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Marking Time

                           All of us are just waiting for some new baseball news, especially regarding any moves the Dodgers might make. I go online every morning and Google news has so many rumors about certain free agents, plus people making up trade ideas. Interesting stuff, but no facts to back it up. Much of the chatter is about Sasaki. Then there is a lot of no-news about Soto, other than which teams he is meeting with. Many writers have seen Buehler leaving LA for places like Detroit, or even Anaheim, why Walker would want to play for that owner, I have no idea. 

                            But some new news is just around the corner. The All-MLB team was announced last night. Mookie and Shohei were on the first team. Teo made the second. Next week will be awards week. All the major awards will be announced with the MVP award coming last. Also on the horizon is the non-tender deadline. And teams must protect players from the rule-5 draft which will be held at the winter meetings in Dallas. 

                          Juan Soto supposedly had a very productive meeting with the Red Sox per MLB.com. There is also a story on there about which players should return to the teams that last had them, reunions of a sort. For the Dodgers it is Blake Treinen. One item I found pretty interesting was about which 8 suitors have the pieces to land Garret Crochet from the Sox. The 8 teams, Phillies, Padres, Yankees, Dodgers, Braves, Orioles, Red Sox and Mets. Mets are also expected to be very aggressive in their pursuit of Soto. MLB seems to think Rushing would be one of the players headed to the Sox in a trade. 

                       The Guardians are introducing some new uniform variations next season. Sorry, they do way too much of this in the majors anymore. I think traditional and city connect are about all the variations you need.  But that is just me. I do like the Armed Forces Day unis some team’s wear. I will be heading to California on the second of December. I will have my laptop with me and will report as much news as I can. 

 

 

Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear

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Northmsdodger

The most important free agent in baseball to me is for LA to resign Teo Hernandez quickly.Let’s get it done.After that I will just sit back and watch where the chips will fall.I would love like Adames too.

philjones

I’m with you Bear on the number of uniforms sported by some teams. I loved the World Series with the Yankees and the Dodgers sporting the traditional uniforms. Just maybe MLB could cut down on the number of useless and non-traditional uniforms and the frivolous spending on things like the number of baseballs used at $10 bucks each, and give that money to minor leaguers.

The Arizona Fall League is drawing to a close this week-end. I got the opportunity to see the ABS, “Hawk-Eye” system in use. I will say that after a pitcher, catcher or batter challenge a pitch, the decision is fast. The scoreboard and announcer report who challenged and quickly the pitch is displayed in relation to the strike zone on the scoreboard showing strike or ball. The challenge is successful or not. There are 3 unsuccessful challenges per team. I only saw one mechanical delay so the original call stood. In that regard there is minimal delay of the game.

And I still don’t like it. I’m not stuck in the past. I really like all of the new rules including “Manfred’s Man”, ghost-runner, to eliminate pitcher-eating 15 inning games. MLB needs to address blocking the base and check-swing rules but I love the pitch clock and the rest.

My issue with the Challenge System after seeing it live is the same as it was prior. There are 2 separate strike zones in play at the same time. The HPU has their own strike zone. Some are generous in and not out, high and not low and all the variations. Players know and just need consistency within reason.
The HPU does not have the information TV viewers have and are at a disadvantage. And some umpires are just shitty.
Las Diaz, Manny Gonzales and Rob Drake are terrible sometimes missing 15 to 20 pitches in a game. So, which ones do you challenge?
We saw MLB manning the World Series this year with bad umpires. Their performance had most of us clamoring for ABS.
The need for ABS is unquestionable but why not just employ the Hawk-Eye System, full-time without complicating the process with challenges. Just get it right every pitch and have one strike zone in play and not 2.

I like Zyhir Hope despite his pedestrian numbers in Fall Ball; .228 / .747, w/ 5 HR’s in 93 at bats, far and away the most AB’s on the team. I’d like to see him cut down on the 28% K-rate and use that speed more. At 6’0″ and a sturdy 193, and shows some pop. He’s a pup and needs a lot of seasoning. I can see him hopefully competing for a centerfield job on 27, if all goes well.

I was again taken with the size of today’s players. Pitchers 6’3″ to 6’7″, one after another. Payton Williams of the Jays covers first base at 6’6″, 255 with a powerful LHB. And he’s not unusual.
Watching the talent in Fall Ball easily reminds me just how hard it is to be a Major League player.

Sam Oyed

I think you answered your own question. By having umps call balls/ strikes you have a backup if the ABS system has a glitch. Without some sort of backup imagine a WS game having an ABS glitch for a critical strike 3.

philjones

I saw one glitch and the original call stood. I’m not scrapping full time ABS because of one glitch and replacing it with a challenge system.

philjones

The Padres are the worst. Looks like the aftermath of an explosion in a paint store.

Jeff Dominique

Couple of points on Zyhir Hope. He is raw…very raw. He was one of the youngest players in the AFL, and had not seen a lot of good pitching until the AFL. While his numbers were not noteworthy, his swing and raw power are. He routinely has 110+ MPH exit velos. It should be noted that he was also a pitcher in high school. Mid 90’s fastball and a projectable curveball. 

Hope has 70 grade speed, with a 65 grade arm, so he should be fine in CF. 

He was injured a fair amount in 2024 with a shoulder injury. At 19, he still had a .905 OPS in 248 PA at Rancho Cucamonga (A). Going into the AFL, he only accumulated 417 PA.  He actually put up better numbers across the board at Rancho than did Josue DePaula. 

Hope – 248 PA – .287/.415/.490/.905
DePaula – 251 PA – .279/.388/.447/.835

They were both 19 at Rancho with Hope about 4 months older than DePaula.

Dodger fans should be patient with Zyhir. IMO (such as it is), the reward will be there. 

Bumsrap

Not intended as sarcasm and only an attempt at humor, lets tie ABS to a system that sends an electrical shock to hitters that swing at pitches 6 inches out of the strike zone and to pitchers whose pitches are 4 inches outside the strike zone on the batters side of home plate.

philjones

How about stocking hitters who take fastballs down the can in 2 and 0 and 2 and 1 counts, Fred?

Bumsrap

Could be known as the Max shock.

Dionysus

Tuesday will see some news.

Bobby

I think the most important person we need to resign is Walker Buehler. He showed in late Sept and October that his arm is back, and most importantly, that he can step up in the biggest moments and carry us.

After another 6 months of rest and rehab, I expect he’ll be ready to have a really good 2025, and I’d prefer he have that good 2025 with us, and not elsewhere.

Anyone can come in and help us from April-Oct. Who helps us get thru October? As we’ve seen more often than not, many guys cannot perform in Oct. Walker Buehler can.

Bumsrap

Me too Bobby.

Bumsrap

There have been a lot of meet and greets with Soto. I wonder what teams are learning.

  • Could it be he will only negotiate with the three highest bidders?
  • That he wants to make a decision by mid December?
  • That he wants all offers to be in by December 1?
  • That bids will start at $611 million?

Whoever doesn’t sign Soto will bid for Teo. Should the Dodgers offer a take-it-or-leave-it number to Soto with a 3 day expiration date and go after Teo if not accepted? That’s one way of dealing with Boris.

Would the Dodgers offer Soto the same contract they gave Ohtani?

Bobby

I know Boras will overhype Soto’s value (off the field, not on), but I wonder what his real off the field value is. How many more fans go when Juan Soto is on the team? How many endorsements does he get? Does he bring an entirely new market with him to a team?

Even though I think he’s a more complete hitter than Ohtani (but not baserunner), I don’t think he offers the off field value to have a contract as huge as Ohtani’s.

I do agree with DodgerRam that Soto’s contract may look like a bargain in 8 years or whatever. But I think we can better allocate the resources AND provide opportunities for younger guys to join the team (yes I know Soto is only 26 and has one of the most absurd resumes ever for a 26 year old)

Last edited 23 days ago by Bobby
Bumsrap

I would enjoy Soto on the Dodgers but will not be disappointed if he is not.

The Ohtani contract eventually pays out big but it allows the Dodgers to add Teo and Soto without payroll penalties via CBT.

Jeff Dominique

I am not sure why you do not think that the Dodgers would not have payroll penalties. The Dodgers have 20 players, including 8 with arbitration, and the projected AAV payroll is $272.3MM. Before any free agents, that is already $31.3MM above the CBT threshold (2nd tier). Teo’s AAV should be somewhere between $23MM and $25MM. Boras has already signaled that there will not be much of any deferred money for Soto. I expect his AAV to surpass Ohtani ($46.077MM).

The Dodgers are a cinch to surpass the 3rd tier, and will almost assuredly surpass $301MM AAV for the 60% surcharge tier. Their estimated 2024 AAV was about $350MM.

Bluto

yeah, the question isn’t if there will be penalties. Just how much.

As you allude to, the two versions of the same question are:
Are there non-CBT budget limits on Dodger spending?
and
How much will the CBT Tax be for 2025?

Over the past four years, 2021 – 2024, the team is averaging about
$30m per season in CBT Taxes paid. If that continues to be the high-water mark, I think the Dodgers can add $70-80 million (pre Teo, obvs) in payroll this year to match last season’s.

Bumsrap

I should have said it would help sign another free agent based on reduced impact on the CBT. Also, I forgot how much Ohtani’s contract was a hit on the CBT even with the deferred money.

Bobby

So nothing different than 2024!

Keith

The Mets and especially the Yankees need Soto, there are other ways the Dodgers can win other than signing Soto. I’d like to see that 45 plus mil spent a different way on multiple players, we all just witnessed how important depth was to a team trying to win a World Series.

Singing the Blue

Hey Bums, regarding your electric shock idea above, how about we forget zapping the hitters and batters and just zap the ump if he misses one by more than a couple inches?

If an ump is zapped more than 3 times in the first 6 innings, he has to call the last 3 while standing in a bucket of water.

And, if an ump meets certain criteria for accuracy during the season, he automatically gets a 10% salary bonus.

Badger

Forget the challenge system. The Hawkeye can be refined and dialed to every individual hitter’s height and by definition his strike zone. Inside outside is easy. The plate is 17” wide and won’t change. Just go with ABS full time. Glitch smitch. We see the e-zone box all night without a glitch. Use it if there’s a glitch. This has gone on long enough.

philjones

Thank you………

philjones

STB, solid idea:
“If an ump is zapped more than 3 times in the first 6 innings, he has to call the last 3 while standing in a bucket of water”.
Laz Diaz, CD Bucknor, Chalie Ramos, Ed Hickox, Doug Eddings, Angel Hernandez, Ron Kulpa, Brian ONora, Rob Drake, Brian Knight, and Emil Jiminez wouldn’t make it into the 8th inning before being electrocuted.

Last edited 23 days ago by philjones
Singing the Blue

Why do you think Angel retired? I ran my plan by him a couple of years ago.

Bumsrap

I’m also thinking Smoltz could be hooked up as well and zapped every time he tells us the pitch that should be thrown.

philjones

I’m in on that Bum, big time.

Last edited 22 days ago by philjones
Bklyn2LA57

I get a kick out of reading the MLB free agent predictions from the “experts”. Most have Adames going to SF which is a surprise to me. As you can guess, it doesn’t take much to surprise me! Anyway, I guess with how accurate the “experts” are with predictions that means he isn’t going to SF!

Duke Not Snider

Those Adames-to-SF reports came before the Giants announced their intention to cut payroll. So I think Ha-Seong Kim now makes a lot of sense for SF.
If the Dodgers whiff on Adames, perhaps they tack toward Kim–or they may be content with Edman/Rojas and focus on the outfield.
It makes sense that the White Sox would want Rushing in a deal for Crochet. It was reported that the Dodgers refused to put Rushing in deal at the trade deadline. I’d want to keep Rushing. But the reports of some haggling have me thinking that a deal for Crochet could be struck.

Bobby

my fave show of all time!

Singing the Blue

Ferrara was a bit of a character. Always enjoyed watching him play when he was here. He was a Dodger who was actually born in Brooklyn.

RIP Al.

Bluto

Jim Callis Chat:
https://www.mlb.com/news/pipeline-inbox-ethan-holliday-jace-laviollette?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share

Q: Who has the better long-term outlook: Josue DePaula or Zyhir Hope? —

A: The Dodgers are loaded with intriguing outfield prospects who were teenagers during the 2024 season: De Paula, Hope, Eduardo Quintero, Kendall George, Ching-Hsien Ko, Arnaldo Lantigua, Jared Elkins, Brendan Tunink. De Paula and Hope have very different profiles.

Signed for $397,500 out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, De Paula (currently LAD No. 2 and MLB No. 48) batted .268/.404/.405 with 30 extra-base hits, 27 steals and 84 walks in 107 games between Single-A and High-A. He’s such a gifted hitter. He features a smooth left-handed swing, recognizes pitches and makes better swing decisions better than most players his age. He’s a potential batting champion with at least 25-homer power, though the rest of his tools are fringy to average and he projects as a left fielder or DH.

Acquired from the Cubs in January’s Michael Busch trade and currently ranked No. 11 in the LAD system, Hope hit .287/.415/.490 with nine homers and eight steals in 54 Single-A games while missing three months with a stress fracture in his rib. He’s less advanced at the plate than De Paula but more toolsy with plus raw power, double-plus speed and well above-average arm strength. He could develop into a 30-30 center fielder and has been as electrifying as any player in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit the longest measured home run (470 feet) of the season and stood out with his center-field defense.

Who will be better? De Paula has the higher floor while Hope has the higher ceiling. De Paula has plenty of upside, too, and I’d bet on his bat.

Bobby

Man, that’s some big time YOUNG talent!

Keith

Thanks for that Bluto

Jeff Dominique

I like the DePaula higher floor and Hope the higher ceiling. I agree with that description. I guess that is why I am so gung-ho on Hope. I like higher ceiling guys. The team has a looooottttt of high floor guys.

Watford Dodger

If I can bring on player back it’s definitely Blake Truinen.

Im Not sure we win the WS in 24 without him.

Last edited 23 days ago by Watford Dodger
Bobby

He was so clutch for us in 24

Singing the Blue

Because of his age I don’t see anyone offering him a 3 year deal and AF can certainly afford to gamble on 2 years if that’s what it takes.

Add me to the list of folks who want Treinen in Dodger Blue for 2025 (and 2026 if that’s necessary to seal the deal).

dodgerram

I am sure: Without Treinen we do not win the WS . So many big outs he got for us.

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dodgerram

With Graterol undergoing shoulder surgery the Dodgers IMHO should go after a Tanner Scott. Labrum surgeries tend to take quite some time to recover from. Seen with Urias , Kershaw and other pitchers. No guarantee he will be back in the fold at 100 percent next season.

We all saw how far a lights out bullpen can get you.

Yes, I know AF usually does not spent big on relievers but this might be the time to rethink that approach.

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Duke Not Snider

Tanner Scott would be a good target. And it seems that the Brewers are considered offers for Devin Williams, and the Cards might deal Helsey…
And then there’s the notion that Dustin May should be used in the pen.

Dave

Good article highlighting a fun time of year. This off season in particular is fun because no matter what Friedman/Gomes do we will have a WS contending team.
If they do nothing the team js still excellent. If they make trades or sign players they just get better. The pressure is off because they won the WS yet they look like they could keep winning it!
It’s a great time to be a Dodger fan!

Bluto

Jordan Montgomery opted in at 23mm

passan reports that Arizona will eat money to move him.

Sounds like a distressed asset.

Right up there Dodgers alley, but would Arizona deal inside the division?

Jeff Dominique

In less than 2 months, that will be 20 years since Green was traded to Arizona. I do not believe that the other NL West teams want to trade that potential missing piece to LAD.

Bumsrap

Unless that piece was expensive and broken.

Jeff Dominique

True, they purchased Bolsinger for cash, and they acquired Jon Garland from Arizona for the proverbial PTBNL, who turned out to be Tony Abreu. Jon Garland is one of my very favorite people. I have known Jon since he was 7. He went through all of youth ball with my son Kris, and they stayed great friends until Kris passed away in 2019. Jon came north with many other former baseball players for his funeral. That being said, Jon was at the very end of his career when the Dodgers got him.

Neither Bolsinger or 2009 version of Jon Garland are the equivalent of a 2025 Jordan Montgomery. The last meaningful player the Dodgers got from Arizona was Shawn Green.

IMO the Dodgers can spend $22.5MM better than on Montgomery. In this case, it might be the Dodgers who are unwilling to trade with Arizona.

Bluto

This is really the point. The dodgers will be looking for value, Arizona needs to eat a good portion of the salary (or take a bad one) for it to make sense

Singing the Blue

What missing piece? We just won the World Series without him.

Jeff Dominique

Then why are the Dodgers looking for pitchers (starting and relief), SS, and OF? They might actually be looking for missing pieceS.

Singing the Blue

I’d call that insurance but I suppose we’re just arguing over semantics here.

Keith

Normally I’d say no way do the Dbags trade with the Dodgers, but I think they’d do just about anything to get rid of some or most of that contract. I think Montgomery is a very likely candidate for a good bounce back year, but I’m thinking after Arizona pays down part of the contract Montgomery and Buehler will be getting very similar money, and given the choice I’d take Buehler.

Bumsrap

Taylor comes to mind.

OhioDodger

I like it Bum. We take Montgomery and they take Taylor. Saves them around $7.5M.

OhioDodger

I will be so happy when we move on from Taylor.

Jeff Dominique

Former Dodgers RHP, Mitch White has signed to play in Korea. White is half Korean, so he should be welcomed nicely there.

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