You may think that the Dodgers WANT to get under the Luxury Tax Threshold purely to save money and that is absolutely true, but there’s another aspect to getting under the $197 million number: If they don’t, they will likely be in violation of baseball’s “Debt Service Rule.” Major League Teams must comply with certain debt to asset ratios, and while the Dodger assets are high, so is their debt….
Buster Olney recently listed his TOP 10 SUPER UNITS. Now, this will likely change as more players sign contracts or more trades are made. In fact, Gerrit Cole being traded to the Astros arguably changes the Starting Rotation Power Ratings. Here’s where the Dodgers landed on Olney’s lists: Top 10 Rotations Nationals Dodgers Indians The Astros could now be #1 on paper. Top 10 Lineups Astros Yankees Dodgers were #10….
What’s happening to this year’s crop of free agents? This is December 27, and out of the top 50 MLB TradeRumors free agent predictions, only 19 have signed new contracts, and one decided not to opt out (Masahiro Tanaka). Of the 30 unsigned players, none of the top 11 have signed new contracts (excluding Tanaka not opting out), and 15 of the top 20 are still unsigned. Of the…
If the Dodgers do nothing, this is what I would expect come Spring Training. 1B – Bellinger 2B – Forsythe 3B – JT SS – Seager LF – Kike’ and Joc/Toles CF – Taylor RF – Puig C – Barnes Rotation: Kershaw, Hill, Wood, Maeda, Ryu Bullpen: Jansen, Baez, Fields, Garcia, Koehler, Stripling, Avilan, Cingrani Bench: Grandal, 2 of Kike’/Joc/Toles, and Locastro Grandal and JT can relieve Bellinger…
Well this has been some Hot Stove League for the Dodgers thus far, right? The Winter Meetings went just about as most expected…the current 40 man roster is the same as before the meetings started. I don’t count Koehler because he was post Winter Meetings, and the signing is still pending physical. I never thought Stanton was an option, but it was fun to fantasize. My only disappointment is that…
Just because other teams make dope-fiend moves, doesn’t mean the Dodger have to. Look, they have been paying the luxury tax for too long and have paid about $300 million in penalties. It started with foolish, long-term deals to Kemp and Ethier and then came THE TRADE (Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawdad). The Dodgers owe Kemp $5.5 million over the next two year, but after next season, most of the obligations…
It was fun to dream: Ohtani, Stanton, Ozuna, Rivero, et al. – I did it to mask the pain from the loss of the World Series, but now I am sobered up and back to reality. Now I am going to tell you the truth: The Dodgers will be below $237 Million in salary… if only by $1.00. BET ON IT; The Dodgers will not sign anyone to a long-term…
OK, I’ll put down my crack pipe, if you put down yours. Stanton and Ohtani were crack! Just say no to drugs! This Team Is Still Pretty Special. The won 104 games and just missed winning the World Series by “that much.” Let’s start with this: The Dodgers are set at a number of positions with some high quality players, most of whom are young enough to improve even more….
By the time Brandon Morrow got to the big leagues in 2017, the Dodgers were ready for someone to set-up Kenley Jansen on the back of the bullpen. Brandon Morrow filled that bill and while I would love to have him back, there are two problems: (1) He was healthy last year, but he has generally never been that healthy at any time in his career; and (2) some other…
I continue to read that Dodger Ownership/Management wants to get under the luxury tax threshold THIS year. That is certainly a laudable goal, and under normal circumstances I can see why that should always be the goal. But is 2018 the year to draw the line? Sometimes you need to spend money to make money. In home building, finishes are upgraded to get buyers to sign. Buyers are visual…bling…