One of the first evaluations almost every Dodgers fan makes heading into Cactus League play is the quality of the major league starting rotation. Los Angeles is almost always in the MLB Top 10 to start the year, but more times than not, the starting five has an entirely different look as the home stretch of the regular season approaches.
The 2023 campaign probably will be no different.
Continue reading “Dodgers Prospect Watch: What Lies Ahead for Ryan Pepiot?”
So far, everything seems to be smooth sailing for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the early days of 2023 spring training at Camelback Ranch. Although there was an initial scare resulting from the omission of Clayton Kershaw from the upcoming World Baseball Classic, the veteran lefty assures he’s in excellent health and that the exclusion is nothing more than complications regarding insurance.
Continue reading “Dodgers Payroll: Early Thoughts on 2023 Luxury Tax”
In a bit of surprising news on Friday, the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly signed free-agent outfielder David Peralta to a one-year deal, putting a wrench in many of the team’s pre-season roster predictions across the baseball blogosphere.
Although the signing is a curious move, it’s not an impactful one, at least as far as money goes. While the team has yet to make the deal official at the time of this writing, reports suggest that Peralta’s contract will pay him a guaranteed $6.5 million with the possibility of reaching as high as $8 million with incentives.
Continue reading “Dodgers Shake Up Outfield Mix by Adding David Peralta”
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Saturday that one of the most legendary pitchers in Dodger history, lefty pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, will have his No. 34 retired this summer during a special three-day celebration. The team officially made the announcement was made during the 2023 FanFest celebration.
Fernandomania weekend will take place August 11-13 when the Dodgers host the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. The festivities will kick off with the Ring of Honor ceremony on Friday Night, a collector’s edition bobblehead on Saturday night and a replica Valenzuela 1981 World Series ring on Sunday. There will be many other fun and exciting elements planned for the entire weekend which will be announced in the coming weeks.
Continue reading “Dodgers Planning to Retire Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34”
Compared to previous years, the beginning of the upcoming 2023 campaign will be a lot different for the Los Angeles Dodgers because of the uncertainty of which players will see the most regular playing time. Last year, we saw players like Trea Turner and Justin Turner — who have both departed the organization — handle the everyday defensive duties at shortstop and third base, respectively.
Continue reading “Dodgers Roster: Building a Working Infield”
While the Los Angeles Dodgers have had one of the league’s best overall farm systems for decades, their stronghold on blue-chip pitchers and catchers has been among baseball’s elite. There always seems to be at least a handful of pitchers and several catchers ranked in MLB’s Top 100, and there isn’t anything right now that suggests the trend will stop anytime soon.
Continue reading “Dodgers Prospect Watch: A Closer Look at Dalton Rushing”
Aside from bringing back veteran utility infielder Miguel Rojas, not much has happened on the Los Angeles Dodgers player personnel front since the team officially bounced Trevor Bauer from the roster last week.
Although the club is on the hook for the approximately $22.5 million of Bauer’s 2022 salary, all indications are that the team will attempt to stay under the luxury tax threshold for the upcoming season. A move last week that somewhat affected the budget was an agreement on a one-year, $14.25 million deal with starter Julio Urias, allowing the 26-year-old lefty to avoid the arbitration process in his final season before free agency.
Continue reading “Should Dodgers Try to Extend Julio Urias?”
One of the biggest questions for the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into the 2023 season is the core structure of the outfield. Because we all know that front office boss Andrew Friedman and field skipper Dave Roberts prefer to have plenty of moving pieces, there could be more uncertainty heading into this season than usual as far as the regular playing time goes.
Continue reading “Dodgers Prospect Watch: What Lies Ahead for James Outman?”
Although many fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers wait patiently for Trevor Bauer’s fate with the team, there’s a good chance the roster will go relatively unchanged otherwise as the club heads into spring training, which is now approximately six weeks away.
Of course, there are several scenarios that could provide the Dodgers with a bit of salary relief, particularly if they find a trade partner to offset part of the $22 million they still owe Bauer.
Continue reading “Los Angeles Dodgers Roster: Let’s Talk 2023 Lineups”
Happy Holidays to our loyal readers!
I should start by saying that I didn’t expect to be writing after the 2022 season. Nothing because of what happened with the Dodgers over the course of the year, but rather my own personal schedule and priorities. Writing full time professionally during the last two years has left me with little mental energy for creating content in my spare time, even if it’s about my favorite sport and team.
Continue reading “Merry Christmas from Think Blue Planning Committee”
Think Blue Planning Committee 