I Am Down With Keeping Lux.. But, Mookie is the SS!

The Rule 5 Draft is over and the Dodgers did not lose anyone.

The Red Sox are on the verge of acquiring Garrett Crochet.

I’ve been an advocate to keep Lux. Lux has a chance to be very good, he has a chance of not being good at all. In my mind it’s hard to gage his worth. The Dodgers will have a lot better feel by this year trade deadline. I hope that Lux is producing. In this business you produce or find a different career, it’s a cold blooded business. Personally I like the idea of Betts playing short and Lux at second. It has a chance to make the Dodgers lineup longer if the Dodgers can score a power hitting outfielder like Teo. If they can’t make a trade or sign Teo the Dodgers are throwing the dice that one of the young players like Pages, Rushing or Outman will step up and be that player. Even if the Dodgers get one outfielder that still leaves two spots open unless we plug Edmund into CF full time or Taylor bounces back. It’s really a great time to be a Dodger fan because regardless of what they do, they will still be the best team in baseball. It’s good to deal when you are in power, you are not forced to make a rash or a hard gamble on any trade or free agent signing.

How many years until Lux hits free agency?

And after that, will he be re-signed?

Betts to SS for 1 or 2 more seasons, and then?

Will he be moved to 2B?

What will happen to Lux then?

Where is gonna play Freeland?

I don’t see any reason for Betts to play SS, for that it would be better to leave him at RF.

But what do I know? The front office knows much more than me!

It’s funny how I didn’t see this coming. I thought GM’s would shy away from long term deals for pitching. But with all the arms falling off they said we better lock up the great ones. As for the Tankees, they signed Fried for 80 years because Cashman got played by AF for Snell and he panicked. Doesn’t he realize AF is playing 3d chess while he is just playing…..well 3d chess. Andrew is just better.

Book em

For Duke:

You just don’t get it! I do not have a favorite player…. well may Alex Freeland. I follow the kids in the minors and watch them on MilB.TV. I even go to some Minor League Games. I also value good bat-to-ball skills. Mookie and Freddie have them, Ohtani and Max? Not so much. I followed Outman and Miguel Vargas through the system. I always believed that Vargas had an elite swing and I always felt that Outman would be a #4 or #5 outfielder because of his swing and miss and the fact he could not hit LHP.

Well, the league found a flaw in Vargas swing: He cannot catch up to a high fastball. They also found a hole in Outman’s swing the size of the Bermuda Triangle. Outman has a shot at making the team… I just don’t see it. Vargas? I doubt that he can be salvaged. I never saw that high cheese problem in the minors. MLB will expose you!

At your age, why a car that’s go 0- 60 in 3.7 seconds .asking for a friend.

Tonight we had a business meeting with the Presidents of two suppliers we use. My wife and I arrvied in the Mustang Dark Horse and my son arrived in his F-350. Quite a contrast. This thing is a Beast… 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. The only thing faster is the Tesla!

Major League Baseball conducted its third annual draft lottery this afternoon at the Winter Meetings. The Nationals won the lottery and will pick first overall. They’ll be followed by the Angels and Mariners. Washington had just above a 10% chance of securing the top pick, the fourth-highest odds.

Here’s the top 5:

1. Nationals

2. Angels

3. Mariners

4. Rockies

5. Cardinals

Per Ardaya:

Andrew Friedman on Teoscar Hernández: “I know that he has talked about wanting to (re-sign), I know that we have talked about wanting him to…But it’s not everything. He and his family get to go through the interest and figure out what makes the most sense for them.”

Hitting MLB pitching is hard. Even the great ones take time to get used to it after a major injury. Gavin Lux was no different , rough start last year, but his OBP the last 3 months was over .370. It seems logical that this is why Mookie is at SS and not 2nd base.

Per Doug McKain:

Andrew Friedman says that Roki Sasaki is a major priority for the Dodgers:

“He is someone that obviously is a major priority for us and we’re going to do whatever we can, and know that there are a lot of other teams that are going to do the exact same thing.”

Friedman went on to say Sasaki is capable of being the best pitcher in the world.

Fried signs 8 year deal with Yankees for 218 million

I hear the Trashtos are dangling Kyle Tucker. I would love to have him for his walk year. But at what cost. How about DePaula, Outman and Caspirius. Just think Mark, with Outman gone, some folks just might have to move on from their obsession with James. What a great lineup that would be.

Book em

For the most part I have no problem with the Dodgers trading almost anybody if they get a fair return. The Dodgers are dealing in a position of strength. They are the favorites to win the World Series (a lot of things must go well), when you are in the position of strength you act like it. We do not have to overpay with players or prospects for anyone. We must be cognizant that we must continue to look in the future so we continue to deal in the position of strength. This is what I love about our front office, they build for now and tomorrow. The Micheal Busch trade is a great example. Busch is a good player possibly a very good player. He had no place to play in the Dodgers organization so the Dodgers flipped him for a couple of great prospects. You don’t know how Ferris and Hope are going to turn out but I like the chances of it becoming a great trade possibly for the Cubs also. 4-Gens I’m not questioning your thought, to each their own, I just think we don’t overpay and teams need to come to us. We have strength in starting pitching (though a team can’t have to many) , teams are desperate for starting pitching, they should be overpaying us for a players such as Grove, Knack, or whoever the front office decided to trade.

My question is if you are resigning Kike, why is Taylor platooning in LF and not Kike? Maybe Mark is saving Kike for the playoffs. I also think with all the deferred money the Dodgers have out, They will be building more of a powerhouse team and you won’t see the hole in LF as Mark has listed above. It’s Go time in LA to repeat. You will see a power right handed bat in LF. If not Teo it will be someone else. Pages will be given a chance to play as a platoon in RF with Conforto. I see Rushing spending more time in AAA or maybe a packaged player for Roberts Jr or someone similar. Just my opinion It sounds like they are looking for a high leverage closer right now. Fun time of year

Mookie is an amazing athlete, but not a top tier MLB shortstop. I don’t think he passed the eye test last season and so it was not a surprise that he move to RF when things got serious. That said, agree that Lux in not the SS. Lux ultimately needs a fresh start with another team.

I don’t like a potential line-up with Muncy/Pages/Taylor in a row. To me, that represents a sizable hole that pitchers can exploit.

Unless we add a SS, I am guessing we’ll see a regular season similar to last year in which several will play at SS (Rojas, Mookie, Edmund) and second base too (Lux, Mookie, Taylor) and even at third (Muncy, Taylor, Kike), especially if Freddie requires more days offs due for his ankle and rib injury to fully heal.

Friedman is playing the long game keeping players fresh and engaged over a long season. The Dodgers can add a piece at the deadline if necessary.

The only x-factor would be adding Nolan Arenado to play third. He doesn’t make the Dodgers younger, but allows better usage of Muncy against RHP’s.

How is moving to SS going to be easier on Bett’s body? That’s the main reason I’ve heard/read for the change. I would think SS is the second most demanding position to play after catcher.

I’m sure AF knows what he is doing. I mean, he just won a World Series. If he puts Mookie at short, so be it. Mookie is a baller. He will get the job done without question. Remember, the lineup and roster in April and May and June……….means nothing as the Dodgers without question will make the playoffs and roll into October. He’s putting all his players in a position to succeed. And remember the views and opinions in this comment are the sole intellectual property of the owner.

Book em

Teo or Walker B.?

Id take WB….

no way taylor and rushing come close to matching Teo’s production in left field! i agree with you Mark 90% of the time, but i don’t see that combo manning left field. as for outman? i agree. with the conforto signing, no room in the inn! as for mookie playing shortstop? i’d rather he play second base, but that’s just me. Not saying he can’t, just wish he would settle in at 2nd. Come on AF! you would have gone 600 million on soto! get teo back!

Let’s sign Tanner Scott now that he is available on the free agent market with no qualifying offer. He would definitely fortify our bullpen and help shorten the game with our other quality relievers.

Why not Mookie in RF, Rojas at SS, Edman in CF? Let Rojas bat 8th or 9th, with his D that is fine.

I dont like the idea of Mookie at SS, he said it himself it weighed on him the entire season when he was there. Said he couldnt sleep. Its a damn tough position….

Doesnt makes sense to me….something is up…..leverage for a trade?

So you’re back to dissing Outman, I see. Just got to scratch that itch?

For some reason Outman doesn’t merit mention in your projected lineups, even though just a sophomore jinx removed from a rookie season in which he finished third NL ROY voting with a .790 OPS, a .353 OBP and 23 HRs–all while playing a quality centerfield. Those numbers are far more impressive than what Chris Taylor and Andy Pages have done in the last couple of seasons. Rushing too, since he’s only played in the minors.

Yes, Outman had a rough ’24–though he played well and finished strong after being sent down to OKC.

But didn’t somebody once preach that progress is not linear? And isn’t the sophomore jinx so common in baseball that it inspired the term “sophomore jinx”?

I can understand why, based on last season’s performances, you see promise in Pages. He showed flashes, especially against lefties. But his ’24 offensive performance wasn’t nearly as good as Outman’s in ’23.

And did anyone think Pages played a stellar CF?

It’s more puzzling that you look so favorably on Rushing as an OF. He’s never had a single AB in the majors and is a catcher by trade who only started playing some LF last season. Great if he succeeds–but no real track record as an outfielder.

Funny, but not long ago you were saying that Outman was still part of the Dodgers outfield plans for ’25.

Was this an oversight?

Or do you secretly know that Outman is “the player to be named later” in a deal that remains a closely guarded secret…

Outman for Miguelito, perhaps?

Mark often says: “progress is not linear” and he is absolutely right, not all players stand out in their first year, for the vast majority it happens little by little, having said that, Andy Pagés will have the bat of Teoscar, in the coming seasons, but with a much superior defense, in LF or RF, and with that great cannon arm he has, Andy will be a better player.

Go to BR and compare their first full season, practically, Andy is Teo but with a better defense.

In 2018, at 25 years old, Teo had his first full season but already had a little more than 250 AB of MLB experience.

In 2024, at 23 years of age, without any MLB experience, Pagés had his first almost complete season and the statistics are very similar.

I am not giving up on Teo coming back until he signs elsewhere. Take Rushing and Taylor out of Marks lineup and drop Teoscar back in to his spot behind Freddy and we are ready to Run It Back!

UGH! I hate your observation about Teo…..and I think you may be right.

Do you suspect it will be more dollars per year or more years in total they will offer him? Or will it be both? Based on his stated preference to return I’m guessing he’d be willing to take a bit of a haircut on one or the other but if it’s many millions or both then I understand. Damn!

PS: Mookie is already 32 but athletically I put NOTHING past his ability to rise to the challenge.