The Dodgers Farm System

His value went down, but the price for Detroit went up. Detroit could cut their losses by dealing him. They just added Framber Valdez, and could theoretically replace Skubal in the rotation with Sheehan plus ???. I’m not saying the Dodgers should swing a deal, but it seems plausible. If AF lusts after Skubal, he could make an offer that is hard to refuse. The two-time Cy winner would move to the front of the rotation, ahead of Yamamoto, Shohei, etc. Does anyone here think Skubal will be a Tiger for life? Seems to me this isn’t a matter of if, but when.

Much-maligned Max has always been underrated, so it’s a bit jarring to see him suddenly overrated. Especially at a point when, in his mid-30s, he’s having more trouble staying on the field, and some age-related regression is to be expected. Max is more likely to be platooned now than when he was in his prime and playing second fiddle to Bellinger. I certainly expect guys like Bregman, Caminero and Riley to have better seasons than Max. Probably Machado too, though he’s lost a step. But that’s OK! When he’s healthy, Max is a force. He’ll probably bat 6th, between Smith and Teo. This lineup is awfully good.

Good point.

2026 World Baseball Classic DODGERS Edwin Díaz (Puerto Rico) Jake Gelof (Israel) Hyeseong Kim (Korea) Antonio Knowles (Great Britain) Shawndrick Oduber (Netherlands) Shohei Ohtani (Japan) Will Smith (United States) Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Japan)

Tarik Skubal Wins Arbitration Hearing “Tigers ace Tarik Skubal has won his arbitration hearing against the team, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He’ll be paid a record-shattering $32MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility and, in doing so, radically alter subsequent arbitration earnings for top-tier starting pitchers with five-plus years of big league service. The Tigers had submitted a $19MM figure, which was more in line with traditional arbitration earnings for elite starters. Skubal is represented by the Boras Corporation”.

Just noticed that Top 3B list doesn’t include the Royals’ young Mikael Garcia. who hit to a .800 OPS in ’25 and also won praise for his defense. Max’s OPS equaled that of Caminero–but Caminero played in 54 more games and hit 45 bombs. Max’s numbers were similar to Parades. But Max led them all with an OBP of .376.

This is why we need a salary cap (AND a floor). Andrew Freidman has been masterful at playing within the rules. Underestimated is the Dodger front office savvy in generating revenue. Using spending as a percentage of payroll, we actually are down the list a good bit due to the very high revenue income. But while giving AF his due, and also recognizing that some small market teams have been bale to be competitive (off and on), the advantage large market teams have in the post 1980s era of big contracts is just not good for the game. Half the MLB teams have little hope of competing in a given year and at best can hope to perfectly time their spending and roster to compete maybe one to three years before a dismantling of the roster for financial reasons. Arguing against this point is that this problem has persisted for many years and baseball has prospered in those years as a whole, but would you really like to be a Pirates fan in this environment? Marlins? Twins? I would miss baseball something awful if we don’t play in 2027, but if it results in a salary cap that gives all teams a fighting chance, I would accept it. The Dodgers would still be highly successful in a salary cap environment (see AF in Tampa).

If I had to guess, I would predict that the Detroit Tigers are “all in” at the start of this season with Framber Valdez and Tarik Skubal at the top of their rotation. I do not see them trading Skubal… unless they are out of it at the deadline. However, I do not see that happening. This is likely their rotation: 1. Skubal 2. Valdez 3. Flaherty 4. Mise 5. Olsen 6. Anderson 7. Melton They only need 5. They really need another big bat, but if Spencer Torkleson, Colt Keith, Kery Carpenter, and Riley Green can continue their development, the Tigers could be a fun team to watch. I see them as Darkhorses to win the AL.

Steve cohen will be foaming at the mouth at the end of the season! I said a couple of months ago that Skubal would be a Met. So unless the Dodgers get crazy and offer the tigers a package they can’t refuse, he will be a Met. He would be a nice addition, but if River Ryan develops into what we believe he will, and Gavin Stone is healthy, and Sheehan is still cooking? Along with Yamamoto, Snell, Sasaki, Ohtani, Glasnow? Wait. That’s a lot of starters! Nobody in baseball can touch that rotation! If the bullpen is good, the Dodgers are going to pitch their **sides off! Seattle 28— Patriots 20.

What do the Mets have to offer Detroit for Skubal? They would have to gut their farm system, and I can’t see David Stearns doing that.

We certainly robbed Boston on that trade, getting Tibbs, Erdhard and others – At least on paper. Can’t wait till they show some promise in spring training. Do you really think we need/want Scooby Do?

Not talking about a trade. I’m talking about free agency

Well, the Dodgers could be players as well, but Skubal will be 30 next year. I cannot believe that he won’t need a second TJ in the next 3 or 4 seasons, due to how violent his delivery is. BTW, he burst onto the scene at the same age River Ryan is. Just sayin’

Yeah I don’t see them offering a 30 year old pitcher more than 4 years. At what per year? 50 million? Not sure how that would work out! The Mets will be all over him!

Let the Mets have him. We have too many highly promising youngsters for at least two of them not to work out at frontline starting pitchers

Hopefully the Dodgers can count on a couple of position prospects in the future. Pitching prospects seem to be getting the job done regularly and the position prospects have kind of been hit or miss lately. I’m really excited about River Ryan! Gavin Stone is money! Emmit is stone cold good! It’s going to be very interesting to see who’s still in dodger blue in 2027!

I would kike to thank everyone for the kind birthday wishes yesterday! It was a fabulous day with the family.

Rortvedt is back!!!

They have to cut Siani again! 😉

Kike is not going to do that! 😉

Per Ardaya, the Dodgers have DFA’d Banda. His thoughts: – Banda was sneakily really effective last season, especially against LHH, but the Dodgers had six potential LH relievers on their 40-man roster, and Banda was out of options. – Banda settled at $1.625 million in arbitration. We’ll see what team picks it up. – This move reminds me a bit of the maneuver they tried with Ryan Brasier last season, trying to see if they can get something via trade for a guy who was a redundancy on the roster.

At the time, the Brasier deal was for cash or a PTBNL. How was that finally resolved? Did we ever get a player?

He’s not only had TJ but also flexor tendon surgery. No way I’d either pay what they would ask for him in trade or go after him in free agency. Let the Mets take their chances with him and if it works out, good for them. I’m waiting for Skenes.

As I predicted: “The A’s have claimed infielder/outfielder Andy Ibañez off waivers from the Dodgers, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reports. Los Angeles signed Ibañez to a one-year, $1.2MM deal last month and then tried to pass him through waivers in order to stash him in Triple-A as a depth option. Instead, the A’s will pick up that $1.2MM bill and add the versatile lefty masher to their infield mix”.

“The Los Angeles Dodgers received cash considerations from the Chicago Cubs to finalize the February 2025 trade of Ryan Brasier. While the trade was initially announced as being for a “player to be named later (PTBNL) or cash considerations,” the deal was ultimately settled for cash. This type of settlement is common when teams cannot agree on a specific prospect from a pre-negotiated list within the standard six-month window”.