MLB NEWS/RUMORS Thread

They shouldn't give him one over Dozier. With how bad Dozier has been, he still has upside. There is no upside left with Utley, imo.

 

Pretty sure this is accurate.
Anything else would be foolhardy...

 

I just can't see that happening. He has had some big AB's in the past off the bench, but if it is a reliever that throws smoke, then Utley is unuseable. Not to mention, Dozier's defense has been fantastic. Guessing we see
C: Grandal, Barnes(BTW, he may have finally woken up)
1B: Muncy, Freese
2B: Hernandez, Dozier
SS: Machado
3B: Turner
OF: Kemp, Pederson, Bellinger, Puig, Taylor.
Guessing we go with 13 pitchers since there is serious weakness in the pen right now and they're going to want enough guys where they can make the quick hook. Floro and Alexander both continuing to struggle when the lights turn up a little bit is a major concern. Only other guy I could see making the roster at this point is Verdugo due to his contact rate, defense and handedness off the bench in a LHvRHP necessary pinch hit scenario.

 

I don't know if it is more of a recent development or I am just more aware of it due to the last few seasons with our club. It just feels like more than ever, players are taking off after getting traded for basically nothing.

 

LHP Yusei Kikuchi out of Japan is going to be posted this offseason. He has been one of the best pitchers in the NPB the past few years, but is going to be posted after a noticeably down season. Had he been posted last offseason which had been expected after a breakout year, he probably would have gotten a big contract, but now that number is expected to drop considerably. Like a lot of Asian pitchers, he has an expanded repertoire, but his best off speed pitch(slider) taking a step back is what really hurt him this year as he began also working 2 more pitches into the mix. One evaluator comped him to Patrick Corbin, but is probably not quite at that level. He is small at 6' and has a rough injury history. Also being a power pitcher with a FB that works the mid-90's and touches 98, there is some concern of how he will hold up in the big leagues as a starter long term. He would benefit from a team that could let him pitch every 6th day and ease him into the MLB every 5th day. Usual large market suspects are said to have the most interest in him with the Dodgers being one of them. I would not be shocked to see the Dodgers in heavily on the bidding, especially if they rework Kenta Maeda's contract, which is rumored to be in consideration.

 

D'Backs have fired their hitting coach. There are some around baseball who believe that the D'Backs will go into a full rebuild mode and that Goldschmidt very well could be on the market. Many thought this after the firing of Dave Stewart, so we shall see.

 

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/9/30/17882780/dodgers-national-league-west-mlb-playoffs

 

Damn shame. Dbags got all that cheap labor

 

Whoa, the Dodgers FO appear to be under investigation by the DOJ for their dealings in the Int'l market. The good thing about this is that it seems to stem from 2015, just before the new FO did an internal investigation that led to the surprising firings of some well regarded scouts in the area. It is not a great thing to see, but if the Dodgers already saw they had an issue and handled it years ago, it could mean they will come out of this ok. Still not great that the FO is being investigated by the DOJ while ownership is being looked at by the SEC.

 

He has said more than a few times that he wants to be a D'Backs lifer, so he very well could sign a long term contract. Would guess if those negotiations don't go well this offseason, then he is a goner.