Let’s Make a Deal

Because I have no clue as to what the Dodgers will do or what type of players the Pirates actually want for Vasquez, etc., I don’t typically spend much, if any, time speculating as to what type of trade the Dodgers are going to make or what players will be involved.   I know for many it’s a lot of fun, and I don’t cluck my tongue at those that do.   There was much talk on this blog last year about what type of player package it would take to acquire Machado.   Did anyone of you correctly predict the 5 players involved?   If you did, the next time you’re in my neck of the woods, I’ll buy you a steak dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.   Heck, if you guessed 3 of the 5 players, I would consider buying you that dinner. 

For kicks and giggles, I thought it might be fun to go back over the past few years and look at the trades and player transactions made by the Dodgers in June, July and August as trade deadline deals.   For the most part, you’ll find they are incredibly underwhelming.  I start with Ned Colletti’s last year and follow with each year FAZ was in charge.   I included FAZ’s very first trade.  Without looking, I wonder how many remember who they acquired.  

2014 (Colletti’s last deadline at the helm)

July 28, 2014:             Released Erick Threets.  (Raise your hand if you remember the Erik Threets era)  and traded a player to be named later to the Cubs for Darwin Barney and cash. The Dodgers sent Jonathan Martinez (minors) to the Cubs to complete the trade.

August 7, 2014:          Signed Bruce Billings as a free agent and traded players to be named later to the Phillies for Roberto Hernandez.  The Dodgers later sent Victor Arano and Jesmuel Valentin to the Phillies to complete the trade.   (For no particular reason, I absolutely hated this trade at the time it was made and hated it more after I got to watch Hernandez pitch regularly)  

August 9, 2014:          Traded player to be named or cash to the Twins for Kevin Correia.

August 11, 2014:        Released Tyson Brummett.

August 13, 2014:        Released Chone Figgins and Colt Hynes were selected by the Blue Jays off waivers.

August 15, 2014:        Signed Anthony Slama as a free agent.  (Who?)   They also traded future considerations to the Rangers for Justin Germano.   (This must have been “National let’s acquire players no one will remember day.”) 

Friedman’s first trade (Not a Trade deadline trade): 

Traded a player to be named later to the Marlins for Kyle Jensen. The Dodgers sent Craig Stem (minors) (December 15, 2014) to the Marlins to complete the trade.  (How many of you remember this trade?  It very much seems similar to the White for Scrubb transaction, in that it may have some underlying reasons to be made, but in the end, does it really matter?)

May 27, 2015:             Traded Juan Uribe and Chris Withrow to the Braves for Alberto Callaspo, Juan Jaime, Eric Stults, and Ian Thomas.  (Oh Juan!  How you went from being one of the worst players ever to don a Dodger uniform to one who magically captured our hearts) 

July 2, 2015:               Traded two international bonus slots to the Blue Jays for Chase De Jong and Tim Locastro.   (Let’s hope those bonus slots weren’t used to sign Guerrero, Jr.)  

July 15, 2015:             Released Jeremy Horst.   The Dodgers then redeemed the day by trading Chris Reed to the Marlins for Grant Dayton.

July 30, 2015:             As part of a 3‑team trade, traded Zachary Bird (minors), Hector Olivera and Paco Rodriguez to the Braves and Victor Araujo (minors), Kevin Guzman (minors) and Jeff Brigham to the Marlins.  Dodgers received Bronson Arroyo, Luis Avilan, Jim Johnson, Jose Peraza and Alex Wood from the Braves and Mat Latos and Mike Morse from the Marlins.  The Marlins also sent a 2016 competitive balance round A pick to the Braves, who used the pick to select Joey Wentz, who is currently their 9th ranked prospect. 

July 31, 2015:             Traded Mike Morse and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jose Tabata.

August 19, 2015:        Traded John Richy (minors) and Darnell Sweeney to the Phillies for Chase Utley and cash.  (No matter how you slice it, the Dodgers won this trade!)

August 31, 2015:        Traded player to be named or cash to the Blue Jays for  Chris Heisey.   Also, traded player to be named or cash to the Mariners for Justin Ruggiano and cash.

June 19, 2016:             Traded Zach Lee to the Seattle Mariners for Chris Taylor.  (Yay!!)

June 22, 2016:             Released Antoan Richardson.  Also selected Layne Somsen off waivers from the New York Yankees.

June 30, 2016:             Traded Caleb Dirks (minors) and Phil Pfeifer (minors) to the Braves for a player to be named later, Dian Toscano (minors), Bud Norris and cash. The Braves later sent Alec Grosser (minors)(who?) to the Dodgers to complete the trade.

August 1, 2016:          Traded Mike Bolsinger to the Blue Jays for Jesse Chavez.   Also traded Yordan Alvarez to the Astros for Josh Fields.   (At the time of this deal, who on this board was upset that we traded away Alvarez???)   Last trade of the day was Grant Holmes (minors), Jharel Cotton and Frankie Montas to the Oakland Athletics for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick.

August 23, 2016:        Signed Dan Johnson as a free agent.

August 25, 2016:        Traded a player to be named later, Tommy Bergjans (minors) and A.J. Ellis to the Phillies for Carlos Ruiz and cash. The Dodgers sent Joey Curletta (minors) to the Phillies to complete the trade.  (I could never understand this trade, but later I read some speculation that A.J. was not buying into the new culture and wasn’t a positive clubhouse presence). 

June 3, 2017:               Purchased Jason Wheeler from the Twins.

June 7, 2017:               Chris Heston selected by the Twins off waivers.

June 15, 2017:             Released Patrick Schuster.

June 18, 2017:             Signed Chris Rearick as a free agent.   Dodgers also selected Peter O’Brien off waivers from the Rangers.

June 30, 2017:             Signed Eddie Gamboa as a free agent.

July 2, 2017:               Traded Jason Wheeler to the Orioles for international bonus slot.

July 10, 2017:             Purchased Todd Cunningham from the Cardinals.

July 19, 2017:             Signed Tommy Layne as a free agent.

July 22, 2017:             Traded Sergio Romo to the Rays for a player to be named or cash.

July 28, 2017:             Purchased Luke Farrell from the Royals.

July 31, 2017:             Traded Hendrik Clementina (minors) and Scott Van Slyke to the Reds for Tony Cingrani.  The also traded A.J. Alexy (minors), Brendon Davis (minors) and Willie Calhoun to the Texas Rangers for Yu Darvish and they traded Oneil Cruz (minors) and Angel German (minors) to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Tony Watson.  (This may be the type of transactions we see this week). 

August 1, 2017:          Released Tommy Layne.

August 4, 2017:          Selected Dylan Floro off waivers from the Cubs.

August 5, 2017:          Mike Freeman granted Free Agency.

August 9, 2017:          Luke Farrell selected by the Reds off waivers.

August 10, 2017:        Released Chris Rearick.

August 15, 2017:        Traded Chris Hatcher to the As for international bonus slot money.

August 19, 2017:        Traded a player to be named later to the Mets for Curtis Granderson and cash. The Dodgers later sent Jacob Rhame to the Mets to complete the trade.

August 20, 2017:        Selected Jordan Jankowski off waivers from the Astros.

June 1, 2018:               Sold Peter O’Brien to the Marlins.

June 2, 2018:               Released C.C. Lee and selected P.J. Conlon off waivers from the Mets.

June 6, 2018:               P.J. Conlon selected by the Mets off waivers.

June 14, 2018:             Signed Madison Younginer as a free agent.

June 16, 2018:             Signed Drew Hutchison as a free agent and they released Chad Girodo.

June 22, 2018:             Signed Kyle Lobstein as a free agent.

June 23, 2018:             Released Tyler Colvin.

June 29, 2018:             Released Guillermo Moscoso.

July 4, 2018:               Traded James Marinan (minors) and Aneurys Zabala (minors) to the Reds for Dylan Floro, Zach Neal and international bonus slot money.

July 11, 2018:             Selected Zac Rosscup off waivers from the Rockies.

July 15, 2018:             Released Logan Ondrusek.

July 18, 2018:             Traded Rylan Bannon (minors), Yusniel Diaz (minors), Dean Kremer (minors), Zach Pop (minors) and Breyvic Valera to the Orioles for Manny Machado.

July 24, 2018:             Released Erisbel Arruebarrena.

July 26, 2018:             Released Madison Younginer.

July 31, 2018:             Traded Corey Copping (minors) to the Blue Jays for John Axford.   They also traded Luke Raley (minors), Logan Forsythe and Devin Smeltzer to the Twins for Brian Dozier.

August 1, 2018:          Released Drew Hutchison.

August 7, 2018:          Ariel Hernandez selected by the Brewers off waivers.

August 27, 2018:        Signed Zach McAllister as a free agent.

August 31, 2018:        Traded Jesus Valdez (minors) to the Pirates for David Freese.  They also traded Andrew Istler (minors) to the Nationals for Ryan Madson.

There you have it.   While I hope we come away with one or two top of the line shut-down relievers, or something else exciting happens within the next couple of days, the chances are that on August 1, 2019, we’ll be scratching our heads and asking ourselves “who is that?”   Of course, that will lead to all kinds of interesting discussion among our “family,” so there is that! 

2Demeter2’s Minor League Lowdown

OKC Dodgers beat the Memphis Redbirds:   8- 2

Dustin May started for the Dodgers and showed once again why he shouldn’t be traded, except for maybe Gerrit Cole or Steven Strasburg.  He pitched 5 very strong innings, allowing but 2 hits, and 1 walk.   He tired some in the 6th inning, after getting the first two outs, he walked a batter and then gave up a run-scoring double.  He recovered to strike out the next batter looking.  His final line was 6 inn. 3 hits, 2 walks, and 7ks.   Zac Rosscup took over for May and pitched a clean inning with 3 strikeouts.   Victor Gonzalez also pitched a nice inning, 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1K.  Shea Spitzbarth pitched one inning allowing a run.  

OKC scored 3 runs in the 3rd inning on a Conner Joe 2 run homer, bringing in Lux who had doubled and on an Edwin Rios solo shot.  Rios would later double, but got thrown out at home on a Kiebert Ruiz single.  D.J Peters added a HR going 2-3 with 3RBI.  Joe Kemmer also hit a HR with 2 RBI.   No one else got more than 1 hit.

Tulsa Drillers lost to the Midland Rockhounds:   4-1

Justin De Fratus started and tossed 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits, and 3 walks.  He added 5 Ks.  Yordy Cabrera pitched the final 2 innings allowing 1 run on 2 hits and 1 walk.   He had 1 K.  

The Drillers did pound out 9 hits, all singles, but they couldn’t turn them into runs.  Zack McKinstry had 3 of the hits, and Rocky Gale added 2.  Errol Robinson, on a sac fly, got the only RBI.  All in all the Drillers left 18 runners on base. 

RC Quakes beat the Stockton Ports:   5-2

John Rooney started for the Quakes and threw an efficient 6 innings, allowing 9 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk and adding 8 strikeouts.  He was followed on the hill by Conner Strain, Guillermo Zuniga, and Melvin Jimenez, who each tossed a scoreless inning.  

Offensively, the Quakes were led by Deacon Liput who went 2-4 which included a 3 run HR and 4 RBI.   Donovan Casey and Hunter Feduccia chipped in with 2 hits apiece.  One of Casey’s hits was a triple and he added the remaining RBI.     

Great Lake Loons beat the West Michigan Whitecaps:   12-2

Jack Little started for the Loons.  He pitched a total of 2.2 innings, allowing a HR in the 1st inning and in the 2nd inning.  Those were the only 2 hits he allowed.  He also walked 1 and struck out 3.   Jose Chacin followed him and pitched a very nice 5.1 innings allowing but 4 hits, 1 run and striking out 8.  Chacin was replaced by Joel Inoa who tossed a clean inning.

Offensively, the Loons started off with 3 runs in the first 2 innings.  Chris Roller was one of the offensive stars going 2-6 with a 3 run HR.   Second Baseman Leonel Valera added 2 hits and 3 runs.  Catcher Gersel Pitre added 2 hits with 3 runs scored,  Romer Cuadrado had 2 doubles as his 2 hits and Kody Hoese chipped in with 2 hits and run.  The Loons broke it open in the 7th with 4 runs on a Jacob Amaya single and Cuadrado double.   No one else got more than 1 hit, and the Loons were also the beneficiaries of 10 walks.  

Ogden Raptors had the night off:    

Off to an amazing 33-7 start to their season(the Tigers have only won 30 games in their first 100, and the Orioles 35 out of 104!!!, the Raptors took a day off to relish their remarkable start to the season. 

AZL Mota Lost to the AZL Cubs 2:   4-1

Not much offensive as Albert Suarez 2 of the Mota’s 4 hits.  t that was pretty much it for the offense.  Hyun Il Choi started and pitched 5.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 1 BB and 3K.   2019 draftee Jacob Cantleberry had his first rough outing tossing 1.1 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs but striking out 3.   Carlos Alejo finished the night throwing a clean inning.   

AZL Lasorda beat the AZL Brewers Blue: 4-3

Edwin Mateo, Daniel Castro and Jorbit Vivas each had 2 hits.  Louis Head made a rehab start and only pitched 0.2 innings, allowing 1 BB and recording 1K.  Alec Gamboa followed with 2.1 innings allowing a single hit, with 5Ks.   He was followed by Jacob Gilliland who had a rough outing, He tossed 3.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits 1BB, 2HBP, and 2Ks.  Ricardo Hernandez and Renaldo DePaula pitched uneventful 1.1 innings and 1 inning, respectively.  DePaula got the victory, as the Lasorda’s won on a walk-off throwing error that allowed Chet Allison to score.   

This article has 104 Comments

  1. To continue my question and answer about the Castro/Negron trade, Mark replied that Negron was hitting in the minors better than Castro. OK, but why would Seattle want Castro? Both are underwhelming hitters but good fielders. Seattle will save some money but the reality for the Dodgers is it’s a band-aid that just cost them 10x the salary of Castro.

    When does Tyler White make his first appearance? I would think after the trade deadline to give teams a few extra days to decide who they would want in case a deal is to be had. At this point, nothing would surprise me. Having been someone that has thought the Dodgers had enough in-house to win it all, the FO may feel the same way and will not make any dope fiend moves. But, they do seem reluctant to bring up any one else at the moment beside Will Smith who has earned his turn. Gonsolin is strictly an audition and I can’t see him sticking. Personally, I’m still hoping for a starter. Too much hype around Vazquez and his worth. Diaz is a ‘best buy’, IMO.

    1. Castro is much younger than Negron, but even Ray Charles can see if you can get a player who has a 1.7 WAR in about 300 MLB AB’s , it’s much better than a player who has about the same number of AB’s with a negative WAR.

      And they both make the MLB minimum. I don’t know where you get the 10X more, but that’s simply not true.

      1. You should edit that first sentence. One might find that word offensive these days. 😉

        1. Something offends everyone… It’s an old saying that has stood the test of time. Ray Charles was/is the most famous blind person in the modern age.

      2. Thanks for the correction, Mark. I re-checked with baseball reference and they only listed his 2015 salary with Cincinnatti which was $512,500 and not his current one. I just glanced at it and thought it was the latest salary listing. The stats, though, did not show his MiLB stats, only his MLB ones which are not impressive offensively.

    2. I do not understand where you get 10X the salary. Negron is making MLB minimum at $555K, and if Castro (or Lux or Drew Jackson) gets called up to replace Kike’, they are also making $555K. It seems clear that AF was not comfortable with Castro on the 25 man if Kike’ goes on the IL. I doubt that AF does this deal to trade a AAA utility player for another AAA utility player, unless one of them is coming up. As Mark said in yesterday’s reply, Negron is Kike,’ having played every position other than catcher, something Castro does not do. Why get exorcised over this? Negron over Castro or Castro over Negron. Is this really something to criticize? For those who like to equate AAA stats with potential MLB success: Negron AAA – .310/.396/.503/.899 and Castro AAA – .241/.304/.295/.600. I like Negron’s chances to perform at a better level than Castro. Neither one are going to make the playoff roster. If the determination is that Kike’ is not going on the IL, then it is going to cost the Dodgers a couple hundred thousand to keep Negron as insurance. I doubt that this financial investment is going to impede them in anything else they do.

      I will leave it to AF and the rest of the staff to make the determination as to whether Lux is ready right now. They do not seem to think he is ready. Maybe you and others are right and AF is wrong. But AF seems pretty good at determining when it is best to bring the kids up. He has not missed much in that regard.

      1. AC, you’ll find my mistake above in my reply to Mark. I’m not exorcised over this, simply questioning the move. I didn’t have all the financial facts and BR didn’t show me any MiLB performance stats. I don’t really care about this, just asked the question, why?

        Did I ever say Lux was ready now? I’ve never seen him play except in ST, and I didn’t think he was all that, then. But he does seem to have turned a corner and his performance has really shown this. He just happens to be the only middle infielder that anyone ever talks about round here. All eyes are on him despite what AF thinks is the best thing for him. I have no say in all that and I really don’t take it that seriously.

    3. What do you like better about Diaz. His near 5 ERA? His high HR’s? Or NY asking for as much as they gave up for him?

  2. On another subject. I did not see yesterdays game but a week or so when Bueler struggled with his command in Phil. One analyst said that sometimes a pitcher used to pitching in the dry West Coast may sometimes struggle with his grip (and command) when pitching in the humid East. Clearly he could not throw any breaking pitch and hitters just waited on the fastball. I was wondering if that was the issue yesterday and if anyone has an opinion on this.

    1. Watching the Buehler-Strasburg duel was an eye opener for anyone that enjoys watching the pitcher perform. From the very start of the game, there was little movement on Buehler’s breaking stuff. He wasn’t bad. But the moment you saw Strasburg’s stuff, you knew you were witnessing a master at work. Buehler is not in that category, yet. Strasburg may very well be the best pitcher in baseball, IMO. They couldn’t figure him out and his command and velocity are overpowering along with his ball movement. All I could say was Wow.

      1. When Strasburg is healthy, he is as good as any pitcher in MLB. He can opt out of his contract this year (and next year as well). He is owed $100MM for 2020-2023. Even though he is 31, I am guessing that Boras will have him opt out. He has been healthy all year, and should garner quite a few CY votes. Someone will pony up more than $100MM for him. He’s basically at the same age Jon Lester signed his 6 year $155MM contract, and younger than Greinke when he signed his 6 year $206.5MM contract.

  3. Down to the last 3 days, I have no idea what the Dodgers will do,just hope the Dodgers are a better team after Wednesday then they are now.

    1. Yep, they would be one of the top defensive teams if it weren’t for the errors. I hate to jump to conclusions after 17 games, but Joc isn’t cutting it at 1st base.

      1. They would be one of the top defense teams if they would be one of the top defensive teams, which because of errors they are not.

  4. I have always found the trade deadline week to be exciting, but I would be more excited if I did not think that the Dodgers operate under unduly self-imposed constraints. There was this story about how the ownership was telling potential investors that the club would stay under the luxury tax threshold for the next five years. They denied that, but it probably is true. They have seem rather obsessed with payroll, particularly given the immense amounts of money they make, and the very deep pockets of the owners. No one expects then to carry a $500 million payroll, but the wonderfully loyal fans deserve more than this version of penny-pinching when it comes to major acquisitions.

    I always hope for the best, but we don’t very often make any great deals, the kind which would help our club for more than two months. Our big acquisitions have been rentals, Machado and Darvish. For bullpen pieces, we have always gone for third-tier or spot relievers. There is no reason to believe that we will do otherwise this time. Maybe a couple of decent but iffy relievers. The only “big name” player out there seems to be Syndergaard. Then there are the relievers who are potentially available, and Vazquez is the big name there. Both carry contracts into next year, which ownership rarely wants to pick up. So unless we break from our usual modus operandi, I think it will be the other teams which will be making the trade headlines, and we hope it will not be our major competitors in the NL playoffs, or potentially in the World Series. All that said, hope springs eternal at the trade deadline. I guess it depends on the sense of exigency the ownership has about finally winning a title, and of course what the front office thinks we actually need to achieve that.

    1. I don’t think there is a modus operandi for AF. Most did not think they would bring in Machado because of their modus operandi for hugging prospects. Most said they wouldn’t pay for a free agent like AJ Pollock because of their modus operandi for being cheap. Most said they wouldn’t pay for a reliever like Joe Kelly because of their modus operandi of not thinking relievers are important enough to invest money in. This is all fake news. They will spend when it makes sense to. AF has a plan, we just make bad assumptions on what that plan is based on perceptions from the past.

      We’re still going to get a closer and another bullpen arm and one will be a lefty, unless one is a starter. Just wait, you’ll see. But, I must qualify this statement by saying that I’m only a novice, so I don’t really know anything.

      1. You are no more of a novice than any of us. None of us know anything. Dodger fans know even less what is being considered, because AF is the most tight lipped baseball person around. All we have is opinions and yours is as valid as anyone else.

        1. Did you hear that MT?

          lol – Thanks AC, I just like messing with Mark because he messes with so many others.

          1. I used to have some inside information, but I have not had it for several years… and especially since Friedman took over. I did talk to a scout from another organization who represented me a weeks ago, taht he had heard Gavin Lux would be called up by August 1st. He may or may not have been right…

    2. To play Devil’s advocate. Vasquez has a team friendly deal not a bloated contract. A team friendly deal on player in his prime is what all teams want. Also, keep in mind the Dodgers payroll commitments in the upcoming years are minimal when it comes to luxury tax concerns. Many of the top free-agents who may have been of interest for the Dodgers are off the market. Bellinger, Lux, Seager, Smith, Verdugo, Buehler, Muncy, Urias. The Dodgers are full of young controllable players so pushing across the luxury tax isn’t an issue.

  5. The Dodgers are already deadline winners! Who can argue with the likes of Negron and White being a HUGE improvement for the team and definitely pushing us over the top for a World Series run? With three days left, there’s little to do now, we can just sit back, relax and watch Joc continue his massacre of the first base position.

    I guess if there’s a bright side of things, Jake Diekman is the best reliever to find a new home so far (unless you were considering a Sergio Romo redeux) and the Mets landed Stroman which means he isn’t going to the Yankees or the Astros.

    If you think we’re frustrated at not landing a reliever so far, just imagine what it’s like to be a Yankees fan with Sabathia DL bound and with Paxton (4IP 7ER) and Tanaka (3.1 IP 12 ER) giving up the farm to their main division rival. All while watching the Dodgers continue to experiment on how to throw away games with a +171 run differential and MLB best record all while leading the league in errors, something they can “fix” whenever they feel like it.

    3 Days remain, same needs. Bullpen help, more bullpen help and more bullpen help. Go ahead and pull the trigger on Jose Abreu while we’re at it. I don’t want to block Lux with Merrifield.

    The rotation is a little thin these days with Strip and Hill on the DL. Worried? Let’s just pray that we come out of Coors field healthy.

    I’m looking forward to watching Gonsolin on Tuesday. I’m sad for him that he has to do it at Coors, but I remain cautiously optimistic that he’ll be up for the task. He’s got a great pitch mix and can bring the heat at times. I just hope he has his best stuff going for him.

    1. 59inarow

      Jose Abreu? The Dodgers don’t need to add any position players.

      I got a question for anybody that can answer it. When does a minor league player’s clock start? When they are put on the 40 man roster? the 25 man roster? After a certain amount of time or at bats or innings pitched in the big league? Or something else?

        1. Hawkeyedodger

          Thank you for the link.

          So if a team waits to bring up a minor leaguer after 15 days into the season that team gets that player that season without starting their 6 year clock? So that team essentually gets that player for 7 years instead of 6 years before that player is eligible for free agency? Is that correct?

          1. It ultimately postpones the players free-agency by a year if they make sure they don’t reach 172 before the season is over. The Cubs did it with Kris Bryant for example. They kept him in the minors long enough to keep him an extra year.

      1. The clock starts the day the player is on the 25 man roster. The player gets 1 day service time for each day on the 25 man or IL (MLB IL). One year service time = 172 days. Service days are considered for the regular season only. There are no service days granted for post season games.

        Free agency is granted for players with 6 years service time. Arbitration starts after 3 years of service, or in some instances with 2 years + a calculated number of days, usually +/- 130 days. The second group are what are referred to as Super 2. The team will get most of one more year of control, but will incur 4 years of arbitration.

        The MLB IL rule is important. When Julio Urias went on the IL with his shoulder surgery, he was on a Minor League roster and was not eligible for service time. If he were on the Dodgers 25 man roster at the time, all of the time he was on the IL or rehab, would have counted towards his service time. All of Corey Seager’s time on the IL counted towards service time.

        Going on the 40 man dictates when options start.

      2. BB, you and I are like we’re from different planets. You can make an argument that the Dodgers don’t NEED anyone, because there isn’t any glaring needs. But, you can always improve a team and who can honestly say that Joc is fine at 1B?

        It’s also funny that you say we don’t need to add any position players. But, we just added two position players. Do you prefer White and Negron over Abreu?

        I think Abreu solves a few problems.
        1) Solid Glove at 1B, he averages 8 errors at 1B per year compared to Joc’s 5 in 17 games.
        2) Middle of the order right handed bat with power 30/100 guy that hits lefties and righties helps balance out lineup when teams try to exploit our weekness with openers and stacking lefties against us.
        3) No one moves around anymore and no platoons, everyone gets better playing their primary position full time.
        4) He’s a 3x All-Star

        Of course bullpen help is tops on the list, but I’m an “All in” kind of guy and Abreu would be a great add to a team that’s currently fumbling at 1B. Abreu is much more consistent then our in-house option of moving Muncy to 1B, and going with injured and inconsistent Kike and CT3 at 2B, if the Joc experiment is determined to be a failure. With 3 games before the deadline, Joc isn’t going to have enough time to convince management that he’s the solution at 1B for the remainder of the season and into the post-season.

        The Mets didn’t NEED Stroman and the A’s didn’t NEED Diekman, but here we are. Both of those teams are better for their trades and neither are thinking they’re World Series favorites.

        I think Abreu actually solves a problem, unlike platooning AJ Pollock, who by the way, had 1 of the 2 hits against an elite right hander yesterday. Coincidentally, Joc went 0-3 with 2 Ks against that same right hander.

        1. Abreu isn’t coming. Doc has already said that Joc won’t be playing 1st in the post-season and there’s a good chance that Bellinger will see time there. Bellinger, Freese, Muncy have it covered. The White Sox want to extend him and have him as a veteran leader for all the young kids they have coming up. They’re afraid to put him in another clubhouse short-term even though they probably should.

        2. .172/.172/.310 in AJ’s last 7 games. He swung 3-0 on Friday night and killed an inning. His defense in Philly and for the season has been sub-par. Fortunately he got a few cheap dingers in Boston and Philly. He needs to step up. Right now pitchers are getting in his kitchen at will. Hopefully Coors field is a remedy to his ills.

        3. Negron is temporary. Dodgers only got him because both of the utility guys are on the IL, well Hernandez soon to be.

          I already told you what I prefer in the outfield and at 1B. In my preference Muncy stays at 2B.

          If you are an all in guy as you say you are then you would trade the farm for no guarantee of a World Series win and bye bye to competing for the foreseeable future.

          LOL, all-star. Last time I checked all-stars are voted in.

          1. As far as trading the Farm goes. I don’t think you would be trading the farm for Abreu since he’s an expiring contract. Anyone other than Smith, May and Lux are game for me to trade from.

            Doing so would not limit us for the foreseeable future since the Rotation and Lineup would still be intact for that foreseeable future. Kersh, Urias, Bueller, May, Maeda, Stripling are all under control for multiple years as are Seager, Muncy, Bellinger, Pollock, Verdugo, Smith and Barnes. With all the money coming off the books, you can fill other holes with remaining prospects and free agents.

  6. Very nice write-up 2D2. Puts a lot of things in prospective especially all the trades everyone forgot about. ps. love your sense of humour also. It sometimes is needed on this blog. Mark has it too among others.

    1. Thank you DodgeBlueMom! I think AC summarized it best. None of us know what the front office is doing and all we can do is share our opinions. Hard to get to gingered up over another person’s opinions. I have enough stress in my life. I come to this board as a stress release. Laughter (particularly at myself) remains a good medicine.

  7. 2D2’s chart reminds me that we always get tjunk from the Twins. Ruiz was better than Ellis.

      1. It caught us all by surprise. I was shocked. Mark actually had a good piece a long time ago about how it would be good for CK to get away from AJ. As much as we got on Yasmani for his passed balls, I think Clayton lost one of if not the best post-season game he ever pitched because AJ let a ball go between his legs in St. Louis

          1. Once the Dodgers got Grandal you could really see how many pitches AJ was costing them.

  8. Syndergaard:

    Anyone with better knowledge correct me if I am wrong. The Mets could use a catcher and a 3B. Both of their catchers are not known for their hitting. Their 3B can be a free agent after this season. I’ve read the Mets want a starting pitcher that can be in their rotation right away. Everybody wants pitching so I’m sure the Mets would take as much pitching as offered.

    Do you think Catcher Ruiz, 3B Rios, a choice of Stripling or Maeda, and Josiah Gray would get Syndergaard?

    1. The Mets would jump at that deal. However, I think Rios value is very low to an NL team. He is a complete stiff defensively. All in all I think that’s an overpay for 2 + years for Thor especially when you’re trying to fix him this year.

      1. Hawkeyedodger

        I would do that deal. Syndergaard has so much potential. He’s pitching for a chaotic franchise. I just think he has so much potential that maybe the Dodgers pitching staff can get him going in the right direction. We could use a good starting pitcher for several reasons that includes the post season starting pitching wise and bullpen pitching wise (Urias staying in the pen in the post season) and next year unknown Ryu/Hill free agency.

      2. I agree with all your points Hawkeye. It’s an overpay for Thor as far as I’m concerned, although I could see that deal with maybe Beaty substituted for Rios as acceptable to the Bucs for Vazquez. It would kill me to include Gray but that might be what it takes.

    2. I’d like to start by saying my knee jerk reaction to the Thor Rumors was “Get Him!!!”

      I would love to have Thor, not only for this year, but for two more. But, that’s a lot of capital spent on NOT addressing the bullpen problem. Your argument that you don’t need any position players applies just as easily to starting pitchers. And not only do you NOT ADDRESS THE BULLPEN PROBLEM, you make it WORSE by removing Strip/Meada as bullpen options when the post-season arrives.

      Now, we’ll talk about the ridiculous overpay.
      Stroman is better than Thor. Stroman cost Number 6 and 7 in the 23rd best farm system. Ruiz #3 and Gray#5 in the 3rd best farm system is your starting point and is already an overpay by comparison’s sake. (I’m wondering how AF would feel about getting screwed by an ex agent rookie GM.)

      But that isn’t good enough? Now you want to add #19 Rios and a quality major league pitcher in Maeda. BTW – Maeda’s WAR, ERA, WHIP, K/9 numbers are better than Thor’s this year.

      Yeah, I think that “DEAL?” would get it done.

      1. 59inarow

        From what I read the Mets want a starting pitcher that can be in their starting rotation now, that’s where Stripling or Maeda comes in play. I’m sure they want to get back prospect value for the 2 pitching prospects they traded in the Stroman deal, so that is where Gray comes in play. From there they can use a catcher and 3B.

        What ever you think about Syndergaard and what I would trade for him is all up to you.

        But a post season starting rotation of Ryu, Buehler, Kershaw, Sydergaard means all 4 can potentially go 7 innings or more in the playoffs. Therefore making the bullpen less important. If you don’t know by now I want Ken Giles.

        The bullpen with Giles would look like Jansen, Baez, Urias, Giles, Hill pending return, Maeda or Stripling, maybe Kelly maybe not, maybe Sadler maybe not.

        I don’t know about you but that looks like a winning roster to me.

  9. Dodgers have signed Tyler Thornburg who was recently released by the BoSox

  10. Thornburg had a great season for the Brewers in 2016 and then hurt his shoulder when he got the Red Sox in 2017. Had surgery a couple of years ago. This could be an interesting signing as shoulder injuries always take a while to come back from. If it doesn’t work nothing lost, but it took Ryu and Urias a while to get back to their former selves after shoulder injuries.

    1. Supposedly has elite spin rate. #2 in four-seem fastball and top 25 for curve balls. Definitely seems like a Freidman project. I’m not sure if he has options left.

      1. I’m definitely not an expert on the subject but if the Dodgers signed him to a minor league contract I don’t think there would be a problem in keeping him at OKC. If they signed him to a major league contract then yes, number of options remaining would definitely factor in to the equation.

        1. You’re are correct. WEEI reports it as a minor league deal. He doesn’t appear on any off the affiliates rosters yet.

  11. Negron activated, Sborz re-called, Kike IR’d, Schultz optioned

    Vargas to Phillies. Lyle to Brewers. Crappy rotations not getting much better if at all.

  12. DODGERS ADD KRISTOPHER NEGRÓN AND RECALL RHP JOSH SBORZ
    IF/OF KIKÉ HERNÁNDEZ PLACED ON IL AND OPTIONED RHP SCHULTZ

    LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they have added Kristopher Negrón to the active roster and recalled right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz from Triple-A Oklahoma City. In order to make room on the 25-man roster, the Dodgers placed infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernández on the 10-day injured list with a left-hand sprain and optioned right-hander Jamie Schultz to Triple-A.

    Negrón joined the Dodgers last night from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for the minor league infielder Daniel Castro. Negrón was batting .217 (5-for-23) with three runs and one RBI in 10 games for the Mariners. Prior to having his contract selected on July 16, Negrón was batting .310 (95-for-306) with 12 homers and 61 RBI in 82 games for Triple-A Tacoma. He has played parts of six Major League seasons for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks and Mariners, recording a .984 fielding percentage in 307 chances in seven different positions.
    Sborz will rejoin the Dodgers for the third time this season. In his last stint with the club, the former Virginia Cavalier made his Major League debut, throwing 1.0 inning, allowing three runs on two hits on June 20 against San Francisco. In his last 10 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City, he has posted a 2-0 record with a 2.61 ERA (3 ER/10.1 IP) and 14 strikeouts. On the season, he is 3-3 with a 4.54 ERA (19 ER/37.2 IP) and 51 strikeouts in 34 games for the Dodgers Triple-A affiliate.
    Hernández will make his fourth career trip to the injured list and first since 2016. Since the All-Star break, the Puerto Rico native was slashing .400/.488/.629 with two homers and nine RBI and 1.116 OPS. On the season, he has amassed 16 homers and 52 RBI with a .238 batting average in 98 games. He is in his fifth season with the club, batting a combined .241 (346-for-1622) with 62 homers and 181 RBI in 568 games for the Dodgers.
    Schultz appeared in one game in his second stint with the Dodgers, allowing four runs on five hits in 2.0 innings on July 28. The High Point University Alum has worked in four games for the Boys in Blue, allowing four runs on six hits in 5.0 innings of work. In 36 games with Oklahoma City this season, he posted a 1-2 record with a 5.66 ERA (22 ER/35.0 IP) and 53 strikeouts. Since June 1, the righty has posted a 1-0 record with a 3.72 ERA (8 ER/19.1 IP) and 30 strikeouts.

    1. And the mega-deals are starting to flow like water! I wish Rosscup well. With a little better command, he wouldn’t actually be too bad.

    2. What do the Dodgers do with the cash? Just a whimsical question, but it used to be that the big-market teams would buy players from the small-market teams which needed the money. The Dodgers do seem to pick up cash in some of these smaller deals.

      1. Cash will be starting at 1b on days Joc can’t play because a leftie is pitching

      2. Dodgers announce that because of the cash they got in the Rosscup deal all ticket prices will be slashed by 50%.

  13. I was hoping Darwin Barney would stick with the Dodgers. A great defensive second baseman that helped Oregon state win a National Championship.

  14. Gammons:

    There are teams facing the pressure to act before tea and crumpets are brought to the board room Wednesday:

    • Dodgers. Andrew Friedman is a really good executive who sees all pictures, big and small. But the Dodgers haven’t won it all since 1988. They’ve made it to the World Series two straight years, and now ownership believes they should win the whole thing. The problem is that …Friedman almost has to say the Pirates can have any prospect not named Lux, Smith, Gonsolin or May to go along with Keibert Ruiz….

    1. Kenny Rosenthal just said it doesn’t look like the Pirates will trade Vazquez. He’s usually more right than wrong. I hope this is one of the times he’s wrong.

    2. I would add Gray and Downs to the list too…

      But that would Stop the deal.

    3. As much as I like him, I’d take Gonsolin off the list. Rosenthal has had to apologize a couple of times the last couple of years for misreporting things including Puig’s behavior after being demoted to AAA. So, you never know. I think some teams are playing chicken right now. Also, teams like the Dodgers and Yankees are asked for more than teams like the Mets. It’s been reported that the Yankees offered better prospects than the Mets, but to trade to the Yankees, Toronto wanted more. The same for an NL team not located near Toronto. Right now, the Pirates know they would be filling the Dodgers biggest void to win a World Series, they don’t have to blink up until the deadline like Texas did for Darvish. They can hold out hope that Atlanta’s ownership gives AA the approval to go get Vasquez.

  15. i’m amazed that so many young talented baseball kids can grow up without a name. I guess their parents didn’t get to it. How long do you have to play in the league before they give you a name? How long does a “player to be named later” have to wait?

      1. Bluto, you’re a tough audience.
        If you think that one was bad, you’d better watch me very carefully.

  16. Buster Olney reported that Pitt is demanding Gavin Lux in a Vazquez deal, and so far the Dodgers have said no

    1. Well, if they’re discussing names, that provides some hope. For the Pirates, the question is whether they can make a better deal for Vazquez now, or after the season. For the Dodgers, who need a closer for next year at the latest, the question is how do you get a blue chip one, and who fits into that category? If they try to compromise, and get a couple of so-so relievers, and keep Jansen as the closer, that is going to make it harder to get the ace closer next year, simply because of the trade pieces they have to give up to get even the average additions. In some sense, it is like musical chairs, and you don’t want to be the one standing up after all the top relievers are gone. I would hate to trade a potential star, but I would also hate to see us lack a quality closer, because that is even worse., since it is almost impossible to win a title without one, whereas you can win without a star at every position. This doesn’t mean that I want to trade Lux, but we are going to soon have to trade someone promising for a closer, unless we have one in the system, which doesn’t appear the case. No club is going to give one away.

  17. From the Athletic:

    The Day is done for LAD’s Robinson Ortiz with The Great Lakes Loons
    : 2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

    Fastball/slider combo. Erratic command most of the night. Told by multiple contacts tonight that Dodgers could consider packaging him at the deadline.

    1. Can AJ play 1st? We’ve seen Joc can’t and AJ has been terrible in CF. Cant be much worse. When you count Taylor and Kike the Dodgers have 4 guys at least who are better in CF than Pollock

        1. This Joc at 1st thing needs to end. He’s embarrassing himself out there and it’s affecting his hitting. He’s done jack squat at the plate since this has started. Muncy has been booting balls all over the diamond and Pollock has been terrible in CF. This idea of squeezing Joc and AJ in the same lineup has caused a chain affect of bad defense for a good month now.

  18. We haven’t been hitting well for a while, despite the occasional breakout game. Our hitters were probably on the high end of their season potential during the first 80 games or so. Verdugo is not doing much now. Pollock has been quite a disappointment since his return. Muncy is regressing some. Bellinger of course was not going to hit .350 or so. Pederson apparently is a .240 hitter. And we have guys out, so the lineup has little synergy right now. The constant shifting around is making us a mediocre defensive team. And then we have Maeda, who has always been a decent pitcher, but not better than that, and he’s returning to his usual kind of year. I think that a major addition or two might be necessary to wake things up. Of course, some might say that this is just one of those troughs that teams fall into. But I think that unless we get our entire lineup and staff back, we are seeing vulnerabilities that should not be ignored. And this is particularly true if other teams do improve themselves.

  19. It would be interesting to compare our offensive and defensive numbers from the first two months as opposed to the last .two months. Offensively I think the team mirrors Belli’s numbers. Not pretty lately! We’ll see what the last two months brings and how we enterinto the playoffs

    1. Another one bites the dust. I can’t imagine anyone would trade for a pitcher with an elbow problem.

      1. They did sign an outfielder with an elbow problem, though. That came back to bite them, too.

  20. Damn, as much as I hate to say it and this is going against all that I stand for as far as hanging on to the young guys, but most of us following the Dodgers the last 3 to 4 years know that if we are going to get the ring, this is the year. For the last 2 months everybody from Mark to AC, DC, Hawkeye, 59 , Singin the Blue , Bluto and Bums, have been weighing in about not giving up our top 5 prospects. With that said, we may have to give up a Gavin Lux or a Dustin May to get that lock down bullpen guy that can finally give us the parade. They always say a prospect is a suspect when he gets into the show, and I really feel in my gut that we need to push the chips into the table and pay up to get up. Yeah, I know that an elite lockdown reliever doesn’t guarantee us squat, but at least it gives us a chance. Can’t believe I am saying this, but damn the torpedoes, if we can get a Vasquez or Diaz, do it.

    1. Relievers travel a rocky road. Consistency throughout a career is almost unheard of these days. Look at Diaz. 57 saves last season! He’s having a rougher time this year. Wade Davis, also struggling. They were leaders, now they’re bleeders.

      For me, the starting pitching is not locked down. This is the most important part of our pitching staff. We have 3 SP’s. Hill is always injured. Maeda cannot maintain a full season and neither can Stripling. Without a 4th SP, the chances weaken considerably. We don’t have the SP that we need, plain and simple.

      BP arms we have. Floro, Maeda, Stripling, Kelly, Urias, Baez, & Jansen. Add Hill when he returns or use Yimi. They could also snag a 2nd tier reliever in the next couple of days. To me, that’s a heck of a BP.

      Presently, the Dodgers are coasting and auditioning positional players. They are 9-7 since the AllStar break, barely above mediocre. The defensive liabilities of Muncy and Joc in the infield are very apparent. 2B is and has been a major dilemma for some years. They’ve tried everything and no one has been able to nail it down. Platoons haven’t worked, either. it’s a bandaid hiding a weakness. They cannot go into the post season like this.

      Slumping power is also an issue at the moment. However great the Dodgers have been this season, they have to maintain home field advantage if they want a real chance to win the WS. They cannot afford to slump and slumping is what has plagued them for several years now. Players like Joc, Kike, Taylor, Puig, Grandal, and several of their acquisitions like Reddick, Dozier, & Forshyte slumped big time. Are they going to stop this annul bleeding this year? Not if they continue to play like this and don’t bolster their starting rotation and get a 2Bman who can defend as well as hit. Buehler got shellacked the other day. It’s happened before to him but the bats saved his ass. The bats are not saving anyone’s ass presently so they better start shaking them soon.

    2. Man your battle stations Vasquez, Jansen, Maeda, Kelly, Baez, Stripling, Hill or Urias looks like a pretty strong playoff pen to me. I’m not trading Lux or May. Lux will fill a position the Dodgers have been lacking at forever. I need to see May’s hair in a Dodger uniform.

  21. It’s Coors and all but Josh Sborz is apparently not the answer, like Schultz the night before. I think Lux is traded for something that can help right now and controllable or is called up so he can help the team right now. AF is trying to package lessor but everyone wants Lux.

    1. I told myself it’s Coors but that’s how I felt about Sborz earlier in the year. His heater looks flat to me.

  22. Haha, it’s Coors field guys. The sky is not falling. Now that the deadline is less than 48 hours away, all the pretend GM’s are folding like lawn chairs ready to give up Lux on a freaking reliever. Unbelievable.

    1. The need at 2B could not be more apparent. If i’m not mistaken, the only player the Dodgers have that could fill that position is Lux. Why would they trade him? 2B is the achilles heel of the Dodgers. It must be addressed and the FO has tried everything, so far, to no avail. They must tighten all the screws of an engine to make it work optimally.

      1. Muncy makes a good play then boots the next one. Unlike the Joc experiment I can live with it until they make the Lux move but you can’t have both Muncy and Joc on that side of the diamond.

    2. Perhaps I should clarify my preference is they call him up not trade him. Everyone is asking for Lux and he could bring back a difference maker but AF is so far not blinking. His past MO says he won’t.

  23. I cannot imagine AF folding, and trading Lux, who is a key piece in his long term plan for the Dodgers. If anything, AF has established a reputation for holding his ground.

    1. Good read, Hawkeye. If they are really going after someone like Vazquez, they will have to offer Ruiz +. The + should not include any of our other top prospects. Ruiz is the only one of them we can afford to trade as we have Smith. We have no one who can replace Lux or May for our present and future needs. This would mean including some positional or starting rotation players in a trade. We have a surplus of those whom we could live without.

      Concluding, I don’t see a deal for Vazquez happening. I can’t even fathom why Pittsburgh would trade him. I don’t think you trade a piece like Vazquez if he’s so desirable. They need to fortify other positions much more than a high end reliever who could be with the team for years. Their SP is atrocious. Anyone not named Ryu, CK, and Buehler, should be considered, including Urias if that made the difference, and if AF felt Vazquez is that important. I don’t see a deal here, but I’m not AF.

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