The Dodgers have outrighted utilityman Charlie Culberson, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group tweets. With the move, Los Angeles has one opening on its 40-man roster.
Culberson, 27, saw only 68 plate appearances last year with the Dodgers, hitting .299/.309/.388 with a single home run. But he made that dinger count: it was the blow that secured the NL West crown for the team. Culberson is capable of playing all over the diamond, and that versatility earned him a spot on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster in 2016.
Los Angeles had recently agreed to a $550K deal with Culberson, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted. He would be entitled to reject the outright assignment, having previously been outrighted by the Rockies, though that would mean sacrificing the guarantee. Presumably, this turn of events was largely foreseen by both player and team at the time that the new contract was agreed to.
Does this mean another move is close?
I would assume so. Otherwise they would not have a reason to risk losing Culbertson.
This makes sense as to why they gave him a raise. He’s not rejecting assignment seeing as they gave him a raise. This was likely know.
Visions_of_Blue_LA it does make a lot of sense actually. You are right.
BlueSkyLA I agree or I at least hope so lol
Jansen or Turner perhaps? Was their 40 man full?
Yeah. This gives them room for an addition.
Please be Kenley. Please be Kenley. Please be Kenley.
I hope the dodgers sign kenley so the cardinals can sign turner. No way the dodgers resign both
They can sign both that’s not the problem. It’s just not in the FOs nature to spend the money on a closer or relief pitcher when they believe they can fine value in multiple pen piece. Plus the Dodgers can easily shed salary in some places in which they intended to do regardless. And the last factor is they are actually going to retain a greater portion of their tv money this year.
So, do you all think he ends up staying in Cali and heading to the Angels??
Also, since I’m sure several Dodgers’ fans will be involved with this chat, I’m curious as to what you guys think of Paco Rodriguez??
I know he will he coming off of surgery, but did you all like Paco as a lefty reliever before his injury?? And what kind of lefty pitcher was he??
Thanks in advance to any Dodgers’ fans that provide some insight as to what Paco might bring to the Braves at some point this season…I’m definitely hesitantly excited as to what he may offer, based off his stats, but I’m just curious as what to expect from him if he returns to his normal self…
I’m not entirely sure what you mean by your first statement, but I assume you mean if Culbertson is saying in the Dodgers organization? If so, then yes.
I think Paco has a lot of upside. There are risks with anyone after surgery, but if he regains his form he will be at minimum a very good lefty specialist. He was well liked and well received here in Los Angeles.
I believe he meant if Culberson were to reject his assignment, which would make him a free agent.
Sorry for being unclear, and it didn’t help I completely switched subjects right after that lol…
But, in my first statement, I was asking if you guys think Culberson will get picked up by the Angels??
His unorthodox delivery seemed to work for him for awhile, then the batters seemed to pick up on it. He was just making adjustments of his own when he was injured. No idea where he stands now.
Thanks, that sounds pretty encouraging that he was at least making some good adjustments after batters starting picking up on his delivery.
Hopefully it will help Paco by coming to a new division, where the majority of the hitters have not seen him very much..
In 2015, albeit a very small sample size, he did seem to have some severe reverse splits…You guys think it was an aberration, or maybe something was already bothering him causing a drop off in production against LH batters??
Also, I’m just curious, but do any of you all know what kind of pitches he utilized and how fast he could throw each pitch before his injury??…I tried looking up some different scouting reports, but some of the information provided didn’t match-up..So any insight would be greatly appreciated…
Paco was always an interesting guy to watch, but I’m with BlueSky on this one, in the thought that hitters began working out his delivery. He pitched backwards – ie his offspeed pitches (a loopy slider and cutter) were his main stuff – and he could change speeds on them quite effectively, working between 78-84. I remember his fastball being a genuine junk pitch, and looking it up on FanGraphs, he averaged 88mph on his two-seamer (less on his four-seamer), and only threw fastballs 32% of the time in his final season. 41% fastballs was his highest usage of his career, back in his rookie season.
I always felt like if he lost a tick off any of his pitches, he’d be throwing all junk. So for his sake, I hope he hasn’t lost anything in his time off.
Thanks, excellent write-up, and I definitely found it very insightful..
Hopefully, he will come back with at least the same velocity, because by the sounds of it he cannot afford to lose any!!
Every time there’s a post there’s always some Braves fan that’s gotta make it about them. You know what? I want to use this post as an excuse to hate on LA for a bit and I don’t appreciate you Braves fans coming on here, taking our jobs and clogging up the comments section with all your Braves stuff!
🙂 🙂 😉
Lol haha…my apologies…Let the LA hate commence..
Hahahaha. Thank you!!! In all seriousness though the Braves Fans and Dodgers fans one here are great to have discussions with. They are super passionate about the game and capable of talking about the game in depth. I don’t have a lot of people near where I live who can have intelligent baseball discussions like here and I appreciate y’all.
Small sample size because of his short ’13 and ’14 seasons but I remember really enjoying Paco as a Dodger and never worrying to much when he took the mound.
I’m seeing that his strikeout numbers depleted a bit after he posted a 2.32 ERA with 63 SO in 54.1 innings in 2012. He also only allowed 30 hits and his WHIP was under 1 that season. His arm angle was also a little exposing as he didn’t really hide the ball to much but I also remember reading that it could be the cause of his injury and if that’s the case then I’m sure he has corrected it.
If he returns to his 2012 form with a full season then he would make a good lefty for the later innings.
His quirky delivery included a hesitation before the release that probably gave batters a better read and he was starting to pay for it. The Dodger were working on smoothing that out when he was injured and then traded.
Buccos should try to acquire this guy to fill the vacant spot left by Sean Rodriguez.
Dodgers need Kensley and a youth trade with White Sox Frazier at 3B
No way Frazier at 3b. He’s s downgrade in every sense of the word. Plus that puts them in the same situation next year with 3rd baseman on the FA market and no one in the system to fill it. If they absolutely have to choose take the guy who play gg defense and plays everyday. Plus with Bellinger’s ability to play OF you can always slide Turner to 1st later in his career.
*GG caliber
And btw Frazier is only 1 year older than Turner.
Seager can play third base but then they have nobody at short and second…a fate worse than death. Sign Turner, trade for a second baseman and let’s go to Spring Training and see what happens? One of the surplus starters might make a good closer, don’t know until you give it a try in Spring ?? During the next several months, there will be a number of opportunities to make trades if needed.
Can’t the team find any takers for Andre Ether? That contract is a killer and I just don’t see much production coming from him. And definitely need an upgrade at second base. Utley isn’t the answer.
You just explained why nobody wants to trade for him. No production and that contract is a killer.
Seems like $80M is a lot of money for a player that comes in for one inning 50 times a year. Dodgers have a number of starting pitchers coming off disabled list this year that are already under contract, I’d be inclined to see how they work out during spring training.as a possible closer. Remember, Hanley used to be a catcher that couldn’t hit before he became a star reliever.. If I had a choice, I would sign an everyday player like Turner or a second baseman that can hit left handed pitching before I’d sign a relief pitcher. Dodgers are desperate to cut payroll before luxury taxes take effect. so maybe a trade is in order?