NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread

Couple of notes going ons of camp:
- Seager is going to miss the first leg of the freeway series. Sounds like it is just so he can get as many AB's as possible in AZ before heading to LA for the final game. Could be an interesting start of the season for him.

- Morrow has really impressed the coaching staff and may get a bullpen spot. This is one of those where when healthy, he could be a dominant piece. Front end starter stuff, but has never been able to stay healthy.

- The Bobby Wilson story has gotten more and more interesting. He has had a really good spring, both on the field and around the clubhouse. The team may elect to bring him instead of Barnes to be the backup catcher.

- Ryu is set to go 5 innings today. This will be a major test for him. Fingers crossed he can just get another tick on the fastball as everything else has been great. Besides this, I'd still like to see him go to MiLB for the first couple weeks to work on routinely going 6+ innings a start.

- The Toles/Thompson battle is going to be really interesting over the next week. All signs point to Toles being the starting LF'er, but a strong push from Thompson could change things. Both appear ready for the everyday job, but both also could use a start to the season in MiLB as well. Toles has changed his swing mechanics and it is believed it will help him against LHP(he won't see those AB's in the bigs). Thompson would probably get an everyday job, but I would not hate seeing them easing him back in where he can maybe develop a little more strength and we see Thompson sometime in May.

- As noted in a separate thread, this offseason Puig reconfigured his swing. They are trying to get him back to using the whole field, while also helping him turn on the hard stuff that he has struggled with. A lot of people are happy with what they are seeing, but this does not come without its frustrations from all parties. This is going to be a lot like Pederson last year when we would see him look fantastic and then he'd be completely out of whack again. It will be interesting to see how this plays out during a full season, but early returns are some really hard hit balls and some very awkward swing and misses. All word is that he has put in considerable work to perfect this.

- Been noticing that Pederson is bunting against the shift a good bit this Spring and he is getting down some decent ones. This will be something interesting to watch going into the season as long as he is not trying this shit when he has 2 strikes against him anymore.

On MLB Radio today they were doing division previews. Their belief is that the Dodgers are going to run away with the division and based on what they are hearing and seeing this spring, could be a tougher NL West overall, but the Giants are expected to take a step back. Their bullpen has taken a serious blow, rotation has some question marks and key players staying healthy has become considerably harder for the org. Also, they mentioned the Dodgers young arms in that there is a growing belief in the scouting community that the team has some unknown young arms that are going to be monsters. Some as soon as this season. My guess is they are talking about White and Buehler. The guys actually laughed when talking about how good some of the players on the Dodgers MiLB side have looked.

 

First off, no one is more surprised to see Ryu competing for a rotation spot than myself, I wrote a post around the beginning of ST basically writing him off. But it looks legit that he will be a part of the 2017 rotation in some form. Right now it looks like 2 spots are available between McCarthy, Wood, and Ryu - do you think Ryu is the one on the outside looking in? Or do you think a strong performance can get him in?

 

No clue to be honest. McCarthy has looked solid, though all of his numbers aren't necessarily reflective of that, but who knows what he is really working on. So I have McCarthy in the rotation. Wood has been great and if anything, he deserves a spot in the rotation as well. I hadn't written Ryu off as he was still young enough to turn shit around, plus he's left handed, but I personally feel it is best for the team and for him to start the year in AAA. I want to see what happens when he is throwing every 5th day AND going 6+ innings in the process. I want to see how his stuff plays a third time through the order. Is he maintaining velocity? Are guys adjusting to that below average FB velocity? If he is tired or sore, I'd like for the team to easily give him a day or two of extra rest. I think he could be in the rotation, but I'd like to see some things first.

 

I also like seeing the OF options develop. Toles, Trayce, to a lesser extent Gutierrez and possibly Ethier and Bellinger as the year progresses. Puig will (and should) be given every chance to succeed, but with all our options we can survive if he can't be counted on at the end of the year. I wonder if a McCarthy/Puig-centered deal for Braun is still on the table if McCarthy stays healthy? I've been against it in the past, but I think it's really just me being a hater. Truth is, I don't think we've addressed our inability to hit LHP as much as the media says we have, and Braun would be a huge piece to finally balancing that out.

 

The word is that he is not hurt, he's just way behind in his preparedness for the season. They want him to get as many AB's as possible, which is why he is staying behind, but will keep playing. He hit a monster bomb in the AAA game today.

 

You really think Barnes is entering AJ status?
What did he do to merit the degree of flat out hatred he developed, on here anyway?
Or you mean something else?

 

So some fun news from my world.
As some of you know, I am a real estate agent out in the Boulder area in CO. Well recently a former client reached out to me to help him with Sales for his new tech startup. The first couple of weeks have gone better than expected and we've landed a couple decent sized clients already(also some tiny ones), but now we have a request for a bid proposal from a major worldwide organization that could mean me suddenly traveling A LOT or me just being absent for stretches as I attempt to learn more and more about something I am very unfamiliar with. No guarantees this is the case, but from the way he is making it sound, there is a solid chance you guys start hearing from me less and less over the coming weeks and months. I'll probably be here a good bit for the rest of spring, but I may not be here providing farm updates nearly as often as in past seasons.

 

Thank you!

 

With today's performance, it sounds like Ryu has solidified his spot in the rotation.... WOW

Final spot in rotation is between Wood and McCarthy who both have made the team. One as a starter, one in relief.

 

Onward and upward brother, CONGRATULATIONS!!

 

Jon Heyman‏Verified account@JonHeyman 13m13 minutes ago




sources: justin masterson signs minors deal with dodgers

 

I really dislike Spring Training and can't really put up with it, but cool to hear Ryu has been great and made the rotation. If he's anywhere close to the old Ryu that fills probably the biggest hole on the roster as currently constructed

 

Racist

 

Dodgers signed Justin Masterson this afternoon to a MiLB deal. Heard him talking a couple weeks ago, said he's been training to pitch again and is feeling good for the first time in a while. Not likely to see any action, but could be used if a couple more guys go down. With both Wood and McCarthy on the roster, Stripling may stay a starter and be #8 and Oaks 9 until Kazmir and Stewart are healthy. Masterson is one of those, "what could have been?" guys. Seemed like he was either gonna throw a shutout or give up 8 runs and be out of the game by the third inning. Could be useful for a couple game stretch, but is nothing more than depth at this point.