• Offseason - NEWS/RUMORS

(made of)glas(s)now
(dis)may
gon(e on the IL again)solin

 

• “The reality is [the Dodgers are] a great team, a great organization with a lot of great people that I happen to know and respect, too,” said Boone. “So a few people sounding off isn’t necessarily how I would want to draw it up.”

• Reliever Joe Kelly said the Yankees “lazy defense and baserunning” were “well-known” on a podcast and Chris Taylor said the Yankees “shit down their leg” while appearing on teammate Mookie Betts’ podcast.

 

Another parallel to the '88 Series. No doubt Gibby broke their spirit with that game one home run. Just shows how important it is to strike first.

 

~ ugh

 

Jeff Passan@Jeff Passan
BREAKING: Right-hander Nick Pivetta and the San Diego Padres are in agreement on a four-year, $55 million contract that includes a pair of opt-outs, pending physical, sources tell ESPN.
6:11 PM · Feb 12, 2025 · 1.8M Views​

lolz padres
huge overpay for a guy who wouldn’t even make our roster

 

And now they signed Bregman too.

 

MLB Network@MLBNetwork
"You see Kershaw, that's crazy to me. That's like the coolest thing I think I've done in my career is pitching in front of him..." Blake Snell reacts to his first #SpringTraining bullpen with the @Dodgers.
12:07 PM · Feb 12, 2025 · 122.4K Views

 

I'm pretty stoked about this signing. I mean, two-time CYA, how could I not be? But in the Dodgers case, they not only acquire what is likely a top-five pitcher in the league, but they also eliminate a huge thorn in their side, as they never seemed to be able to solve his pitching on the mound. The only exception to that is in the '20 WS when Kevin Cash was scared to let him go through the lineup more than twice, and pulled him too early.

He's at the top of his game right now. We know how Boras screwed him over last year, and Snell missed much of ST. His first half numbers were ugly: 0-3, 6.31 ERA, 1.43 WHIP. But then he came back in the second half with 5-0, 1.45 ERA, 0.849 WHIP. Imagine if he puts those numbers together for the whole season this year, supported by that lineup and backed up by that bullpen!

And then there's the stadium effect. Can't wait to see him pitch half of his games in LA. Career ERA by ballpark, minimum of five starts:

Dodger Stadium 2.03
Oakland Coliseum 2.22
Oracle Park 2.48
Rogers Center 2.63
Tropicana Field 2.70
Citi Field 2.81
Petco Park 2.87
Fenway 3.10
Camden Yards 5.32
Yankee Stadium 5.77
Coors Field 5.97
Minute Maid Park 6.65

Yamamoto and Glasnow may give him competition, but I think right now he's the ace among aces (Ohtani and Kershaw won't be ready for a month or two and Sasaki reportedly is still raw and needs a year or two to develop).

 

From everything I've read so far, they (May and Gonsolin) are expected to be ready for the start of the season and are penciled-in as part of the initial six-man rotation. But while mildly optimistic, my hope for the two of them is to stay healthy and keep their ERAs under 3.50... not to vie for ace of the staff. If they surprise and do, well, you won't hear me complaining.

Miller is a wildcard at this point. What will it take to get his head back on straight? It's encouraging that Snell wants to mentor him. Will that be enough? He certainly has the stuff, but he needs to still figure out how to pitch, not just throw.

 

Definitely a possibility out of the gate, but my hunch is it's more likely later as Shohei, CK, Miller, Sheehan come online. The consensus still seems to view May as a starter and I haven't seen anything official to say otherwise. But a lot can change between now and opening day. Who knows, maybe Knack will be the sixth starter?