Rants & Raves
Congratulations to Venezuela for doing the unthinkable and winning the 2026 WBC. It’s an incredible feat. They were simply too legit to quit. Roki Sasaki did what I thought he would do: Pitch lights out for a while and then get lit up because of a lack of control and eroding…
- Congratulations to Venezuela for doing the unthinkable and winning the 2026 WBC. It’s an incredible feat. They were simply too legit to quit.
- Roki Sasaki did what I thought he would do: Pitch lights out for a while and then get lit up because of a lack of control and eroding confidence. He can pitch like a superstar for one or two innings and then lose it. They tried to get him back in sync with “shadow-throwing” in the dugout when Robertson was in, and then sent him back in to continue it. They need to convince him he can go to OKC, work on this, and come back in April. He is who I thought he was… but maybe he can change. If not, he is excellent in the bullpen.
- Santiago Espinal is not invincible as a roster lock. I look at OPS more than BA. There is still a way he does not make the team… especially if Nick Senzel heats up. Look at their OPS.
- Jack Suwinski is simply organizational depth.
- Alex Freeland should be looking for apartments in OKC.
- Hyeseong Kim can hit RHP… LHP? Not so much!
- The Dodgers are bringing Mike Sirota along slowly. His 2025 injury was a knee injury, and it wasn’t just a minor tweak—it effectively shut down his season. He injured his knee on a slide into second base during a game on July 5, 2025. Think of it as a full-speed sports car hitting a pothole mid-race—everything was humming (.333/.452/.616 slash, rising fast), then boom, momentum gone. They want to see him start at Tulsa and end up at OKC.
- Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart threw bullpens yesterday.
- Nice to see Nick Robertson back with the team after two years away. He throws 95-97 MPH and is organizational depth.
- Don’t sleep on Ryan Fitzgerald.
- I like Damon Keith, but he’s way down the outfield chain.
- Seby Zavala will be 33 this year, but is a “defense-first” catcher. He has a knack for hitting home runs… sort of. He hit his first 3 MLB Home Runs in one game in 2021. He has hit 12 since then, including a Grand Slam last night. He may go to OKC, or they could get an offer. He’s a better hitter than Ben Rortvedt. Maybe he’s his equal defensively.
- Cam Day could be a 2026 Breakout Candidate. He has some of the best stuff in the system, has a refuse-to-lose attitude, and is noted for being cool under pressure.
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Discussion (36)
Disagree, not disagreeable
He has no options left, so he is at the top mix to make the 26-man. Nick Senzel is not on the 40-man. If Santiago Espinal had stayed in arbitration with the Reds, he was projected to earn around ~$2.9 million for 2026. The Reds non-tendered and removed him, so that $2.9M never materialized. Since he’s likely to make the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, he’ll land somewhere around the MLB minimum, prorated over the season, not $2.9M. That’s $750-$800 K depending upon how long he is on the roster… which could be a couple of months.
Don’t write River Ryan off for making the 26-man. There’s still essentially 6 games left. 3 for Sprimng Training and 3 in the Freeway Series.
Beating the Giants in spring training or otherwise never gets old. Looks like Buehler is pretty sure to make the Padres opening day roster. Their injury issues with Musgrove and Darvish out to begin the season, plus the less than inspiring spring by German Marquez has Butane on track to break camp with the 26-man.
Senzel had 3 dingers now, power and a low BA. Your kinda guy, Mark! A Max Muncy clone.
Yes, all of those numbers reflect a small sample. The Dodgers should give Kim runway. His defense and speed can win some games. If he hits, that’s gravy.
Funny… I thought you hated small samples. Senzel is good, but Espinal is more versatile and seems to have the inside track. We’ll see. Senzel is under contract and could be next-man-up in OKC… which would not be good news for Alex Freeland.
Buhler vs. Dodgers could be spicy!
NO Dodger game today!
Dodgers option Ryan, Hurt to Triple-A as Opening Day pitching staff crystalizes March 18th, 2026 Sonja Chen GLENDALE, Ariz. — After two spring cuts, the Dodgers’ season-opening pitching staff has all but taken shape. “Los Angeles optioned right-handers River Ryan and Kyle Hurt to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday. After the moves, the Dodgers have only 14 full-time pitchers in big league camp who are both healthy and on the 40-man roster, so the Opening Day rotation and bullpen are essentially set: Rotation: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan/Justin Wrobleski Bullpen: Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Jack Dreyer, Will Klein, Edgardo Henriquez, Ben Casparius and Sheehan/Wrobleski The odd man out of those healthy, rostered pitchers in camp would appear to be right-hander Landon Knack, who should start the season as rotation depth in Oklahoma City”.
I think the roster is set. Itbis strong. Snell is biggest omission but he’s in this for the long run. Freeland, Ryan & Hurt will be back–they are the victims of a roster crunch. Good problem to have. Guts like Graterol, Phillips, Miller, Stewart, Keekay . . . we probably don’t need you but you’re welcome to contribute when healthy. And Mr. Tibbs, don’t sleep with your phone too far away. We’ll be calling you.
Expect to see a revolving roster door.