DODGERS NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread

lol, was this from a source, [unnamed] rival gm, [unnamed] top scout or mystery team?

 

espn's jayson stark names joc 1st half rookie of the year...

NL rookie of the half year
Joc Pederson, Los Angeles Dodgers
If this were, like, 1967, I could pretty much guarantee you Pederson wouldn't win a rookie-of-the-year award, or even a rookie-of-the-half-year award. Why? Because his batting average is .228. And there has never, ever been a rookie of the year with a batting average that low. Not unless he was a pitcher, anyway. But nowadays, we've learned to recognize that truth and meaning can be found in other places. So let's zip past Pederson's average, and his 102 strikeouts, and look at his 20 home runs, his .365 on-base percentage, his .853 OPS, his 57 walks. We look at the fact that only five players in the entire NL have seen more pitches. We look at his excellent defense in center field. And what we see is a rookie of the half year kind of guy. Which is impressive because there's a fellow running around Wrigley Field named Kris Bryant who is having the same kind of year -- except with a .275 batting average and eight fewer home run trots. If you asked me to bet which one becomes the bigger star, I think I'd take Bryant. But if you ask me which has had the more productive first half, I think the answer is Pederson. Just barely. That Humberto Quintero-like batting average notwithstanding.
Apologies to: Bryant, Maikel Franco, Matt Duffy, Nick Ahmed​

 

oh yeah, and...
but we really fucked up paying san diego to take him
:tuborg:

NL Least Valuable Player (LVP) of the half year
Matt Kemp, San Diego Padres
The Dodgers and Padres have been coexisting, in mutual Southern California bliss, for 46 years now. But to find the last time the Dodgers traded a major league position player to San Diego before they booted Kemp down the freeway last winter, you'd have to go all the way back to April 17, 1969 -- a week and a half into the Padres' first season. Traded by the Dodgers to the Padres that day: a utility guy named Tommy Dean. He went on to hit .176 that year. So judged by that standard, Kemp's first season as a Padre has been awesome. But by just about any other standard, "disaster" would be one fine word that comes to mind. The Padres slapped his portrait on their billboards and tried to sell him as the face of their franchise. Instead, he's turned into the face of their descent into one of 2015's biggest disappointments. At last look, Kemp ranked 142nd in the big leagues, out of 162 hitters who qualify for the batting title, in OPS (.649), 133rd in slugging (.367) and 149th in on-base percentage (.281). And amazingly, he's been even worse away from Petco Park (.231/.272/.363) than he's been at home (.255/.293/.373). But the bad news is, the Padres gave up an All-Star catcher (Yasmani Grandal) to get him. And the really bad news is, the Dodgers were paying all but $3 million of his salary this year. But the Padres are on the hook for $72 million from here on out -- through 2019. Wow. Almost enough to make them miss Tommy Dean.
Sighs of relief for: Ian Desmond, Chase Utley, Marcell Ozuna​

 

Dodgers Claim Preston Guilmet, Designate Chris Reed
By Jeff Todd [July 10, 2015 at 2:17pm CDT]

2:17pm: Los Angeles has announced that it designated lefty Chris Reed for assignment to create 40-man space for Guilmet.

Reed, 25, came into the year rated the organization’s 10th-best prospect, per Baseball America, which said he could develop into a back-end starter or late-inning relief option. The 2011 first-rounder has had some uneven results in recent seasons, and was shifted to a pen role this year. Thus far in 2015, Reed owns a 5.97 ERA over 34 2/3 frames in the upper minors, with more walks (5.7 BB/9) than strikeouts (5.5 K/9).

12:27pm: The Dodgers have claimed righty Preston Guilmet off waivers from the Rays, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. His roster spot had been needed in Tampa Bay for the activation of John Jaso.

Los Angeles has made a notable habit of bringing in a steady stream of relief arms, and Guilmet now joins the flow. The 27-year-old only tossed 5 1/3 big league innings this season, but has spent at least some time in the majors over each of the last three years. While he hasn’t found much success in just 21 innings at the game’s highest level, he does own a promising 2.47 ERA, with 9.8 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9, in his Triple-A career.

 

omg
some of these suggestions are hilarious
fire friedman for changing the lineup every day?

Dodgers Dugout: The one player many fans say has got to go
by Houston Mitchell | Los Angeles Times — 6 hours ago

Hi, welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, reminding you that in their last seven starts, Clayton Kershaw has a 1.60 ERA and Zack Greinke has a 0.54 ERA.

The people speak

In the last newsletter, I asked how you would improve the Dodgers, and the response was overwhelming. More than 500 of you emailed your suggestions, with the two biggest ideas: Trade Yasiel Puig for a pitcher and fire Don Mattingly. If you want to subscribe to this newsletter and have your voice heard in the future, click here. A few of the highlights:

Richard Campato of Simi Valley: Get rid of Mattingly. This team has no life. They do nothing to manufacture runs. That is a reflection of the manager.

Jason Hutchison: Trade Yasiel Puig, Alex Guerrero, Darnell Sweeney and Scott Schebler to Cincinnati for Johnny Cueto, Aroldis Chapman and Todd Frazier. This trade would accomplish several things for both teams. It would allow the Reds to jump start their rebuilding by landing four legitimate young players who are ready for the majors. On the Dodgers’ end of things, we would land another legitimate ace in Cueto. We could try to extend him immediately and even if it didn't work out, a World Series title would make it worth the risk. He is a far better option than a guy like Cole Hamels in my opinion.

Jim Lynch of Annandale, N.J.: The Dodgers should trade Yasiel Puig to the Cincinnati Reds for Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman. Throw a couple of lower level minor leaguers in the deal from each team to help obfuscate the fact that this is simply a face-saving deal for the Reds. Yes, I know Cueto’s a rental. But Chapman has one more year of arbitration left after this year. Getting rid of Puig now is addition by subtraction for the Dodgers. They need to play Scott Van Slyke more. If they make him an everyday outfielder, he’ll outperform whatever Puig would have done. From the vantage point of the Reds, they clear out a lot of salary and can sell their fan base on the fact that they are getting a perceived superstar.

Bob Lamb: Trade Puig for a good front-line starter or maybe a few closers that are out there. Puig is not a team player and the Dodgers have plenty of outfield help.

Gary Muntz: Trade Yasiel Puig to the Reds for Aroldis Chapman. He would be the eighth-inning guy. Game. Set. Match.

Theo Moreno: I hate to say this, but trade Puig for a GOOD pitcher. Also, Jimmy Rollins is hitting better, but what have they got to lose if they bring up Corey Seager? I'm also getting this sinking feeling that Mattingly may not be the guy to lead this team to anything.

Sandy Maroney of Concord, Calif.: Remove the geeks from the Ivory Tower (aka the front office) and replace them with bonafide baseball men.

Carl Rosen: Fire Don Mattingly and trade Yasiel Puig, while his value is still solid. I know it's controversial, but Mattingly has never won anything without Mariano Rivera and Puig’s stats are declining at 24 (pretty scary), and his attitude leaves lots to be desired. Mattingly is not a field manager and can't motivate multimillionaires.

Garrett Hongo: Trade Puig to Philadelphia for Cole Hamels and change. Puig is Mr. Entitlement and is a liability. Chokes in the clutch. Fire Mattingly and hire from among the best current coaches. We need a strong baseball man and a good in-game manager who can set up the ‘pen and bench for late-game substitutions.

James Mathieu of Jackson, Wyo.: Corey Seager replaces Rollins at shortstop. Today.

Bob Walsh of Charlottesville, Va.: I would trade Puig to the Phillies for Cole Hamels. I don't think Puig will ever live up to the talent that he possesses.

Shi-Ling Hsu of Tallahassee, Fla.: I would do a lot to get Dee Gordon back. I would shop what I view as an overvalued Yasiel Puig to see what we could get for him to address the speed and starting pitching deficits.

Dan Ellis: I really think it’s time to let Don Mattingly go. Tim Wallach would be a good replacement. I’m also thinking of the Dodgers firing Andrew Friedman for his inability to have a set balanced line-up and staying with it, instead of changing it day after day after day.

Matt Gaffney: First thing I’d do to change things is fire Mattingly. The other major thing I’d do is figure out a way to get the Dodgers on TV again.

Michael Thurston: The first thing I'd do is trade Puig to the A's for Scott Kazmir and prospects. As much as I like watching Puig play, I feel like he's more of a distraction for the team than an asset. I like Van Slyke, and feel if given the chance he can easily hit .270/20hrs.

Will Hare: The first thing I'd do is trade Puig for Hamels, straight up.

Bill Coady: My suggestion has been and continues to be to get rid of Don Mattingly and replace him with Tim Wallach!

Tony Contreras: Do you honestly think the Dodgers aren't doing everything they can do to win a World Series? Look at their record. The Dodgers are in first place. If you think the yahoo baseball fans can do better then, congratulations, you are a sportswriter. I'll stick with the professionals, those that get paid for what they do. I have every confidence that the Dodgers will continue to do everything necessary to bring home a winner.​

 

Puig refutes perception of being a late arrival
by Matthew Moreno — 2 hours ago



Since exploding on to the scene in June of 2013, there’s been little Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig can do while going unnoticed. Whether streaking or slumping, all eyes are often on Puig.

So naturally when Puig was spotted taking early batting practice with Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire some four hours prior to first pitch on Thursday, it drew plenty of attention. “I come early all the time to get some work in and hope things will turn around for me,” Puig said through a translator after going 2-for-4 with a home run, double and four RBIs. “And that’s what I’ll keep on doing.”

Puig has been limited to 40 games this season and struggled over the last 10. He acknowledged it’s been far from smooth sailing. “Things didn’t start out great for me between my hamstring injury, then my hand, then my eyes,” he said. “Those are some setbacks, but I have to keep working hard and get past all these setbacks.”

As for the idea and perception he’s not one willing to put in extra work and is prone to reporting after expected, Puig showed a keen sense of the state of sports journalism. “How is anyone going to read your stories if you guys can’t tell everyone I arrive late?,” he asked.

“You probably just have to do that so people keep clicking on your stories. Whether I arrive early or arrive late, that’s what happens.” Puig went on to attest the early work is par for course. “I come in early everyday to work with [assistant hitting coach John] Valentin or McGwire,” he said.

“The thing is, a lot of the times I’m hitting in the cages, so you guys don’t necessarily see that. You think I’m not out there working, but it’s just the fact that I’m in the cages. As long as those guys know I’m putting in the work, I’m okay.” Puig this season is batting .278/.359/.457 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Moreover, Puig’s 18.8 percent strikeout rate is the lowest it’s been over his young career and 10 percent walk rate trails only the 10.5 percent rate he posted last season.

 

wondering if former:yankees:have the same appeal to ned as ex-giants
:ned: thankfully he no longer makes these type of decisions

Tigers Release Joba Chamberlain
By Jeff Todd [July 10, 2015 at 3:28pm CDT]

The Tigers have released righty Joba Chamberlain, the club announced. The veteran reliever was recently designated for assignment.

Chamberlain signed with the Tigers for just $1MM this offseason and was installed in a set-up role. But he was unable to repeat a fairly productive 2014 campaign, working to a 4.09 ERA over 22 frames before being cut loose.

The 29-year-old has posted a useful strikeout-to-walk ratio of just over 3:1 (6.1 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9), but he’s been victimized steadily by the long ball. As things stand, he’s permitted a 21.7% HR/FB rate, with 2.05 long balls leaving the yard per nine innings.

It would be surprising if Chamberlain does not get another look at the big leagues in relatively short order, though he may be forced to take a minor league deal. His average fastball velocity (93.4 mph) is an exact match for last year’s mark, and he has been victimized by a .360 BABIP-against, leaving some room for optimism.​

 

hey, let's get haren back
:sarcasmalert:

Marlins to take offers on Latos, Haren, others
By Jeff Todd [July 10, 2015 at 8:37am CDT]

The Marlins are telling teams that they are prepared to field offers for a variety of short-term assets, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. Specifically, Miami is prepared to find deals for pitchers Mat Latos, Dan Haren, and Brad Hand as well as utilityman Jeff Baker.

Each of the players listed above, with the exception of Hand, is set to hit the open market after the season. With the Marlins sitting behind every team in baseball except for the woeful Phillies, Spencer says the organization has “reached the jumping-off point” for acting as a seller.

Latos and Haren obviously have the most potential appeal of the players listed. The starters have had rather different seasons thus far, Latos underperforming generally promising peripherals (4.90 ERA, 3.84 SIERA) and Haren doing just the opposite (3.34 ERA, 4.11 SIERA). The 27-year-old Latos is said to have shown a promising velocity uptick in recent starts, though he’s owed the balance of a $9.4 salary this year and has an unsettling injury history. Haren, 34, continues to see his average fastball drop towards the mid-80s and has benefited from a low BABIP and high strand rate, but he still doesn’t walk anyone and the Dodgers are on the hook for all of his salary.

While Miami might hope to achieve some real value for those pitchers, it is not clear that there’s much to get back for Hand or Baker. Working mostly as a reliever, the out-of-options Hand has scuffled to a 5.80 ERA over 40 1/3 innings, though he has suffered from the exact opposite BABIP/LOB rates that have aided Haren. As for Baker, the 34-year-old rates at or below replacement level for the last several years. He’s not very highly regarded for his glove, and is mostly useful against lefties, but has not really even hit them all that well this year.

One other player that Spencer notes could be moved is former closer Steve Cishek. He’s been much better since returning to the big leagues, but still looks like a non-tender candidate after the season and is hardly the most certain relief asset a contender could find on the market. Cishek is playing on a $6.65MM salary this year, so Miami will likely need to pay a good chunk of that to find a taker.​

 

Why Cole Hamels makes the most sense for the Dodgers
by John Stolnis | SB Nation — 8 hours ago



If Cole Hamels gets traded anywhere this month, Los Angeles makes more sense than anywhere else.

Every salesman's dream is to find a client that is three things: motivated, rich and desperate.

Right now, the Phillies are salesmen. They are trying to sell Cole Hamels, among other veterans, to a team in need of an ace pitcher, who is under team control for the next 3-4 years (depending on the vesting option) and at a reasonable financial price for a No. 1 starter.

Whoever is running the Phils right now (Amaro? Gillick? MacPhail? Santa?) is looking for a team that has a lot of money, is rich in prospects, and is so desperate to win a World Series that they would do almost anything to get it.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Going into Thursday's finale against the Phils, the Dodgers were 48-38, with a five-game lead in the NL West over the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. It's a comfortable lead for early July, and no one really doubts that L.A. is going to win the division.

However, the Dodgers need to do more than win the division. A $271 million payroll mandates that this team win a World Series this year, but even with all that money being paid out, they are still weak in the rotation after Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.

Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu are both out for the season, and relying on Brett Anderson to last through an entire season is a bit like asking Jeff Francouer to last more than four pitches in any single plate appearance. Their replacements, Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias, are not guys you want making too many regular starts in the heat of a pennant race.

And consider, the team that has been their chief obstacle in getting to the World Series the last few years, the St. Louis Cardinals, are once again a juggernaut. Even without Adam Wainwright, a playoff rotation of John Lackey, Lance Lynn, Michael Wacha, and Carlos Martinez gives the Cardinals a leg up in Games 3 and 4 of any series against the Dodgers.

But if you add Cole, instead of Brett Anderson vs. Michael Wacha, suddenly you've got Cole Hamels vs. Wacha. That's much more palatable.

And with a $271 million payroll, adding Hamels' money, which pays him $23.5 million dollars a year through 2018, with a $20 million team option or $24 million vesting option for 2019, isn't a huge deal. Especially since it's more than likely Greinke will opt out of his contract at season's end.

It is that potential for a Greinke opt out that could make Hamels a better option for the Dodgers, rather than a rental like Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija or Scott Kazmir. Any free agent starter they want to pursue over the winter (and there are a plethora who will be available), will all cost more in terms of dollars than Hamels will be owed.

Of course, the Dodgers would not just be paying out money. They'd also have to fork up at least one major prospect, someone they really would rather not relinquish. Certainly Joc Pederson is untouchable, and it sure sounds like shortstop Corey Seager is a lock to stay with L.A. as well.

Left-handed starter Julio Urias is also said to be untouchable, but the Dodgers recently stocked up on pitching in the draft, and have a few other young starters in the minors, specifically last year's first round pick Grant Holmes, as well as Jose De Leon, that could make Urias expendable. Heck, De Leon may even be good enough to headline a package for Hamels.

Another name that has been rumored as a secondary piece is Cuban outfielder Alex Guerrero, who has 10 home runs this year in only 159 PAs but is hitting just .252 with a .277 OBP and is 28 years old. One sticking point is that Guerrero has an opt-out of his contract if he's traded, meaning if the Phils acquired him, they may only have him for the rest of this season and not through 2017.

If Guerrero was guaranteed a starting spot, he could probably be persuaded to waive that opt-out clause for a certain financial consideration, a.k.a., a briefcase full of cash. Or the Phils could even offer him an extension that takes him beyond 2017. After all, do we expect the Phillies to be a wild card contender by the time 2017 rolls around?

If the Dodgers want to get Hamels, Cueto or Jeff Samardzija, they're going to have to give up Urias or De Leon. It's just that simple. And then, they're going to have to sign a big free agent pitcher in the off-season anyway, so why not have Hamels for the next three to four years for less?

Of course, Los Angeles could trade for Kazmir or Mike Leake or Kyle Lohse, but that doesn't give them the same kind of impact in September and the playoffs that Hamels would.

Ranking the other contenders, I think Boston's resurgence puts them in the conversation once again as the second-most likely destination spot, although not if they don't come off their reluctance to trade prospects. Toronto would be third, although their prospect package may not be enough for Philadelphia, and it's unclear if Hamels would want to play there. After that, some combination of the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and New York Yankees makes sense.

The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates probably don't want to pay out the kind of cash or prospects it would take to get Hamels if they're only going to be fighting for a wild card and that one-game playoff. Any team that is willing to make the kind of investment it's going to take to get Hamels has to be a team with a realistic shot at winning the division.

Otherwise, you could trade the farm for a guy you never get to use in the playoffs in 2015 because you lost a one-game playoff. The risk is too great.

All that is why the Dodgers make the most sense as Hamels' landing spot, if he's traded before the July 31 deadline, which I still think is less than 50-50.

 

i understand being jaded by the victorino/rollins deals
but i wouldn't put hamels in the same category as them
victorino's half season with us [albeit, not good] is a pretty small sample size
and with rollins the writing was pretty much on the wall

 

kersh on intentional talk
http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/lad/video/...from-dodger-stadium/?affiliateId=clubMEGAMENU