The Case for Freeland and Tibbs III
The Dodgers’ roster right now looks a little less like a youth movement and a little more like a high school reunion where everyone keeps saying, “Wow… has it really been 15 years?” For the record, I don’t dislike Alex Call or Santiago Espinal. Not at all. Both are perfectly…
The Dodgers’ roster right now looks a little less like a youth movement and a little more like a high school reunion where everyone keeps saying, “Wow… has it really been 15 years?”
For the record, I don’t dislike Alex Call or Santiago Espinal. Not at all. Both are perfectly respectable utility players. The baseball equivalent of a Swiss Army knife. Not flashy, but handy when you need to open a can of beans in the ninth inning. Solid. Dependable. Veteran.
And by “veteran,” I mean both are turning 32 this year.
Which fits right in with the Dodgers’ current demographic strategy: assemble the 2016 All-Star Game alumni association. The team’s average age is 31.5, making them the oldest roster in baseball. At this rate, the clubhouse coffee machine is going to be upgraded to a full espresso bar, and someone’s going to start handing out ibuprofen with the lineup cards.
Meanwhile:
- Kiké Hernández will be 35
- Tommy “Tommy Tanks” Edman will be 31
So when the Dodgers have a chance to move Call and Espinal for a couple of prospects, it’s not exactly cruel roster management. It’s more like opening a window and letting some oxygen into the room.
More importantly, it clears the runway for:
- James Tibbs III (23)
- Alex Freeland (24)
You know… people whose birth certificates don’t list “dial-up internet era.”
Now, someone will immediately point out that Espinal is hitting about 500 points higher than Freeland right now, and yes, that’s true. Statistically speaking, that is a rather noticeable gap.
But Freeland has basically made a career of struggling for a minute and then leveling up like a video game character. Every stop. Same story.
Meanwhile, Espinal is a career .240 hitter. That’s not Mount Everest. That’s more like a small hill behind a Walgreens.
And let’s be honest. When Kiké and Tommy Tanks return, Espinal is probably getting roster-yeeted into the baseball abyss anyway.
So why wait?
Let the kids play.
Give Freeland the at-bats, see what happens, and if nothing else, the Dodgers might finally lower their average team age enough that the clubhouse trainer can cancel the “stretching for men over 30” yoga class.
Trade Alex Call and Santiago Espinal for Prospects – Do it today, Andrew… while their value is high. FYI: I am not convinced that Freeland is going to hit any better than Espinol, but he is young and has to have a runway to find out.
The Dodgers are Focusing Less on the Longball
The Long Ball has been few and far between this Spring – this is true. Will it continue? That is the million-dollar question. Many hitters are simply trying to get their timing down, stay healthy, and avoid pulling a hamstring chasing a 450-foot bomb in Arizona. If you’ve been watching closely, you might actually like this development. A lineup that can score without waiting for the homer becomes terrifying in October, when good pitching tends to suppress power.
The only question in my mind is “Is this by design?” Have RVS and Aaron Bates changed their approach? It used to be: “Walk, double, walk… and then someone launches a baseball into low-earth orbit.” Maybe that is changing… we shall see.
X-CITES
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (52)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Haha
He can help at 3B too.