MLB NEWS/RUMORS Thread

kinda surprised we're not in on britton
then again, maybe we are...

Trade interest in Zach Britton picking up steam
by Steve Adams | MLB Trade Rumors — 28 minutes ago

TODAY, 10:58am: Add the Braves to the list of teams interested in Britton, Crasnick reports.

TODAY, 9:28am: Baltimore’s “barreling ahead” with its Britton trade talks, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. Along with the teams mentioned below (the Astros, Cubs, Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox), the Giants are among the clubs in the mix for Britton, according to Crasnick.

JULY 17: If and when the reported trade sending Manny Machado to the Dodgers is formally announced by the teams, the O’s could be quick to turn around and move longtime closer Zach Britton in a separate deal, reports MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli (via Twitter). Interest in Britton has “picked up steam” recently, according to Ghiroli.

Britton missed about half of the 2017 season due to a pair of forearm injuries and was out until June 2018 due to a ruptured Achilles tendon that required offseason surgery. And while his first few appearances since coming off the disabled list raised questions about his trade value, he’s looked more impressive lately.

Britton’s past seven appearances have been scoreless, but beyond the bottom-line results, he’s made some encouraging gains in terms of sinker velocity. His ground-ball rate has been a superlative 68.8 percent in that time as well — a noted increase from his earlier outings in which his sinker wasn’t at its most effective levels. That’s not quite to up to Britton’s (quite literally) historic standards, but it remains elite all the same.

Control has still been somewhat of an issue, as he’s surrendered three walks in those seven innings and thrown a first-pitch strike to just 40 percent of the hitters he’s faced along the way. But there’s no denying that Britton has begun to round into form at a most opportune time for an Orioles organization that, at the very least, looks to be a lock to trade the left-hander and fellow impending free agents Machado and Brad Brach.

Britton is earning $12MM in 2018, which will present a roadblock for a number of clubs interested in acquiring his services. As could be the case with the eventual Machado deal, the Orioles might have to include some cash to facilitate the deal and to improve the return they receive for their prized lefty. Britton is still owed about $4.8MM of that $12MM sum through season’s end.

To this point, the Astros, Cubs, Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox have all been connected to Britton in fairly prominent fashion. Surely, as is the case every summer, though, the top relievers on the market will draw at least some level of inquiry from the majority of contenders. Unlike the Machado saga, in which some contending clubs had little need for another infielder on the left side of the diamond, there’s no contending team in baseball that won’t have some interest in bolstering its relief corps. Certainly, some teams will consider it to be a more pressing need than others, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise if as much as a third of the league is tied to Britton before he inevitably finds himself with a new team for the first time in his career.​

 

My guess is they tried packaging Britton with Machado but the Dodgers weren’t willing to pay the price cause yeah it does seem like an obvious fit

I do think we’ll end up with at least 1 new reliever. I’m just not sure if it’ll be a well known good one or two we find kinda weird but they try to unlock (like cingrani/Watson)

 

agree on all of this
might be alone on this... but i like familia
not as a closer, more like morrow (was)... as a bridge to kenley
also not necessarily opposed to -- and i think @Dodgers99 is in agreement -- rodney
again, not as a closer... just a bridge to kenley

side note...
probably time to dfa forsythe
unless they're keeping him to offset salary in a deal, he serves literally no purpose
and he's taking a roster spot that could be filled by verdugo et al

 

I think it’ll take Verdugo or Keibert to get Iglesias. Hand was traded for Mejia, and Iglesias is better, younger, and cheaper and the Reds don’t really need to trade him. I think it’d take one of Verdugo or Keibert to get the convo started.

 

Dodgers will start second half with six-man rotation
by Stacie Wheeler | True Blue LA — 3 hours ago

The All-Star festivities are over, and now the sprint to the finish of the season begins in the second half.

With 66 games remaining in the regular season, the NL West race will be a close battle down the stretch. The Dodgers open the second half in first place (53-43), with the Diamondbacks (53-44) just a half game back, and the Rockies (50-48) and Giants (50-48) still numerically in the mix as well at 2 games and 4 games back respectively.

The NL Wild Card most likely won’t come out of the NL West with Chicago, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Atlanta all playing good baseball. It makes the Dodgers’ quest for their sixth straight division title that much more key to getting into the playoffs. A Wild Card spot would be horrible for our collective blood pressure.

The Dodgers’ starting rotation is one of the biggest question marks heading to the second half that begins with 17 consecutive games without a day off. Dave Roberts is leaning toward a six-man rotation that includes Clayton Kershaw, Ross Stripling, Kenta Maeda, Walker Buehler, Alex Wood and Rich Hill. The starting rotation has been hit with multiple injuries, and nearly all the starters have been on the DL at some point and some multiple times.

Dave Roberts explained to Kaelen Jones of MLB.com:

“If everything stays status quo, then we’re gonna have to have some big conversations,” he said. “So right now, I look at it as a good thing. At some point, we’re going to reach a crossroads. … Right now, we don’t have that problem.”​

With all the injuries, Ross Stripling stepped up and pitched spectacularly in the first half posting career high numbers in 14 starts and 11 relief appearances. He went 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 10.2 K/9 with a 28.1 percent strikeout rate and 3.7 percent walk rate.

Stripling is a lock in the starting rotation going forward despite John Smoltz’s idea - during the All-Star Game broadcast - that Stripling will be moved back to the bullpen. The 28-year-old’s next start will likely push him past his career-high of 100 innings at the major league level, but there is no indication he will come out of the rotation any time soon.

Clayton Kershaw (3-4, 2.74 ERA, 3.17 FIP) hasn’t had a consistent year after landing on the disabled list twice with biceps tendinitis and a lower back strain. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner and former MVP has landed on the disabled list in three straight years. He’s a lock for the starting rotation, and hopefully he can get back into dominant form down the stretch.

Kershaw’s time down could potentially be advantageous as far as pacing going into a potentially long postseason run again. He’s steadily lengthened his pitch count since returning from the DL. He’s gone to the breaking ball more with a 90-92 mph fastball.

During the Freeway Series, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Kershaw “still has the ability to dominate.”

The Dodgers and Kershaw (he’s in his opt-out year) will look to the perennial ace to peak when they need him to - in October.

Kenta Maeda can be fantastic as both a starter and a reliever. He came into Sunday’s game against the Angels out of the bullpen for the seventh inning, inheriting two runners after Kershaw lost a contentious at-bat against Mike Trout and walked him. Maeda hit Justin Upton with a pitch but struck out Ian Kinsler to end the threat.

Maeda also struck out two in a one-inning relief appearance in San Francisco on April 7. As a starter, he’s excelled too and has struck out batters at a career-high 29.7% clip with 11.2 K/9. Maeda should be in the starting rotation heading into the second half.

Walker Buehler (4-2, 3.45 ERA, 3.00 FIP) had a tough time coming back from the rib injury, but he impressed after getting a early shot on the big club earlier in the year when injuries befell the rest of the starting squad. Other than a couple of disastrous outings at Coors Field and a rough relief appearance vs. Chicago, Buehler has pitched well.

In his last start before the break, against the Angels, he allowed two runs on six hits with five strikeouts in 5 innings of work. It was a promising way to segue into the second installment of the season for the young right-hander who looks to be part of the Dodgers’ starting mix for years to come.

Two candidates that could be shifted to the bullpen after the six-man rotation plan ends in August are Rich Hill and Alex Wood. Hill (2-4, 4.55 ERA, 4.92 FIP) finally put a laser to those blisters, but he’s been inconsistent this year as well, with or without the beard. The 38-year old veteran has already allowed 11 home runs in 12 games and 55 1/3 innings this year after allowing 18 home runs in 135 2⁄3 innings last season. His curveball grip may have been affected by the juiced up balls, and he has blamed his blisters on it in the past.

If he can stay healthy and effective, Hill stays in the rotation. When he’s good, he’s very good. He’ll get his first shot when he starts things off for the Dodgers in the second half on Friday evening at Miller Park.

Wood (5-5, 3.92 ERA, 3.47 FIP) is the starter who’s most likely on the bubble as far as being moved to the bullpen. He’s never been able to recreate his first half from last season that earned him an All-Star nod. Wood has been effective out of the pen in the past. With a surplus of starters along with his struggles in the first half, it seems like a logical choice should the Dodgers decide to pare down the rotation after the 17-game stretch.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, once healthy, will also reach a crossroads in his career with the Dodgers. He suffered a painful sounding groin injury earlier in the season, and he only pitched in six games for the Dodgers this year. Ryu is continuing to progress in his rehab and threw a 25-pitch bullpen session this week. He’s expected to throw another bullpen in three to five days, according to Roberts, saying the lefty will “hopefully just continue to ramp up the intensity and the volume.” Roberts will have to make a decision on what to do with Ryu once he gets closer to returning.

Julio Urias is progressing in his rehab from shoulder surgery in February, and it is speculated that he could rejoin the team in 4-6 weeks, placing more decisions upon Roberts as far as the starting pitching options as the season wanes.

Despite the injuries, the Dodgers lead the NL in ERA (3.49), strikeouts (916), and WHIP (1.20). LA starters are second in all of baseball with a 3.31 ERA in 508 innings. Their relievers are seventh in the league with a 3.80 ERA and have allowed the second-most home runs (45). There’s room for improvement, especially in the relief department, but their pitching has been strong overall.

There will be some tough decisions ahead, plus there’s still two more weeks before the official trade deadline. I’d be surprised if they don’t acquire some arms after bolstering the lineup with Manny Machado’s bat. As the saying goes, you can never have enough pitching.

The Dodgers will need a dominant Kershaw and continued consistency from Stripling and Maeda as well as strong second halves from Buehler, Hill and Wood to capture the NL West title and forge on to what could be another long postseason run. Barring any injuries that shape future decisions on the starting rotation, to have six healthy starters to start the second half is a problem you want to have.

 

probably not alone... but if given the choice, i'd prefer to hold onto joc (over puig)
and depending on the opposing team's want/need, they might actually prefer puig (miami, for example... racist)
that said, i'm not opposed to trading one/both if it makes us better
same with verdugo tbh...

 

I think Joc is kinda underrated on here, IMO... I’d rather keep him for the foreseeable future also, over Verdugo/Puig/Toles. He’s a super streaky hitter but his year end totals are show he’s pretty good and he’s yet to really hit his prime.

 

i feel the same
and joc seems to possess the plate discipline that puig often lacks... or at least more consistently

 

Puig vs righties is consistent.
2018: .293 .344 .521 .865
2017: .288 .355 .554 .909

Joc vs righties still has a problem with average.
2018: .270 .366 .577 .942
2017: .214 .340 .429 .768

Right now Puig is still a better hitter than Joc. Because of that, he takes more pitches. Joc also has more power so the pitcher throws him more junk. But when you need a hit I would rather have Puig. If I want a guy to try and swing for the fences then Joc will do.
Puig also can put up a decent enough at bat vs lefties and 2 years ago he was actually our best hitter vs lefties when he was in the middle of remaking his swing. Right now Puig is on pace to have his best season since his first two. And I believe that next year his swing will be all the way 'healed' and he will make a similar impact to his first two seasons. It will be his big breakout year.
Joc still has never hit lefties, even when he has been at his best he is strictly a platoon player and there is no signs that will ever change.

 

I can't deny science.
Even though we all know science is the biggest racist ever.
Once the leftists figure that one out (again) they will go crazy (again).