Last night, the family was in for dinner, and my oldest son, who lives in Brooklyn (he has been here for 5 weeks helping his grandmother transition to a Senior Care Facility), is heading home today, so we had a goodbye dinner and stayed up late. Today is one of those days where I have to be in the office early and have meetings and/or appointments at 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM, and 4 PM, and then I have a dinner engagement at 7 PM – Busy Day! It’s not like that every day, but today is one of them, so I will likely not have much Dodger time today. So, here’s a few things to consider:
- Glasnow could be an Ace – a Real Ace, and Margot is attached to him because TB wants to dump his salary. I do not see TB adding Arozerena. Pepiot and DeLuca would not be a lot to pay for a potential Cy Young Award Winner – on the other hand – it would be a lot to pay for a pitcher on the IL and a backup outfielder. I say no!
- Ohtani’s Opt-Out Clause is certainly a testament to Mark Walter as an owner and Andrew Friedman as head of baseball operations. WOW! The details are all HERE. Never in the history of the game… I guess you will have to stop bashing Friedman unless you want to dump Ohtani too.
- Clayton Kershaw says he is doing really well – I think he will be back with the Dodgers by August! He wants to be part of this!
- Daniel Hudson is far from a sure thing with all of his knee problems, but he is certainly worth a 2-million-dollar minor-league deal.
- Giolito? Who knows?
- Burnes? Adames? Cease? Yamamoto? So we wait….
- Could it be that Yamamoto is all the Dodgers need? Yamamoto, Miller, Kershaw, Pepiot, Sheehan, Buehler, Stone, et al…
- David Vassagh in an interview yesterday that the “Dodgers aren’t worried about having Buehler in April or May – they want to be sure he is ready in October and they expect him to be.”
Discussion (38)
Disagree, not disagreeable
The position player portion of the 26 man roster is mostly set right now.
Betts 2B
Ohtani DH
Freeman 1B
Smith C
Muncy 3B
Outman CF
Heyward RF
Vargas LF
Lux SS
Bench
Taylor Rojas Margot Barnes
The only real question is who plays left Vargas Taylor or Busch.
Next up Yamamoto please
What’s the extension? Three more years at $25m per to make an even $100m?
If he proves me wrong and does well, I do not mind eating a little crow. I was one of the few who was all in on Heyward and he turned out to be a great addition to the team. I just do not think or believe for one minute that Margot is the RH bat they need.
Well, you CAN do better than Margot.
Sign Cody Bellinger!
Done deal!
It’s not happening, and I am tempted to use the M word!
I guess we can’t draw any conclusions until AF announces he’s done constructing his 2024 roster, but I’m just wondering where this leaves Vargas and Busch?
By the way, Margot has a lifetime OPS at Dodger Stadium of .855 in about 90 at bats.
Play him only at home and only against southpaws and he’ll make the All Star team.
Hate losing Pepiot but the Dodgers are in a win now mode. Hope they flip Margot and try to get another pitcher(s).
First a great anecdote about Glasgow:
https://x.com/jeffpassan/status/1341059030383538184
then some good stats:
Among all starters (140) with 250+ IP since 2020, Glasnow is:
3rd in K/9 (12.7)
7th in FIP (3.03)
3rd in xFIP (2.73)
4th in BAA (1.95)
3rd SwStr% (16.1%)
2nd in CSW% (33%)
1st in O-Contact% (34%)
2nd in Stuff+ (134)
One thing for sure – LAD did not expend much capital to acquire Glasnow, so they still got plenty of chips left to make a big blockbuster trade. The curtain has just risen on the 1st act.
Appears it is necessary to have at least one letter “o” in your first or last name to be considered a Dodger prospect. Not that that is a bad thing. Is this the year of the “O” in Japan?
Well, I really like this deal and I will give you the reasons why:
1. Glasnow could win the Cy Young – Could!
2. Margot hits LHP VERY VERY WELL. Yes, it’s an overpay. Here are his career stats against LHP: .281 BA, .341 OP%, .760 OPS. He is the perfect platoon partner for James Outman, who does not hit LHP!
3. I guess that makes Outman what I said he was: A 4th or 5th Outfielder.
4. At best, Pepiot is a #3 starter – probably a number 4!
5. The Rays are paying the Dodgers $4MM so Margot costs $6 MM! Not a bad deal.
VISION – Not Sight!
Love what Glasnow brings to the table. He is electric and the type of arm that can dominate any lineup; however, as already stated, health is a concern. His track record certainly doesn’t paint a pretty picture. We just need to keep him healthy for the playoffs. He is the type of arm we have been lacking when it matters most. He is not a household name, but I believe fans are going to be pleasantly surprised when he takes the mound. Performance wise, Glasnow is what we hope Miller can become.
Glasnow is worth the risk especially as Bluto says with load mgt.
I cant see Margot in our lineup, I’m guessing the Dodgers flip him as part of another trade.
Margot career stats. BA .255 HR 54 283 RBI 91 SB. OBP .310 OPS .694. Does not come close to filling the need for a RH hitting OF with power. Hell, Taylor has more power than this slug.
Love the addition of Glasnow a legit #1 SP, but hate losing the promise offered by Pepiot. Margot is a head scratcher for me. He’s little more than what DeLuca offers but not much that he’s worth taking on the extra $$
The Dodgers and Rays are in agreement on a trade that will send Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot to Los Angeles, with Ryan Pepiot and Jonny Deluca going to Tampa, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal is contingent on Glasnow signing an extension with the Dodgers, which Passan says is expected.
Dodgers report 70 million people watched the press conference.
Glasnow deal done says Jeff Passan. Glasnow expected to sign extension.
Broke when MLB was interviewing Friedman. No comment from AF.
I may have missed it but did Ohtano mention the type of dog he has.
Meanwhile, on SportsnetLA, right before this Ohtani press conference starts, they were showing the Sept 12 rewind game where Kyle Hurt pitched the 9th and struck out the side.
Wow his stuff was big time! Hope we give him a real shot in the spring.
Solid no on Margot. Guy has less power than I do. Since Glasnow is a rental, he should not cost nearly as much in prospect capitol.
I def do not want Giolito. He can eat innings but not an ace we need in the playoffs. Losing record , nearly 5 era, and last season gave up 41 HRs in the 33 games he started. Sounds like Lance Lynn.
Margot won’t be Dodger, he does not have enough power to warrant a role in the OF.
would you guys do –
Cartaya,Sheehan for Glasnow,Arozarena
few fans on DRaysBay mentioned and they seemed down with.
Seems to me would take little more on our end
Heyman:
“My understanding is the Dodgers aren’t that enthused about Manuel Margot. They’d be more enthused if it was Randy Arozarena, but that’s a lot more prospects.”
“I’m not sure if Margot will be part of this package.”
I’m not much of a GM but I am an interested reader of all the opinions and speculations of possible moves to further help the club, especially our need in pitching. It looks to me like we have a nice list of pitching prospects, many Mark mentioned. But I don’t see Michael Grove’s name listed. I know he took his lumps going 3&3 w/ a 5.67 ERA. But I thought he pitched better than his numbers reflected. My notes on him are – “There is a lot of upside to this guy. All he needs to be is a Number Five guy in the rotation and there aren’t many Number Fives who have four pitches and throw 98 MPH”. Or is he a RHRP? What am I missing on this guy?
Remember the old adage that if you can hit, they will find room for you in the line up? That brings me to Michael Busch. I know the 26 year old hit .167 in 72 AB’s in 2023 but he was Player of the Year in MiLB raking .323 / 1.049 w/ 27 dingers. In 4 seasons in MiLB he’s at .283 / .919. What’s this guy have to do to get a shot. And with Mookie moving to the everyday 2nd baseman, this guy has only one position; left field. And maybe as a back up to Muncy at 3rd. Is he that bad defensively? So, with these minor league numbers, he needs a legit shot or in fairness to him, he needs to be traded. This is a bat with great potential being wasted, IMHO.
Keep all the semi-professional GM chatter going. It’s very entertaining.
Joe Jacobs
Former Consultant Child Psychotherapist at National Health Service (NHS) (1980–2015)
Like to see some stats to back up all that verbosity. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.
We’ll Mark you call it a crapshoot like that’s all it is. If there’s only a element of crapshoot like there always has been since the beginning of sports. Maybe crapshoot is the wrong word. Which is hardest finishing better than all the teams in one league then playing WS, finishing better than teams in own division playing a LCS and WS, finishing better in multi weakened divisions or getting a wildcard and playing multiple series’s in playoffs to win it all? It’s really hard no matter which way got it done. So for anyone to discredit any teams championship run by calling it a crapshoot including the 20 dodgers is as plain lame as it gets. The talent from top to bottom with the intangibles it takes to win it all means much more than the crapshoot elements involved and baseball isn’t played on paper
If I was in a position to change the Dodgers roster, I wouldn’t trade any of our young right handed pitchers for another right handed pitcher. The Dodgers need to get some left handed starters. Blake Snell shouldn’t be considered. This brings up the question of what left handed starter is available. The Dodgers should look to move one or more of their potential young right handed starters for potential young left handed starters. The Dodgers roster as is, will be expected to win the NL West. The Dodgers can move some of the young right handed starters for more experienced right handed pitchers at the trade deadline if the Dodgers determine that will make them better in the playoffs.
I may be willing to move one of the young right handed pitchers for a solid right handed hittting outfielder. The worry I have for our beloved Dodgers is how left handed hitting heavy the roster is as it stands today. I don’t think the Dodgers should make the trade from the stand point of weakness (this off season), until they see what Deluca, Pages or Vargas have to offer if given a chance to play.
Blind Joe right on target on Roberts
But it doesn’t matter if doc is stupid or not only matters how lucky can get in the crapshoot
… and yet he has the best winning percentage of any MLB Manager EVER in the history of the modern game.
Is it Roberts’ Fault that the following occurred:
1. His Ace, who has a career ERA of 2.46 in the Regular Season, has an ERA of more than 2 Runs Higher in the playoffs.
2. That Superstar Hitter Mookie Betts has hit .143 and .00 in the last two playoffs.
3. That Superstar Freddie Freeman hit .100 in his last playoff year.
4. Closer Kenley Jansen had a 0-2 record and a 4.40 ERA in 3 World Series.
The Giants never won a World Series with Bury Bonds (.245 BA in 208 PA in the playoffs), but they won three with a bunch of players who exceeded expectations in the playoffs. If the players don’t play up to their expectations, the manager looks like a dud, but when they play over their heads, he is a stud!
When your two best hitters get 1 infield single TOTAL in three playoff games—-I don’t think you blame the manager for that
Yah, I don’t like trading Pepiot. I thought he would be part of the rotation this coming year. Threw very well last summer after his return.
But no matter where you turn on the trade market, it’s going to cost to get a front line starter.
Yamamoto, if the experts are right, may be part of the solution. Many analysts now believe he’ll end up with the Dodgers. We’ll see.
Need to make a big trade. The Rays are a natural. Glasnow, who is from Santa Clarita, might be a pitcher the Dodgers can hang onto if he stays healthy.
Most pundits think the Brewers will trade Burnes. Yelich is apparently on the market. Blue Jays interested?
Sounds like they may be getting ready to move a few players.
Blind Joe, that’s some fancy writing, but you should give Roberts a little more credit, after all he told the guys to go out there and suck in the last two playoff rounds. And they did. So you can’t blame Doc.
The guys did what they were asked to do.
Come on Joe !
The Los Angeles Dodgers scheduled Shohei Ohtani’s introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium for 3 p.m. PT on Thursday afternoon. When taking into account time zone changes, Ohtani’s first appearance as a member of the Dodgers is taking place at 8 a.m. in Japan.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is going to accompany Ohtani in the center field plaza. It’s going to be at least Ohtani’s third trip to Dodger Stadium in December.
I believe the press conference will be carried on the MLB network.
Buehler is 29
Ohtani is 29, will be 30 in June
Kershaw will be 36 in March
Gonsolin will be 30 in May
May just turned 26
Glasnow turned 30 in August
Miller will be 25 in April
Pepiot will be 27 in August
But there is then Frasso, Stone, Hurt, Knack. Wrobleski, Bruns, Martin, et al, who are in their early 20s.
It’s not quite as bad as you make it sound.
Here are our starting rotation options for the next two seasons. I would imagine AF and Dave will have a hard time sleeping:
Buehler- 2 TJ’s, other injuries and in his 30’s
Ohtani- 2 TJ’s and in his 30’s
Kershaw- multiple injuries and in his 30’s
Goslin- 1 TJ and other injuries and in his 30’s
May- 1 TJ and multiple injuries and close to 30
Glasnow- If we add him, another TJ with multiple injuries and in his 30’s
Miller- young and healthy (how did he get in here?)
Pepiot- young and healthy but gone for Glasnow
Sign Yamamoto if possible, sign Giolito, and use the prospect capital at the deadline. Not a fan of the Glasnow trade. Also as you mentioned Kershaw at midseason is a possibility. Need to have quality staters in October, not particularly during the regular season. The Dodgers are the best at navigating pitching during the regular season. The only trade I would consider is for Burnes, Cease will cost too many prospects.