I have been a huge Corey Seager fan since he came into the league… actually before he came into the league. I said that he was ready in 2014, but Andrew Friedman didn’t listen to me and acquired Jimmy Rollins, instead! I said that Seager could remain at Shortstop and I still believe that he can stay there… for the foreseeable future, but, if the right trade happens to come up, I think the time to trade Corey Seager is right about now. Let me explain why.
There are several reasons, the main one of which is that Corey Seager is likely to get a 10-year $300-$350 million dollar deal. He may be worth it, but he is not worth that to the Dodgers who will soon have to sign Cody Bellinger and Striker Buehler to long-term deals… and Julio is not far behind. You may believe that the Dodgers pockets are deep… but they ain’t THAT deep! The second reason is that the Dodgers have a viable alternative option… that being one Gavin Lux, who has 5 years of control. Gavin is finally looking like the player we thought he could be. If he can keep this up while Seager is on the DL, I think I will have seen enough to have confidence that he can handle the position… and hit leadoff (or second).
Next, you factor in that Corey is LH in a LH heavy lineup and you may have stumbled upon the the trifecta! Michael Busch is a LH hitter and appears on track to be a major league 2B, so that leaves the Dodgers with 3 potential infielders who are LH hitters.: Muncy at 1B, Busch at 2B and Lux at 3B. If Seager is gone there is also a much better chance that Chris Taylor could be resigned. In Andrew Friedman’s world, he cannot sign everyone. He has to have inexpensive players man several positions in order to pay the superstars.
What could the Dodgers get for Corey Seager? I am not going to pretend to know, but I think they could get more value than an additional draft pick. The Yankees need a catcher and a real SS. What if the Dodgers traded Keibert Ruiz, Corey Seager, and Luke Raley (or Zach Reks) for Gleyber Torres? That’s who Bumsrap always pined for before he cancelled me. Look at this lineup:
- Lux SS
- Betts RF
- Bellinger CF
- Turner 3B
- Muncy 1B
- Torres 2B
- Smith C
- Pollock LF
The Yankees really need a catcher and Ruiz is one. They also need a real SS. Seager could be a long-term Yankee and yes, the Dodgers could meet them in the World Series, but part of what Andrew Friedman does is to make the team competitive every year. Seager grew up a Yankee fan and the Yankees have the cash to sign him to that $300 million deal. I hate losing Ruiz and Seager, but the team would be better in the long run. Torres is controlled through 2025.
In 2023, this might be the lineup:
- Lux SS
- Betts RF
- Bellinger CF
- Torres 2B
- Muncy 1B
- Smith C
- Busch LF
- Hoese 3B
Of course, this is all conjecture and I really like Corey Seager – I am just not convinced the Dodgers should throw him $100 million when there are smarter options. OK, let the attacks begin! I am sure I am going to be branded a heretic for even considering the 2020 World Series MVP and Dodger Hero!
Photo Credit: MLB & Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodgers Minor League Report
OKC BOXSCORE – The Dodgers lost 9-2 to the Isotopes.
Monday, May 24, 2021 – Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park – Albuquerque, N.M. (Taken from MiLB)
*Game Summary: *The Oklahoma City Dodgers (4-13) offense was limited to two runs and five hits, as the Albuquerque Isotopes (6-11) kept their recent roll at the plate going in a 9-2 win over Oklahoma City Monday night. The Isotopes led 3-0 through six innings before the Dodgers rallied for two runs in the seventh inning. However, the Isotopes came up with a monster seventh inning rally for the second straight game, plating six runs in the process. Albuquerque hit three more homers, including one inside-the-park home run.
Of Note:
-Cody Bellinger played in back-to-back games for the first time during his rehab assignment. He played seven innings at first base and went 0-for-3 at the plate with two strikeouts.
-Fellow rehabber Zach McKinstry did not play as part of a scheduled day off after playing in each of the last three games.
-One day after tallying a season-high 13 hits and nine extra-base hits, the Dodgers were held to five hits and one extra-base hit – a double by Elliot Soto in the second inning. Soto was the only Dodger to finish with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a RBI.
-Pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx became the first Dodgers starting pitcher to last 5.0 innings since he also did May 10 in Round Rock. It was also just the third time in 17 games this season the Dodgers’ starting pitcher was able to complete five frames. Bibens-Dirkx (1-1) took the loss after allowing three runs and four hits, with two walks and five strikeouts.
-For the second straight game, the Isotopes rallied for six runs in the seventh inning, and on Monday it turned a 3-2 lead into a 9-2 lead. They notched four hits in the inning as well as two walks, with all baserunners scoring. Dodgers relievers Yaisel Sierra and Jordan Martinson combined to allow the six-spot, and of the 30 pitches the duo threw in the inning, only 13 were strikes.
-Danny Edgeworth finished the seventh-inning rally with an inside-the-park home run. He hit a fly ball off the wall in right field, and when OKC outfielder Steven Souza Jr. attempted to play the ball off the wall, it appeared he sustained a knee injury, and the ball came to a stop in right field allowing Edgeworth to round the bases. It was the first inside-the-park home run against OKC since Aug. 3, 2018 by Andrew Aplin in Tacoma.
-The Dodgers have now lost five of their last six games and have dropped three straight in the current series.
What’s Next: The Dodgers have a quick turnaround as they finish their series in Albuquerque at 1:05 p.m. Central time Tuesday. Live radio coverage of each OKC Dodgers game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 “The Game,” 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps. All OKC Dodgers games are also available streamed live on MiLB.TV with a subscription.
No Other Games Were Scheduled.
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Discussion (32)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Now that the Phil Bickford Era has begun, the Dodgers seem unstoppable.
My three cents:
–Belli or Seager? I want both, but only if Seager is moved off SS, preferably to 1B (a move Ernie Banks made) because I see little reason to think his glove improves at 3B. I’d sooner put the big $$ in the former MVP/Gold Glover in CF who could also get one at 1B later in his career….. But….
–Seager or Belli…. or Kersh/Buhler/Urias? My point here being that AF also needs to weigh another extension for Kersh, plus the possibility of locking up Ferris and Urias. Right now it seems like the Dodgers hold four aces. For that matter, Bauer will likely opt out after two years. (It will be interesting to see if other stars follow his lead in seeking bigger money over shorter terms.)
–Smith/Barnes/ Ruiz: Moving Smith to 3B or 2B seems possible, but he’s most valuable as catcher. The introduction of a DH could make carrying 3 catchers feasible; Ruiz hits well from the left side. Of the three, Ruiz is the top trade candidate. Barnes greatest value is as a Dodger because he who is preferred by the pitching staff and was trusted at the end of the WS–but I think Smith is improving and gaining trust. Ruiz’s potential, age and limited service time would draw the bigger return–but I don’t think you offer him unless it’s for serious impact…which could be someone like Torres or Matt Chapman. Ruiz is a luxury now, but at any time Smith or Barnes could be injured. (FedX is proven backup; Cartaya could be special.)
–Speaking of prospects…. Busch, Hoese and others might be good, but with the 2020 minors season lost to covid it’s hard to see anyone besides Ruiz as a solid bet to be a future major league starters. Sad to say, Peters, Neuse and Raley have not seized the moment; former 1st rounder Kendall seems like a bust.
It will be nice to have McKinstry back…. When he, Belli and Pollock are back, what happens with Albert and Tsutsugo and Beatty?
Kershaw is 99 K’s from Sutton.
I don’t like that pitching change with 2 outs, be careful Turner!
Take that, Zack!
Lux!!!!!
Nobody has a mask
The Padres gave Machado 300M reasons to make a move to 3base. Like Seager, Machado had established a desire to play SS. Seager would be an elite defender at 3base.
Between Seager and Belli, I pick Seager. Yes, he has had a number stints on the IL but he is a more gifted hitter. There is no denying Belli can hit some impressive bombs, but there is some holes in that violent swing. But one wonders whether it is sustainable from a health perspective?
How many are in the Astros stadium?. It is almost Full
Criticism, dissatisfaction, speculation, acronym this statistic, acronym that statistic, I think I’ll forget all that and enjoy watching a couple good pitchers pitch a ball game.
“Trading away your superstar mid-season is a rebuilding move for suckers and poor teams.” Dodger Patch. So true.
Lineup:
1. Betts RF (.258)
2. Turner 3B (.267)
3. Muncy 2B (.292)
4. Smith DH (.279)
5. Taylor CF (.279)
6. Pujols 1B (.210)
7. Lux SS (.262)
8. Beaty LF (.290)
9. Barnes C (.239)
I like it!
Do I want to trade Seager?
NO!
Would I?
YES… on the right deal. Torres would be a big RH bat.
The bigger question is “What will AF do?”
If we have learned anything, you never know what he will do.
If he had a potential All-Star to play SS and he got back a potential MVP Candidate with 4 more years of control, he could sell Dodger fans on “I tried to mak a deal with the Devil, but failed.”
Do not discount Andrew Friedman!
Bellinger 1-4 with his second home run playing cf and Mckinstry 2-3 playing lf this afternoon . Oak leads 10-0 after 6 innings with Nunez coming in to pitch the 7th. Both are getting closer for a return against SF this weekend
Local market Dodger cap. First time I’ve seen it. Hopefully the last.
https://uproxx.com/sports/mlb-local-market-hats-are-bad/
I think the biggest obstacle with Seager is the agent from baseball hell, Boras$sss. He will want the moon, and you are pretty much paying for Cory’s hitting, not his defense. I could see him signing with an American League team down the road. One of the under the radar signings that has to happen is keeping Chris Taylor. The guy plugs so many holes and hits pretty good. Losing him would really hurt.
I said earlier that under certain circumstances Seager might be traded. But after reading the posts here today I agree with most that it is not going to happen. Unless we drop out of the race it would be a pr nightmare for AF to trade a World Series mvp. 2nd when he does come back they will put him right back in at ss like it or not. Lux is trending up but by that time who knows how he will be playing. 3rd Seager has proven he can handle the big stage with last years post-season performance. In a game earlier this year I did c the old Seager who missed the slider by a foot. He is not going anywhere but I would still be surprised if he is re-signed.
You know, I work with a Dbacks fan who complains that one of the differences between the Dodgers and other less fortunate teams is that the Dodgers can re-sign any of the players that they develop from the minors into stars. While they can, there’s a real question of how much money that they will ever spend and how many of their players that they will keep.
Seager, Kershaw, Jansen and Taylor are all free agents in 2022. Urias and Bellinger in 2024, Buehler in 2025. (This assumes that the next collective bargaining agreement doesn’t change the number of years of team control before free agency. )
The Dodgers will resign Kershaw. Jansen? Hard to say. Taylor? Another tough call.
Dodgers payroll this year is about $286MM per Baseball Reference.com. They have $153MM in guaranteed contracts in 2022 and they estimate $194MM with options and arb contracts, etc.
So will they keep everyone?
Another point – teams get in trouble when they try to keep everyone. They get old and the big contracts become an albatross. Just look at the Giants – they won their 3 World Series, the last in 2014 but they’ve been bad ever since. A bunch of big contracts (Posey, Cueto, Crawford, Belt) come off this year.
So – it’s a legitimate question as to whether to keep Seager. AT this point Lux hasn’t proven anything yet.
Jorge, maybe we’re afraid to consider the possibility. It would be shocking if the Dodgers were cheating like the Asterisks. After all the hate and disgust shown by the Dodger players over getting screwed out of a championship how could they be doing the same thing? I don’t think Roberts or the front office would stand for that kind of behavior. Then, again, I might be naive. If Kratz is going to drop conspiracy bombs then man up and say who the three teams were. It’s BS that he leaves it hanging like that. He’s retired so what’s the problem.
Creative idea although I don’t agree with the value of the swap.
I’m resigned to offering Seager the Q.O. and letting him walk because Lux can slide over to SS and Busch should be able to handle 2B long-term.
I do agree that signing Taylor is a priority.
Might just have to trade Ruiz for a closer at the deadline and go for it all again this year.
According to Kratz, Dodgers could have cheated just like Houston did when they won the World Series.
I shared the link here a few days ago, and I’m a bit surprised that almost nothing was said about it
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1397022289145724928/pu/vid/720×720/5CEh2TOujs63LPGC.mp4?tag=12
Is this a joke?
Is this more a thought exercise for a theoretical class in asset management?
It’s like that Business Class from Back to School where theory diverges from reality.
There’s no chance the Dodgers trade a potential MVP in a year they have a very good shot at winning the World Series.
Zero point zero, to be exact.
Ruiz, however, I’m sure will be moved.
Well, not sure but probably because I know nothing.
No doubt defensively Belli is gold glove at two positions. I’m still nervous about all the swing and miss with his bat. He had that incredible run the first half of 19 but I haven’t seen the same barreling up of balls since then. This will be a telling year for him in my eyes and I don’t think AF will make a move with Seager until this year plays out.
Interesting thoughts.
But I think it would be a bad idea. Corey Seager’s bat may end up being the key to another World Series. If that’s the case, the Dodgers will have to sign him, no ifs, ands or buts.
They apparently tried to sign him before the start of the season so there is definitely interest. Don’t buy they can’t sign Seager, Bellinger, Buehler and Urias moving forward. The TV contract allows them to do that and not miss a beat.
Some big contracts will be coming off the payroll in the next two or three years. So, I’m guessing they can pretty much do whatever they want. Besides, how many teams can actually afford Seager. $300 million is an extreme overpay. Health is still the central issue, long term deals really don’t work out all that well. The Yankee connection is thin. Most players never play for the team they liked during their childhood.
Okay, I agree, if it came down to a choice, I would take Bellinger over Seager for a lot of different reasons.
If the Dodgers do lose Seager at the end of the season so be it. Could be to the Giants, although that would be strange. I’m guessing the Dodgers would go the extra mile to make sure that doesn’t happen. But if he leaves, Lux has proven to be an excellent replacement.
The Dodgers need a right handed bat moving forward, probably the DH.
One final thing. Why would the Yankees trade Torres?
Some serious hand wringing will occur if there is a Belli or Seager question. I’m not totally sold on Belli, He has come up small in a lot of important times for The Dodgers in the last few years. He also has made some memorable plays. I’m just worried that he will be a career .220 hitter with a shit-ton of Ks. His defense is better than Seager’s however. I’m sure there will be some advanced stats that support Belli over Seager but Seager seems to me to be the more consistent contributor offensively.
We definitely cant pay everybody. So all comes down to who you prefer, Belli or Seager, who will be better in a 10 year or long term deal?
Any thoughts
I wouldn’t do that deal. I think that’s pretty steep for Gleyber and I don’t think you mess with the chemistry of the team by trading a cornerstone when you’re fighting to repeat. We don’t need to clear payroll right now since Belli won’t be a free agent until 2024. It’s also premature to trade an asset like Corey when no one knows what the next CBA is going to look like.
Right now, I’m less concerned about the future and more concerned about the repeat. I would have my eyes on Mitch Hanniger or Marcus Semien right about now to get another right handed bat in the lineup. But, I really like the lineup when everyone returns healthy. If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.
Have Ruiz catch and move Smith to one of the infield positions. He uses his glove behind the plate like an infielder and I believe he played the infield in collage. That way you keep his RH bat and Ruiz is a switch hitter. I believe Turner and Muncy have only one more year. Trade Seager and a prospect and keep the guys that are proven.
Would the Dodgers be WS winners today with Lux at SS instead of Seager? He was the playoff and WS MVP last year. It seems like a couple of weeks ago the general consensus here was that Lux was a bust and a wasted draft pick.
I am impressed with his range and athleticism at SS, but even with his recent hot streak he still has never broken a wRC+ of 100 in his career. I think most of us are over Seager at SS. Seager is not a good defender there, and even before he made the MLB roster the line on Seager was that he would eventually move to 3rd base. Broken Clock Badger was actually right about his defense.
The last time I even attempted to forecast free agency signings with the Dodgers I think numbers wise it would have been possible to sign Seager and those other guys AND keep the CBT within striking distance if money was coming off the books. If Kershaw is pitching well and definitely wants to sign another contract, then forget it.
It’s probably reasonable to assume we’ll be saying goodbye to Seager, but I doubt he’ll be traded. Trading away your superstar mid-season is a rebuilding move for suckers and poor teams. Are we giving up trying for another WS? And who are we trading him to? It’s going to be to a contender the Dodgers will most likely see in the playoffs. Why would the Dodgers trade away a superstar and make a playoff rival better? Could you imagine Seager getting a game winning HR against the Dodgers in the WS?
Oh….has anyone noticed a throwing problem by Lux? I think his yips are cured. He’s been a solid defender at both 2nd and SS.
Oh … no Gleyber. I don’t think he’s any better defensively than Seager, which means he isn’t very good. …and I don’t want anyone on my favorite team named Gleyber. It’s a goofy name.
Too bad about some of the regulars who have boycotted this site over politics, but that’s the world we live in, unfortunately. I actually thought Bumsrap was a decent fellow, but this is all religion now, and you’re an apostate.
Trading CS has some charme and makes sense. Some.
However I would not include Ruiz in a trade like that. Torres from the Yanks makes no sense for us long term. We have Lux, Busch and Hoese to fill the infield spots along with Muncy. CT3 to be the super backup if we resign him. Torres would be a luxury.
If there is a trade involving CS at the trade dead line the Dodgers should look for prospects and/or another big bullpen arm.
Personally I do not think that AF will trade CS during this season. But as I said the idea makes sense and has some charme especially the way Lux is coming along.
@bear
Who is Souza ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I doubt as long as Mookie is a Dodger that Lux will be moved to the lead off spot. I agree it makes sense to trade Corey rather than just get a draft choice for him. I also think there is no way AF spends that kind of cash on him with Belli and Buehler just down the road. But I also think penciling in Busch and Hoese is way premature. I like the idea of retaining Taylor. But I do not think trading Ruiz right now is the right thing to do. I want to see where Cartaya is before I unload a talent like that with no viable replacement for him. Barnes will not be a Dodger past this year I have to believe. He may be great as a defensive catcher and framer, which is going to mean little once the electronic K zone is here, but his bat is still anemic most of the time. Neuse has not impressed me at all. But he does not have to. All he needs to do is make the Dodger brass think he is valuable. Souza injured again? Have to believe he will never contribute to the big club. Tsutsugo has not been impressive either. Seems to me he is going to be one of those Japanese imports that turns out to be a lemon. More like a Yugo than a Toyota.
Mark, I think you are right on. Everybody knows what a fantastic hitter Seager can be. But with his agent and if we do have a viable alternative in lux and the cost that is likely I think a trade is highly probable. We should take our chances to improve the team thru a trade. Not likely, but we could still re-sign him like the Yankees did with Chapman.
If AF can get more than a draft pick he has got to take a look. He knows the likelihood of re-signing him is not good. Seager has the right to explore his options and if he insists on staying at ss he will likely do it elsewhere.