Free agency day

Here’s the most comprehensive list of free agents I could find. Go shopping for ones the Dodgers might want!

Here are the Dodgers who are free agents: Yu Darvish; Curtis Granderson; Franklin Gutierrez; Brandon Morrow; Chase Utley; Tony Watson

MLB has a slightly longer list. It includes Forsythe and his $8.5 million club option and Ethier and his $2.5 million club option.

The following Dodgers are arbitration-eligible: Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Yimi Garcia, Yasmani Grandal, Enrique Hernandez, Joc Pederson, Alex Wood.

MLB’s story also raises several questions:

  1. Does Seager’s elbow need surgery, and if so, when will he have it done?
  2. Will Honeycutt be back for another season? His contract’s up and he’s 63 years old (I remember him as a pitcher! He can’t be that old!)
  3. What does Adrian Gonzalez want to do and what do the Dodgers want to do with him?

They might very well go after Darvish, despite his horrific failures in the World Series. They will probably try to sign Morrow, but he might be offered more than the Dodgers want to pay. The same goes for Watson. Granderson they’ll let go, and Gutierrez was a failed pickup (due to injury, not performance); I can’t see them keeping him. I doubt they’ll keep Utley unless he wants to coach. They have more use for the 25th spot on the playing roster than to re-sign him for several million dollars just to act as a pinch-hitter and occasional caddy for whoever plays second base next season.

53 thoughts on “Free agency day

  1. there is Darvish, who also says he likes the Dodgers, wants to return and has worked out with Otani in Japan in the past. How much could re-signing Darvish help sway Otani’s decision? Right now, that’s impossible to say. But if it emerges as a factor, that could make Darvish’s price tag more palatable.

    What the Dodgers might do to ensure a return to the WS next fall.

      • If you would have asked me a couple of months ago, I would have said forget about it. But after playoffs, totally agree!

    • For teams that look at this sort of stuff, and this FO days, despite a subpar performance relative to expectations, between his knack for getting on base and his slick fielding, Logan generated WAR 1.8. Expectations, again, are for him to get back to hitting as before. Certainly worth a shot at this salary level.

  2. Pingback: What’s in your baseball library? | Elysian Fields

  3. Putting together my hot stove reading. So far the book on Reds-Dodger rivalry of the 1970s and Colletti’s book.

  4. Throwing out practicality to say a few things that few might agree with and inviting the short responses such as that will never happen, here goes.

    1. FAZ will not do anything that keeps the team over the payroll penalty.
    2. The Dodgers will trade for Stanton but it will be a multi-team deal with Stanton going to SF who will take on 100% of his contract and not give up any players.
    3. Dodgers will trade Kazmir, McCarthy, Puig, Grandal, Verdugo, Diaz, Mitchell White, and Alvarez to Miami for Christian Yelich with Stanton going to SF. Marlins can flip Grandal to Rays or White Sox.
    4. Dodgers sign Otani.
    5. Dodgers trade Gonzales to Boston and pay all but $5M of salary or Maeda and Gonzales to Boston with Dodgers paying much less of Agon’s salary. Boston needs relief pitching and a short term fix to need for a lefty bat. Hanley and Agon could platoon.
    6. Have to give Joc one more year. He will only be 26 and that is a good year to make a big breakout.
    7. Buehler replaces Morrow as setup reliever for 2018.
    8. Trade Forsythe or don’t take option.
    9. Outfield = Joc, Yelich, Toles, Kike’ — in the wings = Kendal and Peters
    10. Infield = Bellinger, Taylor, Turner, Seager — in the wings = Machado (2019)
    11. Catcher = Barnes, Farmer — in the wings Smith and Ruiz
    12. Rotation = Kershaw, Wood, Otani, Stewart, Hill

    • Interesting read. What I found to be the most interesting is how hard the FO was pushing him to other teams with managerial openings. Were they ready to move on as well?

  5. Keep Morrow, Watson, Forsythe. Trade Grandal.

    Outfield Toles, Taylor, Puig.
    Infield Turner, Seager, Forsythe, Bellinger
    Catcher Barnes
    Starters Kershaw, Wood, Hill, Maeda, Buehler
    Bench Farmer, Hernandez, Pederson, Culberson, Sedegin, one more?
    Pen Avilan, Morrow, Jansen, Watson, Stripling, Cingrani, Liberatore?

    Look into what it would take to get Stanton.

    Spend the off season teaching Bellinger, Seager, Puig to hit to all fields. It’s the only way to beat the shift and to cut down on strikeouts.

    • The team has a shot at getting under the luxury tax of $197 million in 2018, and I think that this will be a hard ceiling for the FO during the off season. A rough estimate of where they are now with the players they have is around $210 million. This includes around $50 million for players, AGone, Kaz and Mac, that are not likely to be counted on in contributing at a level commensurate with their salaries. Before they move on on acquiring new players, they will need to get creative in a salary dump.

        • No necessarily. He would make $25 million in 2018 and then climbing to $32 million by 2023 before decling to $26 million in 2027. He can opt out at end 2020.

        • Moreover, Grandal and Puig combined may be about $16 million in 2018. Grandal is likely to be moved and if you get Stanton you could unload Puig.

          • Yes, after the playoffs, I don’t see how they can keep Grandal. And Puig while fun, is inconsistent to say the least.

      • If they can’t get it done, they could wait for the following year when those three come off the books.

    • The penalty for going over luxury tax increases in the near future, so I do not expect the FO going after high price free agents.

  6. Another important category of players are those that become FAs in 2019: Kaz, Mac, Puig, Grandal and Ryu, where decisions should probably be made in 2018.

    • Good point.
      The ’70s were filled with a lot of teasing. I became a fan then and going to the WS soon became a common occurrence. .

  7. Boy, the 2017 season just exhausted my brain, and already so many questions regarding 2018. My only thoughts are it would be nice to resign Morrow and Watson, just because that is our biggest need currently. After the Dodgers managed to find treasures such as Taylor and Justin at reasonable cost, I will let others worry about the rest of our questions.

    • Both are worth consideration, but the Dodgers will still have Avilán, Cingrani and Liberatore.

  8. Some thoughts:

    1. If Agone and Utley leave team, who will be the backup first baseman?
    2. If FAZ paid most of Agon’s salary, could he finish his career in San Diego?
    3. Are the Dodgers set at catcher with Barnes, Farmer, and Smith?
    4. Now that Jeter has reins at Miami, might Puig go there?
    ………Might Giardi take Mattingly’s job at Miami?
    5. How much payroll will the Dodgers try to cut?
    …..Kazmir, McCarthy, Forsythe, Grandal, Puig have Million $$ contracts.
    6. Does Taylor move to second base?
    7. Does Joc get to play CF again?
    8. Could the 2018 outfield be Toles, Pederson, Verdugo, Hernandez?
    9. Who gets most of the starts between Kershaw, Hill, Wood, Maeda, Stewart, Buehler, Ryu?
    10. Do Maeda and Buehler stay in the pen?
    11. Will the Dodgers re-sign Morrow?
    12. Will 2018 finally be the year Dodgers get under the salary penalty level?
    13. Will the Dodgers sign Otani?
    14. Will the Dodgers have 20 players on active roster under 27?

    • 1. Quique can play 1B, Forsythe also
      2. No way, as Pads have Wil Myers there.
      3. I expect Grandal to go elsewhere, and he’ll bring something good back.
      4. Puig’s probably not going anywhere.
      6. Unlikely.
      7. Taylor’s a better CF, faster, and still learning – but he’s also versatile.

      8. All on the roster, but Quique versatile to play IF.
      9. Buehler and Stewart could make occasional spot starts.
      10. Maeda no.
      11. They’ll probably try, but no long contract because he has history of fragility.

      • There is probably a slot for a right handed bat with some versatility to play outfield, infield and first base in some combination. Within the system, a guy like Sedegin perhaps.

    • I wouldn’t lump contracts like those for Mac and Kaz with those of Logan, Puig and Grandal, given both the relative magnitudes involved and value to the club. Very different issues involved for FO.

      • True. I don’t know if the Dodgers can take Forsythe’s option and trade him before June. The Dodgers have a choice of getting value back for both Puig and Forsythe before they become free agents after the 2018 season.

        Kazmir and McCarthy would be pure salary dumps whether some of it or all of it.

  9. Good article on Gabe Kapler here: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/los-angeles-dodgers

    “You’ve got to be able to relate to a lot of different factions and constituents between the front office, the major league club, major league manager, coaches, players throughout the system, affiliates, minor league players, minor league coaches,” said Zaidi of the unique challenges the role presents. Per Zaidi, the team will be casting a “wide-open net,” and the search could take a few weeks. Hoornstra points out that Jeremy Zoll, Kapler’s top assistant who could have been a leading internal candidate, has already been scooped up by the Twins to serve as their farm director in 2018 and beyond.

  10. Keeping Honey would seem to be a priority. With the Dodgers leading the majors in ERA in the time that he’s been coach, seems to indicate he is a cause for their success in that area.
    And agree with you, Link – – he’s definitely young!

    • Honey has the financial ability to retire. He is 63. He might not want to spend so much time away from home. Late nights. Lots of airports. Lots of hotels. Lots of pre-game preparation plus time at the ballpark.

      I don’t think the question is contract.