Well gang, it is that time of year again. Of course, what I mean is spring training is just around the corner. College Football championship game is coming up. NFL playoffs are in full swing.
But very soon, the big semi’s will be loaded with baseball equipment and begin their journeys to spring training sites in Florida and Arizona. There is still some work left for the Dodgers to do. But we should know shortly where Sasaki will go. LA will also start to fill out their non-roster list.
We know for sure that David Bote will be one of the players on that list. He will get some reps in spring. According to the roster of the OKC Comets, he will be joined by pitchers, Sam Carlson, Julian Fernandez, Giovanni Gallegos, Joe Jacques, Justin Jarvis, and Matt Sauer.
Position players signed so far, Justin Dean, OF, John Rhodes, and Bote. Rushing is currently the only catcher on OKC’s roster, but he will probably be joined by Feduccia barring an injury. I expect LA to sign a couple of infielders and an outfielder at least, and maybe a backup type catcher. Of course, they will sign some more pitching depth.
The big news will come in the next few days when Sasaki makes up his mind where he wants to go. Some big stars, Alonso, Bregman, have still not signed, and there are several other talented players who are still free agent. Harrison Bader is one, so is Dylan Carlson, who if memory serves, is only 26 years old.
There are not a whole lot of holes in this team, what is left to be decided is exactly where each will play, and the final batting order. The Kim signing allowed them to trade Lux and open a spot in the lineup. I have a gut feeling Kim is going to be the opening day second baseman. But they could pivot to a number of options.
I have said all winter that they won’t resign Kike unless something unexpected happens with Taylor. I know that there are at least a couple of teams who are interested in Kike. LA has enough utility type players as it is and do not really need another.
I believe most of the questions are going to surround the pitching staff as a whole, and the bullpen in particular. And also, a bench player or two. Barnes is locked in as the backup to Smith for at least another year. Rushing will be doing a lot of catching at AAA.
The Dodgers will have a new affiliate in A ball. The Quakes were sold and will be the affiliate of a different organization. The Dodgers new affiliate will be in Ontario. No name listed yet.
There was some indication that Sasaki would make his decision this evening, the 16th, but it is the 17th in Japan and morning is just breaking. If he goes elsewhere, there are still a few free agent options the Dodgers could use, or they could pursue a trade. I know AF would rather not have to fill a big hole like starting pitcher come the deadline. So, let’s get ready for the crack of the bat. I can smell the hot dogs and beer already!
Fantastic news to wake up to with Sasaki joining the Dodgers!
Now bring in Scott and we are set for a run at a back to back.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Good video to the (possible) roster crunch .
A potential trade of Knack, Outman, Bruns for Robert jun. would solve a lot of those potential problems and improve the roster even more.
Trades of Brasier and or Banda a possibilty too to make more room for a Scott.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kike wants to be a Dodger and AF wants Kike to be a Dodger. Perhaps this notion is preposterous, but I strongly think both sides have a handshake agreement to re-sign and will do so once the Dodgers can clear 40 man roster space when pitchers/catchers report to ST.
Both Harris and Hernandez have columns about Sasaki this morning. Both are suggesting cautionary approaches to the development of this young man. He’s 23, so it’s not like he’s a teenager, but he comes with history of injury that no doubt is because as a teenager he was throwing 100 mph just to get noticed. Well, it worked. The Dodgers took notice. Now what?
I suspect the early message to him will be “no more 100 mph pitches” in the coming months. And, depending on what the no doubt intensive medical examinations say, he may not be throwing for a while.
Development. That’s the go to word this morning. And what exactly does that mean? I believe it very well could mean we won’t see him in the rotation until after we see Ohtani in the rotation. It could mean we won’t see him until Kershaw is in the rotation.
Flaherty anyone?
David Bote reference!
This will be his year.
Jonathon Mayo’s scouting report on Roki Sasaki:
“The 6-foot-3 Sasaki will pitch all of the 2025 season at age 23 and is more than three years younger than Yamamoto, around the same age as Ohtani was when he made his big league debut. He’s been scouted continuously since he made his NPB debut in 2021 and especially since his World Baseball Classic coming-out party, with international scouting departments wanting to make sure they were ready when the right-hander was posted.
“He’s as good as advertised,” one international scouting director said. “He has an ideal projectable, lean and athletic frame. He has excellent arm action and delivery, with three plus power pitches with control over command. He has No. 1 upside.”
Throwing out that “No. 1” label is not something scouts do freely, but that director was not the only one to do so.
“In my opinion, he’s a top-end starter,” another director said. “I wouldn’t say he’s Ohtani, but from a pitching standpoint, it’s very comparative. I’ve been seeing him since he was 19, and saw him on the national team. It’s an explosive arm.”
“He reminds me of Noah Syndergaard when he was fresh,” a third international scout said.
Fastball
It’s at least a 70 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale, and depending on when you saw it, it might get the rarely spotted 80. It’s been up to 102 mph in the past and averaged 98.8 mph (96-100 more often than not) in ’23 with some armside run. In 2024, it averaged 96.8 mph (95-99 most of the time). Some evaluators said it was a little straighter than the previous year, perhaps a reason why it missed fewer bats (13.1 percent whiff rate vs. 24.0 pct in ’23), but as long as there are no lasting injury concerns, this isn’t too much of a worry.
Splitter
Throwing the pitch in the 88-90 mph range, Sasaki kills spin with it, and it comes out of his hand looking like his heater until it falls off the table. It produced an absurd 57.1 percent whiff rate in ’24. The Major League average whiff rate on the splitter this past season was 34.5 percent
Slider
This is Sasaki’s “third” pitch but some scouts grade it out as above-average, if not plus. Even though it also was down a tick or two this past season, Sasaki still missed bats with it at a 40.7 percent rate, throwing it in the 83-85 mph range
Conclusion
While teams may have had questions about Sasaki’s small downtick in velocity, it certainly didn’t keep many from being interested. He is, after all, a starter who finished last season with a 2.35 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 rates at age 22.”
My comment:
It’s kind of funny. Was the “downtick” in velocity due to arm problems or was he just gearing it down on purpose? That’s exactly what many of us are suggesting; not maxing out on every pitch. But it seems like when a kid may be is doing this, scouts shit their pants.
I hope he’s learning to pitch without max effort.
Checked the projections for Robert Jr. on baseball reference. ,452 AB, 20 homers, 55 driven in, 128 K’s OPS of .755. I am not giving up a whole lot of talent for that production.
I do realize a countdown for Spring training has begun, but playoff professional football is just beyond compare.
If LA were to trade Taylor by some miracle, then I could see them brining Kike back. But I think his playing time would be diminished with all the middle field options the team has. Not much time for him in the outfield either with Conforto-Pages in right, Teo in left and Tommy E in center.
I’ve got a question – and I feel a little dumb for asking it because I really only have an interest in the Dodgers, and little interest in anyone else.
How good a pitcher is Ohtani? I really don’t know.
where would he fit if we were starting the Post Season tomorrow? Is he potentially the Ace, or the 4:5 starter? or is he somewhere in between?
Excellent read over at the Athletic regarding the backstory of the recruiting/signing of Roki. Waiting to hear more of the process and how Yoshi actually contributed with the alleged phone call between he and Roki. Interesting to see how much Ohtani actually contributed and how much he was a part of the process. It was he who confirmed the signing to the Dodger brass even before Wolfe informed them.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6071231/2025/01/18/roki-sasaki-dodgers-inside-signing-selection-process/
As many may know, I am a huge Packers fan. But my son is getting a great opportunity to see his favorite football team live in Pontiac, Michigan. He has been a Detroit Lions fan since Barry Sanders was drafted in 1989. My daughter-in-law is a top executive with Ceaser’s and one of her responsibilities is to make sure the high rollers are taken care. This week Ceaser’s has a box at Ford Field, and she was allowed to bring both Andy and my granddaughter. He was hoping for a pre-game field pass so he could meet his idol Barry Sanders as well as USC and Lions QB, Rodney Peete.
This is cool ($$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/dodgers-land-joseph-deng-first-player-ever-signed-from-south-sudan/
The Dodgers signed a 6’7″ 17 year old from South Sudan.
“Deng already has a big fastball for his age, reaching 95 mph. At 6-foot-7, 185 pounds, Deng has an extremely lanky, long-limbed frame with tons of space to fill out and continue to add velocity once he gets stronger. He has enormous physical upside and attacks hitters with a fastball/splitter combination.”
Another reason to love the Dodgers… They might find the first star from Africa.
From MLB.com:
… While Sasaki was the jewel of this year’s international class, the Dodgers made another significant international move on Saturday, signing 17-year-old pitcher Joseph Deng, the first player from South Sudan to sign a professional baseball contract.
Deng, a 6-foot-7, 185-pound right-hander with a 95 mph fastball, is the second player to be signed from Africa this year, joining infielder Armstrong Muhoozi from Uganda, who signed with the Pirates.
At just 17 years old, Deng has plenty of time to fill out his tall and lanky frame, meaning that his impressive fastball could very well become even better, perhaps reaching triple digits in the years to come…