The Los Angeles Dodgers now find themselves just two weeks away from the start of the 2023 season.
Several of the Dodgers players have been participating in the World Baseball Classic. Team USA, with Mookie Betts and Will Smith, and Team Mexico, with Julio Urías and Austin Barnes, have both moved on to the second round.
Teams Canada and Great Britain did not advance, meaning that Freddie Freeman and Trayce Thompson are both back at Dodgers camp.
Fans of the Dodgers held their breath when Freeman was removed from Tuesday’s Pool game with hamstring tightness. It looks as though the injury is not too serious however, as he is expected to return to the Dodgers lineup on Saturday. Freeman is expected to be the designated hitter, and on Sunday will return to playing first base.
Thompson is expected to be in the lineup in Friday’s game.
Noah Syndergaard has continued to look good in his outings. While still not pitching with as much heat as he has previously, but it doesn’t so much seem to matter. In Cactus League games so far this spring, Thor has a minuscule 0.96 ERA, which equates to one run over 9.1 innings of work. He has not walked any, and struck out eight.
Syndergaard pitched in a B game against the White Sox on Thursday, and manager Dave Roberts said that the outing went well. “He was efficient and in the zone”, Roberts told reporters after.
Roberts also said that Noah’s fastballs were sitting 93-95 mph. That fastball has slowly ticked up as spring has progressed. Time will tell what it eventually tops out at but it seems as though at this point, he does not need to throw 100mph to be dominant.
Clayton Kershaw will make just his second start of spring Thursday evening, against the Texas Ranger. Kershaw allowed 3 earned runs in 3.0 innings in his first outing, walking two and striking out two.
And once again, the Dodgers have shown that they are a world class organization once again renewing the contract of Andrew Toles. The former outfielder suffers from schizophrenia, and by renewing the contract, it allows Toles to have health insurance and access to medical care he may need. The Dodgers have no expectations that Toles will return to Dodger Blue or baseball, but he will remain on the restricted list. We here at TBPC as always wish Tolesy and his family the very best.
Very proud of the Dodger org to keep Toles on their list.
I am very confident that over the course of the season Dodger pitching will be among the elite in both starting and the bullpen. The Dodgers have too many talented young arms and great coaching to not be at the top.
I am disappointed that its been reported that the Dodgers will not give Outman a chance. I think signing Peralta was a mistake. But the Dodgers do this as a career so they will probably prove to be correct. I see the Dodgers being very competitive in the NL West race and a certainty to make the playoffs. After that it depends on who is hot and who is not. I had guessed the Dodgers would win 100 games before Lux went down. Still think they have a shot at it if Vargas steps up and the outfield hits. Taylor has me concerned….
Ok. So the only concerns are Taylor, shortstop, 2nd base, 3rdbase and of course left field and center field. Catcher, 1st base and right field are solid. No problem there . Not sure who the many talented young arms are but we’ll know by August. Just hoping for a injury free pitching staff, because they are talented. I’m getting more and more negative in my old age, and i keep thinking about that idiot manager telling us how good Heyward and his new swing was and he would be in the starting lineup.
And i agree that keeping toles on the payroll is very classy
Heyward and his new swing were good on the day Doc said that. And he was in the starting lineup tonight. Doesn’t mean things won’t change by opening day.
Shortstop is not a problem. Rojas will get MVP votes by the end of the year. He’ll hit at least .270, be responsible for a minimum of 6 game winning hits and win a Gold Glove. He’ll also make an outstanding play to save May’s no-hitter in July.
Second base is not a problem. Vargas will be in the top 3 of ROY voting.
Our pitching will not be injury-free. It never is. However, we’re pretty deep so may be able to overcome the injuries.
I’m becoming more and more positive in my old age, although there are members of my family and some close friends who insist it’s just senility creeping up on me.
Keeping Toles on the payroll is beyond classy. It’s the ownership/management of our favorite team showing some real humanity. Not nearly enough of that in the world these days.
Bear had written his concerns about signing Taylor and looks like he was right, again!
Vargas will be in the discussion for ROY so not concerned about 2nd. Muncy has demonstrated he can play 3rd as can Vargas and Taylor. I am not sold on Heyward or Peralta I do believe they should give Outman a solid shot. The young arms have looked good, Pepiot, Grove even Jackson. Plus I was able to see Stone with that change yikes and he throws strikes! I get the feeling Urias will not sign with the Dodgers. So the young guns coming up are very important for the future.
Lol
One can only hope that common sense prevails and the Dodgers keep Outman over Heyward. And, KT3 is a disaster this spring.