DODGERS NEWS/RUMORS thread

Harper..... .211/.315/.487 in the postseason. That really screams clutch.

 

It also screams, " Dodgers sign Bryce Harper. " A choker to match the rest, especially lead choker Kershaw.

 

Beltre retiring. I feel old.

 

After careful consideration and many sleepless nights, I have made the decision to retire from what I’ve been doing my whole life, which is playing baseball, the game I love.

I have thought about it a lot and although I appreciate all the opportunities and everything that baseball has given me, it’s time to call it a career. I have enjoyed the privilege of playing professional baseball since I was 15 years old. I have been blessed to have played 21 seasons at the highest level in Major League Baseball.

I want to thank God, my amazing wife Sandra for your unwavering and unconditional love, support and understanding throughout my entire baseball career, my three awesome children, Cassie, A.J and Camila for being the best baseball kids, my parents, and my entire family for all your love and support.

I also want to thank my agents, Scott Boras, Mike Fiore and the entire Boras Corp. for always believing in my talent. A huge THANK YOU goes to the numerous teammates, managers, coaches, and staff members from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and especially the Texas Rangers. These past eight seasons playing in a Rangers’ uniform have been the best of my career and were made possible thanks to Rangers’ owners Ray Davis, Bob Simpson, and Neil Leibman, General Manager Jon Daniels, Nolan Ryan, and the late Don Welke.

I also owe a huge part of my success in Texas to the amazing Rangers’ fans. You guys are the best!

I also have to acknowledge and thank Tommy Lasorda for believing in this young kid from the Dominican Republic when others thought I was too young to be called up to the Big Leagues.

To all my fans in the Dominican Republic, the United States and Latin America, my sincerest THANK YOU for your continuous support throughout my career. While I will forever cherish the memories from my time playing the greatest game on earth, I am excited to become a fulltime husband and father, and I am ready to take on the next chapter of my life.

It’s been one hell of a ride!

Muchas gracias,

Adrian Beltre

 

For the first paragraph and a half I thought this was just you also announcing your retirement

 

And if this makes you feel old, boyo...wait until you retire...

 

Amazing, isn't it? How anything is turned into a chance to rip Kershaw apart?
I wonder how the FO taint lickers feel ( the one's who hate Kershaw so much), in light of the additional $93 mil they just agreed to pay him? Hmmmm...
As I recall, there are quite a few that fall into this category...

 

Indians are said to be closing in on a deal to unload Yan Gomes. This is someone to watch as he has one guaranteed year left on his contract with 2 palpable club options, making him an ideal candidate for the Dodgers catching vacancy.

Had his best offensive season since 2014, which can be attributed to the best hard contact rate of his career. He also greatly reduced his soft contact rate and put up the lowest ground ball rate of his career which resulted in only 4 GIDP’s. Did struggle in RISP situations, but seemed to perform extremely well in other clutch high leverage situations. Very good against LHP and slightly below average against RHP. He also showed more power on the road than he did in Cleveland.

Defensively he’s been pretty solid throughout his career, but his CS% took a giant leap backwards this year. Now that is not the best way to tell how good his arm may be, as he could have been a victim of a poor holding pitching staff. Framing #'s were not bad and overall seems to still be a solid option.

He is not a superstar by any means, but he may be a decent option if the price tag for Realmuto is really as insane as people are saying it is and could be adjusting back into the hitter he used to be. The Dodgers have not been linked to him (nor has anyone else for that matter), but he's a solid option for a deep lineup and only impacts the financials with a $3.8M AAV.

 

We could see a few minor trades tonight, or a bunch of non-tenders, the Dodgers need to open up 2-5 spots on the 40-man for the Rule 5. Ruiz and Alvarez are virtual locks, then some combination of guys like Connor Joe, Josh Sborz, Andrew Sopko, Drew Jackson, Cristian Santana and Edwin Rios among others.

 

Gotta believe Jackson and Rios are locks to make 40 or are traded. The success Sborz had in relief should mean he makes the 40, but also being a bit of a soft tosser could mean that they risk it. Sopko is a no to me since he has made it to AA each of the last two years, but has split the years with lower levels. Joe is interesting as he has unlocked the power folks have been waiting for, but he is supposedly somewhat brutal in the field. Could be an AL trade candidate.

 

But...but...isn't Kershaw a lefty himself ?

 

Paxton is good, but his injury history is a bit of a concern and last year was the most innings(160) he had pitched in his career at age 29 with a huge HR spike while playing half his games at Safeco. Not going to be surprised if he puts up a 4+ ERA in the much more hitter friendly AL East. He is getting the ace label in the media from a season he had a year ago with a grand total of 136 IP. If there was ever a case to pump the breaks, it is here. There is a reason that he was traded for a prospect that some folks in the industry feel is heading towards the back of the rotation or the bullpen.

 

There is a politics thread, use it. Let's keep the jabs at those of us with differing political views out of the baseball chats.

 

Here's every player in history with at least 3,166 hits, 477 HR, .819 OPS & 5 Gold Gloves:

Willie Mays
Adrian Beltre

Not bad company.

 

Freaking McCourt

 

i think i sort of have been for the last couple of years
i'm trying to figure out what i want to be next

 

seems like he really fell in love w Texas and their ownership
but yeah he should never have left and fuck spank