Corey Seager or Trea Turner?
Do you remember when many Dodger fans wanted to trade Gavin Lux, Keibert Ruiz, and the kitchen sink for Francisco Lindor who was allegedly the second coming? Remember how many were heartbroken when he was traded to the Mets who signed him to a $341 Million Dollar Deal? Remember when most fans wanted Lindor, Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, or Javier Baez instead of Corey Seager? Well, of those five (soon
Do you remember when many Dodger fans wanted to trade Gavin Lux, Keibert Ruiz, and the kitchen sink for Francisco Lindor who was allegedly the second coming? Remember how many were heartbroken when he was traded to the Mets who signed him to a $341 Million Dollar Deal? Remember when most fans wanted Lindor, Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, or Javier Baez instead of Corey Seager?
Well, of those five (soon to be free agent) shortstops, let’s look at their stats:
- Javier Baez – .241 BA/.757 OPS/24 HR/68 RBI Baez is a train wreck. I want to see what Fool GM gives him more than $80 Million.
- Carlos Correa – .269 BA/.839 OPS/18 HR/60 RBI Carlos is doing OK, but his history of back injuries has to give anyone pause.
- Francisco Lindor – .228 BA/.702 OPS/11 HR/36 RBI I’ll bet Steve Cohen has learned his lesson. This is potentiall a huge boat anchor contract.
- Trevor Story – .254 BA/.785 OPS/15 HR/54 RBI Certainly not the superstar that many thought. You have to dedcet a little from his offense for the Mile-High Factor
- Corey Seager – .276 BA/.799 OPS/5 HR/25 RBI Of course, he has been injured most of thr season. The final chapter is yet to be written… and is true with all five players.
Francisco Lindor’s inability to even be an average player started the domino effect to all the other shortstops. That contract looks like a boat anchor. I think because of that, most GMs will be very wary of giving out big contracts to these players. Some Dodger fans pined for Javy Baez. How do you like him now? No thank you! Corey Seager is heating up and getting his strike back. I predict that he will hit over .300… of course, he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for anything. With a hot finish, Corey Seager will be the cream of the crop of Free Agent Shortstops, but what does that mean for the Dodgers?
We know that Trea Turner changes the whole Dodger Dynamic. However, I would not want to choose one player over the other… and I don’t think you have to. A sit-down after the season with both players could be productive. I can see both players wanting to test free agency. People who say “The Dodgers should lock up Seager (or Turner) now.” are not being realistic and lack understanding of how the free-agent process works. Trea Turner becomes a Free Agent in 2023 while Corey Seager is one after this season.
There are not that many teams that can afford either player, but right now our focus is on Corey. The Yankees can afford him, but will they? We know that was his childhood team, but does he still want to play there? Will the Yankees be a player for him? We don’t know. Corey will be 28 next season. I think he can play shortstop into his 30’s and slide over to 3B or 1B at that time. We know that he missed nearly a full season with elbow and hip surgery and recently missed months with a broken finger/hand. I do not think that makes him “injury prone.” Getting hit with a pitch is not proof of that.
Of course, Trea Turner also plays SS, and 2B and CF. He can be outstanding at any of these positions, but there is one thing to worry about with Trea Turner. We know his speed is elite, but we also know he is a year older than Corey. You don’t get faster as you get older. We also know that Trea has missed substantial time with injuries. As he ages, his speed will become less of a factor. The bottom line is I think Corey will get a bigger contract than Trea, but that is why players go to free agency to see what they can get.
If forced to sign one or the other, I would sign Corey Seager to an 8 year/$240 Million Dollar deal. That’s a big contract, but I do not believe any of the shortstops on the market this year will get anything approaching with Lindor did. Cody Bellinger is also showing signs of getting his stroke back, so the Dodgers will have to figure out how to sign him too.
Currently, Mookie Betts is likely headed back to the IL and I wonder how much of a factor he can be. He obviously needs surgery, but for what and how? We don’t know. I think the Dodgers do but aren’t saying. Justin Turner’s groin injury could also require an IL stint. Sometimes those take a while. CT3 can play there, but Max Muncy is a better option because of his experience.
Danny Duffy, Victor Gonzalez, and Clayton Kershaw are also on the IL and probably won’t be back until September, whenever. The Good News is that Alex Vesia and Corey Knebel look healthy and effective out of the pen. Corey was 97-98 MPH consistently last night. This has been a trying season for the Dodgers and they will be tried even more, but even Mookie and JT out, the firepower brought by Turner, Seager, Muncy, Bellinger, and Taylor should be sufficient. It would be nice to win the division (and I still think the Dodgers will), but that is not the only path to success.
Regardless of the injuries, this team will be tough in the playoffs… they just have to get there first. However, anyone who thinks this team does not have depth is seriously mistaken.
Minor League News
- Gavin Lux played 3B at OKC and was 2-4 last night. He’s playing 3B, in case JT is down for any period of time. Gavin has not been the superstar (yet) that many wanted, but he is a solid player.. who may becaome THAT guy.
- Miguel Vargas continues to hit at Tulsa. He balsted his 10th HR last night and was 2-4 (.294 BA/.877 OPS)
Photo Credit: Alex Gallardo / Associated Press
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Discussion (153)
Disagree, not disagreeable
What an at bat for Bellinger
That was epic
Such a beautiful thing we’ve all been praying for
Hoping the gods are having pity on us
Knock on wood.
Or maybe they think we’ve been spanked enough , again knock on wood
Nothing is quite like the joy you feel when a pitcher hits a gapper with an RBI to boot!
Belli’s last 7 games…. .318/.375/.818. I guess the problem of CT3 needing to take his spot fixed itself.
Maybe Lux will come back from the IL fixed.
Stranger things have happened. Seager just dove for a ball.
Bellinger saved some ass again, with the glove this time.
I know what’s going on with our starting pitching but I just don’t like David Price. He had a 778 OPS coming into the game and I bet it goes up after this game.
As I recall it, the sticking point on Lindor was Lux. Was Ruiz part of that proposed package? I don’t recall that being actually reported, and perhaps we’ll never know what offer was on the table. I’m sure there were a lot of moving parts.
But who now wouldn’t have given up Lux in a deal for Lindor, a multiple All Star with several gold gloves. If you checked his career stats at that juncture, Lindor was on a HOF trajectory. His recent struggles are not indicative of the player he has proven himself to be–while Lux’s struggles (especially against lefthanded pitching) may well reveal his limitations. Besides, the argument for Lindor over Seager was always, primarily, about the glove–because we’ve always known that Seager is a mediocre fielder at best. Getting Lindor would have forced Seager to move to either 3B or 1B–and the Dodgers would have won more games as a result. Plus, Lindor would have replaced Joc at the top of the order–and that would have won same games too.
The only reason I’m OK with that deal falling through is that AF then turned his attention to Mookie, who in addition to being an major offensive force is a Gold Glover. Very happy that worked out.
Listening to today’s game, I heard Rick Monday bemoan how the Dodgers messed up a routine double play–and that led to runs for the Phillies. Now, I didn’t see the play–I don’t who flubbed it–but it reflects how games often turn on defense. And these mistakes don’t necessarily get recorded as errors or measured in conventional statistics.
As I mentioned in a previous conversation, one reason the Giants are four games up on the Dodgers is that Brandon Crawford can make plays that Seager/Lux/Taylor can’t. Crawford was winning Gold Gloves in the NL Gold Gloves when Lindor was getting that hardware in the AL. We like to think that Seager is clearly superior to Crawford–but check out Crawford’s hitting stats and you may be surprised.
Should Trea Turner take over SS? Probably not yet. It would be disruptive and moving Seager to third or first would create problems as well.
I love fielding highlights. All those “web gems.” My baseball crazed son and I look them up on Youtube. And it’s really pretty rare to see any Dodger except Mookie or Belli make these plays. (Justin just had a great one–and he strained his groin.)
OK, Dodgers are now up 5-2 in the 7th as I write this….. But if Monday is right, it should be 5-0
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6-2 now. Bullpen unscored on so far again. Taylor not having a good night at the dish. Bellinger hits another, 2 HR’s, 4 RBI’s. Cody is coming back.
3Ks, 2 Bombs. This season is as crazy as Belli’s hitting.
Is 6 runs enough for Ucenta to mop up?
Belli’s 13 pitch at bat against Gibson was impressive. He did have trouble catching up to the high fastball again, but over all, Belli seems to be coming alive. 8 game hitting streak, 4 HR’s in his last 4 games. 4 RBI’s tonight. With Betts down, they need that bat. Bullpen, you watching Eric? Perfect again.
Bullpen game tomorrow. Wonder if they will call up White to make the start. Bazooka looked great tonight. First time I have seen him go two innings. Suarez starting for the Phillies. Mets have to play a doubleheader tomorrow. Mookie left for LA to be checked out. Reddick signs a deal with the Mets.