2K24: Los Angeles Dodgers

[revo]

I heard on XM Fantasy Sports this morning that the Cubs were very interested in acquiring Yasiel Puig. Could the Dodgers be enticed to trade Puig for some of the Cubs top prospects?

[Gregg]

I heard on XM Fantasy Sports this morning that the Cubs were very interested in acquiring Yasiel Puig. Could the Dodgers be enticed to trade Puig for some of the Cubs top prospects?

Yeah, that came off of some Cubs rumors site. Not going to happen. It would take too much talent coming back from the Cubs to make the deal. They were talking Baez and another top rookie.

It would not be following the plan. They need to spend big money on a couple of pitchers this off season.

Now if the Dodgers wanted to shed some salary, I could see making a deal involving draft picks, a minor prospect and cash for Kemp. But I don't think that happens either.

[The Dane]

I could see it only as Puig for one big prospect and one little one. Theo would make that deal and it could benefit both teams. The Dodgers need to retool and they need a place for Pederson to play. Cubs need someone legitimate AND young, other than Rizzo.

[Hornsby]

I could see it only as Puig for one big prospect and one little one. Theo would make that deal and it could benefit both teams. The Dodgers need to retool and they need a place for Pederson to play. Cubs need someone legitimate AND young, other than Rizzo.

But the Dodgers also need to get younger, and dealing Puig really isn't going to help them do that. They need to totally re-tool the bullpen and figure out what to do with Ethier and Hanley. They also need to figure out how to do the little things rather than wait around for a 3 run homer. They could also lose Greinke after next season...I think that he's got a potential out in his contract that he could exercise. Can Uribe get another full (sorta) season out of that body? Can Gordon play SS? What to do with Guerrero? I think that the least of their issues is finding a spot for Peterson...he's still only 21.

[chancellor]

The club is expected to drop its payroll to the $185-190-million range next season and it appears they want a different GM in charge of the retooling.

This simply won't happen. Kershaw gets about $33 mil, Greinke $25 mil, AGonz, Kemp, and Crawford at about $21.5 mil each and Ethier at $18 mil. That's about $140 mil.

League and Uribe combined are another $16 mil. Guerrero, Howell, and Bills are another $15 mil. Ryu and Puig are another $11 mil. That's $182 million right there. That doesn't include Gordon, Ellis, and Jansen who are all entering varying levels of arbitration, a ML contract to Arruebarruena, and another 8-9 players. And in 2016, only League and Bills come off the payroll for about $11.5 mil in savings. They'll be over $200 mil both years, IMO - and that's with no more FA signings.

[Judge Jude]

I made a big dump in July to get Puig for 10 in 2015 and 15 in 2016, and own Gordon for 10 in 2015 (or 15 in 2015 and 20 in 2016). also Greinke 25, but that seems safe enough. players lost to AL in offseason - no compensation. during season, I'd get that modest Puig salary added to incoming-AL-players-only FAAB money. Stay put, Yasiel!

I'll keep clicking this thread, I promise

[chancellor]

Bills will be bought out this year for ~$3 million, iirc.

Agree - that's what I threw in my calcs. I'd have to go back and look, but I think Guerrero is up for $6.5 mil, Howell for $5.5 mil and Bills for $3 mil for a total of 15.

[Gregg]

Hanley will get a qualifying offer and be gone. Greinke does have an opt-out, but it's after 2015. No way in hell will Gordon play SS. Ethier is a backup until he's traded (or someone else in the OF is traded).

Someone mentioned earlier that Guerrero will be the shortstop in AAA next year --- not without his approval, he won't. His contract states that he can refuse assignment to the minors after 2014.

Uribe is the very least of their worries --- he put up the 8th highest WAR for a 3B even though he only had 400 PAs. They'll need to have some sort of backup, but Uribe's defense alone gives him immense value.

Dealing Puig (or Kemp or Crawford or Ethier.....preferably Ethier, obviously) would free up a spot in the OF, although Van Slyke has certainly proven his worth as a 4th OF / lefty killer.


Even though Puig has been disparaged some around here, mainly because we're roto players I guess, he had the 9th highest WAR in the NL last year, just one win less than Stanton --- he's a legitimate star. He was top 10 in tons of offensive categories and can adequately play any of the three OF positions. He makes a measly $4.5 million next year. I'd hope that they'd get much, much more than just Baez for him. Puig has proven his worth at the highest level. Baez is pretty far from being able to say the same.

Puig for Castro might be an interesting move for both teams.

[Gregg]

What's a good return for a 5+ win player who makes $5-6 million / year? Whatever it is, it's massive.

According to Dave Cameron, Puig has the 5th highest trade value in all of baseball. Only Harper, McCutchen, Goldschmidt, and Trout are more valuable.

For Puig, you'd have to start with Bryant AND Baez and add in more from there. Cubs got the sack to do that? Probably not.

No way would I do that deal.

[Gregg]

Lol, fuck no. Way, way more would need to come back to Los Angeles. Castro makes more money and is a far worse player. It's not even close.

He is a three time All Star and will be 25 years old in March. He is not exactly chopped liver.

[Gregg]

No, but he's only a 2-ish win player who makes more than Puig, a 5-ish win player. You would need at least two Starlin Castros to even start the talks in order to land Puig, imo.

Castro plus Bryant for Puig? That might work. Maybe.

If you were ownership would you pay half of Kemp's salary in order to trade him to the Cubs for Castro?

[Gregg]

As a Dodger homer I have a total inability to be objective when it comes to Kemp, one of my very favorite players. It's a pretty reasonable offer, though, and does suit LA's needs pretty well. After the massive 2nd half that Kemp just had, it would be tough to trade him away, especially when one of the biggest Achilles heels for the Dodgers is production on offense (something Kemp provides but Castro does not).

The Dodgers need to trade an outfielder, that's for sure. The two that I'd most like to see them trade are Ethier and Crawford, in that order. Both are pretty much untradeable at their current salaries and have little value even if LA ate a bunch of salary. Perhaps a smaller trade like Ethier + a ton of cash for Strop (or another reliever).

I too am a Kemp fan even though I have yet to be on the right side of him in my NL only league. He always heats up when he is not on my roster and cools down as soon as he is, As a Cubs fan I would love to see him in Wrigley.

You have touched on one of my fears. I do not want Ethier in a Cubs uniform no matter how much salary the Dodgers would pick up. Not even if we traded the bad contract of Edwin Jackson for him.

[The Dane]

Great move by the Dodgers. Someone needs to craft this organization. Simply throwing money at a roster does not work the way it used to in the 80s and 90s. Good teams are good organizations from top to bottom and that requires a certain artistry and vision that Colletti lacks. The writing is certainly on the wall. Colletti's leash is very short. Friedman will have a lot of control over all ends of the team. The Dodgers will improve, likely staying competitive in the near term, and being perennial contenders in the longer term. It's a good day to be a Dodger's fan, that's for sure.

That said, if I cared about individual Dodger players, I'd be starting to get my head around the idea that they will likely not be Dodgers soon.

[Gregg]

The Dodgers just hired Andrew Friedman, formerly of the Devil Rays, to be their President of Baseball Operations. I was hoping that he'd replace Ned Colletti as GM but the Dodgers are saying that Ned still has a job.......for now.

Love the move by LA. Hopefully it's not the last front-office shakeup planned.





















FireNedColletti

This from Rotoworld:

The official title will be president of baseball operations. Meanwhile, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti will remain with the organization as a senior advisor

[Hornsby]

A few weeks ago, Aaron Gleeman put up this post to show just what rare company Puig is in...

Yasiel Puig so often becomes a storyline–for better or worse–that it’s sometimes tough to focus on strictly his performance for the Dodgers on the field.

Since debuting as a 22-year-old in June of last season Puig has played 249 games and hit .306 with a .387 on-base percentage and .504 slugging percentage.

Among all MLB players with at least 1,000 plate appearances since the beginning of last season Puig ranks eighth in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage, 11th in slugging percentage, and ninth in OPS.

And he’s done that in a pitcher-friendly environment, which is why his adjusted OPS+ ranks fifth during that span behind only Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen, and Paul Goldschmidt. In other words: He’s been one of the half-dozen best hitters in all of baseball since debuting.

But wait, it gets even more impressive. Here’s a list of the top adjusted OPS+ totals since 1950 by outfielders with at least 1,000 plate appearances through age 23:

Mike Trout 167
Albert Pujols 161
Reggie Jackson 156
Mickey Mantle 155
Yasiel Puig 152
Ken Griffey Jr. 146
Willie Mays 146
Hank Aaron 143
Miguel Cabrera 141

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/25/breaking-news-yasiel-puig-is-really-really-good/

No way he should be dealt for anything less than a King's ransom...