The Dodgers lost 2 MiLB players in the Rule 5 draft, MiLB phase. 25 year old catcher, Carson Taylor, and 21 year old RHP Darlin Pinales. Pinales was drafted by Arizona in the 1st round of the MiLB phase, while Taylor was drafted by Philadelphia in the 3rd round in the MiLB phase.
Any player who meets the same eligibility requirements of the MLB Rule 5 Draft who is not added to the organization’s 38-man Triple-A roster can be selected by another team in the minor league phase of the draft.
Neither player was a big loss. What is surprising to me is that Carson Taylor was not protected on the AAA roster.
The Dodgers did not select anyone in either phase.
While writing this, the “Juan Soto” trade was finalized. Juan Soto and CF Trent Grisham were sent to NYY for MLB RHSP Michael King, AA RHSP Drew Thorpe, MLB RHRP Jhony Brito, AAA RHSP Randy Vazquez and MLB Catcher Kyle Higashioka. Thorpe is the NYY #5 prospect (#99 top 100). Vazquez is #13 NYY top prospect.
San Diego will save approximately $37MM – $38MM in this deal.
While it was a great financial offset, the prospect impact was decent, but not elite and not close to what they gave up.
- CJ Abrams – Starting SS for Washington
- LHSP MacKenzie Gore – In the starting rotation for Washington
- OF James Woods – Nats #2 prospect (MLB #7)
- OF Robert Hassell III – Nats #8 prospect
- RHSP Jarlin Susana – Nats #12 prospect
For San Diego Michael King will go into the rotation and Brito will go directly to the pen. Higashioka will be the backup catcher. Thorpe and Vazquez will start the season in MiLB. Thorpe will slide into the #6 slot for top San Diego Prospects and will give them 6 top 100 prospects.
We know the Padres like to collect SS, so Jackson Merrill can be a solid trade candidate for another SP. Robbie Snelling, Dylan Lesko, and Thorpe can be a good addition to a package. Jake Cronenworth can be a very nice 1B and bat for Milwaukee. San Diego has the prospects and MLB talent to make a trade with Milwaukee for Corbin Burnes. Will they? We know Preller is not afraid of overpaying and including a top SS prospect.
The Domino effect. With Soto going to the Bronx, NYY is no longer looking for a LH bat. Cody Bellinger is no longer on their wish list. That leaves SF and Cubs as the two remaining likely landing spots for Bellinger. Cubs have Pete Crow-Armstrong just about ready to assume the CF spot. Christopher Morel can play there until Crow-Armstrong is fully baked.
Boras has to be p****** that NYY traded for Soto, taking a potential high bidder for Bellinger. It probably comes down to SF and Cubs splitting on Bellinger and Matt Chapman. I say Bellinger to SF for far less than he was hoping for, and Chapman to Chicago for just about what Boras was hoping for. Both Chapman and Bellinger have QO attached, so the likelihood of either team signing both is negligible. However, SF and Chicago both have the financial ability to sign both Bellinger and Yamamoto.
Milwaukee has been linked to Rhys Hoskins, so the allure of Cronenworth is not as strong.
With Grisham off to NYY, San Diego will be looking for a CF, and the allure of Jung Hoo Lee seems imminent as a teammate with fellow countryman Ha Seong Kim
The rumors on the final day of the Winter Meetings had a lot of conjecture that Ohtani was going to choose Toronto. Tom Verducci went through a litany of reasons why Toronto made so much sense. Some were questioning why Ohtani met Toronto execs in Dunedin, Fla. Verducci explained that Ohtani lives and breathes only baseball, and the $100MM reno on their spring complex in Dunedin is what Ohtani wanted to see. He did not need to see Rogers Centre.
Ohtani loves controlled environments. Rogers Centre is domed and reminds him the stadium of his former team, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. A lot of reasons why Toronto is a legit destination for Shohei.
The decision should be coming down this weekend.
If the Dodgers do not get Ohtani, where do they go from there.
Yamamoto? I still cannot see the Dodgers agreeing to sign a pitcher for 9 years. Too much competition for Yamamoto with a lot of $$$. The higher the financial obligation increases, the longer the life of the contract to make it bearable from an AAV standpoint, making it less likely for LAD.
I would not be upset if AF called Boras, go Rangers style, and say he wants both of his LHSP: Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. And I want Whit Merrifield in LF. Second pick for LF would be Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
I do not want to count on the Dodgers outscoring their opponent in Game 1 of the NLDS. That has not worked out the last two NLDS. I want to see Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery on the bump for Game 1. I believe in making your own luck.
Believing that none of those scenarios will happen, I then hope for a trade for a top of the rotation pitcher, and one or two reclamation projects. I prefer Burnes as #1 and Glasnow as #2. I would not have a problem if they were able to get both. I would still hope for Merrifield or Gurriel Jr. in LF.
As an aside, I think the only way the Dodgers get Burnes is if they expand the deal and also get Adames, and include Lux in the package. I am not sure how much of an appetite AF will have of trading Lux.
Today we learned that Walker Buehler will probably not be ready to start the season in the rotation. Whether this is by design to minimize his IP this year is irrelevant. Right now the Dodgers are going into the season with Bobby Miller as the #1, and Pepiot, Yarbrough, Sheehan, Grove, Stone, Knack, and Frasso as the 2-5 choices. For me, it does not inspire a lot of confidence. Until the Dodgers do anything, that is the rotation.
New Walker Buehler recovery update per Jack Harris of LA Times: We may not see him on the mound officially to start the season, we hope to see him back in business soon💙💪
🎥: @Bnicklaus7 pic.twitter.com/mhbwOxC9vg
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) December 7, 2023
With the D-backs signing of Eduardo Rodriguez, Dodgers are now behind Arizona even more in the caliber of thir starting rotation.
There is a lot of moving pieces, and we will learn more this weekend.
We also learned today that for a potential right-handed batter in free agency, the Dodgers have reportedly shown interest in a Kiké Hernández reunion (per Rosenthal) as well as Isiah Kiner-Falefa (per Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic). I have no way of knowing how serious they are in that pursuit, but that does not inspire me very much.
I have 32 free agents signed. Only 9 of the top 50. Overall 24 of the 32 players signed are pitchers, including 20 RHP, including 11 RHRP.
Where do you think some of the top FA will be going now that Juan Soto has been traded?
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Cody Bellinger
Blake Snell
Jordan Montgomery
Matt Chapman
Josh Hader
Shōta Imanaga
Teoscar Hernandez
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Jung Hoo Lee
Nor would I be upset if AF called Boras, go Rangers style, and say he wants both of his LHSP: Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery plus Whit Merryfield.
I don’t want Adames. I like the idea of Merryfield and Lux hitting 8 and 9 in the batting order.
Maybe Justin Turner and Busch as the DH if no Ohtani
I’m curious where Toronto would turn if they don’t get Ohtani.
They were in on Soto, in on Ohtani. Sounds like they won’t hesitate to throw some money for their everyday lineup.
JDM? Bellinger?
Astros signed former Dodger RHRP Wander Suero to a MiLB contract.
Made it to Mesquite Nevada last night. No news. Hmm. I care less how good Adames is defensively. He is a rental, and I am not trading prospects for two rentals, Burnes and Adames. They would probably want the Dodgers to take Yelich too. No thanks.
Prediction: Ohtani signs with us at 5pm PST today for 10y/$550 with opt-outs after 3rd and 5th years.
Whit Merrifield would make a great addition to our lineup. Good rh bat, veteran presence, versatile fielder. Put him in left but he also plays infield. Curious that there has been no mention of that possibility other than the comment here today.
I have tracked the Dodgers starting pitchers the last 3 yrs. They quietly transition to an xtra day between starts mid way thru the season. If they had a Japanese pitcher, Buehler, young arms and a recovering Kershaw I could see them going 6 man the whole way.
Can anyone remember Friedman doing a deal that everyone saw coming? I can’t.
Trade for Mookie, Freeman, Bauer, Syndergard, Heyward/ Peralta werr all under the radar while at tge samr time the journalists were hot on every other major free agent. I expect him to do what needs to be done but none of us can scour the rosters of every team like his staff so we can’t know what he’s really got up his sleeve. Certainly not what the journalists are shoveling!
At the risk of sounding like a contrarian I’m a hard no on Merrifield. He’s a 35 year old .7 WAR player whose projections show an OPS of .698. I prefer some slug in left and that’s why I would lean toward Gurriel, a 3 WAR player who projects a .767 OPS.
The Dodgers can afford Ohtani AND a front rotation starter. I expect both. Dionysus prediction on Ohtani sounds close to me. So let it be written, so let it be done. (slight nod to our Greek god here)
Adam Duvall could be a good pickup to play LF. Pretty even splits. Could probably be had on a 1 year deal for around $6M.
If Ohtani doesn’t choose us, that means DH is open. The likely rumored guys would be Justin Turner or JD Martinez, 2 right handed hitters.
In that case, I wonder/hope we’d try for the Korean outfielder, Lee? His bat to ball skills and defense in the outfield would be a great fit.
Hoornstra says it’s the Blue Jays!
Tyler O’Neill to Boston for former LAD RHRP Nick Robertson and MiLB RHP Victor Santos. Santos did not pitch in MLB affiliate ball in 2023, but has pitched in the Dominican Winter League this year. I guess the Dodgers did not have offer Caleb Ferguson for O’Neill.
Seems like St. Louis just gave him away.
welp
Well, as Saturday morning arrives Ohtani and his contingent of mystery still feel the need to string along interested teams, the media, and baseball fans. This guy has had months to decide which city he wants to play in. So decide, get an offer from them and make a damn decision.
I hope it’s Toronto. It’s a great city and good baseball town. The Blue Jays are about a 90 win team so Ohtani will be on a team that has a chance to win, but hasn’t won a championship in 21 years. So that is confusing. But, he will be the man and the most highly paid baseball player of all time…..in Canada. Talk about avoiding the spotlight.
He and Trout are the most highly paid, but want to avoid as much attention as possible. This is awful for promoting MLB. How could the Dodgers sign a player where a good deal of his value is to increase the Dodger brand and the player doesn’t want to be bothered by the media or avoid attention to him? He’s an enigma, so it doesn’t make sense to me.
It looks like Toronto it is. But, if the Dodgers somehow have the chance to sign Ohtani it could be the worst signing in Dodger history and possibly baseball history in IMHO. My reasoning has been posted several times recently.
I’m not a Dave Roberts fan, but kudos to him for breaking “the code of silence” seemingly required by the paranoid and clandestine Ohtani team. Is this going to be the precursor to how Ohtani wants to be treated as a player and teammate?
Sign JDM, shore up the starting staff with a FA signing(s) and/or a trade and get ready for another championship run. Give all the 25-27 year olds in AAA a chance to play for a MLB team. It’s complete BS to leave them in the minors. For what reason?
Carry on.
Sure wish AF would tell Ohtani to pound sand and move on to addressing the real needs of the team. Mainly the starting pitching. A right handed outfield bat that hits lefties wel would be helpful. DH is the least of our worries.
BOOM
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/dodgers-to-sign-shohei-ohtani.html
I thought AF and the Dodgers had more sense than to do this. Now, how much is left for starting pitching.
Brilliant move.
Brilliant baseball move.
Brilliant business move.
Brilliant idea by Shohei to defer a lot of the salary so that we can sign more players and win.
So much for all the pre-emptive bitching about Friedman not spending that we heard the past week or 2.
This fits Friedman’s MO.
Chase the superstars, find value and homegrown talent to supplement.
To spend $700MM for a baseball player is beyond irresponsible. Not only to baseball, but to the fans of the game. This is so out of AF’s wheelhouse that he is going to have a breakdown after this contract is signed. It had to be strictly driven by ownership.
I guess it will be a trade for a one year (FA eligible) starter, the youngsters, and a reclamation project or two for the starting staff. This delay with Buehler starting the season on time leads me to believe that he cannot be counted on for the long haul. I’m afraid of the words “we want to get him ready for the playoffs” in May/June. We know what that usually means.
Regardless Ohtani, welcome to the Los Angeles Dodgers!
No need to slit your throats yet. This move has been figured out by people with way more inside knowledge than we have. Deferring salary, and from what I read, a large portion of it, was Ohtani’s idea to help the Dodgers stay competitive. There will be money to get pitching and what ever else they might need. Let us see how it all is structured before panic sets in.
I agree with Bobby’s comment above, that management has done the math on this and they will be able to come up with viable additions to add around Ohtani, including a couple of good pitchers for next year.
On the face of it this deal seems ridiculous, but I’m not going to crucify AF until I have his explanation as to how they see this playing out.
Sasaki has asked to be posted. His team has only until 12/15 to decide if they are going to do that. Some people think he had a provision in his contract (same as Ohtani did) that he could leave whenever he chose to. We will see.
One other thing. Apparently he had a conversation with Ohtani about what it was like for Shohei when he came over here. That means they already have a relationship of some sort. Maybe Roki likes the idea of playing with Shohei and if he’s posted this year (or next) he won’t be eligible for a huge payday so he’ll be affordable.
Not surprised the Dodgers got him, but am blown away by the numbers. This is an organizational decision, and it’s about brand. No way he puts up the WAR to earn that money on the field. The Dodgers clearly have their own $WAR for this one player and it’s nowhere near $8-9 million.
Booyakasha
My first reaction at signing Ohtani for $700 million was shock and concern. But it is difficult to analyze until the contract details are revealed. Passan is guessing that the AAV may be $35 to $40 million based on present value of the deferrals. If that is the case, and the marketing/streaming revenue is as substantial as some project, then maybe it makes sense as a business decision. Jeff consistently said this is a business decision not a baseball decision, and I think he is correct. It will be interesting once more information is released.
I think people don’t understand probability. The over/under for championships during his contract should be 1.5. Winning it all isn’t easy.
I don’t think Lloyd’s of London will touch this contract. Stay healthy Showtime.
I don’t want to analyze this signing and instead just try to enjoy it.
The Dodgers will be hated by non Dodger fans but they will fill stadiums home and away.
The Yankees now need to extend Sosa to get back into the news.