Even though the World Series has only just begun and the peak of the Hot Stove season is still weeks away, many fans of the Dodgers are already chattering about potential areas of improvement, most specifically alterations to the nucleus of the 40-man roster.
Continue reading “Dodgers Roster: Outlining the Biggest Holes for 2017”
“Don’t stop believin’
Hold on to the feelin’
Streetlights, people”
~Journey
After taking a quick look at which position players we thought would begin the postseason on the Dodgers‘ NLDS roster yesterday, today we move over to the pitching staff to project the pitchers that will make up the starting rotation and bullpen.
Continue reading “Dodgers 2016 Playoff Roster Projections: The Pitching Staff”
It seems like it happens every single year. This year, it just happened a little bit later. The Dodgers go shopping and sign a handful of scrappy, veteran, middle relievers to help fill out what projected to be an extremely young bullpen.
Ned Colletti was notorious for this. The winter of 2010-11 comes to mind in particular, when the former GM went on a spree in an attempt to re-invent the relief corps, signing a group of veterans that were either unrecognized or weary from many years of service. A few of the players in the haul included Matt Guerrier, Merkin Valdez, Roman Colon, Ron Mahay, Jon Huber, Oscar Villarreal and Mike MacDougal. Although Guerrier and MacDougal generated a bit of success, most were non-roster invitees who persevered through spring training only to be sent packing upon the arrival of Opening Day.
Assembling the 2014 bullpen was one of the chief factors in Colletti’s demise as general manager. Overall, everyone not named Kenley Jansen, Chris Withrow or J.P. Howell performed horribly. The Dodgers paid former closers Brian Wilson $10 million, Chris Perez $2.3 million and Brandon League $8.5 million. The team’s $30-plus million bullpen contained several high profile names, but significantly less talent than there should have been at that price.
While acquiring a few veteran players for minimal dollars who are willing to teach and share experiences is always beneficial, spending lavishly on a laundry list of high-profile, prominent headliners past their primes always proves to be detrimental in the end.
Last season sparked a few memories, as one commonly wondered if Colletti, now a senior advsior to team president Stan Kasten, played a role building the pen with his antiquated beliefs and philosophies. The 2014-15 NRI relievers included David Aardsma, Mike Adams, Ryan Buchter, Chad Gaudin, David Huff, Ben Rowen and Sergio Santos. Huff and Santos were able to contribute on very small scales, while the others migrated away from Los Angeles and either retired or pursued other opportunities.
The 2016 offseason had a feel for the first time in years that the youth of the Dodgers’ organization would shoulder the brunt of the relief duties. At one point, a deal for flame-thrower Aroldis Chapman seemed like it would elevate the bullpen to an elite level; however, the front office eventually used its best judgement and declined a surefire trade, leaving the impression that the existing corps would need to fend for themselves.
Ultimately, the Dodgers would make only three notable free agent signings in efforts to strengthen the bullpen — Joe Blanton, Louis Coleman and Jamey Wright. The Blanton and Coleman deals were both one-year, MLB contracts, while the Wright signing was minor league in nature with an invite to spring training.
Wright, a 19-year major league veteran, has pitched with 10 teams, including two separate stints with the Dodgers. He had no offers from other clubs after being cut at the end of spring training by the Rangers last year.
Coleman appeared in just four games for the Royals in 2015, allowing no earned runs. The bulk of his season was spent in Triple-A Omaha, where he recorded a 1.69 ERA in 38 relief appearances, striking out 63 and walking 23 in 64 innings of work. In parts of five seasons with Kansas City, Coleman has a 3.20 ERA in 152 games, all in relief.
After posting a 6.04 ERA in 132 innings with the Angels in 2013, Blanton retired and was out of baseball for the entirety of the 2014 season. He rediscovered his mechanics last year and settled in as a reliever with the Royals before being dealt to the Pirates for cash at the trade deadline.
Although Blanton projects to play an active role as long man in the bullpen, the true value of all three of these veterans goes well beyond the numbers. They have an opportunity to exhibit professionalism, share real game experiences, offer advice on workout routines and critique pitching mechanics — things that the young pitchers in the organization need to develop their own personal acumens.
This is the part of baseball where all the sabermetric analysis in the world has no value.
A good friend of TBPC, Todd Boldizsar, had an opportunity to get up close and personal with Blanton, which further illustrates the wealth and knowledge a veteran player has to offer his teammates, especially young relievers like Jacob Rhame, Caleb Dirks, Chris Anderson and Jharel Cotton — all of whom are attending big league camp for the first time in their careers.
In the end, sometimes the few million dollars spent on contracts and the mediocre statistics should take a backseat to the valuable experience that these veterans possess, and most importantly, the desire and willingness they have to share with others on the squad.
After all, the youth in the Dodgers’ organization deserve nothing less.
(Photo Credit: dodgersnation.com)
Just when we thought the youth would shoulder a large portion of the 2016 relief duties, the Los Angeles Dodgers went shopping on Tuesday and walked away with veteran righty Joe Blanton.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports was first to report the one-year deal, which is worth a guaranteed base salary of $4 million. In addition, Blanton could earn $250K in incentives by pitching 50 innings, another $250K for 60 innings, and a further $500K if he eclipses the 70-inning mark.
After posting a 6.04 ERA in 132 innings with the Angels in 2013, Blanton retired and was out of baseball for the entirety of the 2014 season. He rediscovered his mechanics last year and settled in as a reliever with the Royals before being dealt to the Pirates for cash at the trade deadline.
In 2015 with the Royals and Pirates combined, Blanton recorded a 2.04 ERA and a 2.56 FIP in 32 relief appearances, with 62 strikeouts and 12 walks in 57 innings of work.
Blanton, who turned 35 last month, dominated right-handed hitters last season, holding them to a .204 BA and a .239 wOBA, thanks primarily to his reinvented slider.
This will be his second stint as a Dodger, having gone 2-4 with a 4.99 ERA in 10 starts in 2012 after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Phillies.
Blanton projects to be a long man/swing man type for the Dodgers this year, but the deal leaves many fans scratching their heads, especially considering the needs at the back end of the bullpen. Maybe the underlying reasoning was to replace the departed Juan Nicasio, even with Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger both being very capable in that capacity.
Newcomers Frankie Montas and Yaisel Sierra, who are both believed to be major league-ready and are valued highly as prospective starters, may have benefited tremendously from a swing man spot as their introductory role in the bigs.
Also, if Hyun-jin Ryu returns healthy and slots into the rotation immediately, Alex Wood could be the odd man out. Rather than sliding into a long man role, he’d be optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma, where a huge, overcrowded situation already exists with starting pitching.
In light of everything, the front office could be guarding against a possible injury epidemic; or, perhaps a trade worthy of a much bigger headline may be on the horizon — conceivably in the form of a Mark Melancon or Jake McGee-type acquisition.
All the fun begins when pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch exactly one month from today.
(Photo Credit: AP/newstribune.com)
Think Blue Planning Committee 