All LADC Readers:
Apparently there is another glitch on LADC. At least for both me and Bear, and since I have not seen any new comments for awhile, I am assuming all of you are experiencing the same issue. The comments are no longer populating on the screen. There is a comment bubble on the left side that you can click on, and the comments will appear.
I have a ticket into the developer to try and get this issue resolved ASAP.
Thank you!
Jeff and Bear
Test. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Thanks for the update.
Jeff, and here I thought that both you and Kersh were riding off into the sunset together!
https://www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/onsi/news/clayton-kershaw-has-offer-to-return-to-dodgers
Man, I’m gonna miss Kersh!
I still miss Koufax.
And Big D. 
My wife sure doesn’t miss the Big D . . .
I would have hated to be a right-handed batter stepping in to face him. His sidearm pitch had to be very intimidating.
Yep, I don’t know what happened, but one day it was ok and the very next nada.
Lots going on around the league. Phillies exercised their option on Jose Alvarado. Jore Polanco rejected his option and is now a free agent. Astros hired Victor Rodriguez as their hitting coach. Marlins outrighted 5 players to the minors. Reds declined team options on Suter, Barlow and Austin Hays. Mariners picked up Cole Wilcox from the Rays for cash. Braves picked up team option on Chris Sale. Yanks picked up Tim Hill’s option and declined Jonathan Loaisaga.
woot
Im here at the Laker game. Teo, Mookie, Glasnow, Phillips, Call, Snell, and Will Smith along with the trophy are all here as well. Huge ovation for them as you can imagine.
Joc Pederson exercised his player option with the Rangers. Bochy heading back to the Giants in an advisor role. Orioles signed Leody Taveras.
Joc has had a profitable career. Have bat, will travel. Nice work if you can get it….
I’d forgotten about Joc. Could he have done a better job than Conforto this year?
…just looked at his Fangraph profile. He was great with AZ last year, terrible this year, and, at 33, he might be done.
Joc was not a reasonable alternative to Conforto.
The smarter move would have been to sign Harrison Bader instead of Conforto.
It also would have been smarter to provide in-house talent like Outman and Ryan Ward the opportunity that Conforto got.
Ward, who crushed Triple A pitching, was just added to the 40-man roster. The Dodgers could have save $17 million just by giving Outman and Ward a chance. If they floundered, big deal. The Dodgers could have traded for Bader.
Outman had a bad year. He was fine in AAA, but even after the trade to the Twins, he never really got started. Ward in my humble opinion got screwed. They used guys like Ruiz and never really brought up a lefty hitter like Conforto was.
Outman had a bad year. He was fine in AAA, but even after the trade to the Twins, he never really got started. Ward in my humble opinion got screwed. They used guys like Ruiz and never really brought up a lefty hitter like Conforto was. Matt Sauer just signed a deal to pitch in the KBO.
Joc has not played the OF regularly since 2022. He was injured much of this year and was under the Mendoza line.
While awaiting Jeff’s assessment of the free agent and trade markets, I noticed that Baseball Savant ranked Pete Crow-Armstrong as arguably the top defender in CF, even ahead of Raefela.
He also had a spectacular first half on offense, but slumped badly after the all-star break.
Could that slump make the Cubs consider offers?
Perhaps not. But if the Cubs can’t hang on to Kyle Tucker, they might want to do an overhaul. I’d love to see some sort of blockbuster this winter that fixes the flaws in the outfield.
I think the Cubs will keep Crow-Armstrong. I also believe Tucker will be on the move. Phillies and Yankees both need an outfielder. Of course the Dodgers are mentioned.
The Dodgers don’t appear to need much. I would like to see center field addressed. If it’s Pages, they need to work with him this winter. If not, put him in left and go get a center fielder. That isn’t Tucker. It isn’t Edman either. Bader makes sense. So maybe does Kim. He’s electric on defense.
I say again, thank you Mookie but you are now the starting second baseman. I look for a strong armed SS that will be the cutoff man that Pages will learn to get the ball to quickly this winter. Bichette is not known for his defense but he has thrown some at 90 mph. Obviously his bat plays. Muncy, who actually played both positions on the right side pretty not too bad, will platoon. I find a spot for Kim. And I still like Rushing’s bat, though it appears he may be on his way out. Personally I think it’s better to move Smith a year too soon than a year too late. When that is I don’t know. He’s 31, so it won’t be in ‘26. Rortvedt? Not sure about that. If the staff likes him, ok.
Pitching. I keep Glasnow and his 100 innings. I believe another closer is a possibility. I like Suarez. And Diaz of course. Hopefully Scott can get it figured out.
The Dodgers obviously have their own to do list of course. It remains to be seen what that list looks like. I don’t think getting younger is as important as getting better. Depth will again be a priority.
Bichette at 3rd?
Freeland at SS?
Betts at 2nd?
Pages RF, Teo LF – CUBS
Bichette at 2b; Edman in CF
Bichette got the QO from the Jays, so if LA were to sign him, they would lose a draft pick.
MLB scribes are predicting that Bo returns to the Blue Jays, Alonso to the Mets. Schwarber and Realmuto return to the Phils, Belli returns to the Yanks, Bregman to the Red Sox…
But Tucker is expected to leave Chicago, with the Dodgers as the most likely destination.
I don’t think he will sign with LA> He is basically a right fielder. They need a CF and to move Teo out of right, Pages is a natural fit in right.
I seriously doubt Tucker to the Dodgers. There are some good outfielders that could be acquired in trade. I am hoping they can trade Teo to a team that needs a DH. If not, he needs to go back to LF. I would be OK with Edman in CF, Pages in RF, and Call in LF. At least till the trade deadline.
The Chicago Cubs’ biggest needs for 2026 are rebuilding the bullpen and adding a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, with the potential departure of Kyle Tucker also creating a need for a major bat. The team will need to replace a large number of free-agent high-leverage arms in the bullpen and has a need for a front-line starter to complement their developing young pitchers like Cade Horton and Jaxon Wiggins.
It seems to me that if a team spends $100M annually on 2/3 of a rotation, they would want a great defense.
Pages Teo, and Max aren’t great defenders.
Pages has improved
100% agree….the book on Pages has to be updated based on 2nd half and especially the playoffs. THE CATCH OF THE YEAR has to be factored into his evaluation.
Bear, I’d love for you to do an article on the top 25 (may need more) moments in the 25 playoffs. For me, a top one was Kike’s 2 run double, down 3-0 to Sanchez in divisional game 1. Lose that game and we may never have made it to championship series! So many incredible moments!
I will look back at that and see what I can come up with.
I was just thinking this morning about the Muncy Betts wheel play. How massive was that!!
That was a good one! There were many excellent defensive plays throughout the postseason.
As one of my friends pointed out, both the Dodgers and the Blue Jays deserved to win the WS. That is to say: Neither team deserved to lose.
Quite a contrast to ’24, when the Yankees stunk up their own stadium and definitely deserved to lose.
That’s my worry. I’m so old my memory is shot. I want to remember this October forever. That’s why Bear needs to recap it for us!
I’ll print it out and keep it on my desk!
PCA was my front runner to be the MVP at the All Star break. He is a baller, and even if his bat never plays up to his 25 first half levels, he is a great player to start to build a franchise around.
The Cubs are good again. Why on Earth would they deal a guy like PCA? … and I’m not picking on you, necessarily, but I’ve seen comments like this several times.
If I’m the Cubs, I’d sign him to a long term deal now. If you offer a lucrative, long term contract before they hit arbitration, chances are you’d be getting them well under market value when they hit FA.
In essence, you front load and overpay during the pre-arb years, but you get to keep them at below market rate and not have to worry about re-signing them or watching them signing them with another team when FA comes.
Anthopoulos has done a pretty good job doing this with the Braves, and they have their core young players signed at team friendly deals. They stunk this year, but they still have a good core that’s still pretty young.
good to know
Got an email from Jeff and the tech. He is working to fix this comments glitch.
Donnie Baseball is leaving the Jays after 3 seasons. Stammens hired as the Padres new manager.
I’m no GM but here are some thoughts on 2026:
For 2026 we need Bullpen Help and an Outfielder. I personally would to see a shake up in the outfield. We need to get younger in general, in addition to a change in hitting approach. Plus have a stronger hitting bench instead of 3+ utility guys.
I personally would move Pages, if he’s kept, to right field, due to his arm.
To me Teoscar is expendable. I know he’s great in the clubhouse. He is too streaky at the plate and a liability defensively in the outfield. He is showing his age.
I could see Edman in center regularly and at secondbase platooning with Miggy Ro, who needs to play one more season and become a coach and future Skipper.
How close are Zyhir Hope and Josue De Paula? I’m see ing more and more players in other organization make the jump from A+ and AA to MLB during the season. The Blue Jays had a couple of players become productive Big Leaguers having come up through the ranks.
Could we find a left felder and a centerfielder internally?
If not, Tucker is on my radar.
Is there a future with the Dodgers for Alex Call in LF with his 1 yr $2.75 contract, under control thru 2029 or Justin Dean for the MLB minimum?
Can Alex Freeland become the new Kike, who I love but would not re-sign.
Muncy is a bargain but what’s his shelf life? I like Bregman (wash my mouth out with soap) but he will not be a bargain.
We should get get something for Rushing.
The organization supposedly has prime talent. Let’s see if and when the help the club. It’s not something the Dodgers ordinarily do preferring to trade for premium players.
There are 12 potential starting pitchers for 2026 and 15 other pitchers that could be bullpen pieces including River Ryan, who I think has starter potential.
So we should be set to find enough quality pitching to improve our bullpen by development ofr packaging talent for a trade. If he wants to, I think Sasaki can be an Edwin Diaz quality Closer for a long time instead of a Starting Pitcher, which we have covered.
I think I might like an outfield with Hop, De Paula and Pages in the future.
Dodgers picked up team options on Muncy and Vesia.
Am I the only one in Dodgerland that likes Kim. I love his speed and his energy. And he hit .280 last year. If Edman goes to CF, we need to give Kim a shot at second over Miggy.
I like Kim a lot. If the current roster were to fully come back, I’d have Kim at 2B, Edman at CF and Rojas in the UT role (and perhaps as Max’s platoon partner).
Both Kike and Rojas are free agents now and it’s not clear whether they’ll be back.
For whatever the reason, I had the distinct impression that Roberts simply prefered Edman and Rojas at 2B over Kim. Kim should have had more opportunity to play,
That said, the Dodgers seem likely to add a proven outfielder who would effectively push Edman to 2B, or more of a UT role. At any rate, I hope the Dodgers give Kim more opportunity in ’26.
I worry about his and Rushing’s swing and miss.
Dodgers need to give him a serious shot. If not, why the hell did they sign him in the first place?
I like him playing 2b and batting 9th next year.
Hell, have an open competiton between him and Freeland. They’ll both make the team anyway.
No guarantee that Freeland makes it, especially if Miggy decides to return.
No. Badger has been calling for Kim to get a regular position. He likes him in CF. Whatever the Dodgers need to do to convince themselves that Kim can consistently hit MLB pitching, the better they will be.
Kim’s defense is top notch. Not convinced about his bat yet, but he should get a shot in spring. I still think they consider Edman the new jack of all trades. Kike is gone.
Kim could possibly be the most gifted utility guy this team has ever seen. He’s a slick fielding middle infielder who can play third base and centerfield. He’s the fastest guy on the team and he is a power lifter. With 170 PA’s he put up 1.7 WAR. Stretch that out to even a half season and he matches Max Muncy’s WAR.
He needs more at bats. I give him Kiké’s spot.
Wow, Dodgers have added Ryan Ward to the 40-man roster. I wonder if that means they’ll give him a ST invite or if it just means they think they can get something for him in a trade rather than having him grabbed in the Rule 5 Draft.
I’m guessing it’s the latter.
Ward, 28 in February, gets added to the roster to prevent him from becoming a minor league free agent.
This is odd indeed. If they were going to keep him, why not bring him up last year. He does not need a ST invite an he is on the 40-man. He now has 3 options, so if he does not make the team out of ST, he can be optioned. I do not know how Ward feels about this, but I would imagine they would check with him to see how he felt about it. He deserves a legit shot at a 26-man roster position. You could be right and the Dodgers believe they can flip him in a trade package.
Ward would be a good sweetener in a blockbuster.
How about Rushing + Ward + Bobby Miller for Steven Kwan or Wilyer Abreu or ??? plus lottery tickets.
A proven outfielder seems like it should be the first item on the Dodgers’ shopping list.
The Angels seem likely to trade Taylor Ward, who is no relation to Ryan but someone the Dodgers have shown interest in in the past. Taylor just had his best season with more than 30 HRs and about 100 RBI. The Angels could also consider trading Jo Adell, who is two years younger and posted similar numbers.
That said, I remain conflicted about Rushing.
To deal or not to deal?
I’m hoping for an intrepid Dodgers scribe to explore the Rushing-Rortvedt dilemma. It just seemed odd that a career backup catcher could push a top prospect off the playoff roster.
Duke— I don’t follow the Angels much so help me out; if Taylor Ward just came off a 30 HR, 100 RBI season why would they want to trade him?
Completely odd
He should have been given a look last year when Conforto was stinking up the joint.
OD, I’m with you and Jeff on Ward. This one’s a real head scratcher. As you mentioned, they wasted a season load of at bats on Conforto while Ward had a nice year in AAA and deserved a look in 2025.
Do the guy a favor and let him go to a team who appreciates HIM and give him a career.
It’s almost cruel to screw this guy around any more than we already have.
Totally agree. I hope he gets a good shot in ST and if he doesn’t make the team I hope they release him so he can go somewhere he will have a better shot.
Of course you’re right about ST. What I meant to say is that I wondered if he’d actually get some reps with the big boys. That said, I’m assuming he’ll be included in a winter trade.
The Rockies have their new head of baseball ops and it’s non other than old friend Paul DePodesta.
I know there were mixed opinions about him when he was here. I was on the positive side and wish him good luck. He’s going to need it with that owner.
After he left here, he wound up with the Cleveland Browns. Not sure if he was still there when the Rox hired him.
DePodesta?? Really???? Made a couple of the worst trades in Dodger history. Been out of baseball since 2015. He was fired for a reason.
Pray tell, which were those two trades, Bear?
I’d like to know what trades were worse than Piazza, Pedro M. and Konerko.
The LoDuca trade which brought Penny, Murphy and the biggest bust in Dodger history, He-Seop-Choi who couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. He low-balled Adrian Beltre allowing him to sign with Seattle. Penny was the only one who did anything with LA> He signed J.D.Drew to a contract that allowed him to walk after just 2 seasons. Drew did not exactly light up the stats. He only played 72 games his first year and walked after a season where he hit 20 homers and drove in 100. He also traded Shawn Green to the D-Backs for a bunch of nobody’s. Not one of those players he got for Green ever had a major impact with LA> The centerpiece was Dioner Navarro. A huge flop. He signed Jeff Kent, who despite having four decent seasons, was a huge clubhouse cancer causing a lot of tension with younger players like Matt Kemp. Just my opinion, but if you are a good GM, you don’t get fired after just two years. Outside of the Finley deal, none of his deadline trades in 2006 made any difference. He was lucky LA had a great scouting department who signed guys like Kershaw while he was the GM. And to tell the truth, I just simply did not like the guy. Did not like seeing a player who was the heart of the team traded like that.
Never mind Murphy and Choi, Penny was worth more by himself than LoDuca. He pitched very well for most of the time he was here and was far more valuable than LoDuca was to the Marlins and Mets during those same years.
As far as Beltre is concerned, I seem to recall that not signing Beltre was far more McCourt’s decision than it was DePo’s. Remember, he needed to save money to pay for all his houses and for all the other garbage he was siphoning payroll money to buy for his personal use.
Your opinion which I respect. Choi was supposed to be the centerpiece of the trade which is why it was highly criticized. McCourt had just bought the team, so the Beltre thing happened before he got really tight with the money. I beg to differ about Penny. He spent parts of five seasons in LA and had 2 good ones, in 06-7 he went 32-13. In his other three he was 14-20. LoDuca’s was hitting .301 when he was traded, his next 3 years, he never hit below .273. It wasn’t until 2008 that he finally did not play well. Not one of the three catchers they used the rest of 04 hit above the Mendoza line. In 05 they went with Jason Phillips, who DePodesta traded for. He hit .238 with 10 homers while LoDuca was hitting .283 in Miami.
OK, my friend, we can agree to disagree on Penny vs. LoDuca. Penny got here in 2004 but only got into 3 games so I’m counting the years 2005-2008 (4 years). For those 4 years, Penny had a 10.3 bWAR and LoDuca had a 2.3 bWAR.
On the other hand, I don’t think we need to argue about Jason Phillips. He was pretty awful and I remember yelling at the TV every time Tracy insisted on starting him, and it wasn’t always at catcher. For some reason, he needed to have him in the lineup somewhere every day.
Not a problem, that is what this site is for and there is no way we are going to agree about stuff all the time. I just remember that during DePodesta’s reign there was always something going wrong or some sort of controversy. Of course, I was still on the road driving most of the time and did not really follow the team like I wanted to. Choi reminded me too much of another former weak bat first baseman, Todd Benzinger. I never understood why LA traded for that guy.
LOL. He traded away Dave Roberts. He is most noted for trading away Paul LoDuca. He did get Brad Penny in that LoDuca deal.
The Roberts deal was horrible. Henri Stanley????? Please. he also traded for Elmer Dessens, then was dumb enough to resign him as a free agent after the season.
Some of his other deals included trading for Steve Finley, Milton Bradley (which eventually got us Ethier although DePo was gone by that time, I believe), signing JD Drew and Derek Lowe and signing Jeff Kent.
Overall, he was not bad.
Still, the DePodesta era is largely remembered as a failure, mainly because of that 2005 season, and because GMs who do a good job don’t generally get pushed out the door so quickly. Then again, we all know that McCourt had absolutely no idea what he was doing, and since DePodesta was hired so late in the 2003-04 offseason, he was given all of one winter to remake the team, and never was allowed to hire his own manager. Yes, that 2005 season hurt, largely ruined by injuries — that’s when Eric Gagne imploded, remember — but the 2006 playoff appearance that Colletti claims was basically DePodesta’s team, wasn’t it?
Correction, one of the reasons he was fired was because McCourt was upset that he had not found a suitable replacement for Jim Tracy. There were also the rumors that McCourt fired him because of the criticism of his tenure by to LA writers, Plaschkie and T. J. Simers who were very critical of Moneyball. Colletti was hired on November 16th, less than a month after DePodesta was fired. He immediately began to put his stamp on the roster. He traded Bradley and Perez for Ethier, He signed Furcal and Garciaparra on the same day, Dec 18th. He then signed Kenny Lofton, Joe Beimel, Takahashi Saito, all before spring training. Lofton, Garciaparra and Furcal were all starters on that team. Saito instantly became the closer and saved 24 games.
Ned did some good stuff while he was here. Getting Ethier for Bradley was an all time steal and I thought Saito was underrated. One of my favorite Dodger relievers.
Saito was awesome. One of my favorites.
One under the radar deal he made did not show much on the field, but the pitching staff benefited greatly. He got Greg Maddux from the Cubs for Izturis. Pitchers on the staff raved about having “The Professor” on the team. Maddux went 6-3 for LA. He traded for him again in 08, that time from the Padres for two minor leaguers. He was just 2-4 the second time. Ned had his share of eff ups free agent wise, Jacob Schmidt and Andruw Jones.
It appears that Mr. T is retiring from his blog. Again.
He is working on his book, undergoing a bunch of medical procedures and basically not a young man anymore. I talked to him yesterday and his book is taking up a lot of his time. But his site is going to stay open.
Dodgers have outrighted Grove and Dean (already claimed by SF) and dfa’d Gonsolin. Sorry to see Catman go but it was no surprise.
Also added Robinson Ortiz (LHP) along with Ward to the 40-man.
I was hoping Gonsolin can rebound…..I guess LA doesn’t think he can. Is he still not healthy?
His surgery was in August so he probably won’t pitch again until the 2027 season (and that might be postponed or totally eliminated by a lockout/strike situation). So it really made no financial sense for them to keep him since he would have been a free agent after next year.
Thanks for this info Blue. I didn’t keep up with his surgery date….i figured since he last pitched the first week in June, he must have had his surgery around that time. I guess I thought wrong.
Anyone here think that a major league team will take a chance and sign Julio Urias? He is eligible now.
I think some team will take a chance on Urias. Will any team sign Trevor Bauer??
I hope he gets a chance somewhere, keeps his nose clean and makes good on a fresh start.
Based on what he did for us in that 2020 WS, and if he has paid for his sins, I would certainly be open to giving him a look. He has ice in his veins.
The only real gripe I ever had with Julio was his tendency to nibble and not attack hitters. Maeda suffered from that too. When he went to the bullpen, he came out firing. MLBTR has its post about the possible landing places for the major free agent.
13 players received qualifying offers, meaning if you sign one, you lose a draft pick. Tucker, Schwarber, Bichette, Valdez, Suarez, Cease, Edwin Diaz, Gallen, Imanaga, King, Grisham, Torres and Woodruff.
What draft choice do you lose? I imagine it’s based on the contract terms. The more you pay, the higher the draft pick. Am I right?
• Competitive Balance Tax payors: Lose their second- and fifth-highest selections, as well as $1 million from their international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period. If such a team signs multiple qualified free agents, it will forfeit its third- and sixth-highest picks as well.
Thanks Ohio….learn something everyday here. Well, if we want one of those 13, say goodbye to two draft picks +1 million from International pool. The latter is probably more discouraging than the draft picks.
I agree. Losing the international signing money hurts more than losing the draft picks. I think AF will use the trade market to acquire an outfielder. Jarren Duran, Steven Kwan, Taylor Ward, and Jo Adel are thought to be available via trade. Would be great if we could flip Teo to a team that is looking for a DH.
Just noticed that, for what it’s worth, mlb.com rates the Dodgers a 50% chance to land Kyle Tucker.
No doubt he’d be a good fit… but I’m ambivalent about this. Rather than flexing the mighty checkbook, I’d rather see some old-school wheeling and dealing, and prospects maturing within the system. And I worry that a stacked roster blocks prospects from getting opportunities.
Still, consider the lineup…
Shohei
Mookie
Freddie
Tucker
Max
Smith
Teo
Pages
Edman/Kim
That lineup works.
As for wheeling and dealing, I think we will see it and it will involve at least a few of those maturing prospects to which you refer.
The Dodgers first team remains stacked. Adding Tucker would do it as far as major moves are concerned. But I still see them preparing for another long season by adding depth, just like they did this year. Remember all the talk about 120 wins? That came from looking at a 10 man rotation and potential All Stars throughout the starting lineup. And then the injuries started adding up.
Why would it be any different next season with everyone a year older?
Watching the starting staff finishing off the late innings suggests the plan for those innings, including Yates and Scott, didn’t work. Losing Vesia surely didn’t help. (Still wondering what happened there) How will that be addressed?
The offense was saved from being the worst ever by a winning team by Ohtani, Smith and Muncy going 7 for 15 in the final. Against a very average Toronto staff this powerhouse Dodger offense finished the series with a .202/.294/.364 split scoring only 26 runs over how many innings? They looked tired for a lot of this series.
So what to do? Depth. And a lot of it.
We need another big bat. Max, Teo, Mookie and Freddie are all on the downside of their careers. Max and Teo could crater next year. Mookie has to have a rebound year with the bat. He needs to come in next year 10 pounds stronger. He just looked so weak and slow this year with the bat. I think Freddie has one more good year .850+ OPS. But if Mookie and Freddie can’t deliver, the offense is what will bring us down. An all star performance by Tucker will really help.
Remember, he got sick on that trip to Japan. He never really got back to full strength is my guess. He has all winter to get healthy. I guarantee you will see the real Mookie next year. Hopefully Edman’s ankle is fully healed, and Freddie sees less effects from his ankle, which he said still bothers him sometimes. Age is the one thing that is going to slow down guys like Freddie, Max and Teo, who seems to have forgotten where the strike zone is.
OK I’ll give the offseason predictions a go. Some may happen (likely), none of these predictions will happen(unlikely) all of these predictions will happen (highly unlikely). Here we go:
Kim makes the starting line-up faster and more athletic, Miggy Ro offers some defensive flexibility, Call will play and offer some defensive help, Rushing is going to get better and offers roster flexibility as he needs to spell Freddie on occasion.Suarez is acquired in the event Scott doesn’t rebound and his addition will be a nice righty/left closer option.
Returning pitchers will allow for Ohtani and Yamamoto to be “slow played” through ST and the first month of the season. Phillips will hopefully rebound from TJ and be the trade deadline acquisition for the BP
I like everything you said. Nice job….clap clap
Too bad we haven’t had a very promising OF developed in the minors ready to step in this coming year.
Definitely want Rojas back- super utility guy, plus he is great for the clubhouse. Like you, I’m ready to move in from Kike. I think Edman can take over that role and he too usually gets some big hits and shows up in October (not always though).
Obviously Scott’s 18million ain’t going anywhere, but if he can rebound, Phillips can return healthy, and Sasaki can make a full transition to the pen, we may not even need Suarez.
Solid post NorCal. I’m with you on most of it.
Dalton Rushing is 5’11 220 pounds. Putting him in the outfield would be kinda like asking your fullback to play wide receiver 3rd base would make some sense I suppose, so would backup catcher occasional 1st base. But it feels like he has more value as a starting catcher middle of the order trade piece.
My gut tells me Kim’s bat will play but I’m not certain the RVS approach is right for him. He’s a very powerful man with 25 home run potential but I think line drives into the 4 outfield gaps would add more value to his game. His OBP in Korea was as high as .396 and averaged .364 over 8 seasons there. If he could get it to .350 here, what a top of the order (or #9 hitter) he would be for this offense. Everyday player? Maybe. But not yet. He’s 27 in January. He needs at bats.
Badger— I agree with you about not expecting someone with a physique like Rushing to survive playing left field on an everyday basis. Personally, I would consider moving Smith to LF or third and get Rushing’s bat into the lineup at catcher. But that’s just me.
Badger, I want you to negotiate a Kim for Crow-Armstrong trade. The Cubs are going to lose their right fielder to free agency so you may have Teo to include in such a trade not that you will need him.
I was not a dePodesta fan mostly because he kicked Mota out of the dugout and failed to re-sign Beltre. That said, he goes to Colorado from being the strategist for a NFL team. A football strategist has to match the offense and defense to who is on the team and if the defense is weak then the offense better eat up the clock to reduce the minutes the defense is on the field. etc. etc. Maybe he will figure out who the Rockies need to compete with half their games played at such a unique altitude.
I would love for Kim to be the second baseman but Edman and Betts can play second and Freeland might be a better hitter and be a better shortstop. I like Betts at short though, always have, and hopefully he won’t tire himself out with hours of drills next year.
Ohtani wins the Silver Slugger award for the DH.