I want him back. But I doubt he does if he doesn't get to be closer. And unfortunately that means we have to find another reliever to back us up.
AJ Ellis for GoldGlove makes me think they should expand instant replay and force these voters to watch every play, even pitch he's involved in. Might as well throw Dee Gordon's name in there...he's got range.
IF Paco, Beli and League stay gay...it sure the fuck is. Add to that that Wilson probably wants to be a closer...OMG, we are fucked.
Bill Shaikin @BillShaikin 10h Source confirms #Dodgers 3B coach Tim Wallach has talked with #Tigers about their managerial vacancy.
This is an interesting read. Saxon of ESPN looks at each of the Dodgers FA's and predicts who stays and who walks. He thinks only JP Howell and Punto remain... Predicting the future of Dodgers free agents October, 24, 2013 By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com For a team with 11 impending free agents, the Los Angeles Dodgers have relatively easy decisions to make regarding each of them. None of their free agents will demand endless hours of the front office's time as the sides negotiate some mega-contract to keep a homegrown superstar from bolting. Each of the Dodgers' free agents are, as they say, role players. The only two everyday players are Mark Ellis and Juan Uribe. Ellis has already been replaced by Cuban second baseman Alexander Guerrero, who signed earlier this week. The only core pitchers are a No. 4 starter, Ricky Nolasco, and an eighth-inning setup man, Brian Wilson, important but not irreplaceable players. The Dodgers already have set the narrative for the remainder of their offseason. Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and manager Don Mattingly (who looks as if he no longer will become a free agent) said it concisely. The Dodgers want to get younger and, as a result, more athletic and less injury-prone. That should be the lens through which we see each of the following free-agent decisions. We'll rank the free agents in reverse order of relevance and predict whether they will be with the team next spring: Jerry Hairston Jr. He's one of the most likeable guys the Dodgers had last year and a good clubhouse guy, because he can roll with a joke and moves easily between various cultures. His versatility also proved important to the Dodgers at times in his two seasons in L.A. They could put him at any position besides pitcher and catcher and he could hold his own. There aren't many guys like that. He'll be 38 next May, he has been bothered by serious injuries each of the past two seasons. He'll make a great broadcaster some day and he'll have to decide whether he's ready to embark on a new career now or try to latch on with a team on a minor league deal. PREDICTION: WALKS Edinson Volquez This was a nice zero-risk move by the front office, scooping him up from the San Diego Padres after they released him. He gave them five starts -- some awful, some decent, some pretty good -- allowing the Dodgers to rest their main starting pitchers for the playoffs. A few years ago, the Dodgers might have taken a flyer on Volquez to help fill out their No. 4 and 5 rotation spots. Not under these owners. They have far grander designs. If they acquire a pitcher, it probably will be a star-caliber one, not a guy who's questionable to even make the rotation. If he comes back, it would have to be on a minor league deal with the agreement that he will pitch in Triple-A until the Dodgers need him. PREDICTION: WALKS Chris Capuano He handled it with class when the Dodgers left him off their NLCS roster even though he had given them three scoreless innings in the previous round. But like some of the other pitchers on this list, he just doesn't seem to fit the Dodgers' current mandate: to win at whatever cost. He might turn out to be a nice bottom-of-the-market signing for a team on a budget looking for a left-hander who can either start or be a reliever. Hard to see that team being the Dodgers. PREDICTION: WALKS Skip Schumaker He's a versatile, hard-working player who blends in well and adds some edge and intensity to the clubhouse, always good things. But he'll be 34 on Opening Day and his career just isn't moving in the right direction. His at-bats have declined every season since 2008 aside from a tiny spike last year. He was given the starting center fielder job in the National League Division Series and struggled (3-for-16), perhaps prompting the Dodgers to rush Andre Ethier back. That didn't work out either. With four outfielders expected to be ready on Opening Day and with Guerrero less likely an injury risk than Ellis, it seems he may not be in the plans. PREDICTION: WALKS Carlos Marmol In some ways, he was the same guy as Volquez in a different role. He was a mess with his previous team, but he still had good velocity and the Dodgers figured he might benefit from working with their respected pitching coach, Rick Honeycutt. He probably did, too, pitching to a 2.53 ERA and 1.43 WHIP for the Dodgers. He gave them a couple of scoreless innings in the playoffs. If the Dodgers liked what they saw in his mechanics and his contract demands are modest, he's at least a possibility. It will depend on what else the Dodgers see out there in the reliever market. PREDICTION: WALKS Michael Young Even though he was the newest member of the team, he might have taken that Game 6 loss as hard as anyone in the clubhouse. He just turned 37 and there are rumors Young will retire, so that might have been his last crack at winning a World Series after four straight trips to the postseason. He likely will relive each of his pinch-hitting appearances in the playoffs. Many of them were rough. He went 1-for-10. If he does retire, he won't make the Hall of Fame, but he'll make the Hall of Very, Very Good. PREDICTION: WALKS Nick Punto Some called him the Little Pony. Others called him Shredder. He was a big part of what the Dodgers did last year, filling in for large chunks of the season when either Ellis or Hanley Ramirez was hurt. He was a better defender at shortstop than Ramirez. After a bad season in Boston, Punto revived his value with a solid season in an important role. It will come down to what he wants. If he's looking for another two-year, $3 million deal, that might be a stretch, but the Dodgers probably will offer him a one-year deal and he just might take it since he seemed to like playing close to his Orange County home. PREDICTION: STAYS J.P. Howell We're getting into the section of this exercise where, if the player leaves, it would impact the functioning of the team. Howell was an outstanding No. 2 option against left-handed hitters behind Paco Rodriguez all season, and then took over the top spot when Rodriguez's heavy workload caught up to him by September. It's impossible to imagine the Dodgers don't take a crack at keeping him, but they might have to act early. Last year, Randy Choate signed with the Cardinals, because the Dodgers, reasonably, didn't want to commit a third year to him. Because Howell won't turn 31 until April, he seems like a reliable bet, if there is such a thing in the reliever market. PREDICTION: STAYS Ricky Nolasco This might have been a different question before Sept. 14 than it was afterward, when Nolasco's season seemed to unravel with three awful starts and a questionable one in the playoffs. Somebody is going to give him a pretty hefty contract, because Nos. 3 and 4 starters are expensive these days. But with Chad Billingsley and Josh Beckett possibly returning in time for Opening Day, it doesn't seem as if that team will be the Dodgers. PREDICTION: WALKSMark Ellis This one will hurt. He's the lowest-maintenance guy in the clubhouse. You'd hardly know he was there. He's always prepared to play, always makes the right decision (OK, other than that San Francisco game at the end of 2012) and virtually always catches the ball and throws it accurately. But the Dodgers want to get younger and he's 36 with a lot of injury mileage on his body. I suspect he'll play next year, but not with the Dodgers. PREDICTION: WALKS Brian Wilson Wilson was such a good signing, it might make him an impossible re-signing. Wilson pitched to a 0.66 ERA in 18 regular-season appearances, then didn't allow a run in six postseason appearances. His stuff didn't return to pre-elbow surgery levels, but it crept pretty close, into the 95-mph range. He's going to be looking for a closer contract and the Dodgers are happy with Kenley Jansen and already dealing with the albatross of one bad closer contract (Brandon League), so it doesn't appear to be the perfect match. PREDICTION: WALKSJuan Uribe His return to form was perfect timing for him -- he could parlay a good year into a pricey free-agent deal -- and perfect timing for the Dodgers after Luis Cruz proved to be an unsustainable solution at third base. Uribe batted .278 with a solid .769 OPS while playing borderline Gold Glove defense at third base. Oh yeah, and he may have had the biggest hit of the season, that winning home run in Game 4 of the NLDS. But now what? Uribe, 34, doesn't really fit the Dodgers' mandate to get younger and, with Corey Seager inching closer to the major leagues, do the Dodgers really want to commit multiple years to him again? If the Dodgers can get him for two years, it might be a good bridge (Seager is only 19) and a way to bring back a popular player. Close call, but I suspect the Dodgers will find a way to upgrade.PREDICTION: WALKS __
Seems odd the writer says the Dodgers want to get younger yet he says they re-sign Nick? Schumaker is 3 years younger than him. I think Nick and Skip both stay along with JP. Juan is going to be an interesting case, I think he also stays because that position among FA's is thin. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1790089-2014-mlb-free-agents-position-by-position-rankings/page/5
Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis offers his thoughts on this year's World Series contenders in a special piece for the Los Angeles Times. In the article, Ellis breaks down the Dodgers' loss to the Cardinals in the NL Championship Series, as well as the approaches of the St. Louis and Boston offenses. :skip:
Arbitration Eligibles: Los Angeles Dodgers By Tim Dierkes [October 29, 2013 at 1:31pm CST] Matt Swartz has developed a very accurate model that MLBTR uses to project arbitration salaries, as explained in this series of posts. We've heard from many MLB teams and agencies that reference the projections in their work. The Dodgers are next in our series. Estimated service time is in parentheses, and estimated 2014 salary follows. Clayton Kershaw (5.105): $18.2MM Kenley Jansen (3.073): $4.8MM A.J. Ellis (3.151): $3.2MM Ronald Belisario (3.151): $2.3MM Drew Butera (3.018): $700K Scott Elbert (3.069): $600K Mike Baxter (2.129, Super Two): $500K Kershaw easily has the largest projected salary of the 200+ arbitration eligible players. Furthermore, his projection tops the largest arbitration reward in MLB history, Prince Fielder's $15.5MM in 2011. Cole Hamels set the record for a pitcher with $15MM in 2012. We had to invoke the Kimbrel Rule in limiting Kershaw's raise to $6.9MM. There seems to be a general feeling that Kershaw has little chance of reaching the open market, because the Dodgers have the money and intent to sign their ace long-term within the next 12 months (and preferably before the 2014 season begins). The largest contract ever given to a pitcher remains the seven-year, $161MM deal C.C. Sabathia signed with the Yankees nearly five years ago. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported progress in June between the Dodgers and Kershaw on a seven-year deal worth more than $180MM, with other proposals under discussion such as $250MM over 10 years and $300MM over 12 years. In August, Rosenthal reported that the Dodgers and Kershaw were close to a seven-year, $210MM deal that would have included a player opt-out clause after five years, from which the Dodgers backed off. This month, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about a $300MM lifetime contract the Dodgers had offered earlier in the season, perhaps the same one to which Rosenthal referred in June. Players must file for arbitration on January 14th next year, with figures to be exchanged on the 17th, but I imagine the Dodgers and Kershaw will be willing to talk about a long-term deal up until Opening Day. Closer Kenley Jansen posted another fine season, though perhaps his first 30-save campaign will come in 2014 assuming he owns the job from the start of the season. There is no extension model for three-plus closers, so the Dodgers and Jansen would have to forge new territory to get a deal done. Ellis' production declined from 2012, to .238/.318/.364 in 448 plate appearances. The team could consider trading Ellis to open up a pursuit of Brian McCann or Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Butera, a backup type acquired for depth at the trade deadline, will likely be non-tendered. The Dodgers picked up Baxter from the Mets on a waiver claim this month, suggesting they'll consider tendering him a contract. He'll make something around the league minimum, so it's really about how they want to use the roster spot. Elbert, a 28-year-old lefty reliever, had Tommy John surgery in June and is a non-tender candidate. Belisario was not particularly good this year, with ERAs around 8.00 in June and September. He did have a 3.97 ERA overall and the Dodgers liked him enough to use him in the playoffs, so he's probably safe. Assuming the Dodgers tender contracts to Kershaw, Jansen, Ellis, Belisario, and Baxter, they're looking at an estimated $29MM for five arbitration eligible players. __
Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS 1h tim wallach to interview for #mariners managerial job. http://cbsprt.co/19QxyFn Dylan Hernandez @dylanohernandez 1h Confirmed that Tim Wallach will interview with the #Mariners, as @JonHeymanCBS first reported. Source says interview will be Thursday.
I would say he's got a good shot - if that's all they are looking at: Wallach brings to five the number of known Mariners candidates, along with Giants bench coach Ron Wotus, A's bench coach Chip Hale, Padres bench coach Rick Renteria amd Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon.
