Bullpen Options
Well, the horse is dead and I won t beat it (very long), but I think Andrew Freidman made a mistake in letting Yimi Garcia walk when he could have been signed for about $1.1 million and if he was going to let him go, why didn t he do it two weeks ago and put Jordon Sheffield on the 40-man? I know that that AF is not perfect, but this move
Well, the horse is dead and I won’t beat it (very long), but I think Andrew Freidman made a mistake in letting Yimi Garcia walk when he could have been signed for about $1.1 million… and if he was going to let him go, why didn’t he do it two weeks ago and put Jordon Sheffield on the 40-man? I know that that AF is not perfect, but this move and the lack of adding Sheffield looks pretty dumb to me.
Maybe I am missing something. It could be that he thinks Yimi needs a change of scenery, but that still begs the question: Why now? Sheff will likely get nabbed in the Rule 5 Draft and keeping Yimi for two weeks is the reason. Puzzling… to say the least… I just call it the way I see it and right now, it doesn’t look good. I would have kept Garcia over Alexander… but that’s just me.
AF will likely sign a few bullpen reclamation projects… most not of the caliber of Yimi, but there are a number of arms out there. Let’s look at a few that intrigue me:
- Aaron Sanchez – He has 4 pitches and amid-to-high 90’s fastball and except for 2016, has been a failure as a starter. I would look at him in the bullpen. Of course, this is predicated upon his buying in.
- Taijuan Walker – Another live arm, but never got it going as a starter. Kind of the same deal as Sanchez.
- Kevin Gausman – Add another one to this above list. I think he should move to the bullpen. Will he “buy-in?” That’s the question.
- Tyler Anderson – He’s a LH’er and has looked pretty bad as a starter. Actually, he has good command and I believe his fastball velocity would tic up to 93-94 in the bullpen.
- Blake Treinen – In 2018, he was simply devastating and the best reliever in all of baseball. He’ll be in demand and will likely cost the Dodgers more than the others… but he is probably worth the risk.
There are many other “reclamation projects” but not many with the stuff of Yimi Garcia. Maybe the Dodgers think Yimi is damaged goods (between the ears)? This brings me to the final bullpen arm I want to talk about: Josh Hader. I know he said (tweeted) some stupid stuff when he was a teenager. Teenagers tend to do that. I have heard that he is not that guy anymore, but I am sure the Dodgers can figure it out. He has 4 more years of control and is arguably one of the Top 3 Bullpen Arms in the game.
Gavin Lux was born in Kenosha, Wisconson, just down the road from Milwaukee. While I do not see him as a SS for the Dodgers, he would be an improvement over Urias, who could slide to 2B or 3B. I think if the Dodgers want Hader, the conversation starts with Lux. One player is not going to get it done. A hometown could seal the deal. Top Prospect It may take Peters and Carrillo as well. I am not big on trading the farm, but I would, in this case, I would trade Lux, Peters, and Carrillo for 4 years of Josh Hader. This would be a game-changer.
It turns out the Dodgers have met with Strasburg and are also courting Cole. Get one of them signed along with Donaldson and they are locked and loaded. Hader makes the bullpen great and he will cost a lot! You have to pay for a player like this… in fact, they may want another pitcher. I won’t pretend to know how Milwaukee values the Dodger prospects, but I think a deal can be made.
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Discussion (90)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I know Bum you hate to see Joc being offered up in a trade. He just is not a complete ball player. Also next year is his contract year. This is the time to sell, if you have no intention of signing him. I would not sign Joc. Sorry Bum.
Mark, don’t spread rumors about Arte. Too funny. I do think the idea of centering a trade for Hader around Kenta Maeda is a pretty good idea. Kenta is a number three on most teams, maybe a number two or even one for the Brewers. I’m not sure you can connect Cole’s thinking to Zack Greinke. Greinke always said it was about the money, the reason he signed with the Dodgers in the first place. He was pretty straight forward about that.
Just read an article a few days ago that Cole may approach things differently, the fact he turned down a pretty good bonus from the Yankees and went to UCLA.
There is some serious buzz about the Dodgers and Anthony Rendon today, maybe because he recently met with them. But, if the Dodgers do sign Rendon, that would seem to eliminate the team pursuing Strasburg or Cole. It has been suggested that Rendon will be the first of the three big time free agents to sign, maybe faster than we think.
If the Dodgers are not concerned about the luxury tax threshold and there are some signs they are not, then signing a major pitcher may be in the cards. They met with Strasburg according to reports, which would be a shorter contract and less money than Cole.
Then again, this is all speculation. But some MLB analysts and Dodgers insiders expect the team with at least one of the big three.
I think you have to look at players ages and realize that Rendon will get a longer contract than Donaldson and Moose is younger than Donaldson.
2 new reports:
“Josh Lindblom Connected to LA by Ken Rosenthal.”
“LA in talks with starting pitcher Kevin Gausman.”
I actually think Cole signing with Anaheim makes sense (obviously if they offer him way more than we do). They aren’t a bad team now. They will get some financial flexibility soon from Hamilton and then Pujol’s contracts. Cole and then another decent starter gets their staff much much better.
Then throw in the division: Oakland will always be good but nothing more. Seattle is rebuilding. Texas is rebuilding.
And this cheating thing with Houston could bring down the Astro franchise really fast. Combine Houston losing Cole and Anaheim gaining Cole, and Anaheim now has a chance to move to the top of that division.
Of course, this is all predicated on 1) Cole really wanting to go to Anaheim, and 2) Anaheim paying him a LOT more than LA will. But being in LA guarantees October baseball. Anaheim doesn’t offer that guarantee yet.
If Maeda, Hernandez or Taylor, and Pederson are traded for prospects or young controllable assets, the Dodgers could sign Cole and Donaldson and be barely over the Luxury Tax Threshold. If they could trade Pollock, then they would be under and I would be fine with Beaty/Garlick/Taylor/Rios/Hernandez (pick a couple) in LF.
I’d take CT3 or Kike and Beaty in LF over Pollock and his salary. The thing is: I don’t think he can be moved… or maybe he can:
1. Trade Meada, Lux, Pollock, and Carrillo for Hader and Ryan Braun. Take on Braun’s salary for 2020.
2. Sign Donaldson
3. Sign Cole
4. Sign Treinen, Gausman, and Lindblom.
5. Trade Pederson, Kasowski, and Sheffield for Bummer.
Lineup:
1. Verdugo RF
2. Bellinger CF
3. Turner 1B
4. Muncy 2B
5. Donaldson 3B
6. Seager SS
7. Beaty/Braun LF
8. Smith C
Bench:
Barnes
Rios
White
Kike or CT3
Garlick
Rotation:
1. Cole
2. Buehler
3. Kershaw
4. Urias
5. May
Pen:
Stripling
Gausman
Treinam
Alexander
Lindblom
Gonsolin
Baez
Bummer
Jansen
Hader
PRINT THE TICKETS!
Pedro Moira:
It is folly to predict relief acquisitions. Hell, it’s folly to predict relief performance. It’s hard even to evaluate it.
Those are some wild proposals! The key is signing Cole! Everything else is gravy. I just can’t see AF giving up all that for 1year of Betts and I think your team 59 would be way over the 208. But I’m up,for anything just not standing pat!