Should the Dodgers Go “All-in” Like the Rams?

Dodgers didn’t lost last October from a lack of top end talent, but rather, getting away from what makes the Dodgers the Dodgers. Uncharacteristic, lack of quality depth and spotty defense. Joc, Chris Taylor, Kiki, Freese, Wood, Maeda, etc. All these players had big moments in prior post seasons while playing utility roles and we got zilch from their replacements last year. Maybe we get away with it had we avoided injuries and fatigue, but that’s risky. Trading multiple prospects for a plus SP or a new 1B or an established long baller is going the wrong direction imo.

Frankly, since Zaidi left, Dodgers haven’t really found those cheap 2nd chance castoffs that bloom – particularly for position players, so it’s going to fall on the prospects to fill those vital utility roles and I think they’re up to the task.

There’s the money end of it, too. The Dodgers like financial flexibility and graduating prospects facilitates that end. If we’re going to carry 3-4 giant contracts, having cheap and under control younger guys is going to be imperative.

One player in particular, Cartaya, I think should be untouchable. He’s not a finished product, but the profile reads perfectly to me. He’s apparently has high baseball IQ, a plus arm and potentially better defender than Smith. Dodgers appear to prioritize SP more than any other position, which is smart imo. Shouldn’t they pair their prized unit with the best handler to get the most out the pitchers? I really like Smith as hitter, so I’m not looking to dump him, but I’d start preparing him for a position switch.

The starting pitching, at the moment, is a concern. This time next year, if we do nothing, it could be a super strength again if May returns to form and Miller/Pepiot/Jackson/Knack can secure the 4th/5th spots. We just need to survive the gap. Trading or signing a rental veteran pitcher or two past his prime could be all we need. Also, I think priority one should be re-signing Kenley. If we know the SP might struggle, we’ll need a strong bullpen again to minimize the damage.

Last thought, I hope Friedman considers two lessons from last season. Top end talent isn’t everything, especially if they don’t produce when you need them, and I hope he returns to emphasizing roster balance going forward. Maybe we need more super subs than additional stars. Secondly, remember what the real prize is. It’s not the NL West title. We wore ourselves ragged last year trying to win the wrong title and the same scenario could easily happen again. We don’t need home field advantage. We’re the Dodgers and can win anywhere at anytime.

It’s fun to speculate about an “all-in” gamble, and that theoretical lineup seems doable. But I prefer AF’s approach to building a dynasty. Of all the prospects I prefer hugging, Cartaya is No. 1 and Miller No. 2.

That said, I do think AF can advance the dynasty mission with a couple of strategic moves. Freeman’s bat and durability would more than make up for Seager’s departure from the lineup. If Max comes back healthy, Freeman isn’t really needed–but he’d be nice to have. So landing Ramirez to take over third base and top-tier SP may be a higher priority.

So I keep thinking that maybe the best fit for a deal is Oakland. What would it take to land Manea or Montaz plus Matt Chapman? Chapman slumped last year, but he’s a gold glover and power threat, while the SPs are much more exciting that Gonsolin or Heany. And while I could be wrong–it happens!–I still suspect AF and the Dodger brass want to to provide Bauer with a fresh start while eating the bulk of his salary. So maybe Billy Beane or some other cost-conscious GM team would be interested. “Dodgers Deal Bauer”–yeah, i can easily imagine a headline like that starts like that.

Come to think of it, I’d say that signing Bauer was kind of an “all-in” move. He got the highest AAV ever, but relatively short-term deal. (Damn but I wish he’d taken the Mets offer.) The long-term, dynasty-style contracts are offered solid citizens like Mookie and Kersh. Freeman might be worth such a deal.

But enough about that…

Harkening back to Bear’s oldtimers day post, I’ve been engaged in some research for a project related to the 1947 Dodgers. Jackie wasn’t the only rookie, of course. Duke Snider made his debut later in the season and Wikipedia offers a surprising stat: He appeared in 40 games, had 83 at bats… and ZERO home runs!

Well, I was surprised.

Also surprising: The HR leader for the Dodgers only had 12. One was Robinson, and the other was… Pee Wee?

So sayeth Wikipedia.

Bear, could this be true???

And here is the MLBPA response to MLB’s statement:

“MLB announced today that it ‘must’ postpone the start of spring training games. This is false,” the statement read. “Nothing requires the league to delay the start of spring training, much like nothing required the league’s decision to implement the lockout in the first place.”

MLB: Spring Training Games Postponed Until At Least March 5

By Steve Adams | February 18, 2022 at 1:18pm CDT

Major League Baseball announced Friday that Spring Training games will not begin until at least March 5. A delay to the start of Spring Training was a foregone conclusion amid the ongoing labor strife between the league and the players association, but today’s announcement now makes the delayed schedule official.

“We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of Spring Training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5th,” MLB said in a statement. “All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands. The Clubs have adopted a uniform policy that provides an option for full refunds for fans who have purchased tickets from the Clubs to any Spring Training games that are not taking place.”

I don’t think that anyone wants to get into the legal theory behind collective bargaining and the role of business owners vs employees. Anyone here who isn’t familiar with Jones and Laughlin Steel v NLRB 301 US 1 (1935) or who isn’t familiar with constitutional litigation under the Interstate Commerce Clause (Art I, Sec 8) of the US Constitution probably isn’t qualified to address the issue. Nor the history of the Union movement and its intersection with the communist, anarchist and syndicalist movements.

In general, I think that the way that owners compensate players needs to be revisited – the players have a valid beef. I also think that the issue of competition needs to be addressed and that clearly has an effect on what players get paid as well. But most of the comments about the evil team owners are not well taken.

I probably have a different take on this. While I think both sides are greedy, I am not as down on the owners as many in the media. Let’s remember that writers and journalists all know how to do whatever it is they are writing about – they just generally have never done it. They are experts in telling you about it, but in most cases, they are never-weres or wannabees!

I have had my own business for over 20 years.

1. None of my employees has ever missed a paycheck. I have!

2. None of my employees have ever had to face a vendor or a banker (on behalf of the company) and say “I can’t pay you today.” I have!

3. None of my employees has had to go home after working 12 hours and work another 6 hours on the website. I have! Many times!

4. None of my employees have had to go out on Christmas Day, or other paid holidays, or in the middle of the night.

But I have! Probably over 200 times.

5. None of my employees have had to sign a note for $5 million dollars, pledging all their personal assets as collateral. But I have!

I have paid people when they were ill and could not come to work for six weeks, because I knew they would lose their house. I have given people cars because they could not afford one. Now, I live in a nice house. We have nice things and nice cars, and I do share our wealth… and we pay people very well. That’s how we keep them, but no one has made the sacrifices or paid the price that I did to build this company. I suspect some (not all) of the owners are in the same boat as me.

The players work hard, they sacrifice, but the owners built the business. Players are a commodity, not business partners. They deserve to be paid, but owners have skin in the game. It’s a tough position. I think they need a mediator.

Echo the general negativity here.

Until the owners get their serious game-faces on, the negotiations can happen every day, for every minute of every day and nothing will happen.

There’s so much money flowing in with National TV, Gaming and local revenue (which I concede is not shared nor equitable) but the owners are just being silly.

I really wanted to see Pepoit this spring, to see if he had a chance to really impact the bullpen in 2022.

Oh well, maybe I can see how good he is on a video game

We can only cross our fingers and hope. MLB players have been saying for years that spring training is too long. Lets see how they do with a shorter warm up time. My concern would be rushing the pitchers. They usually need at least 5 games getting their innings built up. And Buehler is a notoriously slow starter.

Jeff Passan just tweeted the following:

“While exact plans are not finalized, MLB and the MLB Players Association intend to hold multiple bargaining sessions — perhaps every day — as early as Monday, sources told ESPN. Multiple owners and players expect to fly in for sessions leading up to MLB’s stated Feb. 28 deadline.”

Maybe something will finally get done next week.

Obviously, I have never negotiated a Union Labor Agreement, but negotiation is a rather simple matter:

You ask for more than you actually want and then determine where to settle. They have done that in a few cases, but in other parts, neither side has budged. It’s called “compromise.” Both sides just need to back off a little so they can spin that they “won.”

Maybe they will both be ready for a mediator in a few days… Just meeting in the middle.

Show ’em the Curve:

I’m all in favor of owners just fielding teams of minor leaguers at this point. Good opportunity for the Dodgers to pick up another cheap title.

How long does a negotiations meeting need to last in order to qualify as an actual meeting?

Today’s lasted 15 minutes.

Projections do not mean a thing…..until the guy does it in the bigs. Lux and Cartaya have a lot of talent. Whether or not that translates on the big stage is another question. Lux has not really had a lot of chances yet. If he can stay healthy, and play a full season, then maybe we can see what kind of player he is.

Don’t misunderstand… I am not advocating that!

Just throwing it out there for discussion.

For the record, I would not have done the trade for Scherzer and Turner.

Imagine how the Dodgers would look right about now, with Gray and Ruiz… and signing a SS, like Story.

Didn’t the Dodgers already do that?

In Andrew Friedman’s own words, they were “pigs.” After years of developing a top down winning organization and avoiding overpaying for bloated long-term contracts, they went all in and traded for and signed Mookie. After making it a policy of hording prospects, they traded their two top prospects for short term impact players.

What was the result?

They got bounced in the League Championship Series.

You’re operating on the assumption that going all in is a guarantee of a championship. It’s not. Especially in playoff baseball, there are just too many variables; too many things that can go right or go wrong.

With the Rams, I think the one missing ingredient was a real top end QB. Goff just wasn’t going to deliver a championship even with a championship caliber team. Stafford put them over the top.

Both Lux and Cartaya project as future all stars. Miller projects as a #2/#3 starter. Developing players such as these to be important future components of the team allows the organization to pay Buehler, Urias, Bellinger, TT … Freeman. As rich as the Dodgers are, even they can’t spend unlimited amounts of money. You give up years of inexpensive all star level production from Cartaya and Lux for two years of Ramirez before he will demand a 10/350 contract? Do you pay up for that, too? Add that to the list of Dodger players who will soon be demanding huge multiyear deals.

I’m with Bear on this one. No need to panic, get everyone healthy, and stop supplying the league with ex-Dodgers, who become solid on the main stage. Freeman is an exception for me. Not only does he have all the skills, he is the kind of guy you want in the clubhouse.

I think getting to the World Series is one of the hardest things to do in sports. I honestly believe that the Dodgers would have beaten the Braves easily. If, Bauer had been on the team, Kershaw, Turner, Muncy, Kelly not injured in the late stages of the season. Scherzer had not had a tired arm. Injuries played a major role in the team not repeating. Braves made some astute pickups before and at the deadline. And every one of those guys contributed to the win. Also, except for a couple of players, the offense went ice cold. With Turner and Muncy out, a bench that did nothing save Albert Pujols, Seager, Trea, Smith, Barnes, all went ice cold. Pollock, Bellinger and Taylor provided most of the offense. Seager hit a couple of meaningless homers, but in crunch time, he did not produce. The bull pen was overworked and their best starters, Buehler and Urias melted when they needed them the most. Go all in? There are no guarantees of winning in baseball. Football is a different animal all together. Salaries are not guaranteed. Players come and go regularly. Football teams rely on college players to fill the gaps where there are no free agents. No, I do not think that is AF’s philosophy at all. I do think the team will be very active in both the free agent market and trades. The bench definitely needs retooling. I have little faith in most of the players in that role. Barnes is what he is, a good defensive catcher and an able back up for Smith. With the status of Muncy still unknown, Lux is the second baseman until he either loses the job, or they sign Freeman and move a healthy Max to second. There are plenty of scenarios. I for one do not think any of the free agents they have signed to minor league deals will make much of an impact on the 40 man roster.