In case you missed Saturday’s column, the main concept of the story was how the Dodgers will conceivably upgrade their active roster after this year’s trade deadline, even if front office boss Andrew Friedman elects not to make a major splash as far as blockbuster deals go.
We speculated how the returns of David Freese, Corey Seager and A.J. Pollock will affect the performance of the team’s daily lineup. Additionally, we discussed the prospective return of southpaw reliever Scott Alexander, and even though he’ll provide some much needed experience and depth, he won’t be an overwhelming improvement to the existing relief crew.
Today, we’ll outline exactly when fans can expect to see some of these players returning to the team.
Skipper Dave Roberts said that Freese is expected to return next week before the All-Star break after suffering a mild hamstring strain. The 36-year-old veteran is hitting .308/.407/.592 on the season with eight homers, 30 runs and 23 RBI over 120 AB.
Against left-handers this year, Freese is hitting .257 (18-for-70) with four home runs and eight RBI. He’s actually performing much better against righties, going 19-for-50 (.380) with four homers and 15 RBI. As a pinch-hitter this year, Freese has gone an impressive 9-for-21 with one long ball and four doubles. More importantly, he provides a huge presence on the bench in terms of player guidance and leadership. He’s eligible to return during the short, two-game set at home against Arizona that concludes on Wednesday.
Although it’s been well over two weeks that Seager has hit the injury list, he’s certainly beginning to show some signs of progress. Earlier this week, he was seen taking grounders in the infield and should be ready for a rehab assignment soon. The 25-year-old shortstop has expressed an interest in spending the All-Star break either at Camelback Ranch or with a minor league affiliate putting the finishing touches on his recovery.
Seager was on fire offensively before his hamstring injury occurred on June 11. In the 18 games before his placement on the IL, he slashed an impressive .397/.461/.721 with 10 doubles, four homers and 18 RBI over 76 PA. Furthermore, he was often placed much lower in the batting order, extending the lineup even more. Without question, his strong defensive presence up the middle has been missed tremendously.
In addition to his forearm issue, Alexander is dealing with a thumb issue. Both injuries are believed to be on the minor side, but they were still significant enough to keep the lefty on the shelf since June 11. He’s expected to return to the squad sometime right after the All-Star break, possibly joining his teammates for the series in Boston beginning on July 12.
Even though Pollock was recently moved to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man spot for reliever Zac Rosscup, the move is retroactive to late April when he was initially placed on the IL. He is progressing in a recovery that sidelined him after he underwent surgery in his elbow to remove metal hardware. An infection ensued, and a PICC line was inserted in his left arm to deliver a steady stream of antibiotics.
Like Seager, Pollock will likely spend the All-Star break rehabbing in some shape or form and expects to return to the team sometime shortly thereafter.
Despite the fact that a flexor tendon strain is often a warning sign of UCL damage, veteran southpaw Rich Hill is still confident he’ll be able to contribute to his team’s success at some point this season.
“I think I’ll be able to pitch again this season, definitely, but when that is, I don’t have that answer,” Hill said recently. “There wasn’t anything that was indicative of a UCL [ulnar collateral ligament] tear, which was good, but it’s going to take some time to heal.”
Hill was placed on the 10-day injured list on June 20, one day after an early exit against division rival San Francisco. After missing the first several weeks of the 2019 season with a knee injury, he has made just 10 starts for the Dodgers this year, going 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA while gathering 61 strikeouts over an even 53 innings of work.
Looking deeper down the list of injuries, lefty reliever Tony Cingrani underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder in early June and will miss the remainder of the season.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
I hope Seager is not going to be injury prone after his return.
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Bellinger & Rios handling the infield corners today:
Pederson LF
Beaty RF
Taylor SS
Bellinger 1B
Muncy 2B
Rios 3B
Hernandez CF
Martin C
Maeda P
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Pollock, Hill, Freese and Alexander are all players past their prime. That doesn’t mean they can’t be useful. We have several others past their prime that are useful. Kershaw, Turner, Hill, Maeda, Martin, who am I leaving out? Friedman knows we have to inject youth, and he’s doing it. The key to a championship this year is the same as it was at the end of last year – keep all these seasoned veterans healthy through October. If we enter post season looking like we do now we’re toast.
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The Dodgers have 1/3 of their line-up hitting close to .200. This is not what a World Series Winner looks like….Gunner
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I’m interested to see Rios play third today. Love his bat. But our defense has really taken a nose dive these last couple of weeks especially in the infield. I’d be more than a little nervous with an infield of Rios, Taylor, Muncy and Joc! Defense matters. Unless it’s Barnes! Nothing could make up for that bat!
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Dennis, I saw your comment about May. That’s high praise saying he has more upside than Urias. If true then that would be quite a rotation with Urias as a number 3! Do you see May ready anytime next year?
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I think we’ll see him in the bigs at some point in 2020. What impresses me the most is his command. He doesn’t walk anybody. You never see that in kids his age. Add the fact that he can hit 100 on the gun, and it boggles the mind that he has so much arm control. Additionally, his ground-ball rate steadily improves—he has natural sink on his heater. If he perfects his changeup, he will be deadly.
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https://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/drillers-update-for-june-dustin-may-sets-strikeout-record-in/article_be849705-8a56-5eb9-be44-c771116235a5.html
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https://www.ocregister.com/2019/06/06/andrew-friedman-dodgers-bullpen-hasnt-been-good-enough-but-it-will-get-better/
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And do you see a place for Gonzo in our rotation next year?
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Not a chance Rich. Hill will be gone, but all the other starters are under contract. You have Kershaw for 2 more years, Maeda for 4. Buehler is no where near arbitration, They will most likely, unless AF is a total moron, resign Ryu. Gonsolin is ahead of May as far as where he is career wise, but he and May are probably ticketed for 2021 as starters. Urias will crack the rotation next year. I will be glad to get Freese back. Another one of Roberts creative lineups. Surprised he did not start Garlick. Josh Fields released by the Rangers.
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Here is a weird fact, Maeda is 6-1 at Coors field lifetime.
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Only two runners so far in this game are the rookies, double by Beaty and Rios with a 4 pitch walk, so Hernandez, he of the weak stick, works the count to 3-0, fouls off a pitch out of the zone, and then hits weakly into a double play. I am totally sick of this guy. He has no business being in the starting lineup at all. But that’s the way AF likes it. Guy is hitting .210 with and OBP south of .300. And why in the wide wide world of sports is one of your hottest hitters, Verdugo, who is just a kid, sitting? Hernandez is not that much better in CF than he is, and Verdugo is damn sure a better hitter than this slug. Does Roberts really want to win this game> ??????????????? Maeda 6-1 lifetime at Coors which in itself is a miracle.
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Kike, Barnes and Martin are about as close to automatic outs as you can get. Ok, call up Smith, and find a taker for Barnes or send his ass to AAA. He is not helping the team at all right now. Kike is a mess. I do not care about his so called power. You have to hit the damn ball first.
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Maeda shutting down Rocks big bats so far. Only Beaty, Maeda, and Pederson with hits so far. Maeda is doing ok, but nibbling too much in my opinion. Attack attack attack!!!!
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The bear is awake.
I think Roberts is just being strategical. It’s called the Robertsian theory of playtivity. Simply put it reads like this: The number of plays off in Summer is equal to the number of days on in the Fall.
I’m not watching the game but what I saw last night told me the Dodgers are swinging at bait thrown by savvy Rockies pitchers. Lay off the balls, fight off the pitchers pitches and punish the strikes. Maybe that’s old school but it works. Post script: that works better if you have good umpiring.
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The umps have been inconsistent. Maeda leaves after 4.1 Rosscup gives up the lead and Rocks now ahead. Rosscup should be gone soon. Not the answer to LH hitters.
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Well Floro actually got out of that inning without allowing any more damage. Now if the middle of this freakin line up could actually do some hitting, they might pull this thing out. Taylor, Bellinger and Muncy ofer so far.
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Beaty, Taylor and Bellinger have left 10 men on base collectively with only Beaty driving in a run. Pitiful against pitchers this bad.
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Maeda hitting about 90 points higher than Kike……
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Bases loaded, 1 out, Turner pinch hitting for Floro…lets see if they can take the lead…..Bettis plunks Turner, game tied….injury delay…..oh crap…..Turner seems to be OK>.Joc up. 2 run single by Joc, 3rd hit of the game. Turner on 3rd., Dodgers lead 6-4.
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Dodgers have answered Rockies 4 run inning with one of their own. Belli up, bases loaded and one out, pitching change, Tinoco replaces Bettis…be nice if Cody’s 28th dinger was a slam…we will see. A single would be great. Infield force play scores another run, 8-4 now…Muncy up…2 outs 2 on….Muncy delivers run scoring single, 9-4….Rios, who is 1-2 up…..Rios K’s, 6 run inning, now lets see if the pen can get 12 outs without any major drama.
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Urias in to pitch. Kid has not pitched in about a week. Lets see how effective he can be. Gets out of the 6th with no problem……..maybe we win this one and split the series…still will have a double digit lead no matter what, with a win it is 12, a loss and it is 10. Yankees have a better winning percentage, but have played less games.
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3 scoreless innings from Urias. 10-4 in the 9th. If they blow this they should be shot. Belli 0-5, but has 2 ribbies. Bottom of the order has done most of the damage.
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Check that, Beaty and Pederson have 5 ribbies between them Beaty has 2 doubles.
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Urias and Yimi shut the Rocks down over the last 4. Yimi gave up a meaningless homer to Blackmon in the 9th, but they get the win and the lead is back to 12. AZ gets clobbered in SF, and Pads tied with the Cardinals.
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They changed Bellinger’s RBI scoring grounder from a FC to a single.
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They get out of Dodge with a split.
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Roberts named Ryu starter for the All-Star game. I think that’s awesome.
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And he should name Muncy starting 2nd baseman!
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He can’t Rich. The starters were named by the fans and Muncy was no where near the leaders, Ketel Marte was elected to the starting slot by the fans. The reserves have not been picked yet. That will happen next Sunday.
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I was wrong, reserves announced today and Muncy did not make the roster. Kershaw, Ryu did….and Buehler….no other Dodgers on the team
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Please correct me if I’m wrong here (I’m doing this totally from memory and not by consulting any statistics), but it seems to me that Bellinger has totally given up any pretext of trying to beat the shift on any at bat. He then gets upset when he smashes a hard grounder that doesn’t get through the three infielders covering the right side of the infield. I understand you don’t want to bunt or attempt to hit to the left side on every at bat, but I really think it would be a good idea to try that once or twice a game just to keep the defense honest.
Of course, if you bunt, you can’t hit a homer. Could that be the problem?
If I’m Roberts I fine any batter who doesn’t try to beat the shift at least once per game.
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If a player has repeatedly proven he is able to beat the shift, is it up to the coaching staff or the player himself to decide when to do it?
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I really doubt there is a “beat the shift” sign that comes from the manager. My guess is Bellinger may attempt a bunt to break out of a slump, or if in that moment, against that pitcher, he believes it’s his best shot at getting on base. The way a slugger who is hot beats the shift is to launch one over it. He’s pissed because he got all of it, or most of it, and did so with topspin. If that ground ball is hit with backspin it goes 400’. With today’s baseball, harder bats and stronger players, these fields are playing much smaller than they usta did. Backspin is the order of the day.
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If the player decides to do it on his own, all the better, but if he ignores something he has previously been successful at or something which the manager feels would be a good strategy that the player is overlooking it would certainly behoove said manager to point that out. Early in the season, Bellinger bunted against the shift a few times and had success with it. He also attempted to hit to left a few times. I’m not saying I want him to make this a regular strategy but to ignore seems foolish.
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Judging from the pitches I have seen him swing at, they have been pitching him inside a lot and he is rolling over on the pitches like he did before. He has not been hitting the pitches where they have been pitched. He has also hit in some bad luck. 2 of his bombs were caught up against the wall on Saturday. He lined out a couple of times today. He is at least hitting the ball so the law of averages should be in his favor soon.
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In his last 22 PA’s he’s only hitting .250 but he’s OPS’n over .900. This might be the way he slumps.
Glad we’re out of Colorado. A split there is a win.
Lux at second base? He appears to be a few months ahead of schedule. Would the Dodgers move Kiké? I’m thinking Pittsburgh would love a guy like him. I think Hernández is a favorite of AF, but second base is a position that needs an upgrade. Do we throw Lux into a pennant race? The short answer is no. How about Kiké/Gray to the Pirates? To the White Sox? Toronto? Better yet… to the giants. Farhan might bite on that one. I would sub Barnes for Kiké but I doubt anyone would value Barnes. No hit catchers are easy to find.
As you can see, I have no idea what Andy will do. I know what I would do, but I haven’t been right on trade moves for a while. Friedman isn’t easy to figure out. I think he’s likely to go a damaged goods route. That pattern is clear. But who that might be isn’t.
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I think Kike/Gray for Smith would be of definite interest to Farhan. The only question is, would it be his best offer.
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Pirates GM says he has no intention of trading Vazquez. Naturally, if they nosedive in the next three weeks he might change his mind, but this is all the more reason to go after Smith immediately. We know Farhan is going to trade him and at this point, it’s probably worth an overpay (within reason). Of course, the Giants may have decided that they will get their best return by not making that trade until close to the deadline so it isn’t necessarily up to Friedman.
Vazquez, maybe not on the market. Hand, probably not on the market. Smith may have a dozen teams after him. We may wind up very disappointed on July 31st. I hope AF is looking into a couple of guys we haven’t even thought of that are at least more dependable than what we now have.
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Giles? Colome? Dyson? Watson? Greene? Iglesias? Means? Elias? Somebody we never heard of?
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GMs are like lawyers and cops…. they have mouths with 3 sides and talk out of all of them at once. You can’t believe anything they say. There’s always an agenda to their speak.
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Too early to speculate on who they will pursue. Off day today and they will need it with the Coors hangover effect. Took me a few days to get used to the altitude when I got home and where I live is a little higher than Denver…..little Rocky Mountain humor there boys. There is actually a head shop in town called the Mountain Wookie. Me, I do not deal with the Giants at all. Smith is a rental and ol Farhan is going to want to weaken the Dodgers anyway he can. I would much rather see them get Greene from Detroit or some other pitcher from anywhere but the Giants. The Rays were really targeting Smith, but seem to have backed off.
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To hell with the Giants. see what the Tigers want for Greene. At this point he is a much better option that Smith in my book. Younger too.
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I sort of agree Bear. If I thought it would be an even trade with the giants I’d do it. I don’t think it will happen. I believe AF will be outbid…. and if not he would be fleeced by Farhan.
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C’mon guys. Fleeced by Farhan? He’s not out for revenge and AF is certainly too smart to be taken advantage of. If Farhan feels the Dodger offer is the best he’ll make that deal. If not, he’ll go wherever he finds the best deal.
Just want to be the first to say that I have this feeling that we’re going to get Giles. That may not be the only addition but I just have a hunch we’ll wind up with him. You heard it first here! (unless I’m wrong, in which case you never heard it).
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I think Farhan is the smarter of the two.
Who they gonna get? I’ll go with this:
Giles? Colome? Dyson? Watson? Greene? Iglesias? Means? Elias? Somebody we never heard of?
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Erik Goeddel
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Well done Dennis. You followed the rules and took your one guess. And an excellent guess it is.
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Hey, you didn’t read the rules of the game. You only get one guess.
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There are rules?
One guy only? I find that both restrictive and narrow minded. I recommend everyone make a list. Then when nobody on that list is selected we can get on each other about how wrong we are.
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OK. Jefe rules Scoop amendment to the rules approved. We can all make a list, put all the names on one combined list and submit to AF. He’s a very busy guy and may have overlooked some relievers who would be worth going after. This is why we win the WS this year. We have a committed fan base that is willing to help the GM do his job.
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Friedman has been busy scouting relievers from Korea and Japan.
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I don’t see a smiley face after that comment Dennis so I’m assuming you might not be kidding. Actually I think it’s a very good idea. I still remember Saito very fondly.
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In pleasant news:
Future Dodger third baseman Miguel Vargas almost hit for the cycle tonight for Great Lakes, but he screwed up by hitting a second homer instead of a single. He’s 19 and is 7 for his last 9 with 19 total bases.
Here’s a link to a video of the second homer: https://www.milb.com/video/vargas-second-dinger/c-31000001957
18 year old Ogden outfielder Andy Pages was voted Pioneer Player of the week: 9/18 with 4 HR, 2 DBL and 11 RBI.
Both guys are originally from Cuba (I know that will send up red flags for some people since we haven’t exactly had great luck with our Cuban signings).
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Isn’t the Pages kid Erisbel Arruebarrena’s nephew? 😂
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No, I think he’s his grandfather. We’re still paying Erisbel aren’t we?
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I think Arruebarrena finally went off the payroll at the end of last year.
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I meant Hector Olivera.
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You’re working too hard Dennis. Gotta keep from confusing your Oliveras and your Arruebarrenas. We’re probably still paying both of them so your confusion is understandable. 🙂
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I just checked Spotrac and it looks like you were correct. Arruebarrena is off the books. If Friedman ever figured his ego was getting the best of him, he could look at these salaries which he’s still paying this year:
Kazmir – 8 mil, Sierra – 5 mil, Kemp – 10.5 mil, Olivera – 4.7 mil, Homer Bailey – 22.4 mil
I realize there are some good reasons for some of these, but that’s still a hell of a lot of money.
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Speaking of bold contracts on the books, does anyone know what happened to Yasiel Sierra? He got to AAA I think and now he’s disappeared into thin air.
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