Everyone is considering what might happen by “Thinking in the Box.” A few of you are thinking “Outside of the Box,” but you all need to be aware that there is no box. Before I do so, I would like to have a moment of silence for Faye Vincent. He was a great man. He lived in Vero Beach, and I loved to talk to him as he sat in his golf cart at Holman Stadium at Dodgertown. Faye was crippled and could barely walk, but the Dodgers provided him with a golf cart. We talked a lot about the state of baseball, especially Pete Rose. We disagreed on that, but we were always cordial. I think he appreciated that, as some fans would yell at him that Rose should be back in baseball. RIP, Faye – You were a good man!
The Possibilities: Spring Training & Beyond…
- The Dodgers starting rotation will almost assuredly be a great deal different at the end of the season than at the beginning. We know that (probably) Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Sasaki, Gonsolin, Miller, May, and Knack will likely be trying out for six spots. That means one goes to the bullpen, and the other goes down to AAA… or gets traded. Then… Ohtani, Kershaw, and Sheehan may return. What then? Wait, there will be injuries, and none of us have any way of knowing what they might be. Even if two or three are injured, the Dodgers have that covered. If all of the pitchers are healthy at the All-Star Break, expect a Blockbuster Trade!
- What will happen behind the plate? Dalton Rushing (if ready) is a perfect backup to Will Smith as he can sit against tough RHP… if he is ready! I could see Dalton forcing Barnes out this year… maybe even in the Spring. It’s more about rest than it is “splits.”
- What about the infield? I hope the Arenado and Muncy rumors are just that – rumors!
- Mookie will stay at SS as long as he wants. I think that might be two years!
- Expect Freddie, Max, Will, Mookie, and Teoscar to rest more. Keep them fresh and prevent injuries. That’s why I think Kike will be back.
- Andy Pages and James Outman will get long, hard looks in Spring Training. I will be there February 20-23. I have a Back Ablation scheduled on February 18th, but the Doctor assured me I would be good to go.
- There will likely be injuries and setbacks. There will be players who we counted on who may not produce, and there may be ones that we did not count on who are vying for a spot.
- What about David Bote and Giovanny Gallegos.
- Watch Jack Dreyer!
X-CITES
Just in case you forgot!
Discussion (19)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Ex-Yankee reliever Stephen Ridings, recently signed to play for OKC, hopes to be the Dodgers next RP rehab success.
Every season, the Dodgers seem to come up with a gem that just needs a little polish. Ridings, now 29, has pitched in the Royals, Yankees and Mets organizations.
Back in ’21, he pitched five inning for the Yankees, striking out 7 with a 1.80 ERA.
Getting released from the hospital today. Will probably leave for Colorado early next week.
Michael Conforto will wear # 23, Kim, # 6 and Yates, # 38.
Harrison Bader is signing with the Twins, Arenado to Red Sox rumors heating up.
The Dodgers announced a trade, sending reliever Ryan Brasier and cash considerations to the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
Goodbye Ryan, you were a Dude!
This should be a win for the Cubs… and we aren’t getting a Hope or a Ferris back! 😉
Per the MLB Hot Stove video above – Mookie and Freddie 2023 season combined stats were significantly better than their 2024 stats, and more in align with their career stats. So on paper they should be better in 2025 than last year (even if you consider they are older).
Agree with Mark that Ohtani will be closer to 40+ HR, and Teo with 25-30.
Also, Rojas and Barnes are bit-players and whether they produce to their 2024 stats or 2023 stats it will have no significant bearing on the W/L record.
With Edman, Kike and Taylor in CF and Conforto/Pages in RF it is really hard to think there will be a regression.
For the pitching, we are stacked and compared to 2024 (see Mark’s post a few days ago listing the # of starters and innings total), the odds are that they will be significantly better.
A great time to be a Dodger fan.
Brasier being traded to the Cubs per MLBTR.
Life as a major leaguer can be fleeting at any time, especially when you are around 35 . Just look at JD Martinez after he had that great year for us. I read he has now signed to play professional pickelball. I don’t think Teo will have a year anything like last season. I think Taylor will continue his downward spiral. Rojas and Barnes–I don’t think they will have the offensive numbers as good as last year. In the end the goal is to be around in October. And Roberts shuffle around the guys to get the job done.
Will Shohei even be a 45-45 guy in 2025. Probably not. Freddie, Mookie–Lets see
2025 World Championship Chances
(in %, from PECOTA):
21.6 LAD
9.4 NYY
8.5 ATL
7.5 CHC
7.2 TEX
7.0 BAL
5.8 HOU
5.6 NYM
4.7 SEA
4.3 PHI
3.2 ARI MIN
2.3 TOR
1.8 TB
1.5 KC
1.4 CLE
1.2 DET
0.7 MIL SD
0.5 SF
0.4 BOS LAA STL
0.3 PIT
0.2 WSH
0.1 CIN ATH
0.0 CWS COL MIA
https://www.joeposnanski.com/p/a-few-words-about-fay-vincent
Joe Posnanski’s article on Fay Vincent is excellent. The owners booted him from the Commissionership because he wouldn’t acquiesce to their wishes. It’s a shame because Selig (an owner), did exactly that. Vincent truly cared about the game and often sided with the players on disputes.
He banished Steinbrenner from the game. Quite a gutsy move.
His apology to the Negro League players was unprecedented. Vincent deserves HOF consideration in my opinion.
For those thinking that the Dodgers are just going to dump CT3 for Kike you are mistaken.
CT3 aint going anywhere and he is going to have a solid year.
Flaherty is a Tiger.
7 Days until Spring Training!
The Dodgers have five (six if you add Kershaw) players who will go on the IL next Tuesday, when they Report to Spring Training.
1. Stone
2. Bazooka
3. River
4. Hurt
5. Emmet
Could Mookie play SS for two years?
I’m optimistic. If he plays league-average defense and delivers his usual offense, that would be just fine. He could be an all-star at SS.
I know the Red Sox moved him from 2B to RF because Dustin Pedroia was an established star. Off the top of my head, I can’t remember who they had at SS. But I imagine plenty of Red Sox fans will be annoyed thinking they could have had a keystone of Mookie and Pedroia.
Injuries could certainly alter the outlook for several positions.
If the Dodgers need a catcher, I think Feduccia might get the call instead of Rushing. From what I read, Feduccia is a better defender with more experience. Rushing could catch every day in OKC–so that he’ll be ready to share the job with Smith in ’26.
Still feels like a couple more trades would be made. Perhaps Brasier could packaged with long-suffering Ryan Ward to get something decent.
Major League Baseball Fires Umpire for Sports Gambling Violations
An investigation found that Pat Hoberg shared sports betting accounts with a professional poker player who had bet on baseball
The ban isn’t a lifetime ban but a permanent ban. Rose’ death is irrelevant.
RIP Mr. Vincent. Tough situation for a commissioner. Popular player banned for life for gambling. This has been debated ever since. Rose accepted the ban, that was part of the deal. He had petitioned every commissioner since to have the ban lifted and all have refused. Why? Maybe because they get to see evidence we will never see. Now, at this point, I believe it is all a little to hypocritical for me with all the ads for legal sports gambling that the MLB network has. They even have a show based on telling you the odds and who is hot and who is not. Very hypocritical. But we know Manfred is not going to lift the ban, he denied Rose the last time. But now that Pete has passed, and the hypocrisy is in full bloom, maybe the time has come to put the hit king in the Hall. He can no longer profit from his induction, he is no longer alive, so a lifetime ban has been completed.