In what’s been by far the worst news of the year, the Dodgers on Monday afternoon placed shortstop Corey Seager on the 10-day disabled list with a right UCL sprain.
Seager will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.
To fill the vacant roster spot, the club recalled utility man Breyvic Valera from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Valera, 26, will make his second stint with the big league club after making two pinch-hit appearances (0-for-1, BB) with the Dodgers this season. In 17 games with Oklahoma City this year, he has posted a .373 (19-for-51)/.459/.549 slashline with 13 runs, three doubles, two homers and 14 RBI, while also drawing nine walks against just eight strikeouts. The speedy utility man has seen the majority of his playing time at second base (nine games) with the OKC Dodgers, but has also seen time at shortstop (four games), third base (four games) and in left field (one game).
Seager, 24, has hit .267 with 13 runs, five doubles, one triple, two home runs and 13 RBI along with a .348 on-base percentage in 26 games with Los Angeles this season. He struggled with problems in his elbow for the final few months of the 2017 season, but was thought to be healed after prescribed rest over the winter.
(Dai Sugiura provided the majority of information furnished in this report)
Well, that will change the conversation.
Taylor or Hernandez? Frankly I think I go with Taylor, but it won’t surprise me if they leave him in Center.
I think we can still win the West but fixing the dysfunction just got moved up.
Yeah, I’d like to see Taylor as the primary shortstop as well. And, like you, I still think they can capture the West. Hopefully, there’s no hitch in Tolesy’s recovery. He could be a huge factor the rest of the way.
Hah, you were saying about it being “too early to put nails in the coffin in April???” I know what you’re getting at, but it’s not gonna be that kind of magical year where this club just snaps out of it and rides another euphoric wave of momentum into the postseason. Then again, should the combined efforts of Taylor and Hernandez provide just enough production from SS to offset what they could’ve potentially lost with Seager’s bat (defensively, they just might be better off without him for once) they just might be able to weather the rest of this rather tumultuous season. Best case scenerio, the team hangs around long enough in the playoff race for the front office to start eyeing soon-to-be-FA Machado over there in Baltimore as the non-waiver deadline looms near. They have more than enough pieces on the farm to make such a move without having to rip it apart entirely. After all, it’s the Orioles that risk losing their top player for nothing this upcoming winter much like the Rangers nearly did last season with Darvish before the latter shaped up and got the Dodger front office on speed dial at the very last minute (LITERALLY, lol). Stay tuned, folks…
We managed to overcome Kershaw’s back situation and we can get through Seager also. I think Kike is the best fielding shortstop on the team and I definitely would have left CT3 in center but…………………….I don’t make those decisions. Also anxious to see what Valera can do. He’s consistently hit over .300 in the minors with good OBP numbers. He may be our future second baseman, so at least we’ll have a chance to see if that’s a possibility.
I like the Machado idea. But it will cost and those are the kind of deals the FAZ just hasn’t proved able to pull off.
I realize this will be a challenge, but Arizona is hurting too. Honestly I’m still more concerned about the pitching.
Machado is definitely not the kind of deal that the front office tends to make and I think they are still determined to keep under the luxury tax threshold. That said, what would you guys be willing to give up to get him for half a season? The O’s won’t just give him away and there will be a lot of teams with interest, so it would definitely cost more than a Willie Calhoun. The bidding is now open.
Yadi Alvarez, Brock Stewart and DJ Peters. Those who know me well enough know I’m a huge Peters fan. Still, I don’t think that’s enough for the Orioles to bite.
I think Alvarez’s trade value has been minimized over the past couple of seasons. I doubt most teams would be interested if they could get another top prospect instead. I agree that those 3 wouldn’t do it. If you remove Yadi and include Smith they might very well bite, but would it be worth it? Not if they play so poorly that even Machado doesn’t get them to October.
For me, I’d give the Orioles:
Corey Seager (PTBNL turns out to be the centerpiece, ha)
Edwin Rios (another Willie Calhoun-type situation here)
Potentially blocked high-end prospect (either OF Yusniel Diaz or C Keibert Ruiz; both are still a year or two away)
Yadier Alvarez (only top pitching prospect I’d be willing to part with; not sure if he’ll make it as a starter at the big-league level, but can’t deny the huge potential lying dormant in that right arm of his)
Why offer Seager in this deal, you might ask? Simple, Dodgers are gonna keep Machado well beyond this year and he’s more equipped for SS at this point than Seager ever was. Plus, it makes for a smoother transition when the time comes for him to move over to the hot corner the moment his range at SS finally starts to diminish (or when Justin Turner’s contract runs out, whichever comes first). Besides, there’s NO guarantee Seager’s arm ever gets back to full strength after a year of TJ rehab so that would make him of less value to the Dodgers as far as the SS position goes. Btw, I wouldn’t DARE offer up DJ Peters in any trade package as of today! That guy’s the only OF prospect the Dodgers should truly hold on to because that’s Yasiel Puig’s future successor right there. Yeah, I would rather give up Alex Verdugo instead if it came down to it. I’m not kidding, either!
Anyway, that’s my trade package for Machado. Take it or leave it, Baltimore! Beggars can’t be choosers this time. Quiet as kept, they probably could’ve gotten a lot more for him had they done the wise thing and unloaded him this past offseason like they were expected to. That club’s currently in a transitional state and in no position to beat out the Yankees or Red Sox in that division for the foreseeable future…
Wow Manuel, you and I have very different views on which Dodgers are worth keeping and which aren’t. My first question is how do you know you can resign or extend Machado who supposedly would love to play for the Yanks. Many people consider Ruiz to be the second best Dodger prospect behind Buehler. Who’s blocking him? As of now he seems to be our catcher of the future. All of the other guys (Barnes, Farmer, Smith, Wong) can play other positions and probably don’t have as much upside anyway. I haven’t even discussed with you yet the thought that you’re throwing Seager (4 years of control remaining) into this deal as one of a few pieces while only being guaranteed a few months of Machado. If they actually managed to get Machado and if they managed to extend or resign him, they could always move Seager to second because I do agree with you that you don’t know how his arm will be after TJ.
I don’t know. It would take a lot, I’m not sure it would be enough (we still may need pitching) and I’d sure like to know he intended to stay.
So, I’m watching the game and we’re already down 3-0 in the 2nd inning. I need an explanation as to why they take a reliever (Stripling) and start him while bringing up a starter (Stewart) and put him in the bullpen.
Bellinger responded. 0 for 4 with 2 Ks. I don’t think it would have happened without him last year and it won’t happen without him this year. This team looks like they all have mono. Just let them sleep a few weeks and see if it helps.
I don’t think sleep is the answer Scoop. Sleeping is what they’ve been doing the whole season.
I agree. That’s why the mono reference. Maybe you’re too young to remember mono, big deal in the 50s and 60’s, it was often called the sleeping sickness. Also called the kissing sickness, but I think that was a parental ersatz campaign to keep teenagers from engaging in necking activities. Geez, I sound like my own grandpa.
The point is these guys look tired. Actually they look disinterested, but I’m trying to be kind.
Reminds me of a Dangerfield line – “doc, I’m freakin out here, I think I think I overdosed on pain medications!” Doctor: “relax, have a couple drinks and call me in the morning.”
I’ve got the remedy – we need another stud starter, an 8th inning shut down bridge to Jansen and Machado. Make it so and call me in the morning.
I’m plenty old enough to remember mono. With regard to the trades you need, I’ve just sent Stewart to the Nats for Scherzer, Baez to the Sox for Kimbrel and Valera to the O’s for Machado. That was easy. Any other requests?
No. That should do it for now.
You do realize you just blew the lid off the cap reset, right?
Who cares. This team is likely to be sold soon anyway.
Damn. Forgot about the cap.
Who’s buying the team? Wait, let me guess. Bezos, it would be pocket change for him.
Try it again and this time stay under $197mm.
Keep an eye on LA billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.