The Dodgers Find Confort in Conforto
(I spelled it wrong deliberately). Well, the Dodgers were serious about signing Juan Soto… untill the bidding got over $600 Million. That was when they punted. I agree… I don’t think he is worth a penny over $599 Million! The Dodgers then signed Michael Comforto to a one-year…
(I spelled it wrong deliberately). Well, the Dodgers were serious about signing Juan Soto… untill the bidding got over $600 Million. That was when they punted. I agree… I don’t think he is worth a penny over $599 Million! The Dodgers then signed Michael Comforto to a one-year deal, presumeably to platoon with Andy Pages in RF. I think that was an excellent move. The Dodgers do not want Teoscar in RF and Comforto and Pages are both more accomplished outfielders. Comforto was in San Francisco which is a horrible park to hit in and, just like Teo (last year) who had and off season in Seattle in 2023, only to come back with a vengence in 2024, I think Michael Comforto has a very good season left in him.
Moving from SF to LA and having RVS as a hitting coach could re-ignite Conforto’s career. At one time, he was headed for Superstardon. From 2017 to 2019, he hit 27, 28 and 33 HR. He could be the steal of the offseason.
A platoon of Pages and Comforto could yield 35-40 HR and 100+ RBI from the 7th or 8th spot in the batting order, as well as delivering solid defense. The Dodgers still have the opportunity to sign Teoscar, but they don’t want to go beyond 2 or 3 years and I think the Yankees or Red Sox will. the Dodgers could see what develops among current players in LF, such as Dalton Rushing or Chris Taylor. Kike could be in the mix as could James Outman. If I don’t list him there will be hell to pay.
Rushing may or may not make the team, but he would benefit from playing a year with Smith and Barnes and maybe catching 20-30 games.
I think the steal of the offseason has been Blake Snell. Snell is Ace Caliber. Compare that to Max Fried whom the Yankees gave 8 years/$218 Million and he’s a #3 or #4 for the Yankees. Good luck with that.
After the Rule 5 Draft, I scanned the names and didn’t see any Dodgers taken. It turns out that I missed Garrett McDaniel. Garrett “Freaking” McDaniel? McDaniel? He’s a soft-tossing Lefty who isn’t even the equal of Justin Bruihl. I mean, the Angels could have taken Ryan Ward, Jerming Rosario, Carlos Duran, Damon Keith, Jack Little, Austin Gauthier, Ben Harris or Ryan Sublette, but NO…. the Dumbass Angels took McDaniels. Thank You! That is why the Angels are … the Angels. There is no dumbass Vaccine. The Angels are a joke!
The Dodgers don’t have to do anything else… except maybe sign Kike Hernandez. Maybe Walker Buehler might not get a great deal and re-sign with the Dodgers, but Jack Flaherty is already gone… believe ‘dat!
Roki Sasaki is not a slam dunk but the Dodgers are going all out to get him. We shall see… I have no prediction…
Lastly, I hope the Nolan Arenado rumors are wrong. He is done… He would have been a great Dodger… ten years ago! That ship has sailed! Stick a fork in him!
As one of our posters says…”Book ’em. Dano.!”
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Discussion (60)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I think this was the “minor league phase” of the Rule 5 draft and the players taken don’t move to the major league roster. Oh wait–there were both phases.
Why not call it a Rule 6 draft to avoid confusion.
I hope some of the OKC veterans like Ryan Ward get selected and then play happily ever after.
From TrueBlueLA:
The Dodgers lost one player in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday, with left-handed pitcher Garrett McDaniels getting plucked by the Angels. In the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the Dodgers added outfielder and first baseman John Rhodes and lost four others.
Unlike the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, players lost in the minor league phase are simply gone, now part of the organization that drafted them with no additional roster requirements.
The Dodgers lost pitchers Hyun-il Choi (to the Nationals), Michael Hobbs (Mets), and Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (Marlins), as well as catcher/outfielder Jefferson Valladres to the Twins.
Rhodes played the last two full seasons plus part of 2022 for Double-A Bowie in the Orioles system, after getting drafted out of Kentucky in the third round in 2021 by Baltimore. Rhodes in 2024 hit .202/.271/.309 with a 69 wRC+, 16 doubles, and eight home runs in 104 games.
He split time between left field, right field, and first base this season. Rhodes’ 23 starts at first base represented his first time at the position since four games in Low-A Delmarva in 2021. Rhodes turned 24 in August.
Ack, didn’t edit that last post fast enough…
Meant to note that the Red Sox also seem to be frontrunners now for Teo.
Without a significant addition, here’s the Dodgers’ OF mix now: Conforto, Edman, Pages, Taylor, Outman…Rushing?
There are a lot of platoon possibilities in that group. Conforto-Pages is one possibility.
As for the FA outfielders, several are solid but not exciting options, but most are best suited for the corners.
Superduper best-case scenario: Outman finds his ’23 mojo in the spring… and then he gets the start at CF, flanked by Conforto/Pages in left, and Kyle Tucker in RF.
Dare to dream!
It’s possible one of the outcomes if Teo does NOT re-sign could be it makes AF/BG consider re-signing Kiké again?
Will Outman rebound – for the season I mean, NOT for a month or two. Or will he quietly fade into obscurity? Any prediction?
“I think the steal of the offseason has been Blake Snell. Snell is Ace Caliber. Compare that to Max Fried whom the Yankees gave 8 years/$218 Million and he’s a #3 or #4 for the Yankees. Good luck with that.”
I’m very happy with the Snell signing but I don’t know where you get the idea that Fried is any less of a pitcher.
Lifetime, Fried has the lower ERA (3.07 to 3.19). He has a very slightly higher bWAR in 60 fewer lifetime starts. That’s a huge advantage in Fried’s favor since WAR is a cumulative stat.
As far as the contracts are concerned, yes we managed to get Snell for 5 years less and that’s a good thing considering their ages, but…………………………..Snell’s AAV comes out to $36.4MM while the Yankees are paying Fried an AAV of $27.25MM. In other words, on an annual basis we’re paying Snell almost 1/3 more per year. Or, if you want to you can say that the Yankees are getting the extra 3 years from Fried at about $12MM per year.
You say that Fried is the #3 or #4 starter for the Yankees. Could you please explain that?
By almost every pitching stat Fried outpitched Cole last year and he’s the only one on that staff that could be considered their Ace if you weren’t going to give that title to Fried.
I know you don’t reach your conclusions lightly, Mark, so please show me where I’m wrong here.
Certainly a lively winter break….
The talk about the Astros dealing Kyle Tucker seems to be serious. AF and BG have to be exploring that opportunity–even if it means dealing with the Astros.
Could the Dodgers lose out on Teo but wind up getting Tucker instead? That would be amazing. He’s under contract for only one more season before free agency–but wasn’t that the case when AF dealt for Mookie and then signed him to a big extension? Maybe Tucker would love to join the juggernaut.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox–who are keen on have agreed to deal four of their top prospects to land Crochet. One of the prospects is a catcher, which could alter their ask for Robert… if there is an ask. I don’t think Robert will be traded. But if Dodgers are interested in taking on the risk, the White Sox might prefer an SP prospect to Rushing. I’d still offer Lux in a package, because Edman could move to 2B.