The first (5th, 16th, etc.) Game of Spring Training means nothing, but there were things that you should write down and remember for future meaning:
- James Outman had a good game – He will benefit greatly (as he did yesterday) from the ban of the shift. He did nothing to hurt his stock, and while these early games don’t mean a lot, he actually earned points toward promotion to the Show.
- Mark Washington is all, and it looks like he may have learned a new “curveball-type” of pitch.
- Rubby De La Rosa (RDLR) made his presence known. We will have to keep an eye on him.
- Andy Pages looked trimmer and quicker. Many people say he regressed in 2022… but he is ranked higher now. Who knew?
- JDM hits the ball with authority. It just sounds different!
- Freddie is ready!
- It is readily apparent that Mookie Betts may bat #2. Does that mean Gavin Lux is the leadoff hitter? That’s what I have been pushing for.
- Miguel Vargas is the real deal! He’s the first guy on the field and the last guy to leave. His footwork looked much improved.
- Kirstin Watson is a SCF. Who knows what that stands for?
- Don’ write off Yonny Hernandez!
While these games mean nothing, there are always “takeaways” that we can file away for future use.
Tomorrow the Dodgers have their “Opener” at Camelback Ranch. 12:05 PT/3:05 ET. Be there!
Discussion (13)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Cartaya with 2 walks. They don’t even pitch to him when he’s with the big club.
Hunter Feduccia just made himself a lo more valuable as a trade piece.
He has no chance with the Dodgers, but that 3-run shot might attract some attention from other teams. He’s a solid backup catcher.
In 5 years it’s going to get real ugly for the Padres.
Padres extending Machado for 11 years is another huge financial commitment by Seidler.
This extension is a huge overpay to me, with Machado being paid $31.5 million until he turns 41. Manny has been really good with the Padres and his biggest asset is his reliability and endurance. However, he has only had one full season with an OPS greater than 900 which was 2018. But even that season was mostly built on his time in Baltimore as his OPS was 825 after being traded to the Dodgers. And Manny hit 182 with a 390 OPS in the 2018 WS. While Manny has helped Padres, most position players decline significantly as they reach their mid 30’s and beyond.
I prefer to have 30-40 young talented MLB ready prospects that the Dodgers will have for one year of Machado’s salary. Dodgers have the prime years of Lux, Vargas, Busch, Outman, May, Miller, Stone, Phillips, Pepiot, and Vesia for $10 million total per year, while Machado will make $31.5 million for each of his aging years. The Dodger long term strategy is much more likely to succeed than the Padres who are also committed to $26 million for Boeggarts and $18 million for Darvish until they are 41, plus $340 million to Tatis.
AJ Preller has been GM since 2014, and they have only had one season with 80 wins or more and no division titles. The Padres look like a very talented team this year and probably for the next 3-5 years, but Dodgers are built to win long term.
While the Dodgers are gearing up for the 2023 season and dusting off some rust during Spring Training, Andrew Friedman is scouting for potential future players.
One of those being Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of the best pitchers in Japan. Earlier this month, Andrew Friedman paid Yamamoto a trip before making it back to team camp in Glendale last week.
Across his career, he posts an impressive 1.95 ERA with a 54-23 overall record. Between his last two seasons, he’s collected 405 strikeouts across 386.2 innings of work.
This March, Yamamoto will join MLB All-Star pitchers Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani in representing Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Darvish played in Los Angeles for half of the 2017 season and Ohtani could be sporting the Dodger Blue next season so maybe they have a thing or two to tell Yamamoto about coming overseas to play for Friedman and co.
Where did you get that lineup?
Manny Machado isn’t going anywhere. The Padres star third baseman was planning to opt out of his contract after his year but will instead stick around, as he and the club are reportedly finalizing a new 11-year, $350MM contract. It will begin this year, running through 2033 campaign, which will be Machado’s age-40 season. He gets full no-trade protection and the deal does not contain any opt-outs. Since Machado had six years and $180MM remaining on his previous deal, this new agreement will add five years and $170MM in new money.
3:05 PM ET
SP Robbie Erlin L
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
SS Miguel Rojas R
1B F. Freeman L
LF Chris Taylor R
3B Max Muncy L
C A. Barnes R
RF D. Peralta L
CF T. Thompson R
2B M. Busch L
DH Jonny DeLuca R
Partly-cloudy-day
5% Rain
52° Wind 12 mph Out
The Padres and third baseman Manny Machado are finalizing an 11-year, $350MM extension, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Will the WBC employ all the same rule changes as MLB has put in place?
I miss Alanna Rizzo thought she did that job very well. Kristin can be annoying but she’s getting better. This is premature after only one spring game but feeling pretty good about middle infield especially after they get more time working together. Very well could turn out being a brilliant decision putting Vargas at second. I predict he makes all star team within three years. They both look hungry and ready to sieze the moment and both got talent galore
“Stone Cold Fox”
Very noticeable pickup in the pace of play. Game today was 2:21; most games so far under 2:30.
Read somewhere that Roberts was leaning towards having Lux bat 9th. If Betts bats 2nd, then Lux batting first would make sense.