Okay guys, 37 days until the deadline. Let’s hear your best ideas for trades the Dodgers should make by July 30th. I firmly believe they will go after at least one bench piece, a starting pitcher, and maybe a back end of the bullpen arm.
I think and believe AF and Gomes will see what the market has to offer, and then make choices they feel will best help the team reach its goal of a World Series title. I think they might be looking for a right-handed power bat. There will be a couple of those available.
I also think that with the recent injuries, the uncertainty of Kershaw’s return, they will have to consider trading for a starter. There will no doubt be several of those out there and available for trade.
Try to keep it realistic. Pick players who actually might get moved. And don’t always shoot for the superstars. AF has only traded for one superstar position player at the deadline since he took over after the 2014 season. Have fun now!
I believe they need at least one starting pitcher. One I would consider and who has been mentioned is Yusei Kikuchi of the Blue Jays. Jack Flaherty of the Tigers would also be a possibility. I do not think they will pursue an Ace type pitcher. Another back of the bullpen arm could be added, but, if they believe Graterol will be ready at some point in August, this might not be the case. I do not think they will trade for a SS unless the price is not outrageous. I also do not believe they will trade for Robert Jr. His price is said to be very high. An outfielder like Tommy Pham or Tyler O’Neill seems more likely. Barnes will remain the backup catcher unless he is injured. Kike could be a victim of roster numbers if his production does not improve dramatically and soon.
Don’t need to trade for a starter. Just sign Bauer.
IF we add a starter, that starter better be trusted to start a game 3 on the road.
Bluto likes to remind us that the Dodgers acquire superstars or undervalued players. I think that is something that I actually agree with him on. I may not agree with the strategy, but then again, nobody in the Dodgers gives a rip. There are a lot of good players in between.
I doubt that the Dodgers will go big. The Dodgers could very well trade for Paul De Jong. And they will trade for or somehow acquire a reliever most of us have never thought of. They could be wrong again, but I believe that they believe that both Graterol and May will be back for bullpen jobs. I also think the Dodgers will bring up Jose Hernandez at some point. I think the Dodgers believe they are set and AF has already told us countless times that he will not trade for a reliever at the deadline because of the cost.
IMO, the Dodgers believe that when Muncy and Mookie get back from their vacations, the lineup will be intact, and the bench pieces are already there. Biggio will be gone, probably DFA. One of Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernández will also be gone.
I believe they will keep Outman as an emergency OF. It is possible that Lux and Vargas could be traded for prospects of some kind. Probably not above low A level.
It is possible that the Dodgers will find a rental back of the rotation emergency starter just in case any of Miller, Buehler, Kershaw, or Yamamoto confound the medical staffs again and cannot make it back. Think Trevor Williams, Andrew Heaney, Nick Pivetta, Kyle Hendricks, Sean Manaea, Chris Flexen, last year’s Jack Flaherty. This year’s Jack Flaherty will cost too much, as will Crochet. Both will end up with a contender. The one exception to the rental group will be a LHSP in the vein of Miami’s Trevor Rogers. Miami has no starting pitching left, so this is the one that they can trot out and see who might be interested. AF always likes a good challenge.
Everybody’s favorite (baseball journalists) believe that Luis Robert Jr. will end up with the Dodgers. That is way too much of a gamble for AF/BG. That is not happening (IMO).
Houston is suddenly back in the WC race and Kyle Tucker is not going anywhere (Yes, that upsets me…not that LAD had any chance at all to get him). Alex Bregman could be traded, but the always PR conscious Dodgers will never trade for him. And they still believe Muncy will be back.
Boston can keep Tyler O’Neill.
Jazz Chisholm will NOT be coming to LAD.
No starting pitcher for tonight’s game listed yet. With all the injuries they have had, I can’t remember how the rotation was set up.
I thought it was odd that both Cartaya and Rushing did not play yesterday. Apparently Diego Cartaya has been promoted to AAA.
Josue De Paula has been promoted to Great Lakes.
Well, my gluteus maximus feels a lot better today, which is a good thing. Getting old sucks. As you may have noticed, I am no longer Bear Paul. Once I got signed onto the dashboard, I was able to create a new name. So, I picked my real one. Dodger game on at 6:10 my time. Only a few Dodger hitters have seen Crochet.
The Dodgers get Crochet tonight, but on Wednesday, the Dodgers get to look at the other CWS pitcher that is expected to be traded, RHSP Erick Fedde. Like Crochet he is having an excellent season, and will garner a lot of attention at the deadline. He looks to be a perfect match for Baltimore.
St. Louis is looking at improving their rotation and lowering the age of the rotation. They also do not have a LHSP in the rotation. At least initially they may want to expand a deal to include Tommy Pham.
37 days?
Too far out.
But I’ll say at this point they need a starter and a wRC+ outfielder. Tyler Anderson and Taylor Ward. Make Moreno feel like he’s fleecing the Dodgers and he would do it. Crochet and Robert. Just do it already. Chisholm. Bury the hatchet guys.
A lot can happen in 37 days.
I’m a terrible mind reader. Two summers ago, I thought it was a no-brainer that AF should deal for the Reds’ Brandon Drury as a rental. He was having a breakout year and the Reds had uber-talents coming up. With Max and others struggling, Drury would have been a great fit.
A Miguel Vargas fan who claims to have inside info said the Reds asked for Vargas, so there was no deal–Vargas was much too valuable!!! At any rate, it was the damn PADRES who landed Drury, and then Drury helped the Pads beat the Dodgers in the playoffs. As an FA, Drury snagged a nice contract with the Angels, for whom he has played well.
As for Vargas, he got promoted, hit below the Mendoza line and was put on the playoff roster anyway. Two years later, Vargas is platoon leftfielder who seemed destined for a trade. In retrospect, a Vargas-for-Drury deal would have been more than fine–and the Dodgers might have beaten the Pads.
Oh well. Spilt milk.
I think it’s easier to predict who the Dodgers will deal than who they’ll get. Vargas and Lux simply don’t have a good fit on this team, and both should be dealt to teams that can give them better opportunity. A couple of RPs on the 40-man roster are likely to go because the Dodgers have better talent on the way. (How about Vargas + Varland or ??? for Tanner Scott?)
The big question: Will the Dodgers go after Luis Robert?
Seems like a strong possibility to me. He is a big talent on offense and defense, only 26 years old and comes with a team-friendly contract that mitigates some of the injury concerns.
AF may simply come to the conclusion that the potential rewards outweigh the risks. Consider: Teoscar is getting paid $23.5 million for one season. Robert, who is younger and more talented, would be getting an AAV at about about $5 million less for the next three seasons. How much would an extension for Teoscar cost?
Now if the Dodgers are talking to the White Sox, will they also ask about Crochet and DeJong?
Well, that could be exciting….
If a couple of the Dodgers starting pitchers are good to go in September (Kershaw, Yamamoto, May, etc.) giving up a top prospect would be questionable. I hope Lux and Vargas go nowhere. The only way you trade for a shortstop is get an all star who has years left on his contract. Giving top prospects for rentals isn’t a good way to run an organization. Personally I’d rather the Dodgers keep Rushing as a future backup and then starter when Smith is moved to third base. The only place I would put any urgency (and not a lot) is the backend of the bullpen and perhaps another left handed reliever. Vesia has been very good but finding him a partner could be useful. The Dodgers roster is pretty solid, Taylor is actually starting to hit and Barnes is a good glove first catcher. Don’t turn down a great deal but the Dodgers shouldn’t overpay for any player.
I would refer you all to stb timetable for injuries. Do u really believe may or kershaw will be back? Kershaw is already backing up with shoulder soreness. May is barely even mentioned. He is throwing bullpens. Come on he is going to be just like buehler last year and not make it back it takes forever for any Dodger to get off the il in spite of Docs “we expect him back at the end of the il. Never happens, look at pepiot out almost the whole year.
I said that to say this. We got what we got and hope Glasnow can survive and flourish. If we don’t make a move for a starter as it stands we probably have Glasnow, stone, miller/paxton. We better pick up a starter. I would go after Quintana or Manea if the Mets would deal. We better pick up someone or we will end up like last year. Mb Buehler could get back in the picture but I would forget may, kershaw, and probably Yamamoto.
In the playoffs, you need four starters with the fourth starter getting maybe two starts through the playoffs. The pitching staff is set up for the playoffs. What they need is an inning eater for September. If the Dodgers maintain a safe lead in the division (which they should), they will probably start cutting back the starters innings sometime in the later part of August so the arm is in good shape going into the playoffs. Would be a great time for some of the injured pitchers that are coming back a time to build up innings. Could be a reason in going and getting a reliever but not an overpay in talented prospects. The off season is the time to retool the team.
Interesting that Hayward is playing over Teoscar tonight against a lefty. Is Teoscar hurting?
There have been reports that Alex Anthopoulos will be targeting SP and OF, and the rumor is that he will be all in on Jack Flaherty. But they also could be interest in OF Wenceel Pérez, and the projected cost will be 2 top 10 and one top 15 prospect.
· 21 year old SS Nacho Alvarez Jr (AAA) – Atlanta #6 prospect
· 22 year old RHP Cade Kuehler (A) – Atlanta #8 prospect
· 26 year old RHP Darius Vines (AAA) – Atlanta #14 prospect
What is intriguing for me is that Atlanta has a 21 year old SS in AAA. He was a 5th round pick in 2022. For the 2024 season Nacho is hitting .289/.392/.385/.777. Since his promotion to AAA (53 PA) he is hitting .375/.434/.646/1.080.
In 2022, the Dodgers chose Alex Freeland (3rd round), and Nick Biddison (4th round) ahead of Alvarez. The Dodgers 5th round pick was also a SS taken 10 picks later, Sean McLain (Matt’s brother). The Braves 5th round pick is in AAA as a 21 year old. The Dodgers 5th round pick is in low A as a 23 year old hitting .147/.287/.190/.477.
Nick Biddison is a 23 year old OF hitting .190/.323/.314/.637 at Great Lakes (High A).
The Dodgers do not have any SS close to what Atlanta can offer. They have pitching prospects, but AF does not like to trade them. If AA makes that offer, the Braves will get Flaherty and Pérez over whatever the Dodgers offer unless it involves Dalton Rushing or Josue De Paula. And AA may not have the best offer out there.
Ohtani named player of the week for the second time this season. 9th time in his career.
It’s tough now making such predictions because everybody is still in it.
AND, I’m just going to list big game fishes. Two fishies.
So, going off this list:
https://www.mlb.com/news/baseball-s-next-free-agent-classes
My big fish is Max Fried. Out of contract, there’s a connection between front offices, Atlanta may feel Philly and LAD are out of reach. Santa Monica boy.
My 2nd biggest fish is Ha-Seong Kim, it’s a mutual option so he’s probably gone. Preller will trade with anyone. The FO guy with Dodger ties has passed away. Kim’s versatlility will appeal.
Padres placed Tatis Jr. on the IL. Patrick Sandoval out for the year with a torn UCL.
We are going to be in August at the earliest for Kershaw’s possible return. #22 cannot be counted on. If he gets back…nothing would be better. AF/BG just cannot count on it, or they should plan on him not being there.
Wow I finally saw Crochet’s numbers for the year. .95whip??? For a starter???
News from Internet:
The GREAT Andy McCullough takes a look at how the trend to finding pitchers “who miss bats” has affected MLB. ($$$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5537852/2024/06/24/mlb-missing-bats-baseball-strikeout-pitch-tracking/
Glasnow is featured.
“It’s just really hard to hit a baseball. It was always the hardest thing to do in sports. And then we made it even harder.”
As per Jerry Espinoza:
Another interesting Dodgers arm to keep tabs on, lefty Luke Saber Fox. I watched him ramp up in the spring, saw his debut in late May. 2023 17th rd out of Duke…
He’s now thrown in 4 ACL games, had only given up 1 hit in his first 4 innings of work. He went 3 innings tonight did give up 5H but the Rangers are hitters. He hasnt surrendered an earned run in 7 innings. 7K’s.
Baseball America has updated their MOCK draft ($$$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2024-mlb-mock-draft-4-0-projecting-the-top-39-picks/
23. Dodgers — Kash Mayfield, LHP, Elk City (Okla.) HS
Amid speculation on this blog that he may be trade bait, Jay Jaffe took a look at Jack Flaherty:
I love Gowdy’s herky-jerky windup and he’s still very effective:
Kevin Gowdy threw a scoreless inning for AAA OKC & lowered his ERA down to 3.34. Gowdy has allowed just 1 run in his last 9 outings (15 IP) & he has 18 Ks in that span
Dodgers’ Korean righty Hyun-Seok Jang, who has struck out 23 in 12 ACL innings after getting a huge bonus from LA last summer rather than go out as the first overall pick in the KBL draft.
https://x.com/KBO_ENG/status/1805050238131916929
Keith Law had a chat:
Alex (CA): Can you shed some insight on what’s going on with River Ryan?
Keith Law: He pitched the other night for OKC. Sat 98 with the cutter at 93-94. Still effectively rehabbing as he didn’t throw any breaking stuff.
Matt: I know that fans and some writers can overreact too early when a young player struggles(like fans who complain that Elly de la Cruz is a disappointment because he didn’t show up as an MVP at 22). Are there examples of teams giving up too early on a young player (a version of MLB ready prospect fatigue)?
Keith Law: Gary Sheffield comes to mind. Brandon Phillips too.
Guest: How does Bazzana as a prospect compare to Matt McLain last year?
Keith Law: Do you mean McLain in his draft year? He had a broken hamate for part of that spring and didn’t get a chance to put up big numbers or even show what sort of power he had.
Jared: Wondering which of the Orioles prospects as you see as the “easiest” for team to move in possible trades, given their glut of talent, current roster construction and which prospects are desirable to other teams.
Keith Law: They could easily trade two outfielders and not even notice – Mayo is the best of them and the one I’d keep if possible, but he has to be in that group with Kjerstad, Cowser, even fringier guys like Stowers if they can fill out a trade. Norby and Westburg would also have a lot of value as guys who could step right into a major-league role but who the Orioles don’t entirely need.
Jerry: If the Astros are in the same place at the deadline, should they give serious consideration to trading Alvarez, Tucker, or Valdez? Seems like those would be the only ones who would bring a substantial return.
Keith Law: I’d really try to extend Tucker and shop the other two. You build around guys like Tucker.
Ben: TWP’s are becoming more commonplace ever since Ohtani’s success. Are there any you have your eye on right now you believe can do well at both hitting and pitching?
Keith Law: TWPs are becoming more commonplace in college/the minors. They are not becoming more common in the majors because it’s next to impossible to do. Ohtani’s a unicorn.
Eric: keith still believing in climate change hoax
Keith Law: How dumb do you have to be to still be a climate change denier? Do you not believe that CO2 and methane levels have increased substantially in the atmosphere, or do you think that there’s some sort of magic here where that doesn’t change the climate? It’s beyond magical thinking. It’s delusion.
Cary Osbourne takes a look at recent call-up Michael Peterson:
https://dodgers.mlblogs.com/the-pride-of-the-u-k-michael-petersen-and-his-long-road-to-the-big-leagues-8823762572cc
“His velocity has long been impressive, but the Dodgers wanted something else out of him — confidence. Confidence in working in the zone and confidence throwing the breaking ball. They wanted him to believe that he belonged.”
Dan Szymborski had a chat:
Jeremy: Odds that one NL playoff team finishes below .500? Odds that two do so?
Dan Szymborski: ZiPS actually had it less than 10%. The average wins for the eventual wild card winners in the last run was 91.8, 88.0, and 85.4 in the NL (in the AL, it was 93.6, 89.5, 86.8)
Yo Yo Mama: Hey Dan – your reference to Jaqueline du Pre tells me you’re maybe a big classical music guy. What’s your top 5 composers power ranking look like?
Dan Szymborski: Yeah, I talk classical music from time to time in the off topic Qs… Looks like my five most listened to, at least from my personal collection, are Mahler, Beethoven, Bruckner, Haydn, Chopin
Baseball America’s Fantasy Podcast took a look at prospects in the COMPLEX league:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/baseball-america/id201539011?i=1000659395775
Among the Dodgers discussed:
Eduardo Qunintero, Albertus, Yoandry Vargas, Mesa, Christian Zazouetta (sp?) and Edgardo Henriquez
Leo Morgenstern looks at why we don’t see more 3B steals:
Jack Harris found a Speakeasy bar at Dodger Stadium, then he wrote about it for the LA Times:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-06-24/dodger-stadium-speak-easy-right-field-pavilion
“Back in the 1920s, it took a special knock or secret password to gain entry into a speakeasy. It’s more straightforward now. This one requires an online reservation secured by a season-ticket holder using points acquired by spending money on food and merchandise.”
Jay Jaffe had a chat:
Tigers fan: Which current player do you think will have the greatest HOF career/legacy? Trout, Ohtani, Judge Soto etc.?
Jay Jaffe: I think all four of those guys are going to wind up in Cooperstown with impressive but very different legacies. Trout passed the JAWS average for center fielders before his 27th birthday (https://blogs.fangraphs.com/mike-trout-is-now-an-average-hall-of-famer…). Ohtani is a two-way player like we’ve never seen before. Judge’s power is incredible, as is Soto’s batting eye. If Ohtani can return to pitching well while still hitting well, I think he’s the answer but I think that one way or another we’ll be talking about all of these guys 50 years from now (maybe not me, as I’ll be 104 years old).
Guest: You think Walker Buehler can get back on the right track this season?
Jay Jaffe: The velocity is there, but the stuff is down and so is the coommand. I think it’s going to take some time for him to figure out what works now as opposed to what worked 2018-22.
Jack Harris also looked at Bobby Miller’s small town roots for the LA Times:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-06-24/dodgers-bobby-miller-mchenry-illinois-fiery-competitor
“Miller’s competitive fire belies the quiet, small-town setting he grew up in.
A bedroom community of around 27,000, nestled into the lush rolling hills of northern Illinois, the city of McHenry is partially a distant Chicago exurb, partially a picturesque rural enclave.”
Ben Clemens chat:
Miguel Vargas: This is it, right? It’s my time to shine by living up to my prospect pedigree and saving the world from all of these terrible ABs by Taylor, Kike, and Biggio, right!?!? Infield, outfield, I can do it all! (Except shortstop.)
Ben Clemens: As a longtime Vargas-head, I sure hope so. He’s absolutely tearing up Triple-A this year, and going into the season without a broken hand is definitely going to help. I do think that the Dodgers would be well-served to give him a ton of chances to impress them. Just from a team-building perspective, it doesn’t matter THAT much how the old guys who will be gone soon do, but if Vargas is an impact hitter, that’s a big deal for their roster flexibility and lineup for years to come
Broken Bat: How worried re you? The bottom of Dodgers lineup is a crap shoot, and now Mookie out. Pitching is a large question with so guys coming off injury and now adding Yamamoto to tht list. I think Snakes were getting to bring Lawler up prior to injury. He actually started at 3b. Perdomo a quiet, solid player up and I think Snakes with Carroll waking up can challenge for division. Your thoughts?
Ben Clemens: I’m…. not worried if I’m the Dodgers. Yes, fine, there are some good players on Arizona, BUT they’re below 500! They’re 8.5 back in June. The odds are extremely against them
I’m going to sit back and let other teams come to me.
Okay. No on De Jong. His defense has not been good at all in this game. And that would be the primary reason for acquiring him. So unless Bo Bichette becomes available, okay to leave it as Miggy Ro and Mookie in whatever position they desire.
Crochet? I am still a big advocate.
I also like Tommy Pham. Need a little fire in the belly.
Florida!
I love it when something I write gets responses like this. Over 100 comments. Thanks guys, much appreciated. 😀 😍 😜
Toronto has lost seven in a row and is now 7.5 games out in the AL wild card race. The Tigers are 6.5 games out. The Rangers are 5.0 games out–after winning four in a row. The Astros are 4.5 games out–after winning five straight.
Over in the NL, only the Marlins and Rockies are clearly out of the wild card contention. The Giants are next–but only 3.0 games back.
Anyway, Toronto is looking more and more like a seller.
I’m not crazy about Bichette, but I’d rather have him on the roster than Lux. Toronto will probably consider offers.
So if you were Luis Robert or Garret Crochet, you might be thinking: “Gee, it might be nice to get traded to the Dodgers.”
If that’s their wish, they didn’t hurt their cause tonight against the Dodgers.
Crochet threw 5.2 scoreless innings, striking out 6 and walking nobody.
Robert got on base three times in four ABs with a double and two singles. And, uncharacteristically, he never struck out.