I have always looked outside the box for relievers. While many wanted Felipe Vázquez (formerly Rivero), or Texas’ Keone Kela, and others wanted Ken Giles, I was pushing for Texas’ José Leclerc. I was also an advocate for Minnesota’s Ryan Pressly before he was traded to Houston.
I certainly understand why LAD fans are clamoring for Tanner Scott. Not only is he an outstanding end of game closer, but if signed, the LAD LH hitters, especially Ohtani, would not have to face him. I am in the belief that the Dodgers will not sign Tanner Scott. I would love for them to, but it just is not how AF builds his bullpen. He prefers to “fix” Evan Phillips, Anthony Banda, Yency Almonte, Ryan Brasier… And let’s be honest, Michael Kopech was a failed starter, and not a very good reliever with CWS before LAD got him.
The cost for Kopech and Edman:
Los Angeles Dodgers traded 3B Miguel Vargas, SS Alexander Albertus, SS Jeral Perez and a player to be named later or cash considerations to the Chicago White Sox for RHP Michael Kopech; Chicago White Sox traded RHP Erick Fedde, OF Tommy Pham and cash considerations to the St. Louis Cardinals; St. Louis Cardinals traded SS Tommy Edman and RHP Oliver Gonzalez to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
AF likes to win trades. He did on this one.
While with Baltimore, Scott was not a very good reliever, except for 20.1 IP in 2020. It was not until 2023 with Miami that he started to gel. Now he is going to get paid after two good years. The Dodgers will stay in on Scott hoping that his price will drop. Right now, Chicago Cubs seem to be the front runners. They have more than enough luxury tax cap room to spend on Scott.
IMO, AF would rather sign Kirby Yates or David Robertson on a 1 year deal. To keep a 30 year old reliever at the top of his game for four years is asking a lot.
I have seen some publications push for teams (like LAD) looking for a closer to talk to Minnesota for Jhoan Duran. As strange as it may seem, some believe that Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase is not untouchable. The A’s Mason Miller is not going anywhere. One can speculate all he (or she) wants, but the A’s are not moving him. Actually I am looking forward to seeing what he can do in Sacramento. I am sure that Ryan Helsley is a trade target, but he is a rental and the prospect capital will be unapproachable for AF. I cannot see Houston trading Bryan Abreu.
Two relievers who are probably not available, but the kind I like to look for are Minnesota’s Griffin Jax and Cleveland’s Cade Smith. Jax (30) would probably be less expensive than Smith (26) because of his age. Jax has three years control, while Smith has 5 years control.
Jax Statcast page:
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/griffin-jax-643377?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb
Smith Statcast page:
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/cade-smith-671922?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb
Also with Cleveland, another failed starter turned reliever is Hunter Gaddis who turned in an outstanding season in his first full year as a reliever.
Jax and Smith (especially Jax) are ground ball pitchers. Jax is an 89th percentile ground ball pitcher. Smith is a 61st percentile ground ball pitcher. Gaddis is more of a fly ball pitcher (22nd percentile ground ball pitcher)…just ask Juan Soto.
One more Cleveland reliever I would like to see AF consider is LHRP Tim Herrin, 28 with five years control. Herrin is also a predominant ground ball pitcher (88th percentile).
Herrin Statcast page.
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/tim-herrin-682120?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb
I could even see AF/BG taking a chance with Pete Fairbanks. AF loves to trade with Tampa Bay.
It may not be popular amongst LAD fans, but if you look at who the Dodgers like to pick up, Michael Grove is exactly that kind of pitcher they try to “fix”. I do not know if he is “fixable”, but I had no idea Evan Phillips, Anthony Banda, Ryan Brasier, and Michael Kopech were “fixable”.
Maybe Grove is not fixable. Regardless the Dodgers have Phillips, Blake Treinen, Kopech, and Alex Vesia to close out games. They have moved away from individual closer, to closer by committee.
Don’t sleep on Ben Casparius (26) from becoming another late inning high leverage pitcher. He will probably head back to OKC to start the season and work on his control. He is a bigtime strikeout pitcher that will fit in nicely at the back end of the bullpen.
Will AF/BG and Dustin May come to the conclusion that May belongs in the bullpen?
Lest we forget, Edgardo Henriquez!?! He possibly moved too fast last year, but he did make MLB after starting the year in low A.
How good is LHRP Jack Dreyer? LAD protected him for a reason. LAD front office knows pitchers.
Many prognosticators have projected both Kyle Hurt and Ryan River to be late inning shut down relievers. Why sign a reliever for 4 years when these two will be ready for next year.
What becomes of Nick Frasso? Starter or reliever?
Carlos Duran and Ronan Kopp, both with stuff too good to quit on.
The Dodgers are loaded with pitching at the MLB level and/or MLB ready.
Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack could be starters or relievers.
While I like the idea of Tanner Scott, I am not sure AF/BG think 4 years and $64MM++ (closer to $80MM) is the way to go. I do not believe the Dodgers need Scott. Their bullpen could rival last year’s Cleveland bullpen this year with who they have on their roster right now. Regardless of what many think, the Dodgers do have a budget, and the utility for a decision to sign a $31MM (actual cost with luxury tax) per year reliever may be too onerous for even the wealthy LAD.
Sure, the Dodgers have a lot of injury prone pitchers, but so does every team. Who says that none of the Seattle fab four will get hurt this year? Who says that Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nola, or Ranger Suarez do not get hurt? It happens. LAD’s 40 man roster’s pitchers are deeper and in many cases better than any other MLB organization.
My only concern is that LAD may have too many pitchers to keep happy. They may have to move a couple to add to the current roster in other positions, but not for rentals. We may see some more Michael Busch type trades.
My first choice is not Tanner Scott. My first choice is Minnesota’s Griffin Jax, and then the 213 other pitchers in the organization.
But if they do sign Scott, I will not be upset that I was wrong.
I also read that AF was waiting to see if the price for Scott drops. Seems the Mets are moving away from Alonso. He is running out of suitors. Angels would make a ton of sense for him. Bregman has stated he is not lowering the number of years he desires. If St. Louis trades Arenado, he could end up there, or maybe even Boston.
Dodgers surely do not NEED Scott, but he would make our bullpen lethal. And we all saw how important a shutdown bullpen can be in the postseason.
And the Dodgers play for October and WS titles.
The money spent on Scott would be very well spent.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have to admit, I’m not familiar with those names Jeff. As always, I’ll trust your judgment on them.
It looks to me like many of the in house minor league arms could float below the surface for much of the year and be given the R&R innings available in mid to late summer. It’s probably true the Dodgers don’t need Scott, but, that in my mind is not the point. The Los Angeles Dodgers are building a muscular organization and improvement in talent and depth at EVERY position is the obvious goal.
I’ve made my opinions on the key positions clear for months now. I don’t think a platoon of Edman and Outman in center is the answer a team like the Dodgers is looking for. Edman doesn’t hit right hand pitching, which is still near 75% of the league and Outman remains a question mark. Mookie at short. He should be fine there for a few months, but shortstop will wear down 32 year old legs unfamiliar to the rigors of that position. In my orbit the Dodgers did not whiff on a high caliber shortstop (Adames) they landed one in Kim. They traded Lux, like I thought they would, which opened the position for the player that belongs there, Mookie Betts. I still await that move sometime between now and mid season and I will predict the move will be made sooner than later.
After being a Dodger fan 67 years I feel damm lucky to sit back and watch what is happening with my team. This organization is stacked with talent, from the top of management down to scouts and maintenance. Let’s hope the medical and training staff get the injuries figured out. From my experience and study on the subject? Diet, strength, flexibility and load management (proper recovery) should be emphasized.
Projections will be coming. I’m still working on mine. At the moment I have the under on 125 innings for both Sasaki and Ohtani. I just checked, Steamer has 121 innings for Shohei, sounds close, 139 for Sasaki, hard no from me. I’m quite certain these numbers will fluctuate.
AF surprised you Jeff. We’re signing Scott. 4 yrs/ 72 mil.
WELL I WAS WRONG! LAD is a better team today than yesterday. Tanner Scott is more of a luxury than necessity, but apparantly the Dodgers can afford luxuries. Good for the Dodgers, and good for LAD fan. I look forward to the Padres fans telling everyone how the game is broken because of the finanicial ability of the Dodgers. I have no clue if they are done or not. I would still try for Griffin Jax.
The signing of Shohei Ohtani has changed the Dodgers landscape.
What amazing unexpected news this morning!
Now, Go Rams today and I’ll see all of you at Sofi next Sunday!
Add me to those who are surprised. With the luxury tax the Dodgers are paying 151 million.
As was said earlier on this thread, the Ohtani contract changed everything. Ohtani made a commitment to the Dodgers and the Dodgers are honoring that commitment.
And after Scott now trade for Robert jun.
Go Dodgers, Go Rams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AF’s tendencies have been much discussed concerning big dollar bullpen/closer signings. Conclusion? Probably not going to happen. Ditto for trading prospects for high leverage reliever at the trade deadline. Well, it looks like AF is throwing aside all his “tendencies” into the wind.
He, also, said he doesn’t like to make trades at the tradeline. The way things look now, I would be surprised if he would have a need to do so this year. The trade deadline will probably be a non event. Let’s hope so.
I was good with the current BP pieces. Especially later in the season when some starters at the start of the year will be moved to the BP as Ohtani, Sheehan, and Kershaw are added to the rotation. Now it might be to OKC.
AF has to be done, doesn’t he? This has to be the greatest off season in Dodger history. The rest of baseball had their opportunities to make these signings. Maybe, not Sasaki. But, everyone else. Other than the willingness to spend, the chance to play in LA for a dominating team has to be huge right now for any free agent.
Carry on.
Well, since money is no object, cut Taylor and re-sign Kike. Or pony up a bunch of dough and trade Taylor for outfield prospect(s).
I remember 3 or 4 years ago when baseball fans were saying MLB would have to do something to stop Steve Cohen from ruining baseball. Stevie Who?
I have no clue (maybe Jeff could give us an educated guess) but I’m thinking that not only will the Dodgers have the highest payroll this year, but may very well also be the most profitable franchise in MLB.
The Dodgers have combined financial flexibility with extremely good front office moves to put together what seems to be an unstoppable force. Players are now taking slightly less than their best offer to play here.
Owners at the lower end of the spectrum do whatever they can to use their team to line their pockets, not caring whether they put a competitive product on the field or not. Owners like Cohen made it known that they want to win at any cost to their fortune, that winning was more important than profit.
And then we have the Dodgers, who seem to have found the secret to having it both ways. Put the best team on the field while making massive profits. After Andrew negotiates Doc’s new contract, Stan Kasten and Mark Walter need to make sure they tear up Friedman’s and give him a major raise as well.
Haha
Jeff mentioned “Sure, the Dodgers have a lot of injury prone pitchers, but so does every team. Who says that none of the Seattle fab four will get hurt this year?”
That certainly could happen to the Mariners.
But I wonder if Seattle is really lucky or are they on to something? And it wasn’t just last year, but 3 years running.
Last season they had 4 guys with 30 of more starts. All 4 had at least 175 innings topped by Logan Gilbert with 208 innings. 6 starting pitchers pitched 161 games. That’s remarkable.
But it wasn’t a one year wonder. In 2023 the Mariners had 6 starting pitchers start 149 of 162 games.
And in 2022, Seattle had 6 guys start 154 games.
Logan Gilbert has had 3 consecutive seasons with 33, 32 and 32 starts, averaging 194 innings per season.
By comparison, the Dodgers used 17 starting pitchers last season. Gavin Stone led the Dodgers in innings with 140 on 25 starts and will miss 2025 with shoulder surgery. Glasnow was next with 22 starts and 134 innings. He got elbow tendonitis.
So are the Mariners on to something? Or are they super lucky to have a starting corp that doesn’t break down? And are the Dodgers just super unlucky for at least the last 2 seasons.
You decide.
This is getting ridiculous. Virtually everyone who has been mentioned on our wish lists has been signed this off season.
Yesterday I thought to myself that the Pen could do with a LH weapon to pair with Alex Vesia, and low and behold here comes Tanner Scott!
I love that the Padres traded their 2,4,5 & 24 ranked Prospects for Scott at the TD. Imagine how they must feel!
Still feel that a trade must be in the works to clear some space.
Murakawi next year anyone??
Cannot wait to get started now.
Another Great signing for the Dodgers. Tanner Scott shut down Ohtani in the playoffs, and now he is in the Dodger bullpen. The Dodgers have far and away the best roster in baseball. They are the betting favorite at 3:1 to win the WS. The next closest is NY at 8:1. The Dodgers payroll now exceeds $375 million as they have become an all star team of free agents. The entire starting rotation of Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, and Sasaki are external acquisitions. The top 4 hitters are all high priced free agents. Most of them are signed for 5-10 years. The future looks bright for the Dodgers. I would be surprised if the Dodgers don’t win the division 20 out of 22 years. The playoffs are a crapshoot but making the playoffs is almost a certainty for the Dodgers. I expect that the rest of the MLB will seek changes with either full revenue sharing of all TV money and sponsorships, or a hard salary cap. Enjoy the dynasty.
Do we need to make room on the 40 man roster to add Scott? If so, who goes.
Just read about the passing of Jeff Torborg at the age of 83. Jeff is one of only 18 catchers who caught 3 no-hitters. Of course, his most memorable one was Koufax’s 14-K perfecto against the Cubs. While a Dodger, he also caught Bill Singers no-no. As a member of the Angels, he was behind the plate for the first of Nolan Ryan’s seven no-hitters. RIP Jeff.
There is a growing discussion that the CBA when negotiated after the 26 season, that some will be pushing for a hard cap in the majors. MLBPA will never allow that to happen.
This one is the most surprising. It’s arguably under-market, but not by much and on a reliever.
im not a huge fan of this move and don’t really understand it.
oh well.
the 40 man is still out of balance.
Apparently the MLB (At least some teams) are already fearing that the Dodgers will sign the Japanese “Aaron Judge” for next year, 2026
And it seems logical to me and maybe it is even already in AF’s plans, since being 3B, just what the Dodgers will need.
I can already imagine the scandal that will happen IF the Japanese signs with LA…