On the past week not much has happened on the lockout front, other than what we already know that the owners are not in too much of a hurry to get the baseball season started on time.
Continue reading “Dodgers News and Notes: Dave Roberts Extension, MLB Lockout and More”
Pitchers and catchers typically file into spring training clubhouses the first Monday right around Valentine’s Day. Although there really isn’t much physical action over the first day or so, it’s a welcoming sign to fans that baseball isn’t far away.
Continue reading “MLB Lockout: Fans Wait for Signs of Progress”
The latest news is that the MLB Players Association rejected the MLB’s attempt to use a federal mediator to end the lockout.
I’m not sure what exactly is going on behind closed doors; but, at this point, it honestly wouldn’t hurt the MLB to live stream the meetings or offer some type of coverage. It’s hard to envision the season starting on time at this point.
Right now, it’s quite hard to talk about anything else in the baseball world due to the lockout, as everything comes back to it.
In my mind, it looks like we’ll get a shortened season for the second time in three years. While it’s probably not going to be 60 games like in 2020, both sides should aim to lose no longer than a month of games at this point.
We’re also not taking in the fact the time players are going to need to prepare, especially when considering how many big names are still on the free agency market.
The Dodgers might be one of those clubs who end up with several key players added before Opening Day, whenever that may be..
Even with the departures of Corey Seager and Max Scherzer, the Dodgers are still predicted by many MLB pundits to have the best record in the National League.
Even though the Dodgers have one of the better rosters at the Major league level, their farm system is not to be overlooked. The Dodgers have had one of the best farm systems easily over the last decade in the Majors.
Baseball America has ranked the current Dodgers farm system at No. 8. The Dodgers have parted ways with some prospects in some big trades throughout the last couple of years, but still manage to have a great farm system, with 20-year-old Diego Cartaya leading the current rankings.
Dustin May also looks to be on his way back, as the 24-year-old right-hander had Tommy John surgery last year. Recently, he posted a video on social media of him throwing. As we know due to the lockout, the players can not use the team facilities for rehab or practice.
I really hope MLB can end the lockout soon, for the benefit of everyone. Things are starting to get dicey to the point in which it most certainly will affect the season at least to some degree.
Well folks, we’ve reached February and although the MLBPA and Major League Baseball have met in recent days, they are no closer to reaching an agreement than when the lockout started in early December.
With Spring Training scheduled to start in two weeks for pitchers and catchers, the possibility of the season starting on time is getting smaller with each second that passes by.
The two sides remain far apart, and it seems that the Players Union is the only one willing to negotiate. The MLBPA proposed the following two areas on Tuesday-
Negotiations were said to be “heated” in a meeting that lasted just 90 minutes. When the two sides last week, MLB agreed to the concept of the bonus pool, but were starting with just $10 million.
In an article by Evan Drellich, the union’s plan would award a full year of MLB service time to rookies who finish in the top five in their league for Rookie of the Year, top three for reliever of the year and/or make first- or second-team All-MLB. Using an average of bWAR and fWAR, non-outfielders and non-pitchers who finish in the top seven of their positions in their respective leagues also would qualify, as would pitchers and outfielders who finish in the top 20. Previously, the union offered top 10 and top 30 respectively.
There currently is no plan for the two sides to meet again. It could happen later this week, it may not be until next week, when there is a regular quarterly meeting of owners in Florida. It is not probable that there would be a lockout meeting while the owners are meeting, however. If nothing happens next week, then we are on to the next week, when spring training is supposed to start. So unless something drastic happens, do not count on spring training and probably the season starting on time.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with SNLA’s Kirsten Watson on Tuesday about what has been the hardest part of the lockout for him personally.
“It’s been different this time, with the lock out, and I can’t…. This is the time where I really connect with the players, and get the vibe of how things are going and talk to them about spring training and how their off-seasons are going and right now we can’t talk to the player so that’s been different….I love time with the family but I’m staring to get antsy for things to start”.
He went on to say that at this point, he and the coaching staff have plans A, B, C, and D as far as the roster when baseball resumes, and believes that it will move quickly once it does.
Roberts also mentioned the president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and the front office are having conversations, and that that he (Roberts) believes there will be a lot of player movement once the lockout is resolved.
Tangentially, ZiPS has the Dodgers winning the most games in the National League next season, roster as is. No doubt Friedman and company have many different plans for shoring up the pitching staff and bettering the team.
As everyone patiently waits for the MLB lockout to end, speculation remains at its highest point of the winter. Fans of the Dodgers, specifically, continue to wonder if the new CBA — along with a few other factors — will have a significant impact on how much money the team will spend on player payroll once everything gets moving again.
Continue reading “Dodgers Prospect Watch: How Close Is Miguel Vargas?”
After two days of meetings, no one really knows if we are inching closer to ending the MLB lockout, which has been going on since December. The possibility of MLB canceling games now seems like a higher possibility. As a fan, it is starting to get a bit concerning to complete a full regular season.
Continue reading “3 Pitchers Dodgers Could Acquire to Boost Staff”
Once again Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have met to discuss the current lockout, and once again we are no closer to not knowing when the lockout will end and if the season will start on time.
Continue reading “Should the Dodgers Sign Freddie Freeman, and Should a Trade Follow?”
While the lockout has still frozen all big-league transactions, many of us continue to speculate how the Dodgers will fill out their active roster when the players and the owners reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
Continue reading “Will Dodgers Pursue a Contract With Kenley Jansen When Lockout Ends?”
We are almost through January and we are still in a lockout. Nothing has been moving — so with no news, it has been hard to know where both sides potentially stand.
Continue reading “Latest Lockout Updates, Other Dodgers Notes”
While there is still not anything new as far as the labor dispute between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Union, there are some happening within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization worth talking about.
Continue reading “Dodgers Announce New General Manager, Make Other Promotions and Appointments”
Think Blue Planning Committee 