NEWS/RUMORS/DISCUSSION Thread

I agree, but also think some of his value might become weird with his minor surgery this offseason

 

Haha, nah, I just thought it was a funny photo. That dog is my spirit animal lol

 

you needed further confirmation?

well, we got it anyway

 

Jansen ranked 3rd Best Reliever by ESPN's Olney
by Daniel Starkand | True Blue LA — 1 hour ago

The biggest concern for the Los Angeles Dodgers over the last two seasons in both the regular season and postseason has been their bullpen.

While the bullpen collectively struggled at times in 2014 and 2015, closing out games in the ninth inning hasn’t been much of an issue with the Dodgers able to turn to closer Kenley Jansen.

Despite his success, Jansen has been left off All-Star teams and often cast aside when it comes to national recognition.

Some of that changed with ESPN’s Buster Olney ranking the hard-throwing right-hander as the third-best relief pitcher in the Majors:

3. Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers
When you’re on a team that includes Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez and you play a position that draws the most notice when you fail rather than succeed, it’s not surprising that Jansen’s work tends to go unnoticed. He deserves better, and might be the best example of a reliever who, like Mariano Rivera, succeeds with one pitch, his cut fastball, which swerves into the hands of left-handed hitters and darts away from right-handed hitters. Last season, opponents batted only .176 against him, with a .215 on-base percentage. Only Wade Davis produced a lower OBP among all relievers with at least 40 innings.​

The 28-year-old Jansen missed the first month of the 2015 season as he recovered from offseason foot surgery. He quickly made up for lost time upon being reinstated from the disabled list and finished tied for ninth overall with 36 saves.

Among full-time closers Jansen finished tied for first with only two blown saves last season. He finished with a 2.41 ERA, and led all relievers who threw 40 or more innings with a 0.78 WHIP.

Jansen also had an impressive 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings, to go with an average of 1.4 walks per nine innings. Olney ranked Wade Davis of the Kansas City Royals the best reliever, and Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman second overall.

Chapman was linked to the Dodgers as the club works to solidify their bullpen this offseason.

 

• The Dodgers have had contact with free agent righty Ryan Madson, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The veteran, who enjoyed a remarkable turnaround last year, could be one of several options as Los Angeles looks to beef up its pen.

 

No one knows what the Dodgers are doing
by Marc Normandin | SB Nation — 12 minutes ago

The Dodgers have a wealth of options in front of them this winter. They could use their considerable resources to re-sign Zack Greinke, who opted out of the remainder of his deal to seek an even larger pay day. They could go younger and give even more money and years to David Price, who, while new to Los Angeles, would not be new to current President of Baseball Operations and former Rays' GM Andrew Friedman. Will they hand jobs to their kids, like Corey Seager? Are they actually going to work to reduce their payroll a bit from 2015's record $271 million total that only accounted for the 25-man roster? According to Peter Gammons, no one has any idea what it is Los Angeles has in mind.

Given their dollars and kids, the Dodgers can do just about anything. They could make a trade for nearly any piece they wanted, and they have the cash to avoid playing that game if they want to just focus on free agency. It's unclear just who they will target now, though, with the major move of the offseason so far the hiring of new manager Dave Roberts. The thing is, it won't be unclear for long: Thanksgiving is now behind us, and the winter meetings are now just 10 days away.

Price has been the popular man on the pitching market to this point, at least from a rumor standpoint. If he signs elsewhere -- the Blue Jays? Red Sox? Cubs? -- then that takes that option off the table for Los Angeles. Of course, if the Dodgers really want him, is there anyone who will outspend them for the lefty? And just because he's younger doesn't even mean he's the best deal, given Greinke's constant comparisons to Greg Maddux in terms of how he's expected to age due to a deep repertoire and his mind for pitching. We might not know today what the Dodgers' angle for this winter is, but they're going to show their hand -- or someone else will show it for them -- very soon.

 

yeah, at this point its all speculation
personally, i'd be a bit surprised if we signed zack or price
the again, nothing would surprise me
from day one, the nerds have said they would ultimately like to reduce payroll and have a self-sustaining [minor league] system they could use to supply the big league squad
but they've also been very secretive about what they're thinking
i've been a fan of re-signing zack since midseason
but if there were a way to [better] improve the entire rotation 2-5 without adding either him or price, then i'd be down

 

2015 review: Hyun-jin Ryu
by Eric Stephen | True Blue LA — 4 hours ago

A look back at the 2015 season that never was for Dodgers left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu.

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Ryu struck out four and walked one in his five Cactus League innings, to go along with his 3.60 spring training ERA. In retrospect, his excellent 2013-2014 seasons look even better now that we know he pitched both seasons with a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The years of pitching through the torn labrum caught up with Ryu this year, first shut down during spring training with shoulder issues, then eventually having arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder on May 21, shutting down his 2015 season before it ever really began.​

The Dodgers say Ryu is expected to be ready to begin spring training, though expecting him to be ready to be Ryu again at the start of 2016 might be far fetched. He told reporters in Korea in early November that, though his rehabilitation has gone well to date, a May return might be more realistic.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman before the general manager meetings in November shared the cautions optimism.

"Every check point has been incredibly optimistic, and if success were dictated by how hard he has attacked this rehab process then I'm 100-percent convinced he'll be ready by opening day," Friedman said. "But you never know, and each day, each week, each month gives us more clarity. So I don't know yet whether we can fully count on him or not."

At the very least, Ryu can supplement his income by charging tickets to the gun show.

 

mark my words... if he goes to the giants, he'll put up career numbers and be a thorn in our ass all season...

Where will Justin Upton sign?
by David Schoenfield | ESPN — 2 hours ago

Justin Upton was the first pick in the 2005 draft, reached the majors at 19, hit .300 with 26 home runs at 21 and finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2011 at 23.

Despite the early promise that he'd be a perennial All-Star, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded Upton to the Atlanta Braves after the 2012 season, under the belief from within the industry that then-general manager Kevin Towers didn't view Upton as a "winning player."

The trade (which brought the Diamondbacks Martin Prado and Nick Ahmed) was much-panned, but Towers was right in one regard: Upton hasn't gotten better from that 2011 peak season. His year-by-year WAR totals since 2011: 6.1, 2.5, 2.9, 3.2, 4.4. Traded to the San Diego Padres in 2015, he hit .251/.336/.454 with 26 home runs and hits free agency at age 28.

Like Jason Heyward, Upton is viewed through some lenses as a disappointment. But if you focus on what he is instead of what the expectations once were, he's still a very good player with power who draws some walks, can run a little, plays an adequate corner outfield and has been durable. He's young enough that a long-term contract shouldn't become a burden at the back end. That said, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs views Upton as a potential free agent land mine, writing "Upton just hasn't been a star player since 2011, the one year he did manage to hit 31 homers. A seven-year deal with at least a $20 million AAV is a bet on Upton turning back into that kind of hitter for at least a little while, and it's likely that someone will pay for that perceived upside."

I can see that. Upton isn't all that fast and it wouldn't surprise me if his speed goes in a year or two, which would wipe out much of his defensive value, which is sort of average as is right now. Still, as Cameron pointed out, considering Shin-Soo Choo got seven years and $130 million two years ago from the Rangers, Upton should command a $140 million deal or so.

Here are five possible destinations:

CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The White Sox's offense was a disaster in 2015. Despite playing in a good home run park, they ranked last in the AL in runs and last in home runs. Their corner outfielders ranked 23rd in the majors in wOBA and while they'll hope for a better season from Melky Cabrera, Upton would be a major upgrade over Avisail Garcia in right field. There should be room in the budget, especially when factoring in that John Danks ($15.75 million) and Adam LaRoche ($13 million) come off the payroll after 2016. The White Sox, however, also have holes in the infield that need addressing. The White Sox never punt on a season like other clubs, so we can count on them doing something.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Orioles left fielders ranked 27th in the majors in wOBA; their right fielders ranked 24th. The Orioles ran a $118 million payroll last year and are sitting at about $100 million right now. The club's preference is to bring back Chris Davis and then troll around for a second-tier outfielder, hoping to get lucky late in free agency the way they did a couple years ago with Nelson Cruz. But if Davis signs elsewhere, that opens up the possibility of signing Upton. We know the Orioles emphasize power, and maybe Upton has a Cruz-like surge in the cozy confines of Camden Yards.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
While pitching is their offseason priority, the Giants also have stretched the Angel Pagan-Gregor Blanco outfield about as far as they can. Pagan has one more year left on his contract, but his defensive metrics in center field were terrible in 2015 and he hit just .262/.303/.332, suggesting a move to left field -- or the bench -- is in order, with Blanco taking over center field duties. One caveat: Upton hasn't hit well at AT&T Park in his career, with a .233 average and three home runs in 210 at-bats.

CLEVELAND INDIANS
The Indians got burned a couple years ago with the Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher signings and considering their attendance issues (29th in the majors in 2015), they aren't expected to be a player in the free agent market. But consider: (1) They're looking for offense, especially in the outfield, where Michael Brantley will now miss the start of the season and Lonnie Chisenhall, while making a strong defensive transition from third base, still offers little at the plate; (2) The past three seasons, the Indians' payroll has been in the $80-to-$90-million range and Baseball-Reference.com projects their payroll at about $65 million; (3) Upton is younger than Bourn and Swisher were. Look, the Indians don't have a single player on the roster making $10 million in 2016 or 2017. The team underperformed its base statistics in 2015 more than any other team, so they're a good bet to improve as is. Why trade one of the starting pitchers if there's room in the budget for a big free agent?

LOS ANGELES ANGELS
We've been down this road before: Angels left fielders were the worst in the majors, so Upton is a possibility for a big-payroll franchise looking to contend in 2016. A left-handed bat is a better fit, which is why I think Heyward would be a more likely choice for the Angels, but Upton would be less expensive and provide a solid power hitter behind Mike Trout.​

Upton's ultimate destination is a wild card. The Cardinals need power, but Upton doesn't seem like a Cardinals type of player. The Royals need an outfielder, especially depending on what happens with Alex Gordon, but Upton is probably out of their price range. The Mariners need an outfielder, but they own the 11th pick in the draft, which they would lose if they signed Upton. And while Upton has spent his entire career in the National League, most of the NL contenders are already set in right field. This could end up being one of the more surprising signings of the winter.​