NEWS/RUMORS/DISCUSSION Thread

speaking of wood [no homo]...

After work on his delivery, Alex Wood intends to deliver — as a Dodgers starter
by Andy McCullough | Los Angeles Times — 10 hours ago

Alex Wood allowed his upper lip to curl into a grin. His employers intend to use these next six weeks to determine the left-hander's place in the Dodgers' pitching constellation. Wood intends to leave them no choice.

"I'm going to be in the rotation," Wood said. "That's the plan. That's the thing I hate about the off-season, about spring training. I'm more about action than about talk. I plan on being in the rotation. And I don't plan on leaving."

Wood used the fall to heal the bone bruise that dogged him after he joined the Dodgers last summer. He used the winter to repair the delivery that malfunctioned along the way. He plans to use this spring to cement himself as a member of the starting staff.

As the Dodgers prepare for 2016, four spots in the rotation look filled. The fifth depends upon the viability of Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is returning from shoulder surgery at a measured pace. Wood headlines the list of candidates needed if Ryu is not ready.

At 25, Wood is not far removed from a 2014 season in which he finished with a 2.78 earned-run average for the Atlanta Braves and struck out nearly a batter per inning. The Dodgers caught hints of that pitcher after he arrived as part of a three-team trade in late July. They also watched him post a 4.35 ERA in 12 starts after the trade and give up four runs in two playoff innings.

"He had some nicks and bruises and some things that he was dealing with last year," Dodgers General Manager Farhan Zaidi said. "I absolutely don't think we saw the best he had to offer. We saw it in little glimpses."

Wood believed he could rebound in his first full season as a Dodger. The behavior of his bosses this winter did not reflect a vote of confidence. The team brought in lefty Scott Kazmir and righty Kenta Maeda. With Ryu on the mend, Wood moved to the fringe of the conversation.

During the winter, Manager Dave Roberts reached out to Wood to start a dialogue. He told Wood not to be disheartened and encouraged him to embrace the competition of the coming spring. Wood insisted he would do so.

"As a young player, to have a clear, defined role, absolutely, it's easier on the mind," Roberts said. "Without a doubt. But sometimes circumstances, that's not the way it is."

Back in July, the Dodgers acquired a pitcher with a compromised delivery. In his final start as a Brave, Wood rolled his right ankle on a play covering first base. A bone bruise developed in his foot, which stung with each landing.

The best remedy for a bone bruise is extended rest, Wood explained. That option made little sense as the Dodgers drove toward the playoffs. So he managed the discomfort, even if he could not make certain adjustments requested by pitching coach Rick Honeycutt.

"That's a pretty important part of your delivery to lose," Honeycutt said.

Even as Wood rose through the Braves' minor league system, rival talent evaluators wondered about the long-term reliability of his pitching motion. Wood hides the baseball in his left hand behind his legs before he lurches toward the plate with a three-quarter delivery. He admitted his movements were unorthodox, but he felt confident in his ability to repeat it.

Repetition became more difficult as the playoffs approached. His arm slot dropped below its usual level. He drifted during his motion and failed to drive the baseball low in the zone. With his foot ailing, he could make only minor alterations.

"I had already gotten into some bad habits mechanically," Wood said. "So it was a long off-season full of trying to get back to where I needed to be."

Wood starred at the University of Georgia before Atlanta drafted him in 2012, and he trained this winter at Georgia Tech. The pain in his foot scattered by December. He spent five days a week doing drills to solidify his delivery and eliminate the blemishes.

Wood is not the only starter at Roberts' disposal. Mike Bolsinger made 21 starts for the Dodgers last season. Brandon Beachy is nearly two years removed from his second Tommy John surgery. Wood could serve as a swingman, capable of soaking up multiple innings in the bullpen.

This is not his plan.

"All I need is the opportunity, and I'll go from there," Wood said. "I plan on throwing well and not giving them a choice."​

 

Zaidi talks about moving Ethier
by Justin Russo | Dodgers Nation — 23 minutes ago

Despite the Los Angeles Dodgers having a potential deadline for a trade of outfielder Andre Ethier, that doesn’t mean that the team actually wants to trade him away from their club. That is, of course, if you are to believe general manager Farhan Zaidi.

The 33-year old outfielder hit .294 with the team last season, and even slugged 14 home runs and drove in 53 runs. The issue is that Ethier is now a little bit of a platoon player, although he can register close to 400 plate appearances, if needed, during a season. But the Dodgers remain adamant they’re not trading him:

GM Farhan Zaidi downplayed the persistent rumors that the Dodgers would like to deal veteran outfielder Andre Ethier. “When a guy is an important and productive part of your team, you don’t spend your time worrying about whether you can trade him,” Zaidi told Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. The White Sox were reportedly interested in Ethier earlier this month, but that rumor fizzled. Ethier is scheduled to make $35.5 million over the next two seasons, and has a vesting option for 2018.​

If you’re to take Zaidi at his word, then the Dodgers aren’t worrying about whether they can trade him or not. Then again, that doesn’t mean they aren’t at least exploring deals to move him if one comes across their table. You have to read a little bit through the lines here.

With Ethier in line to make $35.5 million over the upcoming two seasons, you have to wonder if the Dodgers do indeed think it’s prudent to move him should a team come calling. There are still teams out there who could use him, but that doesn’t mean there’s a match to be made there.

Either way, as of right now Andre Ethier is still on the roster and the team is going to likely head into the season with him being there unless something drastic changes on the trade front. The team isn’t worried about whether they can trade him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be moved. We’ll just have to see what happens.

 

Urias may decide between Mexico and Dodgers
#1 lefty prospect would skip WBC if given a shot at Majors
by Jesse Sanchez | MLB.com — 14 minutes ago

PHOENIX -- There could come a time this spring when Dodgers pitching prospect Julio Urias will have to make a big decision: suit up for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round next month in Mexicali, Mexico, or stay in Arizona and pitch for a spot with Los Angeles.

The 19-year-old pitcher already knows what he'll do if the situation arises.

"My first choice would be to be here with the Dodgers and see if there is an opportunity for me here," Urias said in Spanish. "I prefer to be with the Dodgers. But at the same time, I would enjoy being with the Mexican team."

Urias, named MLBPipeline.com's top left-handed pitching prospect for 2016, went 3-4 with a 2.77 ERA in 68 1/3 innings with Double-A Tulsa last season, striking out 74 and walking only 15. He had two forgettable starts at Triple-A Oklahoma City and still managed to throw a combined 80 1/3 innings last season.

Urias threw a bullpen session Tuesday at Camelback Ranch.

"In talking to people that were here in years prior, he's got a different look in his eye," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He's got that confidence where he's no longer this young kid with a blessed arm. Right now, he feels that at the Major League level, there is a real opportunity to make an impact, and that's a good thing."

Contributing to Urias' comfort level this spring is a friendship/friendly rivalry with fellow pitcher Jose De Leon. De Leon, who is ranked No. 5 among right-handed pitching prospects, has a locker next to Urias and the pair have been inseparable this spring.

"He's one in a million as a pitcher and as a person," De Leon, 23, said in Spanish. "He does things and the way he carries himself is something to admire. I'm four years older than him and I admire some of the things he does."

The Dodgers drafted De Leon in the 24th round of the 2013 Draft out of Southern University, and he's quickly made a name for himself. He made 23 starts between Tulsa and Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga last year, posting a 2.99 ERA and nearly 13 strikeouts per nine innings.

"I want to be healthy and make it to the big leagues," De Leon said. "But you can't control that. I can focus on myself and being healthy. Everything feels great so far."

Where De Leon and Urias start the season is to be determined, but Roberts described them both as "tracking" to the big leagues. The manager went on to praise Urias' fastball command and secondary pitches, while also noting, "It's about being consistent with work as he grows and matures."

"When he arrives, we want him and everyone to feel good that he's ready to really take off," Roberts said.

As for Urias, he's concentrating on winning a job in the big leagues. He thinks about the World Baseball Classic only when he's asked. The Czech Republic, Germany and Nicaragua will also compete in Mexico's qualifying group.

"I've heard I appeared on a list, but nobody has said anything to me," Urias said. "Adrian [Gonzalez] is here and his brother is the manager, so I don't know what my status is there. I would love to do it, but it's also up to Mexico to choose me."

 

Reinvented Blanton finds fit with Dodgers
Previously retired pitcher embraces new role in bullpen
by Ken Gurnick | MLB.com — 8 hours ago

PHOENIX -- Like the grapes in his Napa vineyard, pitcher Joe Blanton went dormant, only to reawaken as a surprising new varietal.

Ineffective with the Angels in 2013, released the next spring and foundering in the Minor Leagues for Oakland, he retired to seemingly end a career that included a couple of nondescript months with the Dodgers in 2012.

But after sitting out most of 2014, he got the pitching itch and was reinvented last year as an effective reliever.

Which brings him back to the Dodgers, playing this spring for a manager who also doubles as a Napa vintner -- a trendy diversion for ballplayers past and present when you consider that Blanton's celebrity winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown, is also winemaker for (Tom) Seaver Vineyards.

The Dodgers and manager Dave Roberts see Blanton as at least part of the elusive bridge to get the game to closer Kenley Jansen. The club hasn't had a lights-out setup man since Brian Wilson's ridiculous and miraculous five weeks straight off the Tommy John shelf in 2013.

Management nearly solved the problem in a huge way until the Aroldis Chapman trade was nixed. Blanton is no Chapman, but in the two months after his purchase from Kansas City by Pittsburgh, Blanton went 5-0 with a 1.57 ERA and the highest strikeout rate of his career.

He signed a one-year, $4 million deal to pair with Chris Hatcher as the likely right-handed setup to Jansen, with J.P. Howell and Luis Avilan from the left side. Hard-throwing youngsters Pedro Baez, Yimi Garcia and Carlos Frias are also in the mix.

As a side benefit for the native Kentuckian who lives in Tennessee, returning to California makes visits to his three-acre vineyard of cabernet grapes more convenient. But at 35 with one retirement already in the books, Blanton isn't ready for full-time farm life.

The baseball flame was rekindled by accident. Pitcher Zack Duke moved down the street from Blanton after the 2014 season and needed a partner to play catch.

"I just did it as a favor," said Blanton. "But when I walked away from the game, I was healthy and I felt good throwing and my body had changed in a good way, putting back some pounds that I needed. Then I went to L.A. and met with [pitching consultant] Tom House and we worked on some mechanical things to correct."

Teammates Ryan Madson, Wade Davis and Chris Young were among those who counseled Blanton on the tricks of the relief trade, and the transition from starter was made easier than most.

"I didn't have to overcome the ego of a starter going to the bullpen because I had already thought I was done," he said. "I had decided I wouldn't play anymore, had taken it to the house, cashed it in for good. My heart wasn't in it anymore after 2013. So when I came back, I just wanted to get back to the big leagues. I embraced a new chapter."

And the Dodgers present a new subchapter within that new chapter.

"I just wanted to be on a quality team with a chance to win a World Series," he said. "I think I'm a fit for what they need, and the Dodgers are a good fit for me."