstry had 3 of the hits, and Rocky Gale added 2. Errol Robinson, on a sac fly, got the only RBI. All in all the Drillers left 18 runners on base.
RC Quakes beat the Stockton Ports: 5-2
John Rooney started for the Quakes and threw an efficient 6 innings, allowing 9 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk and adding 8 strikeouts. He was followed on the hill by Conner Strain, Guillermo Zuniga, and Melvin Jimenez, who each tossed a scoreless inning.
Offensively, the Quakes were led by Deacon Liput who went 2-4 which included a 3 run HR and 4 RBI. Donovan Casey and Hunter Feduccia chipped in with 2 hits apiece. One of Casey’s hits was a triple and he added the remaining RBI.
Great Lake Loons beat the West Michigan Whitecaps: 12-2
Jack Little started for the Loons. He pitched a total of 2.2 innings, allowing a HR in the 1st inning and in the 2nd inning. Those were the only 2 hits he allowed. He also walked 1 and struck out 3. Jose Chacin followed him and pitched a very nice 5.1 innings allowing but 4 hits, 1 run and striking out 8. Chacin was replaced by Joel Inoa who tossed a clean inning.
Offensively, the Loons started off with 3 runs in the first 2 innings. Chris Roller was one of the offensive stars going 2-6 with a 3 run HR. Second Baseman Leonel Valera added 2 hits and 3 runs. Catcher Gersel Pitre added 2 hits with 3 runs scored, Romer Cuadrado had 2 doubles as his 2 hits and Kody Hoese chipped in with 2 hits and run. The Loons broke it open in the 7th with 4 runs on a Jacob Amaya single and Cuadrado double. No one else got more than 1 hit, and the Loons were also the beneficiaries of 10 walks.
Ogden Raptors had the night off:
Off to an amazing 33-7 start to their season(the Tigers have only won 30 games in their first 100, and the Orioles 35 out of 104!!!, the Raptors took a day off to relish their remarkable start to the season.
AZL Mota Lost to the AZL Cubs 2: 4-1
Not much offensive as Albert Suarez 2 of the Mota’s 4 hits. t that was pretty much it for the offense. Hyun Il Choi started and pitched 5.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 1 BB and 3K. 2019 draftee Jacob Cantleberry had his first rough outing tossing 1.1 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs but striking out 3. Carlos Alejo finished the night throwing a clean inning.
AZL Lasorda beat the AZL Brewers Blue: 4-3
Edwin Mateo, Daniel Castro and Jorbit Vivas each had 2 hits. Louis Head made a rehab start and only pitched 0.2 innings, allowing 1 BB and recording 1K. Alec Gamboa followed with 2.1 innings allowing a single hit, with 5Ks. He was followed by Jacob Gilliland who had a rough outing, He tossed 3.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits 1BB, 2HBP, and 2Ks. Ricardo Hernandez and Renaldo DePaula pitched uneventful 1.1 innings and 1 inning, respectively. DePaula got the victory, as the Lasorda’s won on a walk-off throwing error that allowed Chet Allison to score.
Discussion (104)
Disagree, not disagreeable
https://www.prospects1500.com/nl-west/dodgers/the-cases-for-keeping-and-trading-keibert-ruiz/
Nice read about Keibert Ruiz
I cannot imagine AF folding, and trading Lux, who is a key piece in his long term plan for the Dodgers. If anything, AF has established a reputation for holding his ground.
Haha, it’s Coors field guys. The sky is not falling. Now that the deadline is less than 48 hours away, all the pretend GM’s are folding like lawn chairs ready to give up Lux on a freaking reliever. Unbelievable.
It’s Coors and all but Josh Sborz is apparently not the answer, like Schultz the night before. I think Lux is traded for something that can help right now and controllable or is called up so he can help the team right now. AF is trying to package lessor but everyone wants Lux.
Damn, as much as I hate to say it and this is going against all that I stand for as far as hanging on to the young guys, but most of us following the Dodgers the last 3 to 4 years know that if we are going to get the ring, this is the year. For the last 2 months everybody from Mark to AC, DC, Hawkeye, 59 , Singin the Blue , Bluto and Bums, have been weighing in about not giving up our top 5 prospects. With that said, we may have to give up a Gavin Lux or a Dustin May to get that lock down bullpen guy that can finally give us the parade. They always say a prospect is a suspect when he gets into the show, and I really feel in my gut that we need to push the chips into the table and pay up to get up. Yeah, I know that an elite lockdown reliever doesn’t guarantee us squat, but at least it gives us a chance. Can’t believe I am saying this, but damn the torpedoes, if we can get a Vasquez or Diaz, do it.
Joc’s OPS in LF-.909
Joc’s OPS @ 1B-.660
Ken Giles dealing with elbow inflammation.
It would be interesting to compare our offensive and defensive numbers from the first two months as opposed to the last .two months. Offensively I think the team mirrors Belli’s numbers. Not pretty lately! We’ll see what the last two months brings and how we enterinto the playoffs
We haven’t been hitting well for a while, despite the occasional breakout game. Our hitters were probably on the high end of their season potential during the first 80 games or so. Verdugo is not doing much now. Pollock has been quite a disappointment since his return. Muncy is regressing some. Bellinger of course was not going to hit .350 or so. Pederson apparently is a .240 hitter. And we have guys out, so the lineup has little synergy right now. The constant shifting around is making us a mediocre defensive team. And then we have Maeda, who has always been a decent pitcher, but not better than that, and he’s returning to his usual kind of year. I think that a major addition or two might be necessary to wake things up. Of course, some might say that this is just one of those troughs that teams fall into. But I think that unless we get our entire lineup and staff back, we are seeing vulnerabilities that should not be ignored. And this is particularly true if other teams do improve themselves.
Pretty pathetic top of the 2nd there by Pollock Verdugo and Smith.
From the Athletic:
The Day is done for LAD’s Robinson Ortiz with The Great Lakes Loons
: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
Fastball/slider combo. Erratic command most of the night. Told by multiple contacts tonight that Dodgers could consider packaging him at the deadline.
Buster Olney reported that Pitt is demanding Gavin Lux in a Vazquez deal, and so far the Dodgers have said no
i’m amazed that so many young talented baseball kids can grow up without a name. I guess their parents didn’t get to it. How long do you have to play in the league before they give you a name? How long does a “player to be named later” have to wait?
Gammons:
There are teams facing the pressure to act before tea and crumpets are brought to the board room Wednesday:
• Dodgers. Andrew Friedman is a really good executive who sees all pictures, big and small. But the Dodgers haven’t won it all since 1988. They’ve made it to the World Series two straight years, and now ownership believes they should win the whole thing. The problem is that …Friedman almost has to say the Pirates can have any prospect not named Lux, Smith, Gonsolin or May to go along with Keibert Ruiz….
I was hoping Darwin Barney would stick with the Dodgers. A great defensive second baseman that helped Oregon state win a National Championship.
Zac Rosscup to Cards for cash. Assigned to AAA Memphis
Today:
Joc (1b)
Muncy
JT
Belly
Seager
Pollock
Verdugo
Smith
Maeda
Rosscup just sold to the Cards per team site.
https://twitter.com/Cardinals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1155953873896398850&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Flos-angeles-dodgers
DODGERS ADD KRISTOPHER NEGRÓN AND RECALL RHP JOSH SBORZ
IF/OF KIKÉ HERNÁNDEZ PLACED ON IL AND OPTIONED RHP SCHULTZ
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they have added Kristopher Negrón to the active roster and recalled right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz from Triple-A Oklahoma City. In order to make room on the 25-man roster, the Dodgers placed infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernández on the 10-day injured list with a left-hand sprain and optioned right-hander Jamie Schultz to Triple-A.
Negrón joined the Dodgers last night from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for the minor league infielder Daniel Castro. Negrón was batting .217 (5-for-23) with three runs and one RBI in 10 games for the Mariners. Prior to having his contract selected on July 16, Negrón was batting .310 (95-for-306) with 12 homers and 61 RBI in 82 games for Triple-A Tacoma. He has played parts of six Major League seasons for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks and Mariners, recording a .984 fielding percentage in 307 chances in seven different positions.
Sborz will rejoin the Dodgers for the third time this season. In his last stint with the club, the former Virginia Cavalier made his Major League debut, throwing 1.0 inning, allowing three runs on two hits on June 20 against San Francisco. In his last 10 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, he has posted a 2-0 record with a 2.61 ERA (3 ER/10.1 IP) and 14 strikeouts. On the season, he is 3-3 with a 4.54 ERA (19 ER/37.2 IP) and 51 strikeouts in 34 games for the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate.
Hernández will make his fourth career trip to the injured list and first since 2016. Since the All-Star break, the Puerto Rico native was slashing .400/.488/.629 with two homers and nine RBI and 1.116 OPS. On the season, he has amassed 16 homers and 52 RBI with a .238 batting average in 98 games. He is in his fifth season with the club, batting a combined .241 (346-for-1622) with 62 homers and 181 RBI in 568 games for the Dodgers.
Schultz appeared in one game in his second stint with the Dodgers, allowing four runs on five hits in 2.0 innings on July 28. The High Point University Alum has worked in four games for the Boys in Blue, allowing four runs on six hits in 5.0 innings of work. In 36 games with Oklahoma City this season, he posted a 1-2 record with a 5.66 ERA (22 ER/35.0 IP) and 53 strikeouts. Since June 1, the righty has posted a 1-0 record with a 3.72 ERA (8 ER/19.1 IP) and 30 strikeouts.
Negron activated, Sborz re-called, Kike IR’d, Schultz optioned
Vargas to Phillies. Lyle to Brewers. Crappy rotations not getting much better if at all.
Thornburg had a great season for the Brewers in 2016 and then hurt his shoulder when he got the Red Sox in 2017. Had surgery a couple of years ago. This could be an interesting signing as shoulder injuries always take a while to come back from. If it doesn’t work nothing lost, but it took Ryu and Urias a while to get back to their former selves after shoulder injuries.
Dodgers have signed Tyler Thornburg who was recently released by the BoSox
Syndergaard:
Anyone with better knowledge correct me if I am wrong. The Mets could use a catcher and a 3B. Both of their catchers are not known for their hitting. Their 3B can be a free agent after this season. I’ve read the Mets want a starting pitcher that can be in their rotation right away. Everybody wants pitching so I’m sure the Mets would take as much pitching as offered.
Do you think Catcher Ruiz, 3B Rios, a choice of Stripling or Maeda, and Josiah Gray would get Syndergaard?
2D2’s chart reminds me that we always get tjunk from the Twins. Ruiz was better than Ellis.
Very nice write-up 2D2. Puts a lot of things in prospective especially all the trades everyone forgot about. ps. love your sense of humour also. It sometimes is needed on this blog. Mark has it too among others.
The Dodgers are already deadline winners! Who can argue with the likes of Negron and White being a HUGE improvement for the team and definitely pushing us over the top for a World Series run? With three days left, there’s little to do now, we can just sit back, relax and watch Joc continue his massacre of the first base position.
I guess if there’s a bright side of things, Jake Diekman is the best reliever to find a new home so far (unless you were considering a Sergio Romo redeux) and the Mets landed Stroman which means he isn’t going to the Yankees or the Astros.
If you think we’re frustrated at not landing a reliever so far, just imagine what it’s like to be a Yankees fan with Sabathia DL bound and with Paxton (4IP 7ER) and Tanaka (3.1 IP 12 ER) giving up the farm to their main division rival. All while watching the Dodgers continue to experiment on how to throw away games with a +171 run differential and MLB best record all while leading the league in errors, something they can “fix” whenever they feel like it.
3 Days remain, same needs. Bullpen help, more bullpen help and more bullpen help. Go ahead and pull the trigger on Jose Abreu while we’re at it. I don’t want to block Lux with Merrifield.
The rotation is a little thin these days with Strip and Hill on the DL. Worried? Let’s just pray that we come out of Coors field healthy.
I’m looking forward to watching Gonsolin on Tuesday. I’m sad for him that he has to do it at Coors, but I remain cautiously optimistic that he’ll be up for the task. He’s got a great pitch mix and can bring the heat at times. I just hope he has his best stuff going for him.
I have always found the trade deadline week to be exciting, but I would be more excited if I did not think that the Dodgers operate under unduly self-imposed constraints. There was this story about how the ownership was telling potential investors that the club would stay under the luxury tax threshold for the next five years. They denied that, but it probably is true. They have seem rather obsessed with payroll, particularly given the immense amounts of money they make, and the very deep pockets of the owners. No one expects then to carry a $500 million payroll, but the wonderfully loyal fans deserve more than this version of penny-pinching when it comes to major acquisitions.
I always hope for the best, but we don’t very often make any great deals, the kind which would help our club for more than two months. Our big acquisitions have been rentals, Machado and Darvish. For bullpen pieces, we have always gone for third-tier or spot relievers. There is no reason to believe that we will do otherwise this time. Maybe a couple of decent but iffy relievers. The only “big name” player out there seems to be Syndergaard. Then there are the relievers who are potentially available, and Vazquez is the big name there. Both carry contracts into next year, which ownership rarely wants to pick up. So unless we break from our usual modus operandi, I think it will be the other teams which will be making the trade headlines, and we hope it will not be our major competitors in the NL playoffs, or potentially in the World Series. All that said, hope springs eternal at the trade deadline. I guess it depends on the sense of exigency the ownership has about finally winning a title, and of course what the front office thinks we actually need to achieve that.
Dodgers defense is…
#1 in DRS
#3 in UZR/150
#11 in FG’s “defense”
(link: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2019&month=0&season1=2019&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2019-01-01&enddate=2019-12-31&sort=11,d) fl
… BUT they also have the fourth-most errors in baseball. Errors!
Down to the last 3 days, I have no idea what the Dodgers will do,just hope the Dodgers are a better team after Wednesday then they are now.
On another subject. I did not see yesterdays game but a week or so when Bueler struggled with his command in Phil. One analyst said that sometimes a pitcher used to pitching in the dry West Coast may sometimes struggle with his grip (and command) when pitching in the humid East. Clearly he could not throw any breaking pitch and hitters just waited on the fastball. I was wondering if that was the issue yesterday and if anyone has an opinion on this.
To continue my question and answer about the Castro/Negron trade, Mark replied that Negron was hitting in the minors better than Castro. OK, but why would Seattle want Castro? Both are underwhelming hitters but good fielders. Seattle will save some money but the reality for the Dodgers is it’s a band-aid that just cost them 10x the salary of Castro.
When does Tyler White make his first appearance? I would think after the trade deadline to give teams a few extra days to decide who they would want in case a deal is to be had. At this point, nothing would surprise me. Having been someone that has thought the Dodgers had enough in-house to win it all, the FO may feel the same way and will not make any dope fiend moves. But, they do seem reluctant to bring up any one else at the moment beside Will Smith who has earned his turn. Gonsolin is strictly an audition and I can’t see him sticking. Personally, I’m still hoping for a starter. Too much hype around Vazquez and his worth. Diaz is a ‘best buy’, IMO.