I have had a long period of time as a Clayton Kershaw fan. It started before he was drafted by the Dodgers at the 7th spot in 2006 (the last time the Dodgers drafted in the Top 10). In 2007, I traved to Beloit, Wisconsin to see this wonderkind.. and it was obvious from the first pitch that this kid was something special, even though he was only 19. He made it to The Show at age 20 and has been here ever since. The cover photo was taked with my son.. who is now 23. He still has that ball autographed by Clayton. Clayton has been my favorite Dodger since 2006, but I believed he would retire after last season. Until he proves me wring, I still believe it.
I hope I am sooooo wrong. I really do. I am referring to Clayton Kershaw and his health. I truly believe that his career is over… unless he has Tommy John Surgery and pitches again in 2024… and maybe he will, but the Dodgers just signed him to a 1 year/$17 Million Dollar Deal. I hope they have good insurance… shoot, I doubt that he will pass the physical! But, by God, I hope I am dead wrong! I hope Clayton has 25 starts, pitches 175 innings, and has a 2.67 ERA, but I cannot see that happening. Everything I saw last season was that Clayton Kershaw was a player whose UCL was hanging by a thread. Hey, maybe PRP did the trick. Boy, I hope so. My heart wants to believe that, but my rational mind says “You saw what you saw.”
That’s all I can say about that. I will expect the worst, but hope for the best! At least Clayton showed that he is a Dodger… inside-out! I believe that he asked the Dodgers not to give him the QO so that he could decide between Texas and LA. I think there was a time he was not sure which way he wanted to go and the Dodgers, out of respect for him, let him decide. I am glad he did not go to the stinking Rangers. I will root for the legend and hope that he is part of another Championship. The old saying is “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they are yours. If they don’t, they never were!” Welcome Back, Legend! Hopefully, this is the Kershawshank Redemption!
The Dodgers payroll stands at about $245 Million which is over the Luxury Tax Threshold and it is rumored that the Dodgers are interested in Freddie Freeman which could add $30 Million to that total. YIKES! Then, I think they will add Joe Kelly, but at this rate, Kenley Jansen is history. Who will be the Dodger’s closer? The Bazooka? Blake Treinen?, Ryan Pepiot, Phil Bickford, Tommy Kahnle, Daniel Hudson, Mitch White?
The Trevor Bauer Debacle
It could be over as soon as March 19th. MLB and the MLBPA has extended his leave through March 19th. I keep hearing that Rob Manfred has the option to suspend Bauer. What for? No charges were filed after a long investigation by the Police and the DA. The Court said that the alleged victim’s statement were “materially misleading.” It’s is generally pretty easy to get a restraining order, but in this case, the alleged victim not only did not get the restraining order, but the Judge went out of her way to characterize the witness as “misleading.”
The fact that no charges were brought AND the Court characterizing the alleged victim’s evidence as “materially misleading” does not give a lot to choose from. He has the power to suspend Bauer, but I do not believe he has the “evidence” to do so. If he suspends Bauer, then Manfred and MLB will almost certainly be sued and slapped with a restraining order to allow him to go back to work. Additionally, I think Bauer would ask Congress to take away baseball’s antitrust exemption. I do not think MLB will suspend Bauer – because they can’t!
I know that there are a hundred “fish hacks” who indicate otherwise. The evidence does not support it and does MLB and Rob Manfred really want to go into people’s bedrooms and rule on what is acceptable or unacceptable. We have heard what the alleged victim said happened. Trevor Bauer says that is not true. He has not tried the case in the media as the alleged victim has, but he says that what she said is not true. The Court said what she was saying was “materially misleading” and the DA declined to press charges. If Manfred suspends Bauer, he is saying that he found wrongdoing where others did not. I think Manfred is a Bafoon at times, but I do not believe he is as big a bafoon as all the baseball bloggers and writers who think Bauer will be suspended. I am not afraid to state my opinion.
I am assuming Clayton will be healthy (I sure hope so). If so, here is the Dodgers rotation:
- Striker Buehler
- Julio Urias
- Trevor Bauer
- Clayton Kershaw
- Tony Gonsolin, Andrew Heaney, Ryan Pepiot then Dustin May
Misc. Dodger News
- Now, we wait an see if Freddie Freeman is really a possibility.
- Joe Kelly anyone?
- Kenley Jansen?
Non-Roster Invitees (From Dodger Insider)
Pitchers
RHP Beau Burrows
RHP Jon Duplantier
RHP Carson Fulmer
RHP Sam Gaviglio
RHP Ryan Pepiot
RHP Yefry Ramirez
RHP Bobby Wahl
LHP Robbie Erlin
Infielders
Eddy Alvarez
Andy Burns
Michael Busch
Kody Hoese
Miguel Vargas
Outfielders
Ryan Noda
Jason Martin
Andy Pages
Stefen Romero
Catchers
Hunter Feduccia
Carson Taylor
Tomas Telis
Tony Wolters
The first official Spring Training workout for pitchers and catchers is March 14. Players are expected to report by March 13.
Discussion (21)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Old Bear here’s the Kelly news. He and Josh Harrison signed with the White Sox.
https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-joe-kelly-josh-harrison-deal
Dodgers signed former Giant Reyes Moronta to a minor league deal with invite to spring training.
The Braves will wind up with Freeman. They are now finally involved in serious negotiations.
JP Morosi who told us last night that we should have an answer on Freddie by tonight is now saying that no decision is imminent and that other teams are now involved.
JP, you’re a very nice guy and speak about 40 languages, but your reputation as an accurate monitor of MLB transactions leaves something to be desired.
Scott Schebler signed with the Rockies. He might hit .210 with 80 HR there.
For those of us who were hoping we’d sign Josh Harrison, the White Sox also grabbed him.
One year plus an option.
They probably offered him a starting job at second base, so that would have appealed to him more than being a bench player here.
Bye bye Joe Kelly – White Sox on a 2 year deal. No $ announced yet.
Too many if’s. If Lux is ready, if Muncy is ready. Freeman is a career .290 hitter in the post season. Muncy hit’s .233. Both of their fielding percentages are the same, but Muncy played 30 games less at 1st base last season than Freeman. Freeman would be replacing Seager’s LH bat. Muncy has stated he enjoys playing 2nd more than 1st. I think Lux has skills, but counting on him to be the everyday 2nd baseman is a stretch at best. He will be the LH super utility guy and move to SS if Trea is not extended.
Freeman is a wish for some but not a real need for the Dodgers, the team already has Muncy one of the best 1Bs in MLB.
If FF comes to LAD then I’ll support him as a fan but really the team doesn’t need him
Trea will be the SS and Lux will be the 2B, if Gavin can’t handle the lefty pitchers then a Lux/CT3 platoon will take over.
In the DH we will see a lot of AB from J.Turner, Pollock, to keep them fresh, and from Will Smith to take advantage of their offense.
I’m not saying that FF can’t get to the Dodgers but I see it as very unlikely, it’s more of a wish than a need and a need is always more of a priority than a wish.
I see five, maybe six players on the 40 man they can move with no problem. And by move I mean waive or trade. At least four pitchers.
So if Bauer is suspended by the league, does his salary come off the Dodger books for 2022? Also, I wonder if he will get time already served from being out last year? Just curious
Not crazy about the advertising on the uniforms (kind of like Little League), but did survive when the NBA started to do it a few years ago. Hope the ads aren’t obtrusive enough to defile the Dodgers classic look.
We can now add Jorge Soler to B&P’s list above.
As usual, Andrew has plans A though Z and he’ll keep working through the alphabet until one or two of them come to fruition.
As we all should know by now, only Friedman has any idea what the plan is. It’s fun to surmise and guess, but until opening day we will have no clue what the roster will look like. Hey Mark, with them authorizing advertising on the uni’s maybe you can get your logo in the mix.
I didn’t want KC back. But, now I firmly believe he’ll be the first pitcher that PRP works on. His fastball will return to the 92-94 range and he’ll earn his 4th Cy Young, 8 years after his last. I heard he’s been working with Badger on a changeup.
It’s great to see that the Dodgers are “in” on just about everyone…
Freddie – Check
Suzuki – Check
Kelly- Check
Cruz – Check
The Dodgers have employed a new strategy. Instead of trying to make their own team better, they’ve decided to sign everyone in hopes of preventing other teams from getting better.
I think it’s political theater in regards to Bauer. Bauer seems to be playing along by agreeing to another week of administrative leave. I don’t like how the sportswriters were so quick to convict Bauer in the court of public opinion. They have no accountability, although Molly Knight no longer works for The Athletic.
I don’t want Kenley back for the same reason that I didn’t want Kershaw back. If Kershaw struggles, he’ll remain in the rotation because of the name on his back. If Kenley struggles, he’ll remain the closer because of the name on his back. On the flip side, Kenley was very effective last year. I’m wondering why he hasn’t signed already. Is he holding out to come back to the Dodgers? The Dodgers are spending like me at TJMaxx after dinner and a couple of drinks. Buying a bunch of shit I don’t really need.
Wouldn’t it be really something if Kershaw shows what he’s really made of and doesn’t have his worse season and actually lowers his career ERA a couple points. That record already belongs to him so it would be shocking to everybody but Clayton and me. He believes he’s not done yet while knowing he has nothing to prove except to himself. He is a Dodger.
Kersh will have a solid year. If he was injured and knew he couldnt help the team he wouldnt have come back., He has more money than he ever needs.
Kersh wants another ring and he’ll be a key cog in this engine
I woulda thought Heaney would be a lock for the Rotation.
How about asking dear old David Price if he wouldn’t mind stretching himself out a bit and at least try and earn a portion of his salary?
Personally, I think if we sign Freeman, Pollock’s salary would be an option to shed. He only makes $12 mil, and he’s still a good player. But we can replace him in LF with Lux, CT3, and others. (maybe even Joc)
I don’t think Joe Kelly is a necessity with the addition of Hudson, the return of Kahnle and Ferguson and the addition of some young guns (White, Jackson, Pepiot et al). Wasn’t aware the Dodgers were already at $245 million player payroll. If Freeman is signed it certainly means no KJ and it might mean some payroll is moved. Can we get someone to take Price off our hands?
As much as I would love to see Freeman singed, I think he stays with the Braves.
It will be interesting to see what the velocity will be with Kersh’s fastball. If it stays at 89-90 and he has to throw a ton of sliders then his elbow has no chance to survive this year. It’s just a shame that injuries have slowed down the 2nd half of his career. And how does Watson seem to get a pass with his incredible career moving forward but Bauer should never pitch again.