The MLB Lockout has enters its second week, with no movement from either side. Still, rumors seem to abound about what players teams could be interested in when negotiations can resume.
Since Corey Seager signed a 10-year, $350M contract to play with the Texas Rangers, the Dodgers are said to have turned their sights on Carlos Correa.
( Dennis covered thoughts on signing current shortstop Trea Turner to an extension here on Sunday).
On the surface, signing Correa could be seen as a great move by this front office, if they don’t end up negotiating an extension with TTurner.
Correa has consistently been one of the top shortstops in the majors since his arrival in the league in 2015. He has a 34.1 lifetime WAR, with a 7.2 WAR in 2021 alone. He also was a Gold Glove in 2021, which would be an upgrade from Segwer’s defense. Like Seager, he was the 2015 Rookie of the Year and is a two-time All-Star.
But. There is quite the history with Correa and the Dodgers that might be hard to overcome. Most fans, and all Dodger fans, know the story of the 2017 World Series where Correa’s Houston Astros cheated and used technology to steal signs that ultimately propelled them past the Dodgers to win that World Series.
Afterwards, Correa and most of the team stayed unrepentant, even when more information came to light. In 2017, Correa and Cody Bellinger had some war of words in the press.
“I mean these guys were cheating for three years. I think what people don’t realize is Altuve stole an MVP from [Aaron] Judge in ’17. Everyone knows they stole the ring from us.” Bellinger told reporters in 2020.
Correa then responded to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, saying
Cody, you don’t know the facts. Nobody wants to talk about this, but I’m going to talk about this. Jose Altuve was the one guy that didn’t use the trash can. …
“(Bellinger) said that they all lost respect for us. But that’s not how life works. …”But like I said before, what doesn’t sit well with me is when you say false statements. If you don’t know the facts. If you’re not informed. This is America. You can say whatever you want. But Cody Bellinger’s job is to look for information. Get informed. Know the facts, for sure, before he stands in front of cameras to talk about other players. You should get informed. You should be informed before you talk about other players. If you don’t know the facts, then you’ve got to shut the f–k up.”
Bellinger responded by saying, “It’s the first time we’ve heard some facts and some aspects of what happened. So that’d be nice to get some facts out there. I get it. He was just validating his boy, I didn’t take any offense to it. I have no reaction to it. It just doesn’t change what I thought at all.”
Bellinger is not the only one who took umbrage with the way that World Series went down. Dodger fans will remember the showdown between Joe Kelly and Correa the first time the Dodgers played the Astros after the details of the cheating scandal came out. There was a bases clearing incident, with both sides chirping at the other.
Trevor Bauer also has been outspoken about the Astros’ cheating, wearing multiple shirts calling the Astros cheating, even going so far as wearing cleats with trash cans on them.
Whether Bauer will be back with the team remains to be seen; however there are multiple players on the Dodgers who will still be there from that 217 team, and likely they haven’t forgotten.
It’s unclear how much players would accept another player who has cheated to win a World Series against you now playing with you on that same team. None of the players involved have yet to play on a team that was directly affected by their cheating.
Jon Heyman said on his podcast that the Astros and the Dodgers are the front runner to sign Correa. However, Correa’s team could just be putting the Dodgers name out there for reasons, as agents are wont to do.
President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman hopefully has learned his lesson with the controversial signing of Bauer last season. Signing someone long term with the history that Correa has against the Dodgers doesn’t seem that prudent even if it does make some purely baseball sense. Time will tell, and in the meantime rumors will continue to fly.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
I just don’t see AF signing Correa, especially after the mess with Bauer. As you mentioned, Andy, it’s probably Correa’s agent throwing out stuff to drive up his price.
I don’t see any team out there at this point that will give out a 300 million contract. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him sign a one or two year high value deal and go out into the market again at 28 or 29. I just don’t think that team will be the Dodgers.
Although the Yankees hate Correa almost as much as we do, I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see them give him a short term deal while they wait for their two good shortstop prospects.
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Dodgers picked up two pitchers and a catcher in the rule 5 AAA draft. Jon Duplantier and Carson Fulmer were picked from the Giants and Reds respectively, and catcher Kikai Rios was taken from the Brewers. Kike is gone, but now we have Kikai.
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Agents and managements like to tell lies. Too many reporters are in the business of repeating those lies. Once in a while something comes true. But unless a reporter is one who actually verifies ( name one if you can). the truth, don’t believe them. Correa sucks, the dodgers don’t need a cheater or a liar or a coward like him.
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Correa is a cheater. And he’s a liar. Not sure why you think he’s a coward but I have no opinion on that one.
Where I totally disagree with you is that he sucks. I think he’s one of the better shortstops around, but I still don’t want him on my team.
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He is a coward because he can’t admit he and his team cheated and he continues to pretend that there are “ facts that Bellinger doesn’t know without telling anyone those facts.
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To me that makes him a jerk rather than a coward, but we’re talking semantics here.
I think the Bellinger thing was Correa saying that Altuve was the only guy who didn’t use the trash can signals. I know I’m going to take flak for this, but I actually believe that. Wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong. I’ve been a big Altuve fan since he came up so I guess it’s just me wanting to believe that. So now, I’ve gone from huge fan to neutral on him, as opposed to the other Astros where I’ve gone from neutral to disgust.
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Jeff what do you think about the whole Altuve jersey thing? Where he lied about a bad tattoo? I always want to believe the best in people but there’s too much here to give him the benefit of the doubt
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I had totally forgotten about that, Andy. I must agree it didn’t look good.
Like I said, it wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong.
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I’m not here to say you’re wrong; I’m just saying there’s a lot think about regarding Altuve. I also thought much of him when he started playing. But he seems to have proved himself worthy of doubt a couple times.
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Can’t argue with that.
By the way, in a completely unrelated bit of news, it looks like old friend Yasiel Puig is going to sign a one year deal with a team in Korea. I’d like to see him do well and get back over here to the States to play again. He did some dumb things on and off the field but I always enjoyed watching him play. But then, we all know I’m very forgiving.
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By the way in that picture above all of the Astroholes are on the Dodgers side of the diamond. They don’t get fined or suspended – only Kelly for making a pouty face and saying “take that bitch”. There might be something you can pin on Kelly but it is far less clear than breaking the rule against going to the other team’s side of the diamond which is more than provocation it is an aggressive move. Manfred is a wimp.
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Agree on all count Rob
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Kelly actually said, ” nice swing bitch “
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You go Rob, I’ve got nothing nice to say about the cheating Astros, you’re doing a good job calling like it is.
As a Dodger fan, I’m praying this is an agent based rumor, trying to find a way to drum up interest in his client. I don’t see a lot of teams willing to give Correa the kind of contract (300 mil+) he’s looking for. I think the Astros are bidding against themselves.
Please Andrew don’t sign Correa.
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Bear, a comment like that shouldn’t have started a bench clearing brawl, maybe some grumbling, but I think the Astros were getting away with being over sensitive, the league basically put up a protection rule up for the Astros, with that suspension.
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The brawl started before Kelly said it. After he made the pouty face, Correa and the Astros were headed towards the Dodger bench. I was watching that game.
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Didn’t Correa say Altuve didn’t use the trash can? Maybe that’s because he didn’t need to.
I know many reporters I trust to get the information right. And I thank the universe we still have them.
I have mixed feelings about Correa. I think he’s the best free agent out there, the best shortstop among all the shortstops who have been referenced going into the off season, and would be a great fit baseball wise for the Dodgers. I think once he became a teammate he would get along fine with everybody. That said, we already have a very good shortstop for next year so signing Correa would move him and pretty much guarantee he would be leaving after the season. Or…. he would be one helluva trade piece come July.
But I think most Dodger fans want the team to extend Turner as soon as possible. I’m in that group. Even though we saw several knucklehead plays out of him this year he’s an incredible athlete that is fun to watch and makes everyone around him better.
We have no idea of the conversations that are taking place behind closed doors. Anything is possible, including the chance that Turner doesn’t want to play on the West Coast, or maybe he wants to test the free agent market and see if he can get a Seager/Lindor contract from someone else. Due to the contract dispute we aren’t going to know much for a few months. In the mean time, we here will put a rotation together. Saw a great article in the Athletic on Bobby Miller this morning. 6’5” and throws 99 mph. Buehler, Urias, Heaney, Miller, Price, Bauer, Rodon. And who know, maybe Kershaw is in the mix.
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Bobby Miller? I don’t recognize the name scoop, what’s the story on him?
I’m all in on Rodon, I know he has some question marks, but has a huge upside, if he can put together another season, like he did in 2021
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29th pick in 2020
From the Athletic:
It’s certainly true that the sky isn’t falling around the 22-year-old Miller, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander whom MLB Pipeline ranks as the No. 4 prospect in the Los Angeles system. He throws 99 mph, holding his velocity late into starts, and features three offspeed pitches. Stacked up against his 10 poor innings this fall are 56 1/3 between High A and Double A in which he recorded a 2.40 ERA and struck out 70 batters. He’s likely to hit the big leagues next season, and the Dodgers happen to have some open rotation slots at the moment.
If Miller winds up filling one of them, either to start the season or more likely sometime midway through it, it will be thanks to a variety of factors. One is the competitive drive that doesn’t allow for satisfaction with the status quo and propels him to keep getting better. Another is a Dodgers player development apparatus that is now practiced at taking pitchers like Miller — lots of raw ability, drafted in the late first round or lower — and getting the absolute most out of them.
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Hi, Scoop, I watched Miller pitch twice last summer with the Loons. He is incredibly impressive. I saw Kershaw pitch at the low A level, and Miller was at the high A level. IMO Miller is the best looking Dodger farmhand pitcher I’ve seen after Kershaw. However I’m thinking he will be ready for the ML (barring injury) spring of 2023. To jump from high A to the ML he would have to do two things. One is pitch well at the next two levels (He pitched only 9 innings at AA.). The other is become a 5-6 inning pitcher at the higher levels. In high A he pitched only 3 or at most 4 innings per start, and he was so effective he faced few batters each start. So I think there is at least another year of stamina building, before he faces the lions in the majors. But he has everything you want as far as talent.
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I agree Waldo. He needs more time before they bring him up. They always say they want to put their players in position to succeed. That wouldn’t be doing it.
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I agree ideally he should have another year in the minors. I’d rather sign somebody like Rodon or make the big trade, but Miller pitched 3 years at Louisville and will be 23 in April. I think it’s possible he could get a few starts next year if needed. He’s big, he’s strong, and “throws 99 into later innings”. Ryan Pepiot, with a 65 fastball and a 70 change up, is already 24 and has pitched at AAA, is another prospect that could be called upon. His K/9 rate so far is 11.5.
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Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’s back! Tyler White. my favorite whipping boy signed a minor league deal with the Brewers. I rate him as one of AF’s worst pickups ever. Right there with Jedd Gyorko. Second Dodger coach interviews for the Mets job as they interview McCullogh.
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Thanks scoop, from what you, the athletic, Waldo, and Jeff said, he sounds like a very promising pitcher. Hopefully Andrew will greet us some other quality pitching, and miller can work his way through AA, and AAA this upcoming season.
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Keith, here’s something I found online today. To be honest I’d never seen this website before but he gives a very thorough rundown on our best prospects. Thought it might be of interest to you.
https://www.justbaseball.com/prospects/los-angeles-dodgers-top-prospects/
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Thanks, Jeff. That is an entertaining, in-depth read. Bookmarked.
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Yeah, I liked that one too, though they weren’t as generous with their grading as the MLB site I looked at yesterday. I liked that site because it showed we got plenty to offer for Castillo. By the way, I just checked his early projections for next year – 173 innings of 3.85. That ERA might project less in Dodger Stadium.
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Good article Jeff. Looks like a couple of keepers in the top 4. I’m not much on prospects but at least there is a chance when they are 20/21.
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Jim Johnson says:
Back to the Turner/Correa signing issue. In my option, the Dodgers should offer whatever it takes to sign Turner long-term. Here is why:
. The 2/1/2022 FantasyPros rankings rate Turner the second best overall player in the major leagues, the second best
hitter in the major leagues and the #1 second baseman in the major leagues, Correa is ranked #70 overall!
. ESP ranks Turner as THE BEST player in the major leagues. Correa is ranked #69!
. Turner had better 2021 numbers in every offensive category than Correa, except RBI’s. Turner had a much higher
batting average, scored more runs, hit more home runs, a higher on base pct, a higher slugging pct (.534 to .485);
a higher on base plus slugging pct (.907 to .850) and stole 32 bases to. Correa’s zero stolen bases.
. A note about RBI,s: Except for. the home run element, a hitter is completely dependent on teammates being in
scoring position. I do not have those numbers for either Turner or Correa, but I am guessing Correa came to bat
with many more men in scoring position than Turner because of their different positions In the batting order.
. Impact on winning: In 2021, “before Turner” the Dodgers won 65 and lost 44 games, a 59.6 winning pct. With
Turner in the lineup the Dodgers won 41 games and lost 12, a 77.4 winning pct! One can argue there were other
factors contributing to those 41 wins, but it is a fact that Turner was the only difference in the lineup between the
first 109 games and the last 53 games.
. A final, intangible, plus for Turner is his affect on pitchers when he is on-base. This cannot be measured, but it can
be observed – the pitcher loses some percentage of his concentration on the batter as he gives part oh his focus to
Turner and his base stealing ability. Also, I believe that Turner’s on-base presence “makes” the hitters better hitters.
This is so because when Turner is on-base the hitters will see more fastballs and fewer slower breaking balls simply
because breaking balls are easier to steal on.
Enough! I offer all the above in support of my position that the Dodgers should offer whatever it takes to sign Turner
long-term and, obviously, give no thought to attempting to sign Correa.
Jim Johnson (AKA “JJ”).
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This just in: Trea Turner has left the CAA Agency and agent Jeff Berry and will now be represented by Jim Johnson of the JJ Agency. 🙂
Some very persuasive arguments there Jim. I’m also a big TT fan although I must admit the difference in their rankings surprises me. I would rather have Turner but maybe the Fantasy difference is larger than the live baseball difference. Trea contributes in so many different ways that he is very valuable. I hope we can keep him.
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I don’t think anyone doubts Turner’s natural ability to play baseball. I know I don’t. The question I have, we’ll, two questions actually, he at times appears to … lose focus and … where does he want to play? When the deal to get him first happened I figured he would be going back to Washington to team up with that Soto guy, and a few ex Dodgers prospects that will be there in ‘23. That was just a first reaction. I have no clue where he wants spend the rest of his Hall of Fame career. Apparently nobody but Turner himself knows his future plans. One thing I think we can count on, and that’s about 7 WAR from our shortstop position.
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