Well that collective UGH and sigh was the response to the Dodgers doing this to the rest of MLB.
Where were the MLB officers and the rest of the owners after 2017? Where were the MLB officers and the rest of the owners with the obvious Trevor Bauer delay? Next time stand up for what is right and not your disdain/jealousy for the Dodgers.
Yeah, the above picture is of me eating my heaping portion of crow. I never saw this coming. I thought the Dodgers would be competitive for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but I did not believe they would outbid both NY teams. I really wasn’t worried about SF. They are finding it more difficult to draw FA to their team. They outbid other teams, but for whatever reason, they cannot reel them in. I believed early on that the Dodgers would sign Shohei Ohtani because of the business component, with the baseball component being the icing. But I never thought the Dodgers would find two top pitchers.
The Dodgers topped their historic Shohei Ohtani signing, by inking 25 year old RHSP Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a gargantuan twelve year $325MM contract. Yes, he does have two opt out opportunities, and with the way the salaries are going, he very well could opt out.
At Ohtani’s press conference Andrew Friedman said this:
“One of our goals is to have baseball fans in Japan convert to Dodger blue.”
After the Yamamoto signing, are Japan’s schools now going to require their students to wear LAD jerseys as their new school uniforms?
Two years after the Texas Rangers shocked everyone by signing TWO players to $500MM, the Dodgers had to go out and top that by signing TWO players to more than $1B commitment.
How would you like to be an Oakland A’s fan today? Their fans are just begging John Fisher to sell. The low revenue teams have to be p*****. Don’t like it? Sell!!.
MLBPA and the players’ agents? They are Dancin’ In The Streets to not only Martha and the Vandellas, but also to the Dodgers. Tony Clark and Scott Boras are telling the other owners…of course there is $$$ in MLB. You want to compete? Spend.
But their exuberance should be tempered. Yes, the Dodgers broke all the records and all the unspoken rules by signing both Ohtani and Yamamoto, but those are special cases. There has never been a player with the magnitude of Ohtani, EVER. When will we see the next 25 year old dominating pitcher? Eury Pérez will be 27 when he becomes a FA, and he comes the closest.
The Dodgers have definitely globalized this team. The owners will gladly pay the taxes they will be incurring. They are not going to lose money on either of these deals. How remarkable and genius was it for all of the Ohtani deferred money, which allowed the Dodgers to get the top two free agents for this year, and perhaps ever??? Maybe it was Ohtani who initially broached the deferral idea, but it was Mark Walter who thoroughly understood the concept and jumped on it. He probably thought about that strategy, but could never find the right player to offer that kind of deal to. In fact, I do not believe there is another one.
Ohtani knew that if he did defer most of his salary, he not only knew he would still have more than enough with endorsements to make up the deferred portion, but also would give the Dodgers enough salary room to also sign his good friend Yamamoto. Ohtani was also instrumental in wooing Tyler Glasnow to signing an extension and pitching for the Dodgers. My Trojans can use a recruiter like Shohei.
Of course Jackie Robinson was the most important Dodgers signing. However, Jackie Robinson transcended the Dodgers, and encompassed ALL OF MLB and the country. Because Jackie was a Brooklyn Dodger, just from a team standpoint, can we all agree that Shohei Ohtani signing is the most important LA Dodger signing. Not just monetarily, but also conceptually.
Yamamoto, Glasnow, Miller, Yarbrough, Sheehan to start the season. Walker Buehler late Spring, early summer. Clayton Kershaw in August? Actually I do not think the Dodgers are done. They have so much prospect capital they can overpay for another front line pitcher with multiple years of control and a low AAV. Dylan Cease? Miami’s Braxton Garrett would be a great target. At this point, Trevor Rogers would be an acceptable target.
With Ohtani, May, and Gonsolin all due back next year, just what will that rotation look like to the rest of MLB, especially with their offense.
Another question. Can the Dodgers attach a good prospect with Chris Taylor and find a taker?
After this, Scott Boras is going to be brutal to owners who want Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Cody Bellinger, and Matt Chapman. This is the bonanza, Boras was waiting for.
Haha, that’s a great point!
The Giants/Jays/Yanks/Mets etc are now pissed, AND have cash to burn.
Bellinger and company were smart to wait this out. Now the Boras crew, and guys like Imanaga (if he isn’t a Boras client), can start buying some really nice xmas gifts for people, because they are about to get PAID!!!
Someone on the other board intoned about moving on from Chris Taylor.
Is this a cost-dumping move? A roster clearing move? Both? It doesn’t “feel” like a Friedman move, but I get the logic.
I think there’s only one more year after this.
Both
Can the Dodgers attach a good prospect with Chris Taylor and find a taker? So far the Dodgers have been building the cake and they might not be done with that. Reducing payroll by trading Taylor plus a prospect would start adding the icing.
The Padres might want to trade Ha-Seong Kim and Jake Crononworth. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/padres-reportedly-shopping-ha-seong-kim-and-jake-cronenworth/ar-AA1lRnOK
I would be interested in Kim to play 3rd base. Miami could use a first baseman. The Dodgers will have Freeman, Lux, Muncy, Heyward, Outman, Ohtani hitting from the left side. Kim would add defense, a righty bat, and bat-to-ball improvements at third. Muncy and a good prospect might get a pitcher the Dodgers want from Miami.
I’m sure no promises have been made to CT3, but I still question whether Max would have signed that under-market contract had he not had a promise that he wouldn’t be traded, at least for this year.
Maybe he was smart enough to get it in writing but if it was only an oral promise and AF were to go back on it, word would get out, and that wouldn’t serve him well in future dealings with players.
That said, I guess it’s possible that Max just signed on the dotted line with no assurances about potential trades. If so, I wish him the best.
Max was signed for an under value contract. And I do think there was a verbal commitment to not trade this year.
But CT3 was not signed for an under value contract. I said at the time, that it was a reach. He is still owed $30MM for two years. He is not getting traded unless a top 100 prospect is attached or the Dodgers pay 2/3 of his salary ($10MM each year).
I absolutely LOVE the way Ha Seong Kim plays the game, and would be ecstatic if we got him. However, it seems SS and 2b (for now) are taken, and that’s where he’s his best.
I would be all in on Ha-Seong Kim. A Muncy trade for him would be so sweet. If Taylor is traded are we going to re-sign Kike? A blue chip utility man is always needed.
We’ve got the pitching almost covered. Now for Imanaga. Add Kim in and we’ve wrapped up the Asian market lock, stock, and barrel. Dodgers have to be favored to win the WS, 2024 and 2025. The corporate Dodgers are flexing their corporate muscles.
Detroit signs Shelby Miller for 1 year and $3MM. The deal includes $250K buyout on $4.25MM club option with a $250K buyout. An additional potential $1.175MM in incentives. Good for Shelby.
Can you tell me why, if Kelly is worth 8 mil, Shelby is only worth 3?
Isn’t it obvious?
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwtAPA-TRDNigsz3eI_onSaZR9ORDfTKBVRA&usqp=CAU
😎
Hey STB,
Miller deal has a club option for a second year. SO basically a two year deal. Enjoy your house my friend.
I think he could have done better if he had waited.
And no, I cannot see Kelly at $8M and Shelby at only $3M. Kelly is not worth $8M. Not sure what AF was thinking on that one.
Kelly is battle tested.
Totally surprised by this latest signing. Just blown away. I do not mind eating crow when I totally miss something. With Glasnow though, I am taking a wait and see approach. I want to see innings and performance. On another note, I got off of X today for good. On the Dodger stream there were dozens of posts by Anti-Semitic people blaming Israel for all of the chaos over there. I see enough of that shit on the news.
Aren’t the Dodgers a Jewish corporate owned entity? People throw stones at any vulnerable target.
Merry Christmas to all of you. If you do not celebrate, I wish you a peaceful holiday season.
You too Bear.
I promise not to tell anyone you’re Santa’s long lost twin brother.
And a Festivus for the rest of us!
No need to apologize. Anyone who comes to the dark corner of the internet for intelligent reasoning is already in the wrong place.
I wasn’t apologizing. I used X for solid baseball info, not for all the other BS. Today the left wingnuts took over.
I was refering to your “eating crow” comment. I could care less about your politics.
My bad
The downside of a 6 man rotation is paying a guy $$$$$$$$ and fans only get to watch him every 6th day. It’s like Betts playing every other day.
If you need anything to make you feel even better about the Dodgers, I encourage you to listen to the Baseball America podcast where they just wax rhapsodic about the farm system:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baseball-america/id201539011?i=1000639482391
And I quote:
“Payton Martin was one of the best pitching prospects I saw last year, any level. He’s #18 in this system. He would be the Royals #1 prospect, with room to spare. “
And I have been talking about Payton Martin for over a year.
And I’ve been listening, ever since draft day. He could be a really good one.
I think you have him higher than BA does!
Probably
Doesn’t mean we’re wrong.
You draft a primary SS and part time pitcher in the 17th round (2022), convert him to fulltime pitcher, and start him in 2023 as a 19 year old SP in full season A Ball, only to dominate. Even with limited innings. He dominated in the California League. What is not to like? They did shut him down at the end of the season and moved him to the Development List.
Right now he has 2 solid plus (60) pitches (fastball and slider), with a developing change. He is in the right organization for developing an elite slider and change. He went from a low 90’s fastball to sit at 94-96 and touch 98. He may not be top 10 in BA, but he is currently #10 for both MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus.
He is still developing and becoming more physically mature, so he should have his innings limited again (2024). The Dodgers are firm believers in monitoring IP for all of their pitchers. For a potentially special pitcher, who is still a teenager, they will be very cautious. He turns 20 on 05/19/2024.
What’s not to like?
NOTHING!
Of course nothing.
I love the idea how he embodies the minor league depth, nothing more or less.
Sorry if conveyed otherwise.
Good article Jeff.
The Dodgers should easily win the division again with these signings. And the Ohtani signing will likely produce huge incremental revenues for the Dodgers in the next decade. I love that none of these signings were Boras clients! But guaranteeing record long term contracts of 12, 10 and 5 years to pitchers and a DH who are either injured or unproven is a risky long term strategy. I think they have chosen players with great potential but only two or three other teams can afford $1.2 billion in new contracts in one year. The Dodgers have the best local TV contract in mlb at a time when half of mlb teams have uncertain or no local TV revenues. It is an exciting time to be a Dodger fan but the imbalance in the rest of the league concerns me.
Also the huge contracts given to external players seems unfair to the longtime Dodgers. Pitchers like Buehler, Gonsolin, and May have literally sacrificed their arms for the team while being drastically underpaid. And then the Dodgers reward the new guys with Billions before they play one game for the Dodgers. Even Kershaw was underpaid as he posted a 2.46 era while pitching with an injured shoulder to help a ravaged pitching staff. Hopefully the Dodgers scrape together a few dollars to resign Kershaw, extend Buehler, and reward Gonsolin and May.
I wonder if the Dodgers could have signed Snell for $325 million? I wonder who will have the better year?
Doesn’t matter. Inhale the future, exhale the past.
After all that has just happened it wouldn’t surprise me if Kershaw finishes his career at home in Texas. I don’t think he will, but it’s possible. Yamamoto and Glasnow are now the leaders of this staff. Much is expected of them.
Do the Dodgers stand pat and maybe wait for the trade deadline? Some think so. I have no idea what might be next. Move Taylor? I doubt it, but sure, it’s possible. Trade Muncy? I thought that was possible, even a good move, now I have no idea. He’s not a third baseman, he’s a DH or a first baseman, both positions filled on the Dodgers. I’m still high on Vargas, but a Gold Glove 4.4 WAR third baseman is out there.
It’s my opinion we shouldn’t hang on to any prospects that could start somewhere else. If Busch and Vargas are not in the plans, let them go.
There is still a lot of time before Spring Training. With Yamamoto, Glasnow and Miller at the top of the rotation, do they need a proven 4th, or do they cruise to the deadline with Buehler, Sheehan, and Grove all pitching 5-6 innings once a week? The AAA squad now shows Grove, Stone, Frasso, Knack and Hurt as the starting 5, with River Ryan and Kendall Williams on the ladder. Payton Martin is at A+, along with Duran and Huebeck. All of that will likely change as the season progresses.
Gonsolin will be likely be out all of ‘24 but it’s possible May could return. It’s been written he may have to change how he throws, but he could still be effective.
Is ‘24 the All In year, or does it begin in ‘25 when Ohtani is expected to win again? A lot of money has been invested in this club. How much more will be spent for ‘24?
Didnt proof again. In ‘25 when Ohtani is expected to pitch again.
Some questions this morning on YY’s durability. If he’s not in a 6 man rotation, how long until TJ surgery is needed? Anyone who is built like him and throws the way he does will need repairs eventually, right?
Pitchers are like automobiles. It is not IF they will breakdown, it is WHEN will they breakdown. Even with routine maintenance.
If you sign a pitcher to a 12-year contract, it’s probably a given that he’ll miss a year for TJ, or in some cases 2 years for 2 TJ’s. That still gives you 10 years.
Was searching for YoYama projections and found this:
Good but not great. And these are if he isn’t lost for any time over the next 12 years, which seems unlikely.
The Dodgers will be must see tv, for a while anyway. No guarantees on any of this but I know I’ll be glued all year.