DODGERS 2017 NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread

MLB Inside Baseball NL Notes | Dodgers seem focused on Yu Darvish
ByJon Heyman

Los Angeles Dodgers

• As baseball’s best team, they can afford to be picky. Which explains why they seem focused, maybe even fixated, on Yu Darvish. Not that anyone didn’t know how much they like Darvish, but manager Dave Roberts made it clear when he announced, “I think anyone would want Yu Darvish.” The Dodgers’ feeling, even before Clayton Kershaw went down with a recurrence of back trouble, was that there was no reason they needed to trade for depth, and that high quality was all they sought. And now that Kershaw is out (the hope is that it’ll be only four to six weeks, but backs are tricky, and last year it was twice that long), they presumably want Darvish even more. The Dodgers have a deep stash of excellent prospects, but if Darvish is dealt – and there’s no certainty of that yet – it is believed they will want top pitching prospect Walker Buehler to top a package. And of course, Buehler, a 97-98 mph thrower out of Vanderbilt, is the one prospect the Dodgers are most protective of. “Buehler’s terrific,” says a scout. “The only question would concern is durability as he’s only a little over 6-feet tall, and a right-hander.” One report suggested the Rangers would expect at least two of Buehler plus other top prospects Alex Verdugo, Willie Calhoun and Yadier Alvarez – but one person called that “crazy.” The Dodgers could take a look at Sonny Gray, too, particularly with Kershaw out, but it is believed Darvish is the guy they most want.
• They haven’t show much interest in Justin Verlander to this point. That’s interesting because over the winter, they were the team with the most interest.
• The Dodgers haven’t said officially how long Kershaw will be out, but it appears the hope is that four-to-six weeks will do it. Others point to Kershaw’s surprisingly low velo readings in the 80s before he departed after two innings, and wonder whether it could be a bit longer than that. Manager Dave Roberts said he did expect him back this year, for sure. And Kershaw made it back last year, and even became a playoff hero. He’s saying he isn’t experiencing shooting pain down his legs this time. But he said that at times last year, as well. Anyway, they’d take four weeks, or even six.
• Cody Bellinger has six homers vs. lefty relievers, the most in the majors according to David Vassegh.
• There’s a strong belief the Dodgers are getting an All-Star game in 2020, following Washington and Cleveland. Dodger Stadium, at 55, remains a treasure.
• The Dodgers have had 24 different players go on the D.L. yet have baseball’s best record, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times noted. (Of course, some of the D.L. stops are part of a strategy of rest.)

 

They can go fuck themselves then since nobody in this world is coming close to that package. One of Buehler or Verdugo would be a nonstarter for me. You get a late second round pick for Darvish in the offseason if he walks, but you want the equivalent of two first round talents? Take a long walk off a short bridge.

 

I have an opinion of the Neshek trade, but I am going to keep it to just this, it's fucking bullshit that that's all it cost the Rockies.

 

He will get lit up in coors

 

We wouldn't get any prime time games at all for that series. #DVRandEmptyPavilion

 

I think Barnes is great and I would love to see him stick around, but if he continues this run all season, you know the FO is gonna shop him around and/or re-evaluate the Grandal situation in the off season. A lot of people valued him as a second tier everyday catcher and he has done nothing to show that he couldn't handle those projections. I think doing anything this year is super risky as losing Grandal could be a season killer if Bobby Wilson is batting 8th for us. Next year will be a different story with Farmer likely ready and depending on the status of Will Smith the remainder of this year, he could be ready around the second half of 2018. This was the year that the floodgates look to have opened for quality big league catchers/back ups coming up. Not saying they all pan out, but there is a good chance that Farmer('18), Smith(19'), Wong and Ruiz ('20) are coming and each have ceilings of good back up catcher or higher.

 

Now the rumblings are starting about 4-5 starters being put on the market. This may not be the big shining deal we all wanted, but a Jaime Garcia, Ervin Santana or Dan Straily could be good guys to log innings for us in the back end until Kershaw comes back. They don't neccessarily cause the rotation to take some giant leap forward, but the uncertainties behind McCarthy, Ryu and Maeda working deep into games could give the bullpen the opportunity to save some innings going forward.

 

Unpopular opinion: I'm souring on Grandal, due in large part to Barnes, but he swings and misses a lot and he's a base clogger. Fun stat: in 173 fewer PAs, Barnes and Grandal have drawn the same number of walks (21).

Grandal's biggest asset is behind the plate at this point, and even their, he isn't that much better than Barnes.

 

For me, Grandal has to have a good showing in the playoffs this year. He is 4-38 with 17 K's, 8 BB's and only 1 HR. In 14 playoff games, he has hits in 3 of them and K'd in all but 2(and one of those 2 was when he was a PH). That is pretty putrid. The FO supposedly loves him, but I wonder if another poor showing paired with a solid end to the 2017 campaign for Barnes has them consider moving on.

 

Grandal sucks defensively, imo. Taint lick him for the framing, fine, but he is a past ball waiting to happen.
Last night's game was a perfect example of what he could cost the team...terrible throw on a bunt that scored, pb on a routine height pitch that put two risp...terrible.
The juggernaut lineup hides all this, like last night. But on another, not so great team, he's a L with that shit.

 

I'm not sure about letting Barnes go because he is still under team control for 5 years, whereas Grandal is a FA after next season. If their value is the same, then Barnes saves us a lot of money.

I'd support playing both in an even split next year so they are well rested, with some possible starts at 1B for Grandal and 2B for Barnes. This opens us to trade C depth from the minors, especially Farmer. I know Barnes could get a lot more in return, but I love that platoon behind the plate. Most likely move forward with Barnes as the starter 2019-22, but it gives us another year to evaluate the situation and sign Grandal if we want.

I actually feel more comfortable with Barnes behind the plate because he's better at blocking stuff in the dirt. I like Grandal too, but he leads the league in passed balls every year - whiffing at balls because he's trying too hard to frame them.

 

Joel Sherman seems to think that in the end, we will be the ones to get Gray. He has been pitching pretty damn well lately and seems to be mostly a victim of some atrocious defense. 6 ER in his last 6 starts and I would argue against at least two of those runs. It sounds like the Dodgers are sitting back in the shadows and potentially could get the opportunity to beat the highest and best offer due to our FO's relationship with the Oakland FO. They are rumored to want an MLB ready CF'er in return.

 

I won't go as far to say he sucks, but the passed ball thing is very real.

 

Does that mean Verdugo or Joc? ;(

 

There is no doubt that Grandal is an elite pitch framer and there most certainly is value there that should not be ignored, but his value is beyond that even if it doesn't pass the eye test. He is still an above average stick for the position and he throws out runners at a 40% clip. Not sure what the deal is with his walk rate this year, but if that was anything like his career norm compared to his BA, we are talking close to if not well into a .900 OPS hitter. There is a reason he is considered one of the best catchers in the league and when he gets hot, he is one of the best hitters in the game.
One other thing, when looking at the best of the pitch framers, there is another name in there that sticks out at the top of the list.... Austin Barnes is rated as one of the top framers in MLB and he doesn't have near the opportunities that the guys around him do. It would be really something if this dude is what he has shown himself to be thus far.

 

I wonder if a Toles, Diaz or Peters could be enticing enough for them to avoid having to give up either of those two.