DODGERS NEWS/RUMORS thread

was sitting down the third baseline and he took a cut LH that got about 8' off the ground and came straight at me on a hook
i pushed the girl sitting next to me out of the way in case she wasn't looking and it hit a dude in the cheek bone right behind me
if you have to get hit in the face by a hard object the cheek bone is where you want to take it

 

i think at least the long term contract should have some sort of buyout/injury clause in the event everything goes to shit
why should it all be on the team to take that hit, which they do more often than the player performs

 

The JHo addition should legitimately go on his resume, TBH. I imagine performance enhancers are also in play here and that he's probably been caught ( again), but whatever's clever. It's like he and Jeter are still competing. Maybe ARod will buy the Dodgers and lure Torre back?

 

The Braves re-signing Markakis for as cheap as they did is not great for the Dodgers hopes of potentially getting a decent return for Joc if the plan really is to trade him. While Joc is certainly more dangerous against RHP'ing, Markakis can at least hold his own against LHP'ers and he is a more than solid glove to boot. He is also likely looking at getting less money than Joc is going to over the next two years in arbitration. The other negative part about this is it almost certainly takes the Braves out of equation as a trade partner for Joc since their OF is once again set with Inciarte, Acuna Jr and Markakis. The longer this FO waits, the more options keep closing up.

 

Sorry if my post came across as harsh, it’s really just frustration over reports that we are out on Harper.

When they say they are looking for RH hitters, I assume what they really mean are hitters who can hit LHP. And Bryce Harper, even though his production drops off against LHP... he still hits lefties as well as Pollock, Machado, or most any other RH option.

 

Still no Harper eh?

 

My brain over the last 2 months:
"These guys were just waiting for Thanksgiving to be over, Machado and Harper will sign at the winter meetings to get this over with."
"Machado and Harper probably used the winter meetings to meet with clubs, but they will sign before Christmas so they can enjoy their holiday."
"I bet they used the Christmas holiday to gauge their family members opinions on where to play. They will make their announcements before New Years. Doubt they want to be dealing with this shit once 2019 rolls around."
"Well most of the front offices close down for New Years, so I'd bet that nobody wanted to deal with that shit over the holiday season. Now with all that behind us, they will sign any day."
"You know what, I bet these guys didn't want to overshadow the NFL playoffs. With 2 weeks until the Super Bowl, now they will sign."
"Oh that is right, the HOF announcement was this week. I could definitely see these dudes not wanting to take the spotlight away the former greats to play the game. We will hear the signing news now!"

Fast forward
"You know what. I bet that they wanted to see how the 2020 season went before finally making a decision on where to play. After 4 straight World Series losses, I am sure the Dodgers FO and their substantial $180 million under the tax will make a play on Harper or Machado to pair with this young intriguing core..."

 

Drew Pomeranz to the Giants. Their rotation could be interesting and a problem for the Dodgers as they are lefty heavy.

 

Bills fans seemed to handle it well

*Types "Bills Fan" into YouTube search*
"Oh god, oh god no!"

 

Seems that the return would have to be something of consequence to justify trading Joc only to sign Pollock.

Whether that's more prospect capital, not unlike the deal they made with the Reds, or something that upgrades big league roster, although that would likely have to be at worst cash neutral.

 

I could see MGT making the trade and bringing in a prospect that Miami likes in hopes of facilitating a trade for JT. If they traded for JT, signed AJ, and kept Verdugo it would be an ok offseason IMO. Would rather have Machado instead of AJ but if the deal for AJ is 2/3 years filled with incentives it might not be a bad deal. Unfortunately we all have seen MGT do this before. They play chicken as long as they can so as to get the best deal for any trade or FA......we might not see anything till April...UGH!!!!

 

We need to counter

Bryce Harper career line vs Pomeranz (6 PA's) .500 BA / .667 OBP / .500 SLG / 1.167 OPS

 

Verdugo RF
Turner 3B
Seager SS
Harper LF
Realmuto C
Bellinger CF
Muncy 1B
Villar 2B

Change my mind

 

I honestly don't know what kind of a return Joc would get. He is incredibly dangerous vs RHP'ing, but his defense now has him limited to LF and obvious woes vs lefties could really hurt his value. In the right ballpark with the right team(one that gives him a shot vs lefties) he could be a legit 30+HR bat, but if they do have him face LHP'ing he could also see a BA hovering in the low .200's. That really limits what teams that could use him. I would not be shocked if they traded him for a prospect that was potentially a little further away, but some big upside to a team like the White Sox, Tigers, etc... that could try to maybe capitalize on a lower present value and roll the dice to see if they can spin him at the deadline or after this season for a greater return. Just seems like a bad winter to try and trade Joc... also, I wish the dude could just be like average vs LHP'ing. That would make this offseason a lot easier.

Something else maybe for me in regards to Joc is he is one of the only younger players that I have not heard to have been working out with the new hitting department this offseason. That does not mean he hasn't been, but there have been more than a few guys publicly talked about to have done so, including Bellinger in a quest to address his problems vs LHP'ing. If they feel he is not taking the steps to get over his issues, they could be trying to get out ahead of it and move Joc now before teams maybe lose all hope.

Speaking of guys that have worked out with the new hitting instructors, Austin Barnes was said to be spending the offseason with them trying to get over the woes that plagued his 2018 season. The team was supposed to be really impressed with his progress, but I wonder if this new Realmuto rumor COULD have anything to do with this. My thinking is if the team thinks that he may never come close to being that 2017 hitter again and may try to use his control and "upside" to move him now in a deal for Realmuto. This seems more doubtful to me as I don't think that at this juncture that they are really in on J.T., but it was a thought.

 

If you have the most prolific base-stealer and table-setter of our our generation on your roster, why would you bat him 8th?

 

We don't have to worry, though...I've read that the NLW is definitely going to suck.
No worries.

 

You're forgetting the obvious.... in 2 or 3 more years, the current young core will need to be jettisoned for scar tissue before they get expensive.