The Dodgers have had many great relievers over the years. Their first star reliever in Los Angeles was Larry Sherry, who was the 59 World Series MVP.
The next season, 1960, in April the Dodgers traded infielder Don Zimmer to the Cubs for Johnny Goryl, Lee Handley, a RH-hitting outfielder, and LH reliever, Ron Perranoski, plus $25,000.
It would prove to be a very astute move for GM Buzzie Bavasi. Zimmer was coming off of his worst season in the majors, and he was replaced at SS by Maury Wills. Goryl was considered a backup infielder and Handley was AAA bound.
Goryl was taken in the 61 rule-5 draft by the Twins, and Handley was out of baseball by 1961. Perranoski would become a vital part of the Dodgers bullpen, and by 1963, he would be the Dodgers closer.
Ronald Peter Perranoski was born in Patterson, New Jersey on April 1, 1936. His parents, Peter and Emily, were a working class family living in the nearby town of Fairlawn.
His dad was a textile dyer and his mother was a telephone operator at New Jersey Bell for 33 years. The Perranoski’s also had a daughter, Pat. Both of Ron’s paternal grandparents were born in Poland and the family surname was still Perzanowski in 1940.
Perranoski is also the cousin of former major leaguer Stan Perzanowski. Perzanowski spent parts of five seasons in the majors as a RH relief pitcher with the White Sox, Rangers and Twins between 1971-78.
As a kid, Perry was a big Yankee fan. He played baseball and basketball at Fairlawn high. He turned down a bonus from the White Sox after graduation and accepted a scholarship to Notre Dame, but changed his mind and went to Michigan State.
While at MSU he won 16 of his 19 decisions and was chosen as the most valuable pitcher both years. He was all Big-10 in 1958 and starred on the same staff as future big league relief ace, Dick Radatz.
During that summer, Ron honed his pitching skills pitching for Watertown, of the South Dakota Basin League. He became a professional when he signed with Cubs scout John Streza for 21,000 dollars. Luckily the bonus baby rule which called for a player getting 4,000 or more having to be on the major league roster, was rescinded.
He was sent to Burlington, of the Class-B, Three-I league. He made 18 appearances, 13 of those starts. He had a 5-9 record with a 6.43 ERA. But he struck out 92 batters in 84 innings. Sixteen of them came in a 1-0 win.
He was promoted to Fort Worth, AA-Texas League. He made two appearances and was not involved in a decision in either one.
In 1959, the San Antonio Missions became the Cubs new Texas League affiliate. Perry struck out a club record 139 in 199 innings. He finished at 11-10 with a 3.12 ERA. After the Missions were eliminated from the playoffs, he returned to Fort Worth, which was now a AAA affiliate for their playoff run.
In April of 1960, while serving in the Army at Fort Leonard Wood in Louisiana, he learned of the trade to the Dodgers. All three of the players involved in the trade reported to the Montreal Royals, one of the Dodgers AAA teams. Perry had 47 appearances there, 34 out of the pen. He was 9-8 with a 2.87 ERA in 138 innings.
He then went to St. Paul, the Dodgers other AAA team. He compiled a 3-3 record with a 1.58 ERA. At one point he threw 26 consecutive scoreless innings. He made starts in 5 of his 10 games.
That winter he pitched in the Venezuelan winter league and in Puerto Rico. Al Campanis, who was a scout at the time, saw him in winter ball. I was told his fastball was average, but what I saw was an MLB ready fastball.
LA was in desperate need of a lefty reliever. Ron was not on the 40-man roster, but he took full advantage of being the right guy in the right place, and with 5 scoreless innings in the Grapefruit League, he made the roster out of spring training.
His rookie season, Perry led the Dodgers with a 2.65 ERA in 91.2 innings. He and Sherry led the team in games pitched with 53. He compiled a 7-5 record with 6 saves. The LA chapter of the BBWAA named him the 1961 Dodger Rookie of the Year.
The Dodgers had been predicted to win the pennant in 61, but finished four games behind the surprising Reds, who had been picked to finish 6th by the Sporting News.
In 62, Perranoski led all MLB pitchers by appearing in 70 games. He did give up Stan Musial’s 3,431st hit, which allowed him to pass Honus Wagner for the most hits in NL history. Of course, Pete Rose would blow by that mark.
Perry had a 2.85 ERA in 107.1 innings. One of the reasons was his penchant for not giving up homers. He allowed only one all year. LA had moved into Dodger Stadium, but suffered the ultimate humiliation of being beaten at home in the three game playoff by the Giants.
Of course one huge contributing factor was the injury to Sandy Koufax. Koufax had a circulation problem in his finger which kept him out for several weeks. When he returned at the end of the year, he was not the same pitcher. Perry was selected Sophomore of the year.
The Dodgers rebounded to win the pennant in ’63. Perranoski notched 21 of the team’s 29 saves. He also compiled a 16-3 record and a 1.67 ERA. He would have led the league in that category had his 129 innings been enough to qualify. His 16 wins by a lefty reliever surpassed Luis Arroyo’s 15 in 61.
He was named Fleer’s player of the month in August. Coincidentally, so was his college teammate, Dick Radatz in the AL. He was a crucial part of a three-games sweep over the Cardinals in September which all but clinched the pennant for the Dodgers.
LA had been in first place since July 2nd, but the Cardinals had closed to within one game when they met on September 16th. Perry got his 18th save with a scoreless ninth in relief of Johnny Podres, a 3-1 win. Koufax shut out the Cards 4-0 the next day.
Perry came in to allow no runs and three hits over 6 innings to win the thrilling 6-5 win in 13 innings. Those hits included stranding Dick Groat at third after a lead-off triple in the 10th. This was the Dick Nen game. Nen tied the game at 5-5 with a homer off of Ron Taylor. Lou Burdette was the losing pitcher.
In the 63 series, a historic sweep by the Dodgers, Perranoski was the only relief pitcher to make an appearance as he pitched 2/3rd of an inning in the Dodgers 4-1 win in game 2. Big D and Koufax pitched complete games in the other three contests.
Koufax won the Cy Young and the MVP award that season. Matching Don Newcombe’s feat in 1956. Kershaw would become the third Dodger pitcher to accomplish that in 2014.
Believe it or not, he was not chosen the NL Fireman of the Year by the Sporting News. Lindy McDaniel of the Cubs won the award. But using the system used today, he would have beaten McDaniel for the award.
1964 was not kind to the Champs. Koufax had injury problems again but still managed 19 wins in 29 starts. Perry was injured also and had a sub par, 5-7, 14 save, 3.09 effort. He appeared in 72 games. The Dodgers finished 80-82 tied for sixth with the Pirates. During that winter, Perranoski appeared in an episode of The Rifleman with Chuck Connors, himself a former Dodger.
Perry and the Dodgers rebounded in 65. Perry was 6-6 but had 18 saves and a 2.24 ERA. The Dodgers had to overcome a 4.5 game lead that the Giants had built up by September 16th. But the Dodgers won 13 in a row and 15 of their last 16 to finish at 97-65 and beat the Giants by two games.
Perhaps exhausted by the push to the pennant, LA lost the first two games of the 65 series behind Big D and Sandy. Perry was scoreless in relief of Drysdale in game one, but allowed the last three runs in a 5-1 defeat in game two.
He did not pitch again in the series, which LA came back to win in seven. Osteen, Drysdale and Koufax, pitched complete game wins in the next three at Dodger Stadium. Osteen lost game six back in Minnesota, but Howie Reed and Bob Miller were used in relief. Koufax came back on two days’ rest and shut out the Twins 2-0 for the win.
Perry’s 66 season was his worst as a Dodger. He was 6-7 with 6 saves. His ERA was 3.18. He lost his place as the Dodgers closer to Phil Regan, nicknamed “The Vulture”. He would swoop in and get a win. He was 14-1 with 21 saves and earned the NL Fireman of the Year award. The Dodgers were swept in the World Series by the Orioles.
1967 would be a little better for Perry. He went 6-7 again, but had 16 saves. His ERA was 2.45. The Dodgers had traded Phil Regan in April to the Cubs in what obviously turned out to be a bad trade. Neither player they received, Jim Ellis, and Ted Savage, contributed much.
Koufax had retired after the 66 season due to his balky arthritic elbow, and conversely the Dodgers dropped to 8th place.
Feeling a need to shake things up, Bavasi traded Perranoski, Bob Miller and Johnny Roseboro to the Twins for Zoilo Versalles and Mudcat Grant.
The trade did not do much for either franchise that year, but Perry did well with a 8-7 3.10 6 save campaign. In 68, the Twins new manager, Billy Martin, started using Perry a lot more and he thrived on the added work. Over the next two seasons, he would go 16-18 with 65 saves. Over those two seasons he pitched 230.2 innings. His 31 saves in 69 led the AL and set the record for saves. His 34 the next year again led the AL and set the record again. He was named Fireman of the Year both seasons. Amazingly, Perry never was named to an All-Star team.
Perry did not do well in his postseason appearances in Minnesota. He was 0-1 with a 10.29 ERA in 5 games. At the end of July in 1971, he was claimed off waivers by the Tigers after compiling a 1-4 6.75 ERA and 5 saves. The Tigers were managed by Billy Martin. Perry went 0-1 with 2 saves and a sub 3 ERA.
In 72 he was released again by the Tigers after going 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA. He then signed with the Dodgers in August and went 2-0 with no saves and 2.70 ERA in 16.2 innings.
He was released at the end of the year, and signed with the Angels for his final MLB season. He was injured and subsequently went 0-2 in just 8 games. But he got a taste of his next career as he was Angels bullpen coach.
He finished his career with a 79-74 record, 178 saves and a career 2.79 ERA in 737 games. In February of 1970, Perranoski barely escaped death while in NYC to take a stockbrokers course.
He had just stepped off of the curb when a board weighing 5 pounds with 2 nails in it struck him in the back. If he had not taken that step, the board would have hit him in the head and killed him.
As it was, it broke two vertebrae in his back and put him in the hospital for a week. As it was, he had to undergo therapy for his back all of the 1970 season.
From 1974-80, Perry was the Dodgers minor league pitching instructor with Terry Forster and Rick Sutcliffe as two of his more notable pupils. He became the Dodgers pitching coach under Lasorda in 1981 and held that job until 1994.
During his tenure, Valenzuela and Hershiser earned the Cy Young, Alejandro Pena won an ERA award, and Ramon Martinez developed into a 20 game winner.
Although the Dodgers team ERA was first or second in 9 of his 14 years as coach, Perry was unceremoniously terminated when the team expanded minor league pitching instructor Dave Wallace’s duties to include his proteges now in the majors.
Perranoski lamented, if there had been any communication at all, if I had known about it, I would have been able to get my ducks in a row Perry replied.
Perhaps feeling guilty about the way they had fired such a long term loyal employee, Peter O’Malley, GM Fred Claire and Lasorda, helped Perry get hired about 2 months later as the Giants coordinator of minor league pitching.
In 1997 Perry became the bench coach for Giants manager, Dusty Baker, himself a former Dodger standout. He was Dusty’s pitching coach in 98-99 and coached Estes, Nen and Russ Ortiz.
He moved into the administrative side of the game in 2000 and worked in that capacity until 2014 when Sabean moved to the position of executive vice president of baseball operations.
Perry then retired to Vero Beach Florida. He was named to the Polish American Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. He raised three sons, Ron, Brad and Michael, with his first wife Sue Ellen, whom he had met at Michigan State.
Perranoski was 84 when he passed away from a long illness on October 2, 2020. His 101 saves as a Dodger put him sixth behind Jim Brewers, 125.
From NY Times Article on Passing Of Ron Perranoski
Resources: Society for American Baseball Research. Baseball Reference, Wikipedia.
This was a fun article for me to write. I loved watching Perry pitch. I thought he did a great job with the pitchers when he was the pitching coach and I never really understood why they replaced him with Dave Wallace.
I think every Dodger fan from that era would have Perranoski on his All-Time Dodger list. Can you imagine what those innings and that ERA would get a reliever today? I know with the Dodgers he went multiple innings several times, a few years I believe more than 30 times. Add that to the list of accomplishments that just don’t happen in today’s game.
Is there anyway to simulate or project that?
I’ve wondered much more about the theoretical performance of historical pitchers in the modern era than hitters.
Stu Miller would be interesting to see pitching today.
Bobby Shantz and Elroy Face too.
Can you add Hoyt Wilhelm to that list ?
Yep, I saw Wilhelm pitch twice. His knuckleball was a real dancer.
I’m ready for a move–any baseball move, any team–today.
Snell, Bellinger, Hoskins, Montgomery, Hader . . .
It will all pick up when Ohtani signs and sets the market….
It will all pick up when the bidding for Yamamoto is over……
It will all pickup when MLB sets a signing deadline at the beginning of January.
And great article on Perranoski Bear. I didn’t become a Dodger fan until I moved out to Ca in the late 60’s, so really enjoy the old timer history
That’s 3 pickups. More than enough to start a tailgate party, where nothing says team spirit like getting drunk in a parking lot.
I predicted the dominoes would fall after Ohtani signed. And I was right. Two did. I think it was two. Or was it three. Not sure. Two or three. Maybee the guys in the other truck know will. Let’s aks them. They’re not as think as I drunk I am.
Old joke, I know. But it’s Wednesday, hump day. Hey that reminds me of another old joke. Why do they call Wednesday hump day when nobody gets lai…… never mind. I’ll let the guys in the other trucks finish that one.
Hernandez. Every day left fielder. Prediction: 28 home runs, .750 OPS, less than 3 WAR.
After reading the article in The Athletic yesterday and talking to an insider friend, I predict a “career year” for Teoscar. He came to the Dodgers because he had an off-year in Seattle. He said he was never comfortable at the plate at home there, and if you look at his splits between home and on the road, he hit .295 on the road and .217 at home. That single stat speaks volumes. I believe he came to LA to rebuild his value and get a three-year or four-year deal. He just turned 31, so he is much younger than JDM. I predict that he will replace JDM’s production and then some... 38 HR with a .875 OPS is my prediction. He is very eager to work with RVS and Aaron Bates, and they are eager to work with him.
That was a nice piece on Ron Perrinoski, Bear! I got to know Ron in the late ’90s and early 2000s at Dodgertown in Vero Beach. He wasn’t there all the time, but he was there frequently, and he and I would frequently watch BP and talk. He had nothing good to say about Peter O’Malley and Fred Claire, and over the years, he and Lasorda had somewhat of a split. He was very bitter about leaving the Dodgers, especially how he was dumped. He believed he should have been a Dodger for Life.
IF (Big IF) Teo can replace JDM production, the 2024 Dodgers could very well surpass the Braves as the #1 offense! Look at the career OPS of the players:
Betts .900Ohtani .922Freeman .902Hernandez .802Muncy .824Smith .840Outman .806Heyward .749 (.813 after the Dodgers rebuilt his swing)Lux .712 (but he is capable of .800 OPS!
That is a lineup where everyone could OPS .800+
…”I believe he came to LA to rebuild his value ” — Not the greatest endorsement.
There are some similarities between Teoscar and Outman, mostly in terms of power and too many Ks. But Outman is better at getting on base.
Looking over the ’23 stats, I am more convinced that, against righthanders, Outman should bat sixth behind Max and Teoscar should bat either 7th or 8th.
Outman’s OPS against righties was .835, and he had 22 HRs in 353 ABs. Heyward was widely praised (rightly so) for his offense in a platoon role. But Outman outslugged him.
Against lefties, Teo could bat cleanup or 5th. In a down year, he had an .817 OPS against lefties. Outman can be moved down to either the 7th or 8th spot.
I was surprised by how well Rojas hit against lefties, with a .286 BA and .737 BA. If Lux struggles, Rojas could see a lot of action.
Against lefties, we could occasionally see this lineup:
Mookie 2B
Freddie 1B
Shohei DH
Teo LF
Smith C
Taylor 3B (his OPS vs lefties was .795;: Max was at .641)
Outman CF
Rojas SS
Margot RF
We’d have three lefthanded hitters on the bench: Max, Heyward, Lux.
I am guessing Smith will again have a great first half and hit cleanup through June. I’m hoping Outman puts some youth in the #5 spot against righties as that would mean he would be having a very good year.
With Betts, Freeman, and Ohtani at the top of the lineup it is important to have high OBP with the 8th and 9th hitters and maybe that means against lefties Outman might hit in one of those two spots.
I would like to see Muncy and Hernandez flip between 6th and 7th depending on pitcher handedness.
“With Betts, Freeman, and Ohtani at the top of the lineup it is important to have high OBP with the 8th and 9th hitters”
I’ve always thought Muncy would be good there, at least against RHP. There’s enough power in the lineup to do that. Muncy either walks or homers. He walks, he fulfils your wish, he homers he drives in runners on base. Win win.
Outman can do that too.
I don’t know, just my 2 cents.
Their age 26 years are very similar. The difference might be one is on his way up, the other one isn’t.
Humor is always appreciated.
Sandy Leon signed a minor league deal with the Royals.
Perranoski just seemed so reliable. The first great Dodger reliever that I can recall. Like starters, they racked up a lot more innings in those days.
I wonder when the term “closer” became common.
I think it was in the early 1990s. Before that, they were called stoppers, firemen, and short relievers.
Before the 60’s, older pitchers who were trying to hang on in the majors were the guys who were usually relievers. The philosophy started changing in the 60”s. If you look at the Dodgers all time save leaders, only four pitchers, Labine, Roebuck, Hughes and Hugh Casey, pitched in Brooklyn. Saves were not a recognized stat until 1969. So, they had to go back over box scores to give those older guys career save totals. Casey was probably the first good reliever they had. He pitched in 293 games. 56 of them were starts. He had 24 complete games. His career record was 70-41 and he had 50 saves. Labine was the most successful reliever they had in Brooklyn. He had 83 saves and 70 wins. 23 of his saves came in his two years in LA.
Nice article on Perry. I dislike posters who nit-pick details like a sophomore English Teacher but……..
“In April of 1960, while serving in the Army at Fort Leonard Wood in Louisiana, he learned of the trade to the Dodgers”. Fort Leonard Woods is in Missouri, for the record.
My bad, being former Army I knew that, but it was a total brain fart. Nickname is Fort Lost in the Woods. Ft. Polk is in Louisiana. Had I left for basic training one day earlier, I would have been sent to Polk and my entire time in the Army would probably have been very different. But I went to Bliss instead. Sometimes when I am doing a story and trying to get it done quickly, I overlook small details.
it’s all good Bear.
Misouri?
Details are even more important than proper grammar.
My bad Phil. Being former Army I knew that. Nickname is Fort Lost in the Woods. Ft. Polk is in Louisiana. Had I left for basic training one day earlier, I would have been sent to Fort Polk instead of Ft. Bliss.
Double posted. Whoops.
A little pick up on Yesterdays brief post about international signings and whether to go after big signings or little ones.
Acuna was unranked by MLB when signed.
tatis Jr. late 20s I think.
Julio Rodriguez #10
these are super young kids, and the rule five draft really works against them.
Excellent point. I didn’t know that about Acuna, JRod, etc
In the early 80s after every home game, Ron would come into the bar were I worked. He would sit there quietly nursing a Scotch (or two) and then be on his way. A very nice man.
Would you trade an LH #1 Prospect (who is blocked at the MLB Level) and a journeyman bullpen pitcher for the #7 LHP in the MLB Pipeline… oh… and an athletic outfielder with a lot of potential?
AF would!
MLB PIPELINE Top 10 LHP (ETA)
1. Kyle Harrison, Giants (2024)
2. Ricky Tiedemann, Blue Jays (2024)
3. Robby Snelling, Padres (2025)
4. Noah Schultz, White Sox (2026)
5. Anthony Solometo, Pirates (2024)
6. Carson Whisenhunt, Giants (2024)
7. Jackson Ferris, Dodgers (2026)
8. Thomas White, Marlins (2027)
9. Robert Gasser, Brewers (2024)
10. Jordan Wicks, Cubs (2024)
Yes, I like Busch but he had no shot to make this team.
Like many, I am rooting for Ferris and Buhler in the same rotation.
For those who believed the Dodgers should have got more for Michael Busch, MLB Pipeline just published their top 10 LHP prospects for 2024. Jackson Ferris has come in at #7 top LHP prospect. Not bad for a 20 year old who has 56.0 total professional innings on his stat sheet. 77 K and 1 HR in those 56.0 IP. .179 BAA. He did this all in full season A Ball as a 19 year old. Pipeline has his ETA as 2026. So the Dodgers traded a great potential bat, that they would have sitting on a bench for the foreseeable future, for a sorely needed LHSP who could be in the rotation sometime in 2026. I would not bet against that.
Top 10 LHP prospects per MLB.com.
1. Kyle Harrison, Giants (2024)
2. Ricky Tiedemann, Blue Jays (2024)
3. Robby Snelling, Padres (2025)
4. Noah Schultz, White Sox (2026)
5. Anthony Solometo, Pirates (2024)
6. Carson Whisenhunt, Giants (2024)
7. Jackson Ferris, Dodgers (2026)
8. Thomas White, Marlins (2027)
9. Robert Gasser, Brewers (2024)
10. Jordan Wicks, Cubs (2024)
Top 10 RHP prospects per MLB.com
1. Paul Skenes, Pirates (2024)
2. Jackson Jobe, Tigers (2025)
3. Cade Horton, Cubs (2024)
4. Andrew Painter, Phillies (2025)
5. Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers (2025)
6. Rhett Lowder, Reds (2024)
7. Mick Abel, Phillies (2024)
8. Chase Dollander, Rockies (2026)
9. Dylan Lesko, Padres (2026)
10. Noble Meyer, Marlins (2026)
#8 LHP prospect, Thomas White was the Marlins supplemental 1st round in 2023, #35 overall. He was on many LAD mock draft lists. He was taken one spot before LAD took Kendall George. At the time, LAD comments were that their picks for the first round were already drafted, and they decided to go to the #2 pick, sign him for underslot, and have more $$$ for later picks.
White did not come cheaply. His cost was $4.1MM. George signed for $1.847MM. It is doubtful the Dodgers would have had any chance at signing White at $4.1MM. Miami did just fine with their bank roll as they also drafted the best prep pitcher in the draft, RHP Nobel Meyer (#10 overall) and LHP White. Meyer signed for a below slot $4.5MM. He is #10 on RHP prospects.
Marlins spent $8.6MM for their first two before the Dodgers 1st pick. The Dodgers overall bonus pool was $7.27MM, $1.4MM less than the Marlins first two picks. This is why the Dodgers cannot get these elite prospects, and have to spend their money on development. Although, they do just fine.
You can say that again! 😉
Thanks for the MLB pipeline info. They are definitely high on Ferris compared to some others. Keith Law said Ferris has the weapons to project as a mid-rotation starter with a lot of reliever risk due to his present command/control issues. Law also noted his good strikeout rate of 32% but also his high 14% walk rate and 15 wild pitches in 56 innings.
Young pitchers are not easy to project, and even when they perform as expected, they still come with alot of injury risk. Of course Friedman and the Dodgers have way more knowledge than I do, and hopefully Ferris turns out to be a top of the rotation starter.
The #1 LHP prospect Kyle Harrison (SF Giants) has a lot of similar concerns with control. Maddux Bruns control concerns are legendary. I think every LAD pitcher prospect has huge reliever risk with the exception of Landon Knack. Power pitchers are commonly considered reliever risk because of the dominating pitches but with control issues. It is believed that Knack’s stuff plays better as a starter than he would as a reliever. His better conditioning for last year, gives him a chance. I just do not see it with the Dodgers.
Very important question. How will the Dodgers celebrate HR’s, extra base hits and bloopers this year. Barrels are over-rated, and the Freddie are now passe! I miss the bubble machine in the dugout.
High elbow bash when Kike dislocated Cody’s shoulder.
Evening Michael
I would like to see a Ceremonial Bow, as is common in Japanese culture to celebrate every Home Run. This would surely make our new friends feel very welcome, as well as ingratiate ourselves to our new fan base.
Thanks Jeff for giving us a new home. Nice to see lots of old friends here.
That would be cool.
How about the sign “team”.
Watford & Badger – I love both of those ideas. Make it so!
Been wondering that myself Bear. Also how many games in will a new one take to grab hold
I think we will find out with the first knock of the year when they are in Korea.
Great article, Bear.
I welled up being reminded what Sandy K did on two days rest in game 7 in the 1965 WS. What guys did back then is astonishing. What a memory…
I don’t see it as astonishing, although I don’t want to take anything away from players like Sandy. It was a different time. Today, pitchers put such unnatural torque on their arms and excess spin rate on baseballs that their arms fall apart quickly.
I do not doubt that if Babe Ruth were transported to 2024, he would have difficulty hitting until he studied film and all the advanced techniques they use now. Hitters are so much better, and pitchers’ stuff is revolutionary. The game has changed (and I am not saying for the better or the worse), but Sandy was an anomaly in the day.
He was a guy with a high spin rate who contorted his arm inhumanly, and as a result, he was done at 30. Today, he would have had Tommy John come back and pitched until he was 38. He would have won 300+ games.
I doubt that we see any more 300-game winners.
Considering the pain that guy pitched with, especially his last two seasons, it is amazing that he could even pick up a baseball, let alone throw it accurately with that kind of velocity and then break off that killer curve ball.
Who would do this trade?
Which one?
Proposed Trade
Why This Trade Makes Sense for Both SidesLuzardo fills all the needs previously mentioned. Scott, a left-handed reliever, upgrades a bullpen that could use another high-leverage lefty.
Scott is coming off a dominant 2023 season where he boasted a 2.31 ERA in 74 appearances, and racked up 104 strikeouts and 12 saves. He’s the exact piece the L.A. bullpen is missing, and won’t cause the front office to break the bank like they would for Josh Hader.
On the Marlins’ side of things, they’re getting the Dodgers’ No. 2 and No. 3 prospects in Cartaya and Frasso, along with Vargas, who’s ready to play at the MLB level. They’re also adding the team’s No. 9 prospect in Knack and the No. 15 prospect in Kopp.
It’s an absolute haul going back to Miami, one that will help them both in the present and future. As for the Dodgers, they would clear space on the 40-man roster and add two players that fill the two biggest needs left on the roster.
How do you spell “Dope Fiend”?
I think there is zero chance the Marlins do that.
What does Bradley think about that one?
Have you ever seen Bradley and Bumsrap together?
Take your meds Mark. I’m just passing on hot stove talk because, well, we are still in hot stove.
That is “Lunatic Fringe” Talk… and I have never been on meds. Maybe I should…
I think there is a negative Zero chanced AF does that!
You would have to add Stone to that group to interest the Marlins. Knack and Kopp don’t have much trade value
The broad outlines seem OK: Cartaya, Vargas, plus three pitchers whose precise identities will be determined. A lot of possibilities.
And if the Dodgers want to keep Cartaya, perhaps offer Yeiner Fernandez and a lower-level “lottery ticket.”
Still hoping that Vargas, if not dealt, gets a lot of reps inLF and 3B in OKC. An injury could give him a third shot in LA.
And you’ve always been so right about what AF will and won’t do….
and if it takes Barnes to put the cherry on top, I’m all in.
Barnes plus $$$$$! If Luzardo comes then that would leave no room for Kersh, so don’t think it’s happening.
There will always be room for Kershaw because there will always be injuries.
I don’t consider it a “dope fiend” deal at all because Luzardo is an ace-potential lefty SP who would be locked up for 3 years, and Tanner Scott would become the lead lefty option the bullpen. As a rough outline goes, this seems like a feasible deal. We could tweak it in various ways. (I’d keep Kopp and offer Varland
Is it an overpay?
Probably–but so what?
The point isn’t to “win the trade,” but win the championship. We can say the Dodgers already overpaid for Ohtani and Yamamoto. If the Orioles or any other team is in the bidding for Luzardo, an overpay may be required.
A big question: Will Cartaya bounce back or a bust? If it’s the latter, this isn’t an overpay. I wonder how confident the Dodgers are in Cartaya now…
At any rate, Cartaya is tradeable because the Dodgers should have Smith at catcher years and have a few good catching prospects in the pipeline.
The catcher I’m keeping is Rushing. I’d offer the Marlins a choice of Cartaya, Fernandez or Liranzo (high ceiling but years away).
AF is said to keen on Roki Sasaki, which could influence (and perhaps undermine) any interest in Luzardo.
Since you are not the president of Harvard you should mention that that article is copied from “Dodgers Nation”.
It’s the wild wild west. We don’t need no stinkin’ credentials in this corner of the web.
They guarantee that .01% of what they publish is truth!
Drugs are bad!
Dodgers Nation is worse!
They are geared to hook the unintelligent!
I rarely read there because I cannot afford to lose any more brain cells.
Most people would have noticed that it was copied from the link directly above the “article” because Mark asked which of the “one” trades made in the article was being made.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/812018564062362?mibextid=9drbnH&s=yWDuG2&fs=e
Dodgers signed a couple of pitchers to minor league deals.