Jacob Rudner of Sports Illustrated says
Andrew Friedman needs to rethink his strategy. Instead of being reluctant and hoping the roster pans out for another year, there has to be some benefit in going and making the changes you need to make to get the roster to the promise land. After two years of reserved salary acquisition, the Dodgers roster is cheap enough that the team should be going all out for a trophy.
Michael Wittman of SI says
Yasmani Grandal on the other hand, is the best catcher left on the market.
While passed balls became an issue behind the plate towards the end of the season, Grandal is still a better backstop than 95% of the catchers in the league and he could be primed for a nice bounce back season in 2019, especially if the Dodgers get him back on a one year deal. Then he would help bridge the gap to Keibert Ruiz in 2020, while re-establishing his own market before hitting free agency again at the end of next season.
Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times is equally impatient
Because of their relative frugality last year, the Dodgers will be penalized as first-time offenders if their payroll for next season exceeds the luxury-tax threshold. And because they traded Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to the Cincinnati Reds, they can take on another outfielder.
So where’s Bryce Harper?
Hernandez argues that the fans expect and deserve better than this sudden apparent unwillingness to spend on payroll given the higher ticket prices and inability to watch Dodgers’ games on television, among other things.
BP Top 100 prospects include Verdugo (19), May (27), Ruiz (32) and Smith (59). No Lux in sight.
Baseball America seems them a bit differently http://dodgersdigest.com/2019/01/23/looking-at-dodger-prospects-past-and-present-on-ba-and-bps-top-100-101-list/.
Lux makes their list, with the others in somewhat different order.
One of SI’s columnists says “No” on Pollack.
The Athletic’s Rosenthal tries to divine what the Dodgers are thinking. Here’s a theory the players hold:
“Tanking” may be good for teams three years down the road, but it’s not good for players or for fans, the thinking is. True enough.
Inaccessible without subscription.
Hmmm. perhaps this is the flip side of FO’s objective to remain competitive over the medium term and not do things that might hamper them in the future.
Several good articles here:
http://www.dodgersnation.com/?utm_source=DNVersion1&utm_campaign=a7827842de-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bc32bd168c-a7827842de-15564917
Magic 8-Ball says Mail link doesn’t work. Try again.
It tries to recruit me to open a gmail account, which I decline to do.
George Orwell freaking you out re gmail?
Fixed
I decline to believe it. https://twitter.com/mlbtraderumors/status/1086443958740418560
https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/50663742_10155815165263204_2081692965297717248_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=f923b753b1cf32acb7de3d807bbd2613&oe=5CC449FA
Plus, I don’t much care.
Machado is a little thorny
He’s not what they need. Harper’s a much better fit.
Here we are… https://twitter.com/girltype/status/1086364771409027072
The Athletic talks to Dave Roberts about the upcoming season.
Out pitched for sure.
Old friend Chris Capuano (2012-2013) reaches non-baseball milestone:
I’d say working for the MLBPA is a baseball milestone, even if it’s off the field.
Sunrise on the horizon. https://twitter.com/billplunkettocr/status/1085715618328788992
I say “No, thank you.” I’d go for Harper. https://twitter.com/truebluela/status/1085618464109154305
Heck, if the market is this soft, Bryce could be had for 7/210, but I don’t put much stock in this rumor.
Machado’s dad now indicating Dodgers have made an offer as have other teams.
Bogus? Not even a mention on MLBTR.
There might be another Shohei Ohtani on the rise, says The Athletic’s Peter Gammons. This guy is with the Rays.
You misspelled ‘Devil Rays.”
http://cpblstats.com/dodgers-sign-lin-hui-huei-sheng-pending-physical/
Is he Canadian bacon, or is he a bounceback candidate? https://twitter.com/DodgersDigest/status/1084842759574433792
Bounceback! Bounceback!
I’d like to think so.
Nice analysis, but it has been a three year downtrend.
So, we hope for a supernova year.
This is for you RBI
https://www.facebook.com/922309417963501/photos/p.922768231250953/922768231250953/?type=3&eid=ARBEvNo676lIZaGb8gtQd7bwpVQlWzuchkWmFFNmKL-DkObEdZhkFlxm1Y0s-ycTAqVk7NzuCQ83b313&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBnHrjwfZQilKSXu_ElrBV97Kc5eJS3aBcmjKxuT7JdzaHPm1NskFvrIBGHIg2mWO7g9Aw1wA7V8y_v-Ailk_R9u2QCqINgvgh1XlECBSoufSPd2RRwwQqajMMzaFMCNHaO9h9CBzNBr51FM5UnevOd4N8pH32qqqgHWXr8lQHQK_iiipNHN80KuyOTGo_Y-ophdtygJSwKt6naQBAwn-f8s4UliTItxHMuEEba9L7_Ro37_0ZjKbKyb16WA7Yi03mEbkfHix15phuxGPvKqLBNOmELMyMhB1t_A6nWg0T3di6EIos2oz7Wkc5afEeelrJNctpSto4sapict_8aN1xw6-GW&__tn__=EEHH-R
Why thank you, kind sir! Anxious for it to be April.
My niece works at this place, but I don’t know whether she ran into Mr. Puig. It’s about 500 yards down my hill.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2ac1b3951e1905ae3aec3e39256777e8b502dfe8bc55d8a4d5f9cc4dec298797.jpg
Rosenthal of The Athletic says this doesn’t take them out of the Realmuto hunt: https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1083806391444267008
Suppose not, if they can get Fish to lower price. Actually, does make it possible for Barnes to be a Fish again.
Russell Martin back in the fold!? Makes $20 million so guessing that Blue Jays cover most of this.
Is Russell Martin the new Matt Kemp?
I love this! I’ll bet he hits better, back in Dodger Blue.(I always liked Russell Martin, can you tell?)
Preferred AJ but this is a close second. I like it too. Also like Barnes.
It’s true, it’s true. The Jays will cover all but $2M or so.
Wow! Any news on who we sent over?
https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/1083809615354056705
Thanks. See that Sopko, SP, is rated #33 by Hood and Brito, SS, #49 among Dodger prospects. Seems like a good return.
Huh. That was unexpected.
Realmuto re-ups with Marlins for $5.9M for a year.
That doesn’t mean he won’t be dealt.
Ha! Obviously not by choice.
https://twitter.com/billplunkettocr/status/1083864789288251392
Re: Stagnating Hot Stove.
Would the Angels win more games and sell more tickets with an outfield of Verdugo, Bellinger, and Harper?
Would the Dodgers do the same with an outfield of Pederson, Trout, and Toles/Hernandez?
Would Maeda, Ruiz, Verdugo, May land the Dodgers Blake Snell from the Rays? Too much or too little?
It’s cold in New Hampshire and I am not a skier so I have questions of great non-importance.
I imagine the proportion of non-skiers to skiers in NH is about the same as non-surfers to surfers in Hawai’i. Here I’m guessing it’s about 20-1.
Not a minor-leaguer, in my opinion. https://twitter.com/mlbtraderumors/status/1083425263957016577
QV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEzyrpfrPEI
Grouchy former GM-turned-pundit says Dodgers should bid on Harper.
I can buy a Lamborghini for $500,000 or a Corvette for $100,000 and still get from point A to point B. Great hitters can be pitched around to make them less than they could be. What is he really worth?
Another ex-Dodger settles for a one-year deal. https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1083386988324098048
Grandal signs one-year deal with the Brewers for 300K more than the Dodgers’ qualifying offer.
Good. A productive 2019 should get him a 3 or 4 year contract still. I was and am ready to move on with Barnes.
Sorry, don’t see anything good in this. Best for the Dodgers would have been him accepting the QO, which was never going to happen. This strengthens a major rival. Would be hard for Barnes to replicate his poor performance, but we have obviously taken a hit at catcher depth charts for the short term. We still need another catcher, if only a backup. Anything closer to the elite catcher we lost is going to cost us dearly.
The good is getting closer and closer.
Not sure where you are coming from on this. In any event, with Coltrane on board, no “need” for Dodgers to acquire Realmuto. In theory, Fish would need to lower their demands, if only with other teams after having lost a potential suitor.
He blew it.
Made the best of a bad situation. Market has most analysts scratching their heads. https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/46117/moonshot-why-did-29-teams-not-offer-yasmani-grandal-20-million/
It seems like a big miscalculation. He might as well have accepted the QO.
Deleted.
The Phone Booth To Be Named Later will now be Silly-con Park. https://twitter.com/hankschulman/status/1083182223191240704
Oracle Park. The Park will be synonymous with the Giants cloudy future.
First sign of spring, at Oakland Tech (Clint Eastwood’s and Rickey Henderson’s alma mater, half a block from our house): in a light rain, members of the baseball team are playing catch on the tennis courts in an after-school workout.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f4eb5b942ea9b45202436334b029e0e982dbe0d59f1fae7ad2499426efc38d62.jpg
El Duque de Fallbrook… https://twitter.com/LosDodgers/status/1083091878789238791
Frustrated about nothing to write about, they write about their frustration.
Well put!