Hot Stove Starts After the World Series
Well, in a couple of weeks, after the dust settles and a new Champion is crowned, if the Astro holes don’t win, we can all put on our GM caps and begin making our fantasy selections on just who the Dodgers might target via trade, free agency or dipping into the Asian free agent…
Well, in a couple of weeks, after the dust settles and a new Champion is crowned, if the Astro holes don’t win, we can all put on our GM caps and begin making our fantasy selections on just who the Dodgers might target via trade, free agency or dipping into the Asian free agent pool and plucking a Nipponese pitcher.
I expect some changes, maybe even one or two in the coaching ranks, and maybe the front office. Boston is looking for an exec. I believe the Mets are too. McCullough has been mentioned as a managerial candidate for a couple of teams. The Dodgers always seem to lose one that way to another organization. I myself would like to see some change in the hitting philosophy. But y’all know I am old school. I totally dislike strikeouts. Especially when players blow by 100 by July.
There will be a couple of very good starting pitchers on the market in Blake Snell and Yamamoto from Japan. There will also be a few who have had some success in the past but have fallen on tougher times lately. With Kershaw’s possible departure, and the Julio Urias debacle, LA might need a lefty. The best available is Snell. The problem is his agent. AF does not like doing business with Boras. Or at least with Bora’s high dollar clients.
He signed Martinez because he came relatively cheap. Snell is going to get major money and most likely a 5- or 6-year deal. Boras got Rodon a six-year deal with the Yankees, so I doubt he will have much trouble securing something close for Snell, who is a former Cy Young winner, something Rodon is not. And Snell will win the ERA title this year.
The one I would kick the tires on is Jordan Montgomery. He finished 4-2 for the Rangers with an ERA under 3. He is not a high strikeout guy, but he doesn’t walk a lot of hitters either. Only 48 in 188 innings. He only gave up 18 homers too. So, in almost half his starts, he did not allow a homer. He has also shown well in this postseason for the Rangers so far and pitched well enough for the Rangers to shutout Houston, 2-0 in game one of the ALCS.
The most prominent closer coming on the market is Josh Hader. Hader had 33 saves, 2 wins and 3 losses. He blew 5 saves. He gave up 3 long balls in 56 innings and struck out 85. His ERA was 1.28 and his WHIP was 1.101. He is one of the better closers in the game. But do the Dodgers want to pay him in excess of the 14 million he made last year because he is going to get more than that.
Others coming out as free agents, Will Smith, David Robertson, Craig Kimbrel and Trevor May. Daniel Hudson of the Dodgers has a 6.5 mil club option. I think they will not exercise it. There will be others as team’s non-tender players. So, the free agent list will be well over 100 players by the time of the winter meetings.
I have seen many posters saying the Dodgers need to sign a third baseman. Matt Chapman is the name mentioned the most. Arenado is who most actually want, but St. Louis does not seem to want to trade him. Me? Well, if they could swing a deal, I would take Ramirez of Cleveland. But there is a free agent who is 29 and I was impressed with his work as a Cub after he was traded to Chicago. Jemier Candelario. Candelario hit .254 and had 22 homers. He also is a very good defender.
But again, my gut feeling tells me that they are going to give their two kids a shot at everyday jobs. Busch or Vargas can play third. They both played there at OKC. Vargas and Busch also played 2nd base. So it remains to be seen whether the Dodgers pursue a trade or decide to play the kids.
I saw where Bradley had suggested that the Dodgers look at trying to get Ke’bryan Hayes from the Pirates along with Bryan Reynolds. Both would be very good acquisitions. The problem with the suggestion is that both of those guys just signed long term contracts with the Pirates. Hayes is only 27 and Reynolds 29. They both are signed for 7 more years with an option year added. Neither is all that expensive, but Pittsburgh signed those guys to be their core players over the next several years. They are not getting traded anytime soon.
There will be plenty of outfielders available once the non-tenders and outright release lists are finalized. Even old pal Joc will be free to sign wherever he wants. So far, the Giants are busy looking for a new manager. Four teams looking for those and there could be a fifth if Craig Counsell decides not to go back with the Brewers. His contract expires on the 31st of October.
So, get ready for the annual winter sleigh ride. For you guys in California and Arizona, that is a old time mode of transportation when it snows heavily. There will probably be some surprises in store. There always are. But come next February, we will have a much better idea of who is going to be at Camelback Ranch than we do now.
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Discussion (64)
Disagree, not disagreeable
To Bluto’s point, I would add that AF is very reluctant to sign pitchers to long-term contracts. If Snell wants the security of a 5- or 6-year deal, he probably won’t be a Dodger.
As I recall it, Kershaw worked through one five-year deal and has since opted for one-year deals, which AF probably loves. The Bauer deal was a three-year commitment at a record AAV. AF was willing to pay Tyler Anderson the QO of $19-million after his breakthrough season,, but was unwilling to give him a 3-year deal at a lower AAV like the Angels. (Anderson did not have a good season–but we don’t know how he would have pitched under Prior with a better team behind him.)
AF is fine with long-term deals with proven everyday players, as Mookie and Freddie illustrate. Even if he can’t pitch for one season, Shohei is a proven everyday DH–the best in the game. He’ll probably be pitching in ’25–and he could be an SP or do a Smoltz and move to the bullpen. If he is someday told, “You will never pitch again,” he could slide into the OF and open up DH for others.
One of the Dodger YouTubers made an interesting point yesterday, suggesting that the AF really whiffed in ’22 when he failed to deal for the Reds’ ace Luis Castillo. It reminded me that I had been hoping for a big package of Castillo + Drury. The Mariners snagged Castillo and the Padres wound up with Drury. Both Castillo and Drury have had successful runs since those deals.
The Mariners gave of three of their top prospects for Castillo, and promptly signed him to a 5-year, $108-million contract. DiPoto wasn’t messing around: the Mariners went out and locked up their ace. In ’23, Castillio finished 14-9 with a 3.34 ERA and 219 Ks and a 1.10 WHIP.
When the details of the Castillo deal were reported, it seemed like an overpay–three good prospects for a rental? But of course DiPoto made sure it wasn’t a rental. I’m left wondering whether AF would have made such a deal. Would he have offered, say, Cartaya (#1 prospect then) and nice sweeteners (like Busch or Knack or ??) for Castillo alone? How about an “overpay” for both Castillo and Drury?
I already said it: Spilt milk. But my point is that AF may be overly focused on what he considers a fair price than aggressively pursuing a difference- He nickeled-and-dimed it in ’22, getting Gallo for Beeter and Chris Martin for McKinstry. He did not swing for the fences like DiPoto.
If he had, perhaps he would have dealt Cartaya and Busch at peak value and now Castillo would be fronting the Dodgers rotation. And at least in ’22, the roster would have featured Drury instead of Vargas.
Let’s pause now and remember how, after Lance Lynn’s first couple of starts with the Dodgers, there was a lot of chatter here about how AF had “won” the midseason trades. That proved to be premature.
Is there an ace-caliber lefty on the trade market?
My guess is that AF won’t swing for the fences.
The Phillies are the embodiment of what the Dodgers thought they would be.
Without the playoff slump and pitching injuries.
Favorite Stat from the broadcast? Phillies LEADOFF hitter had 47 HR and 48 singles.
Yep. There are making Diamondbacks look like an 84 win team
Andrew Friedman wouldn’t comment specifically on Ohtani, but he suggested that the Dodgers will be aggressive in pursuing frontline free-agent talent, particularly in light of coming up short in that regard in recent winters — something out of the norm for most of the decade-plus since the Guggenheim ownership group took over.
“We’re extremely angry, disappointed with how these last two offseasons have gone, and we’re going to do everything we can to put ourselves in position for it not to happen next year,” said Friedman. “So what that means exactly, I’m not sure yet, but I do feel very confident that when we show up in Arizona in February, we’re going to have a team that has very, very legit championship aspirations.”