MLB 2020-2021 OFF-SEASON NEWS AND RUMORS

You're probably right. But then of course we're privileged enough to have seen a guy deliver arguably the most memorable moment of them all on one leg. How much is Gibby's moment worth to the legacy of the LAD? Seems it'd be priceless. And we've also seen Guggs hand a multi year deal to a guy Turner's age, give lucrative deals to guys with significant injury histories who had less potential impact on postseason success

Turner just OPS'd 1.000+ in the WS. Feels like a solid roll of the dice for a guy described as the heart of the team. Circumstances seem to line up. Dynasty and legacies on the line = circumstances lined up. If they can get him to stay for less than 3 yrs, great. And if it takes 3, great. Even if he, as you said, falls apart after year one in the contract....if he shows up like he usually does just next postseason, and they repeat to inch closer to dynasty status nobody's gonna care if he breaks down after that. Again, Rios and Muncy are around. Hit Turner with a load of deferred money and be done with it

 

big Tim fedrowicz back in the fold!

 

As much as I enjoy Turner, he is not at the same point as Kershaw was when we gave him that contract. Kersh was still only 30 years old and while he wasn't what he once was, he was still really good and a year removed from still being one of the best pitchers in baseball. They were betting on one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game to make adjustments and figure out how to still be productive. You can not expect the same from a 36 year old 3B that's legs are quickly going from him and is starting to get eaten up by higher velo's. His numbers overall were still great this season offensively, but his defense is regressing badly. That will not get better and his power has seemingly left him as well. There is no way that our FO will even consider giving him a 3 year deal unless Turner is doing some cheap Utley one to stay close to home and that does not sound like the case.

 

Is Turner at the same point that Rich Hill was at when Hill was given a 3yr/$48MM deal?

As for the Kersh comp, Turner's bat played well enough last year. As much as his wheels hurt him in the field, he was still .850-1.000 OPS for the season and post. Wash, rinse, repeat. No need to reinvent the wheel. Rios closes games at 3B and Turner gets rest while staying active. And even with bad wheels, it's arguably better to trust Turner manning 1B over Muncy in a game defining inning or moment. UDH will land in the NL for good at some point in the very near future and Turner could be grandfathered in there. Turner - stay

 

No, he's not. You can't compare pitchers to fielders. One can prolong their career by adding a bit more finesse to their game, the other doesn't suddenly find lost bat speed or regain mobility in their late 30's without the help of an illegal substance. I should mention that I would love to see Turner back, but at 3 years that's gonna be a no thanks from me.

 

I don’t get Turner asking for 3 years and Hendricks 4 years at a high number. What suggests to them the owners are suddenly going to open their pocketbooks after essentially facing down the MLPA during last year’s pandemic season?

Has everyone lost their minds or do the players feel this is the last hurrah before a CBA meltdown?

 

• MLB and MLBPA are not on the same page for the upcoming season (yay). Owners apparently want to have a shortened season again until fans are allowed in the stands and are saying that they don't want to start until at least May so all players can be vaccinated. Players are saying that they are used to it and want a full 162 game slate with spring training. Owners are also saying no UDH, while the players are seemingly asking for it again. Owners want an expanded playoff again while the players want to go back to the normal format. This has all the makings to be a mess again.

• The Rockies are reportedly reaching out to the Mets in hopes of sparking up conversations around a trade for Nolan Arenado. There are no signs that talks have taken place, but it appears to be in an attempt to not having to trade Arenado to us. LOL. Morosi floated the idea of the Mets returning Cano in the deal which would offset about $50M of Arenado's remaining contract. I honestly am curious at just how real this report is. Are the Dodgers really pursuing Arenado? Are they really the only team to do so as well!?! That sounds insane to me and hilarious to boot. Both Arenado and Cano have NTC's they would need to waive and there are no signs that Cano would even consider a move to the Rockies.

 

Also shouldn't compare a JAG vagabond like Hill to a player of Turner's historical stature, but I did anyway. And are we really going to debate knees VS arms..or blisters, rather? I mean if you had more confidence in what Rich Hill was going to bring when they signed him..hats off to you. Talk about the trust that they had in Kersh when they re-signed him....we're pretty hard pressed to find a more trustworthy AB than Turner - in the history of the Dodgers. Again, whatever you wanna say about his struggles in the field, it still paid off to have him. This is a firearm situation..you'd rather have him and not need him, than need him and not have him

They've made a few deferred cash offers in recent years. Turner doesn't necessarily need the Rich Hill deal, but they can find a solution here. That or both the team and Turner will be finding excuses for the break up instead. And it'll be a sad day

 

Everyone overcomes until they can't. His power is already all but gone. At age 36 you cannot expect more. So unless you pay him as a part time player it's going to be a bad contract. Even at two years.

 

Oh, it's gone alright

 

and he obviously and for good reason doesn't see himself as a part time player
i believe the man can still hit but feel he's one inside fastball on the hands away from a painful end
pretty sure he's not in Dodger blue next year and i'm fine w it
he has to do what's right for him and his family

 

Andrew Friedman is doing a two part interview with The Athletic. Here are some highlights from it and a couple of other notes from around the league:

• The motto in the Dodgers front office this winter is "Let's Be Pigs". While everyone is excited about winning, the feeling around the org is now it is not enough. They feel COVID sucked the fun out of a lot of it and they want to do this now in a normal season.

• The club has two main focuses this offseason and one of them is the bullpen. They are still trying to add one or two more pieces there.

• The other focus is getting a right handed hitter. The ideal spot would be someone to take over 3B, but he says due to versatility on the roster, they are not solely looking at it. They said they would love for Turner to stick around, but the way he says it, it almost sounds like they are prepared to move on. They said that Turner is at the point in his career that he needs to do what is best for his future(gets the most money) and they understand if he chooses to move on.

• He said that if a superstar player is available, they will always be in on them. Whether it's a FA, guy a year away from FA or a long term controllable players. He says that has been the way they have acted since he took over and they will continue to do so. He is not predicting that they will do anything big this winter, but it sounds like they are at least kicking around on them. He adds that it is incredibly hard to put a deal together for a star level player, so don't assume that just cause they are in on a guy, that it will happen.

• The org still believes that Lux will be a big time contributor going forward, but he doesn't say whether it would be coming from 2B. Says that they were very excited about the way he looked at Spring Training, but that his late start at Summer Camp completely messed him up.

That was it from the piece, so moving on:

• The Red Sox are being whispered about as a surprising team to watch this offseason. They are kicking around on some unexpected players and some execs think they are looking at another quick rebuild now that they are out from some large contracts. This could explain why the Justin Turner rumors came out of the Boston Globe a week ago.

• Bud Black told reporters that one thing being discussed is a Universal DH where when the starting pitcher is pulled, the DH spot is removed. This is an idea to combat the opener and keep the NL late game strategy. I don't think it will stick, but it is actually kind of a fun idea.

• David Ross told reporters that they were informed by Rob Manfred that the goal is still an on time, 162 game season.

• The Giants have added a couple pieces to their pitching staff and according to GM Farhan Zaidi, are in pursuit of at least one more rotation piece. The team seems to be taking the lottery ticket route for another year, but are also in talks with FA starter Trevor Bauer.

• The Padres are said to be pretty satisfied with their club as it stands, but feel they are still a big piece away from contending with us at the top. The club is continuing to look into options and one road they are looking down involves adding a pitcher for the front of their rotation. I am guessing they mean either a Snell, Bauer or Gray. The org is also exploring an extension with superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. This has been talked about for a full year now and there no signs that his reps would be against such talks, though if they are not able to get something done this winter, it could get harder once he enters arbitration. This would be one hell of a decision on his part as he would be entering FA at the age of only 25 where he would almost undoubtedly get the richest payday in the sports history if he was able to continue to perform and stay healthy.

 

I want Tatis. If he's a free agent I'm throwing everything at him

 

I am excited, but really curious at how they go about this. They are close to the tax and don't have many options to offload on. So I am interested to see if they are willing to go into it. Seager is an immediate issue and then right behind him is Kershaw, but after that it will be another 2 seasons before they will need to act on Bellinger and Urias, then Buehler a year after that. I get nervous about paying the kids, but a lot can happen in 3 years. There is only one player under contract when the next tier of kids start to become free agents and that guy is Mookie Betts, so the club has money to spend and if the farm keeps producing, they can keep mix and matching parts at other positions. There is a lot of dead money coming off the books in the next two years, this FO should be able to take advantage of that.

 

Do you know if this was being discussed as an NL-only rule? Or MLB-wide rule? I find it interesting, but I have mixed feelings on the idea. The "NL late game strategy" is whatever, I think it's overrated as a thing. But the move to Openers and Starting Pitchers who never pitch over 5 innings, I do think that could have a longterm negative affect on the sport. The sport needs stars, and that includes star pitchers. Any idea that incentivizes teams to develop true starting pitchers is interesting.

 

Kendrick retires
didn't enjoy him knocking us out but felt good for him
solid guy who just came to play everyday
happy it didn't end leaving on a golf cart even if it came at the Dodgers expense