To Trade or Not to Trade That is the Question

Wow, I’m still laughing at “Smart people do stupid things every day.” I mean, isn’t that exactly the opposite of what smart people do?

You guys kill me. Mookie said he was fine and would be back today. So Mookie is a liar too. Everyone is a liar. You are smart and Doc is dumb! Feel better?

You should be MLB managers.

I knew Doc was lying yesterday when he said Mookie Betts would start today. Turns out Betts is not starting today. Why no Smith today?

Taylor

Muncy

Turner

Pujols

Pollock

Bellinger

Barnes

McKinstry

Nunez

This team has a completely different presence without Seager and Bellinger. Even without them they are still favored to win. Even with Bauer in question, Kershaw on his yearly IL rehab and Mookie questionable, Lux, and… Reks, we are still favored to beat them tonight and win the Division in two months. Most of the so called experts, and the money, still likes the Dodgers. So do I.

DODGERS SELECT RHP JOSIAH GRAY

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Josiah Gray and placed left-handed pitcher Scott Alexander on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated infielder Andy Burns for assignment.

Gray, 23, was 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA (5 ER/15.2 IP) and 22 strikeouts in four games (three starts) for Triple-A Oklahoma City. In his first full season in the Dodgers organization, he was named the 2019 Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year after going a combined 11-2 with a 2.28 ERA (33 ER/130.0 IP) with 147 strikeouts in 26 games (25 starts) between Low-A Great Lakes, High-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa. In his minor league career, he is 14-5 with a 2.41 ERA in 42 games (40 starts). He was originally acquired via trade with infielder Jeter Downs from the Cincinnati Reds on December 21, 2018.

Alexander, 32, heads to the injured list for the second time this season. He appeared in the game last night, tossing 0.1 innings and allowing two hits. In 18 games this season, he is 0-2 with a 2.93 ERA (5 ER/15.1 IP) and eight strikeouts. He has been in the Major Leagues for parts of seven seasons with the Kansas City (2015-17) and Los Angeles (2018-21) and is a combined 12-9 with a 3.16 ERA (72 ER/205.0 IP) and 160 strikeouts in 211 games. The Northern California native was originally acquired by the Dodgers in a three-team trade with Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox on January 4, 2018.

Couple of points to make:

1. In David Prices’ first two outings of the year, he had a 12.00+ ERA. Since then it has been around 2.00. Cut the guy some slack as he builds up his arm strength.

2. Tony Gonsolin is HORRID, TERRIBLE, AWFUL, BAD, and DOWNRIGHT CRAPPY… and BTW has a 2.83 ERA.

FTI, you people have taken leave of your senses.

So who gets dfa for Gray? I’m guessing Raley.

Kudos Bear on Seager!!! Some it seems have never played the game…

Good day for reading… Puig??? I gave up on his ass when he was nailed speeding in Fla. with his Mom in the back seat… All the God given talent in the world and the IQ of a fence post…

Go get em tonight…

I am really getting tired of the disappearing act of Corey Seager. Sorry but it does not take 10 weeks to heal a fractured pinkie. What is he waiting for? He has already missed 43% of the regular season games since 2018. He is dreaming if he thinks he is going to get Lindor kind of money. I really don’t see the Dodgers signing him to a long term contract even though he was our key offensive player in the playoffs last year. I really like Corey but his below average defense along with being injury prone tells me we need to move on and find another SS.

I sure hope mad Max’s wife holds out until either rockies weekend or the weekend after with AZ. Just NOT for either of the midgets series.

COME ON MRS MUNCY, we are rooting for you!

Hard to believe that at 30 years old, with only 7 years of MLB time, Puig is already out of the league and playing in Mexico. What a waste of talent. I agree that Burns will most likely be the player moved off of the 40 man so Gray can be activated. Burns is on the 7 day IL at OKC anyway.

Great subject today Mark. And they will trade. The question remains, who for who? I hear and see a lot of names bandied around. I do not know if AF is targeting a big ticket pitcher, I would think he is leaning more towards someone like Gibson than Berrios. Berrios will cost a lot. Maybe 2 of your top 10 prospects. Scherzer want’s at least a 2 year extension BEFORE he will waive his no trade clause. If I were chasing a bat, I would definitely kick the tires on Haniger of the Mariners. He could definitely be a difference maker, and easily help the offense a lot. Make no mistake, the Giants are for real. And those old guys and fringe players they have believe they are the best and they are playing like it. And they have injury issues too, so they are getting great contributions from the guys replacing the regulars. Belt, Crawford, Longoria and LaStella are all on the IL. The Dodger AAA players who have been called up this year have not performed nearly as well as the Giants subs have. Raley and Reks were both raking at OKC, well over .300. Ravelo was too but they let him leave and sign with a Japanese team. They brought in Tsutsugo because they thought they could fix his swing and make him back into the player he was in Japan, nope. And he has just now started to show a pulse at OKC. Still hitting under the Mendoza line. AF did not load the roster at OKC with a lot of former MLB starters like he did a few times before. The only guy down there with much experience is Kickham. Of their top prospects, the one I promote tomorrow is Ruiz. I do not trade him, I trade Austin Barnes as a throw in for the best starter we can get. Ruiz’s bat is definitely an upgrade from Barnes. I like Austin, he plays hard, but he is just a weak link in the order, and without a DH, he pretty much makes the last two spots in the order automatic outs. I have long railed against Roberts for his in game strategies, and I think he made a blunder last night. Bickford was pitching well, and Roberts pulled him after a hit with one out and brought in Gonzalez simply because a lefty was coming up. Dave did it because Bickford’s splits against lefty’s are not that good. But it totally backfired because everything Gonzalez threw up there was hittable. Bickford has more K’s than innings pitched. I would have let him try to finish the inning. Gonzalez is not the same pitcher this season as last. And the stats reflect that. He pounded the strike zone last season, and this season he is not doing that. He will probably get better, but he was just off of the IL, and looked like it. His only action was against low A hitters a couple days before. Vesia comes in and is lights out. Dave needs to develop some new strategies. Do I have all the answers? No, I am not privy to the real Dr.s report on Mookie’s hip, Seager’s pinky, Belli’s shoulder and leg. But Bellinger is one of the best defensive players in the league, and I give him a lot of credit that his defense has not suffered because he is in a slump. Another thing that bugs me is all the shifting they do. Back in the day, late in the game, they used to play what was called no doubles defense. Which meant that the 3rd baseman and the left fielder were pretty much hugging the line with a righty at bat. That would have changed the whole scenario when Estrada hit his double down the line in the 7th. Had Turner been playing deep and on the line, he probably would have got that ball and had a double play. But he was in and off the line, so he had no shot. Pollock was playing way over in left center field and had no way to cut the ball off, so it rattled around in the corner and two runs scored. Game definitely over with the way the offense was performing at that point. Now they all pull out their little cards and look where the data tells them to play, and damn the idea that someone might just hit it in a different direction. Oh yeah, Gonsolin needs to learn how to bunt, or at least hit the ball the other way. They all need to learn not to swing at pitches a snake could not hit.

1. I VIOLENTLY disagree that Gonsolin is hurt. There is no way they would let him pitch if he was. That’s an uninformed erroneous opinion. The Dodgers spend too much time and money on these guys to let them pitch when they are injured… unless he is injured and telling no one. More likely, he is just building up like pitchers do in the Spring. It takes a month or longer. The opinion is not rooted in fact.

2. You have no clue if Pollock had an issue or asked out or if it was a planned day off. Your opinion is based on what you saw, but not necessarily the facts.

3. That is your “GO TO” after every game the Dodgers lose. It’s getting old and it’s another opinion.

4. OK, but I will not sell the farm.

5. It would be great to do that, but there is still a lot of time.

Sometimes people have to struggle in order to succeed. Ponder that!

Thoughts:

1) It’s obvious to me that Gonsolin is still injured.

2) Boneheaded Doc sits Pollock for Reks IN AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT GAME. Don’t tell me this kinda thing hasn’t happened before.

3) Our bullpen is just not good enough to win a World Series.

4) Trades are needed for both starting pitching and bullpen help if you want to try to win the World Series.

5) The Dodgers need to win all 3 remaining with the Giants or it will be a failure to seize the moment.

The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with left-hander Maddux Bruns, their top pick (29th overall) in the 2021 MLB Draft, a source told MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo on Tuesday. The club has not confirmed the deal, which is for $2.2 million, according to Mayo. The slot value for the pick was $2,424,600.

Bruns, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound southpaw from UMS-Wright Preparatory School in Alabama, went 7-0 with a 0.86 ERA as a senior, allowing just 13 hits and six earned runs over 49 innings of work. Bruns has a four-seam fastball that stands out, topping out at 98 mph last season, a significant jump from the low-90s the prior year.

Bruns, who was named after Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux and ranked the No. 49 Draft prospect by Pipeline, was a Mississippi State recruit.

Reading Timmons’ columns reminds me of that old saying: “Put wishes in one hand, crap in the other. See which fills up faster.”

Sure, I WISH Bellinger would start hitting again. I WISH Bauer had never met that girl. I WISH Seager would heal faster. I WISH Mookie was healthy. I WISH the Dodgers’ offensive depth was of a higher quality than has been apparent. I WISH the Giants were not good this year. I WISH Dave Roberts would abandon the LR matchup script once in a while and manage by what he sees. I wish hot hitters would not be on the bench for critical games.

Wishes are fun but they’re not reality.

Random thoughts:

1) Totally agree with dRick and others that Catman is hurt. Some doctor must have told them it won’t get any worse if he pitches so that’s what they’re doing. Wouldn’t be surprised to see surgery after the season.

2) Speaking of surgery, I think Mookie has the same problem that Posey had in 2018. That led to hip surgery and he wasn’t the same until this year. I definitely expect to see Mookie go under the knife this winter. Hopefully he’ll be back in time for next season but he may not be the same again for a couple years if he follows the Posey recovery timeline. He’s younger and also hasn’t had the physical stress of being a catcher, so that should help.

3) I expect to see AF trade for a controllable outfielder this month since Mookie can’t be counted on from day to day. This isn’t going to get better any time soon. I see someone like Bryan Reynolds, Cedric Mullins or Lourdes Gurriel as possibilities although a couple of those guys would come at a very high cost, prospect wise. If I’m correct about Mookie’s situation and with Pollock having one year left here, coupled with a real lack of good outfield prospects in the system, I think this is the way to solve that problem.

4) Andrew needs to pick up at least one strong starter. The Reds are beginning to look like they might be sellers so maybe he could get them to part with one of Castillo, Mahle or Miley, any of whom would be stronger alternatives than what we have now. Other names that everyone is mentioning include Scherzer and Berrios and possibly Kyle Hendricks. I don’t know if it will be a rental or someone with some years of control left but I expect he’ll come up with someone. The only problem is that Preller and Farhan will be in the same marketplace, Preller in particular.

Gonsolin pitches like a guy with a sore shoulder. Last year he averaged 95.1 MPH with the fastball topping out at 98. (Per MLB Savant.) This year he’s throwing at 92 – 93. He’s also lost his release point and is leaving it up. That’s what you do with a sore shoulder. I’m surprised that the Dodgers are letting him pitch.

They got only 4 hits last night after knocking the Giants’ best starter out after 3 innings. That’s really horrible. Looking at the lineup, Turner and Muncy did damage. Nothing else happening. Pollock came in late and got a hit. He’s the hottest hitter in the league in July and in a game where Mookie was unavailable, they sit him for Zack Reks?

Gonzalez didn’t have anything last night, but Roberts left him out there to take his lumps. Every ball was hard hit. He doesn’t look ready either. Giving up 4 runs in the 7th isn’t going to win many games.

Yes, it’s a perfectly reasonable solution to trade away Lux. After all why stick with a young blue chip prospect that’s probably your best defensive shortstop when both of your other Major Leaguers who can play shortstop are free agents after the season?

Same thing with Belli. Ignore the injuries, ignore the MVP season. Ignore the Gold Glove defense in CF. Just trade him.

I’m actually optimistic that Doc mentioned before the game that Belli should concentrate on using the field and being a hitter first and the slug will follow. He made some baby steps last night hitting the ball the other way and not striking out against one of the top pitchers in the league who also piles up strikeouts.

Everyone that’s piling on Belli was piling on Pollock not long ago.

The bottom of the order was crap last night. I saw that as soon as the lineup came out. You don’t think we could have scored another run or two if Pujols and Pollock were in there? Unfortunately Beaty pulled two screamers just foul and hit a rocket the other way but within reach of the third baseman. V-Gone sharted himself and there’s the game. Is that a call or reason for drastic changes?

Management is managing this team for the long haul, like it or not. I don’t like that they decided to give Kershaw a vacation. I don’t like that they are having Brusdar working on off-speed pitches in the minors. I don’t like how they waited so long with Cody and Corey. But, it is what it is and they have a pretty good track record on their side.

Make a trade to add, not subtract from this team. I will say this again, we have just about the best offense in the league and have only used our best lineup once.

Tonight’s lineup will feature Pujols at first, Muncy at second and CT3 at SS against lefty Alex Wood. I would assume that Barnes will be behind the plate since he’s less horrible against lefties.

They’re gonna do that opener Bullcrap and Gray will make his debut during a grudge match. I hate this brand of baseball with all the shifts, openers and bullpen games. In retrospect, management should have committed to Price in the rotation sooner and probably have given Gonsolin a little more time to bake in the minors. The bullpen is being ridden hard right now and it shows.

Who will the Dodgers drop off the 40-Man Roster to clear a spot for Gray?

My guess is Andy Burns.

Anyone who thought we would win last night after hearing the news that Mookie would be out is a huge optimist, and guys like me (realist) probably frustrate you. I did tell my wife though before the game started, “if our pitcher can get by the first inning with no runs, we may have a chance…..”.

Well, he didn’t…….. but there was good news, I was able to catch up on my sleep.

Should we trade? Lol. Even though I haven’t been here long, I’m sure you know what I think. Yes, yes, yes…..BELLINGER (2.5 seasons and counting) AND LUX (mentally fragile) ….in order to get more pitching and maybe an intriguing OF prospect.

GM Guys – I agree with y’all getting frustrated with Belli . Think need maybe sit him down for few games next to Albert clear his head, definitely pressing. Conversely, find it ironic that Yelich hasnt been same hitter either since him and Belli battled for MVP 2 years ago. Have no doubt we get everybody back healthy (HOPEFULLY keep them healthy) that Belli will click !! Have great day !

Mookie, Seager, Turner, and Muncy. Everyone else hits 8th.

Cody does not hit the ball to lf. He seems to at least try to keep from striking out with 2 strikes by lunging off balance to make contact. Since his slump he often goes out of the zone chasing especially with 2 strikes. The opposing pitchers just throw it right down the middle and he hasn’t been able to catch up. I continue to think he will produce. If not now in the future. When he bats I always think this could be the at bat whereas when Taylor bats and gets behind in the count u know it is a strikeout. After Muncy and turner I am about as confident in bellinger as the rest. Pollock is hot but it won’t last, smith is overall good but I am always aware of the dp ball and warning track power to rf. Then there is Betts. He has shown what he is capable of but his injuries have stopped him in the first half. Many as well as me think we would not have won the ws without him. Well we r without him. The rest aren’t worth talking about. Seager is a game changer if he don’t get a hang nail. Dodger players seem to spend a lifetime on the il. Seems unexplainable that Seager would b out this long.

Well it was 11pm at the end of the 6th last night, so I went to bed. Apparently the best decision I have made yet this week.