Matthew David Sauer was born in Santa Maria, CA, on January 21, 1999. He is barely older than my youngest son. He was drafted in 2017 by the Yankees in the second round with a $2,497,500 signing bonus. That’s pretty dang good for 2017. He had Tommy John surgery early in 2019, then lost the next year when the minor league season was canceled in the midst of the pandemic. Sauer reached Double-A in 2022 but needed another surgery to clean up elbow and forearm issues. He returned to the level in 2023 and then was selected by the Royals in the Rule 5 draft. He didn’t stick.
Matt has a 7.71 ERA in the Majors in 16.1 IP and an ERA of 4.37 in the minors in 414 IP. So, what the hell is he doing on the Dodgers squad going to Japan? Well, let’s tart with what Baseball America said about him in 2024:
Sauer is a sturdy-bodied righthander who operates with a four-pitch mix dominated by a fastball and slider. His four-seam fastball sat around 94 mph and touched 98, while the slider checked in around 84 mph and peaked at 89. The fastball showed excellent life through the zone and was an effective bat-misser when elevated. Sauer’s slider had plenty of sweeping action and a high spin rate of around 2,600 rpm. Both pitches are above-average and can flash a tick higher. Sauer rounds out his mix with a mid-80s changeup and a low-80s curveball. The changeup flashes fade and drop but is inconsistent, and he can give away the pitch by utilizing a more pronounced glove tap than is seen on his other offerings. He has above-average control.
Uh… OK! But lots of pitchers have that. Well, let me give this to you straight: Matt Sauer is the Dodgers 2025 Reclamation Project! They have one about every year, and he is this year’s PROJECT. Why? It’s simple: He has recovered from his surgeries, and the Dodgers are working with him on a new pitch (or pitches). These things do not always pan out, but some do:
- Joe Blanton
- Brandon Morrow
- Tyler Anderson
- Andrew Heaney
- Jack Flaherty
- Jake McGee
- Corey Knebel
- Alex Vesia
- Yency Almonte
- Evan Phillips
I am sure I have forgotten some…
Every year, Andrew Friedman signs an ” under-the-radar” pitcher who frequently turns into “something.” This year’s flavor-of-the-year is Matt Sauer. His ERA in the pre-season is not good, but Mark Prior and the Dodgers see something—and that is good enough for me! Let’s Ride!
Discussion (23)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Great Sasaki video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8FEngFBINk
In addition to Kim, Giovanny Gallegos, catcher Dalton Rushing, infielders David Bote and Michael Chavis and outfielder Eddie Rosario were reassigned to minor league camp.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Dave Roberts makes it official: Roki Sasaki will start game 2 of the season in Tokyo, Japan. #TokyoSeries #Dodgers #Cubs
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Dustin May will stay back in Arizona to prepare for the season as 5th starter to begin the season. Tony Gonsolin injured his back lifting weights and will begin the season on IL. #Dodgers
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Hyeseong Kim will not travel to Japan with #Dodgers and Dave Roberts said decision has been made for Kim to begin season at Triple-A OKC.
Nice win today. Off to Japan tomorrow.
Man, we gotta let CT3 go. He’s just not very effective anymore swinging a bat. How on earth can we afford to keep him on the team ? He hasn’t hit in three years. Be a crying shame to send David Bote down. He’s played all over and has hit very well. He’s more than able to replace Taylor. Although he’s struck out way to much. Doc might be leaning on keeping Outman over Pages because of his better defense and being a much better runner. Oh ya, one more thing. Someone mentioned how Landon Knack is another Lance Lynn. I concur. My 2 cents today.
LATEST TRANSACTIONS
March 7
• LHPs Jackson Ferris, Joe Jacques and Jose Hernandez and RHPs Sam Carlson, Jared Karros, Jack Little and Jose Rodriguez: Reassigned to Minor League camp
March 6
• Cs Griffin Lockwood-Powell and Chris Okey and IFs Alex Freeland, Austin Gauthier and Kody Hoese: Reassigned to Minor League camp
March 2
• RHP Nick Frasso: Optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City
• RHPs Carlos Duran, Julian Fernández and Justin Jarvis and OFs Ryan Ward, Justin Dean, Zyhir Hope and Josue De Paula: Reassigned to Minor League camp
4:05 PM ET
Guardians (92-69) (7-9)
Dodgers (98-64) (11-8)
SP Doug Nikhazy L
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Roki Sasaki R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
2B Tommy Edman S
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
C Will Smith R
LF E. Hernandez R
3B Max Muncy L
SS Miguel Rojas R
CF Andy Pages R
75° Wind 13 mph Out
I don’t know if anyone has been following Trayce Thompson, but he is playing CF for the Red Sox and is hitting .391 this spring with a 1.794 OPS with6 HR and 12 RBI.
Trevor Story is also raking!
Walker has pitched 5 innings and struck out 7.
Dustin May has won the Los Angeles’ Dodgers No. 5 starter, manager Dave Roberts said on Dodgers Territory Monday night.May beat out Tony Gonsolin, who suffered an injury while lifting weights.
While I’m fully expecting James Outman to start the season in OKC, it’s nice to see more signs of life after his poor start this spring.
Outman’s triple today lifted his spring OPS to a healthy .824–albeit with only a .214 BA .
Meanwhile, his primary in-house rival Andy Pages went 0 for 3 and saw his OPS drop to .584 (with a .192 BA), and NRI Eddie Rosario went 0 for 1 and had his OPS fall to .597 (with a .125 BA).
Kim, who also factors into the CF/2B situation, got a hit and raised his BA to .225 with a .656 OPS.
FWIW, Edman, who will be starting at either CF or 2B, has been fine, with a .787 OPS and .258 BA.
The big surprise, of course, has been David Bote, who may have earned a starting job. If not, why not? His OPS is at 1.193 with a .414 BA.
Projected lineup:
Shohei DH
Mookie SS
Freddie 1b
Teo RF
Max 3B
Smith C
Conforto LB
Bote 2B
Edman CF
Bench: Barnes, Kike, Taylor, Rojas
After starting his Dodger career 1 for 12, Hey Seong Kim has 4 hits in his last 14 at bats. Seems like he’s coming into latter parts of the games but at least the trend is in the right direction.
@FabianArdaya: James Outman said he’s been told he’s going to be part of the Dodgers’ travel roster in Japan. His status for the active roster is still TBD.
Cole will have Tommy John surgery tomorrow. Dr. Neil ElAttrache will perform the surgery.
Yamamoto looks pretty good today. Guys hitting the ball hard for the Dodgers.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Dave Roberts has agreed to a four-year extension with a salary of just over $8 million per year.
4:05 PM ET
Diamondbacks (89-73) (8-9)
Dodgers (98-64) (10-8)
SP John Curtiss R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Y. Yamamoto R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
2B Tommy Edman S
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
3B Max Muncy L
C Will Smith R
SS Miguel Rojas R
LF James Outman L
CF Andy Pages R
79° Wind 7 mph R-L
Two more Spring Training games,today and tomorrow before the Dodgers fly to Japan for a couple of Japanese exhibitions games and the season officially starts next Tuesday the 18th against the Cubs.
Thank God the Dodgers didn’t sign Gerrit Cole to a long term contract when they had a chance and he choose to sign with the Yankees.Long term contracts when a pitcher is approaching free agency at age 29 or older NEVER works out.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Dave Roberts said he can’t announce who will start the home opener, but basically said today, Blake Snell is lined up for that. #Dodgers
“It lines up with what everybody is expecting.”
Good piece on Sauer.
And I consider Casparius a lock at this point. He’s well within the circle of trust [though keep that slider down].
If Cole has TJ and Stanton has “severe” injuries in BOTH elbows I would assume the Yankees have a doubtful chance to get into the playoffs much less Advacne if they do.
So which A.L. team will be there in the end? I’ve been waiting for it to be the Orioles for awhile but somehow they just don’t get over the hump.