Mookie Betts has a broken hand, and the sky is falling because the world has ended. Un… no! Betts had his hand broken by a 98 MPH fastball thrown by Dan Altavilla. This is baseball, and stuff happens. There will be no big trades in the immediate future. Sorry to break it to you, but Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers have a plan or six, and they will not make any dope fiend moves. In fact, this could be the best thing that happens to the Dodgers this year. I have often found that problems are opportunities in drag.
“What possible good could come from this?” Well, maybe Mookie Betts won’t be worn down and tired in October after resting for two months. Don’t get me wrong. the Dodgers will be looking everywhere for an SS or another bat, but they will make a calculated move that makes sense, and it will likely be at the trade deadline… not now. The Dodgers have two viable SS options: Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor. Kike can also play there, but it’s not his best position. Miggy Ro will likely start tonight. Sometimes, an injury like this galvanizes some players on the team. For instance, Gavin Lux doesn’t have to look over his shoulder for a while and see if Mookie is breathing down his neck.
I think it is easy to shuffle the lineup with the fastest player on the team moving up to leadoff. It makes zero sense to move one of the bottom-of-the-order hitters up. So, this is likely what we will see tonight as Cal Quantrill goes for the Rock Heads:
- Ohtani DH
- Freeman 1B
- Smith C
- T. Hernandez LF
- Heyward RF
- Rojas SS
- Pages CF
- Lux 2B
- Biggio 3B
At 30, Michael Peterson has never pitched in the majors but can hit triple digits. The Dodgers have tweaked his delivery, and he has a 1.61 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP at OKC. Michael Grove went on the IL with an Intercoastal Strain, which cost him about six weeks last year; Pederson may fill his role. JP Fetereisen is back, and we are all waiting for him to return to the form he displayed in 2021 and 2022, when he was virtually unhittable. Yamamoto’s injury (a rotator cuff strain), can range from mild to severe, depending on the extent of the damage. Mild strains may only cause minor discomfort, while more severe strains can lead to significant pain and loss of mobility in the arm. Of course, the treatment regimen includes rest, ice, and steroids, and later, it evolves into physical therapy. The Dodgers have not said how severe his strain is (nor will they), but I would guess he will be out at least six to eight weeks.
Clayton may be back in early July. Bobby Miller will be back this week, and Walker Buehler is still a work in progress. Kyle Hurt may be back this month, but Brasier, Kelly, and Max Muncy are still a ways away. Landon Knack will likely play a role as well. I would also think that we will see James Outman return soon and maybe Lipcius, but that will involve moving some vets. That may happen… but not just yet. This will be a process, and we shall watch it play out. The Dodgers have an eight-game lead and the Padres have their own problems. The Dodgers can put it on cruise control for a while, but you may see good things come out of this injury. Vargas will likely be back as well. Patience Grasshoppers!
Discussion (26)
Disagree, not disagreeable
It was in the high 90’s in Indy yesterday. My pool is at 90 degrees with the heater off. I topped it off and got it down to 89.
Great team win and they did not hit a single homer. Works for me. Ball was not flying well in the Colorado heat. It has been very hot here. This is their first game without Mookie. Let’s give it a few more weeks before we heap the criticism on the team.
Great offensive game and super job by Paxton.
Wow,
Feyereisen really struggling.
A Tough 2 yr investment.
I hope for him he figures it out. Don’t believe it will be with the Dodgers.
I can’t remember a game where so many balls were hit so hard off the same pitcher over 2 innings .
I believe
7 of the 10 batters he faced hit the ball over 97 mph.
In the 9th inning alone 5-7 batters he faced hit the ball over 100mph. Ouch
Go Dodgers!!
Wow,
Will needs to add another couple of plates to the bench bar.
3 shots to the fence
Go Dodgers!!
The Rockies are clearly avoiding Freddie’s bat, to instead take their chances with Teo’s.
Teo once again can’t lay off the slider against righties.
Wash.Rinse.Repeat
Biggio swinging a bat pains me.
The new guy at shortstop is better than the old one
Interesting how over the last 3 games, Pages has batted at least 3 fly-outs to the warning-track at deep-center or right field.
It seems his power is pull, but not so much straight-away or oppo.
Does Biggio even want to hit the ball? He looks at strikes right down the middle as if he doesn’t want to swing the bat hoping for a BB. Swing the freaking bat dude.
Let’s shake this up.
Let’s be a little more aggressive and forward thinking with regards to this roster .
By mid – august it will be as though you made a late season blockbuster move when you get back Muncy and Mookie
Out with the current bench that’s listed tonight.
Barnes/ Kike and Taylor and probably add Biggio.
Let’s bring up the AAA group for the next 6 weeks and see what we have.
Worse case they stink as much as the present group.
A best case they actually provide a spark to the team or at least add value to be included in a trade prior to July 31st.
Take your pick of Owen’s,
Lipcius, Hoese, Outman, Gauthier, Vargas.
And yes , Hunter becomes the back-up catcher.
If you’re really concerned with loosing Barnes IR him for a spell. His poor defensive and offensive performance does not warrant his taking up a roster spot. Pitchers love him? There big boys, find a girlfriend.
He catch’s maybe twice a week when they have no off days and once a week normally. He won’t play in the playoffs and he is not a guy I want coming off the bench in the late innings to tie or win a game. I know he is a team leader on a team that really doesn’t have a vocal general. So IR him or retire him so he can be around the team.
With that said, would love to bring him back as an advisor or coach after the season .
Yes I know they won’t do this but what if? Doing the same old junk gets you the same old results. Great regular season but no championship.
A spark of young , hungry, aggressive energy can make a huge impact .
Go Dodgers!!
OK, I went back and read what Roberts said, and he said that “Vargas will join the infield mix.”
Now, unless he misspoke…
That Rockies lineup is sad. Six guys at or below the Mendoza line. Just walk Stallings every time
Miguel Vargas I told you that it would be your opportunity in June, that opportunity has arrived, take advantage of it!!!
Vargas will only play against left handed pitchers.
If you play Vargas everyday in left field are you platooning Hernandez and Heyward in right?
8:40 PM ET
Dodgers (44-29)
Rockies (25-46)
SP James Paxton L
6-1 3.92 ERA
SP Cal Quantrill R
6-4 3.30 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
LF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
RF J. Heyward L
SS Miguel Rojas R
3B Cavan Biggio L
2B Gavin Lux L
95° Wind 15 mph Out
I like this lineup
AF ain’t trading right now!! mets, blue jays, and brewers would be arrested for sexual assault!! But, when, not if the mets get bad again, an offer for. Lindor would not shock me. Rojas will be more than adequate defensively!! And with some occasional rest he might hit enough to maintain! Now kiki should never see SS again! And Taylor can play there, but his offense will kill them! Does Biggio get some reps there?? Will Outman get recalled? I don’t think Pages should be platooned!! Give vargas a shot. if he doesn’t hit, call James up or hit the trade market!!
Rather than move Ohtani to the leadoff spot right away I wonder if the team should experiment with putting Heyward or Lux in the leadoff spot against righties for a week and see what happens. The team has an 8 game lead so they can afford to experiment. I don’t know who you would put in the leadoff sport against lefties. Vargas maybe? Whomever bats leadoff is going to get pitches to hit.
I am not saying that Vargas can’t play 3B, but I will explain why I do not think it will happen:
2021 – .936
2022 – .919
2023 – .936
Those numbers are Miguel Vargas’s fielding percentage at 3B.
Hard NO!
Let him play every day in LF.
For his minor league career as a 3B, his fielding % is .923. I do not want him at 3B.
I agree with what dodgerram says, if these games don’t matter and the playoffs are a crapshoot anyway, play Vargas at 3rd everyday to see what he has. Is his d any worse? Bring up some kids as well. Don’t worry until September
Machado had the same injury last year and missed 14 games.
In the grand scheme of things this could be a good thing for Mookie…
Next up.
Playing Vargas everyday is not going to happen. He is already dealing with nagging injuries. And sure Mookie will be 100% for playoffs. Why would a power hitter have any problems recovering? Just ask Vargas he can tell you how easy it is to heal and be back from hand injuries. I once had a freak broken bone in my hand. It hurt off and on for about a year. Getting swollen etc. I didn’t miss any time from work. All I had to swing was a pen.
I’ll happily eat my hat, But hopefully Mookie will be productive next year.
DODGERS MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Justin Wrobleski throws 7 scoreless innings, reportedly promoted to Triple-A
I agree that AF will not make a knee jerk trade. He might not even trade for an infielder. But I doubt very seriously that Vargas goes into the lineup every day. And he will definitely not play the infield. Rockies have three of their starting pitchers on the IL, Freeland, Marquez and Senzatela. Their normal closer, Bard, is also on the IL. They have five position players on the IL including Rogers and Diaz. They just got Nolan Jones back. The Dodgers play them four, then two with the Angels at home before heading back out on the road for six, three with the White Sox and three with the Giants, who are also banged up. Arizona may have lost Carroll for some significant time since he was injured diving for a ball yesterday. Dodgers are still the class of their division and deep enough to overcome losses like this. The other teams do not have that kind of depth.
time to play Vargas every day with Mookie out for the foreseeble future.
If games in June are that unimportant as we are regularly told and that the Dodgers will make the postseason not matter what put the kid in every day. I would even let him play some 3b to get his bat into the lineup. So what if he makes a few errors there ? We were not concerned with Mookie making errors at ss or Muncy at 3b.
With Rojas at ss, Lux at 2b and FF at 1b we still would have excellent overall infield defense.
Cartaya finally is showing again what made him a top prospect couple years back. But the Dodgers are only playing him 3-4 days a week and it is tough to get into a good ryhtm that way.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!