Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu exited tonight’s start with a groin strain after throwing a 64mph pitch that was the slowest pitch he’s ever thrown in the Majors (h/t: J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group, on Twitter). The Dodgers announced a left groin strain for Ryu, and manager Dave Roberts didn’t sound optimistic about the injury postgame, calling it a “pretty good strain” and adding that Ryu is headed for an MRI (Twitter link via Pedro Moura of The Athletic). A lengthy absence for Ryu would be a major blow for the Dodgers, who’ve no doubt relished watching the southpaw bounce back to peak form with a dominant 2.12 ERA, 10.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9 and 56.7 percent ground-ball rate in 29 2/3 innings thus far in 2018.
The Dodgers have been hammered by injuries early this season, with Corey Seager done for the season due to Tommy John surgery and Justin Turner still yet to suit up after suffering a broken wrist in Spring Training. The Dodgers don’t sound especially optimistic on Turner at the moment, either, as Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times tweets that skipper Dave Roberts simply said tonight that he has “no idea” when Turner will be cleared to head out on a minor league rehab assignment.
A bit more out of Los Angeles…
- Seager, Roberts and GM Farhan Zaidi spoke with reporters at Chase Field following the announcement of Seager’s devastating injury (link via McCullough). While there was immediate speculation about the possibility of the Dodgers seeking out a trade, Zaidi suggested that for the time being, the Dodgers will look to in-house options, with Chris Taylor assuming responsibilities at shortstop. (Few teams, after all, are willing to part with a difference-making infielder at this point on the calendar.) Seager told the media that he felt his elbow give out over the weekend when making a relay throw on Sunday, explaining the feeling as a sudden bout of numbness in his elbow. The 23-year-old star dealt with bone chips and inflammation in the elbow last summer, according to McCullough, though extensive testing led medical experts to recommend against surgery at season’s end. It’s not clear how much, if any, ligament damage existed in Seager’s elbow following the 2017 season, of course, and undergoing a major surgery (especially Tommy John surgery) at that point still could very well have wiped him out for most, if not all of the 2018 season.
- In the wake of the Seager injury, Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times spoke to Manny Machado about the widespread speculation of the Dodgers potentially pursuing him on the trade market. Machado said he’s not had anyone reach out to him about the possibility, and Shaikin writes that the superstar infielder didn’t sound overly amenable to granting a potential trade partner a window to negotiate an extension. “Everyone has waited for the time to become a free agent,” said Machado. “You want to go out there and explore your options.” The 25-year-old did leave the door open a bit, adding that there’s “a price for everything” before stating that he hopes to remain with the Orioles at least through the 2018 season. Of course, as Machado also acknowledged, his future is largely out of his hands; he has no say over whether he’s traded or remains an Oriole. Per Shaikin, the O’s have no plans to accelerate their timeline for a potential Machado deal now that the Dodgers have a glaring need. Certainly, it’s possible that other clubs will join the pursuit later this year, thus driving up the price. And while the O’s had a dreadful start to the season, the organization undoubtedly is still holding out faint hope for a rebound in May and early June before conceding that the season is lost.
Degrom and Ryu both injures batting tonight. DH in both leagues much?
Where does it say Ryu was injured while batting? Ryu left while pitching in the 2nd inning. He hadn’t even had an at-bat yet.
Could be just me, but it looked like on the reply that he might have sprained his right knee (Ryu).
Replay*
he strained his groin.
No.
Yes. (AL teams’ fans)
Dude, NL fans don’t want it.. By looking at the downvotes I’d say a lot of people agree with me.
If I were voting for an AL team, I would vote for pitchers to keep hitting in the NL. It provides AL sides a development edge.
Joshua – sigh you know, you don’t HAVE to comment if you have no clue what you’re talking about. It’s ok to just not talk sometimes
Great comment. I would have put “*s” around sign, but I can’t really knock the comment for that.
Sigh. *sigh,* Stupid app.
This season is just fallin’ quick.
It’s ok we have Daniel Hudson, Baez, Chingros, and Alexander who must be better than last year’s group b/c Friedman says so.
They just needed to keep Morrow and it would have been ok
… which they weren’t going to do because roster issue numero uno for them was staying under the luxury tax. And you can bet it still is.
Buehler, Verdugo, and Galvin Lux for Machado and Gausman. Is that close? Half a year of potential hall of famer who’s super hot so far this season and a mid rotation arm with upside plus 3+ years of control for #1 and #2 prospect plus younger piece with potential. I’d assume O’s have to eat few million or another piece would come back to help LA stay away from tax trouble.
I was about to completely dismiss this until i saw Gausman. Still say no but its not a blowout
Why would the O’s trade Manny and a potential ace?
I mean, I appreciate your analysis but just don’t see the O’s trading away quality pitching; they need MORE of it.
Manny a pending FA. Don’t want to trade Gausman but he’s entering arbitration right when O’s are gonna rebuild and bring payroll down. He could help Dodgers more right away increasing the quality prospects in return. Buehler brings same upside with more team control and less cost.
Also, keep in mind the O’s have 3 guys locked into rotation next couple seasons with a couple close prospects so adding a Buehler could give them a decent inexpensive rotation.
Gausman as a potential ace is a stretch. It’s been 5 years and he’s never shown anything near ace quality. Maybe a solid #2 at some point but he’s not even that yet. He’s a mid rotation starter with a tick of upside but at some point you have to take a guy for face value.
We would not get Buehler and Verdugo for machado and Gausman. It’s only been two starts but Buehler looks every bit as good as Gausman does right now. I doubt he’d be included in a machado trade anyway. Urias seems more likely for the dodgers to give up in any machado deal to me. Buehler could be an important piece in the bullpen later this season and obviously in the rotation for the next 6 years.
Honestly, what is the point? This team is cooked for the year. Since we know right from the get-go that this FO is not going to spend the money needed to really fix this team this year, the only course of action that makes any baseball sense is to write off 2018 now and trade anyone in their last contract year (except for Kershaw) or who does not fit into their plans for next year. This means Grandal, Kemp, Pederson at least. Eat whatever salary it takes to maximize the return. See if they can blast loose some decent bullpen arms for a start.
Why except for Kershaw? If the Dodgers aren’t going to contend this year the smart thing to do is to trade him for a haul and then re-sign him in the offseason.
First, because Kershaw is under team control beyond this year if he doesn’t opt out (a real possibility given his relatively poor performance thus far). Second, anyone who holds his contract can extend him. Third, trading Kershaw would produce a fan revolt that would make the McCourt years look like a church picnic.
Kershaw isn’t performing anywhere near bad enough to make opting in a realistic possibility. Unless he gets hurt or his performance falls off a cliff, opting out is pretty close to a no brainer, even if it’s just for the purpose of renegotiating with LA.
Even if you discount the first reason (which I wouldn’t, given his chronic bad back), the other two still apply. The point here is the Dodgers really need to decide and fast if they are going to fix this team’s problems or punt. If they punt (which I think they should and ultimately will), then everybody who doesn’t fit into the picture for next year should be dealt for players who can. Despite the contract uncertainties, without any question, Kershaw fits in. Several others don’t have much of any possible future with the team. I would not be sorry to see them go right now if the purpose was to build a competitor for next year. Bring up the kids and let’s see what we’ve got. That’s a better plan than than limping along for another five months.
1. He’s not going to opt out.
2. The prospects he could net in a trade would be worth way more than MAYBE having a marginally better chance of signing him in the offseason (I’m confident he’ll sign with the Dodgers no matter what).
3. Meh
Kershaw doesn’t fit into the picture because he’s a free agent after this year. Trading him wouldn’t bar the Dodgers from signing him.
Your argument is confusing and contradictory. First you say Kershaw isn’t going to opt out, then you say he’s a free agent after this year. Let me know what you are actually saying here and maybe we’ll have something to discuss.
Meant to say he isn’t going to opt-in. My bad. He’s worth way more than $70m guaranteed.
Anyway, why wouldn’t the Dodgers want to add premium prospects for two months of a guy they are just going to re-sign in the offseason anyway?
Okay but I have to point out that we really can’t say whether he will or won’t. When you look at his injury history the reason for lack of certainty become clear. Also I would not rule out an extension before the season ends, and as I said before, only the team with his contract in hand can make that happen.
And I’m saying that the prospects he would net in a trade are easily worth more than MAYBE having a marginally better chance of signing him. I’m sure that if he is traded, they will have a conference with him to make sure that they are on the same page. They don’t have to agree to anything, just make sure that they are still at the top of his list in free agency and that there would be no hard feelings from a trade.
This works in theory but in practice we are talking about Kershaw and we are talking about the Dodgers. See ya later maybe isn’t going to cut it in this case. Especially if this season continues on the way it’s been going, allowing Kershaw to walk (let alone, trading him) will play very badly with the fans. I would like to think the fans still matter a little bit at least.
It’s not “see ya later maybe.” It’s “Ok. This isn’t the year for us and we have the chance to add premium prospects for your last two months of control. This also means you get to finish out this season pitching for a team that actually has a chance and won’t be burdened by the qualifying offer in free agency. We genuinely are interested in signing you come the offseason and we hope that the feeling is mutual.” If the Dodgers trade Kershaw and then offer him the most money in free agency, he’s not going to punish them for trading him by taking a paycut to play for someone else. And if he is willing to take a discount from the Dodgers, trading him won’t change that.
I am making a different not to mention a clearer point than what you seem to be getting from what I am saying. I can only ask you to go back and reread it.
My point is 100% clear. If they decide to punt on this year Kershaw isn’t any more safe from being traded than any other pending FA’s and nothing says they can’t trade Kershaw and then re-sign him in the offseason.
Anyway, the only way your argument works is if holding onto Kershaw is some kind of prerequisite for signing him. While you could argue that the odds of signing him MIGHT be a little bit better if the Dodgers are the only organization he has ever played for, the prospects he could net them in a trade are easily worth more than those slightly increased odds.
No, you’ve completely missed it again. The totally clear point I’ve made probably three times now is that Kershaw and his connection to the LA fan base is special. Fans here absolutely expect him to be a lifelong Dodger and for ownership to find a way to make that happen. If the Dodgers traded him or allowed him to walk, the wailing and moaning of Dodger fans would be deafening, so loud it would heard all the way to wherever it is you live. I’m assuming ownership gets that and won’t risk alienating the fan base further than it is already.
They’d stop wailing and moaning when he comes back next offseason and the prospects acquired perform at the Major League level.
Machado on his own won’t get you anywhere near both Buehler and Verdugo and Gausman and his lifetime 4.18 ERA in 674 innings don’t move the needle much.
He has put together some really good halves but yet to have a full good season. A 4.18 era isn’t bad considering he’s still young and pitching in AL East
Lol…love how biased fans think Verdugo & Lux are these super hot commodities that are gonna get the O’s to throw Gausman in the deal. Laughable suggestion.
Does anyone know how long of a recovery groin strains usually require?
Machado won’t resign even if Dodgers offer 30+ mil a season. Buehler is off limits as was Seager and Belly. They should stick to Kiké and Taylor rotating out of ss/cf. Friedman and friends are committed to staying under threshold over winning. Barring a 2017-like comeback, we probably have to wait til November for Machado/Harper sweepstakes. Season’s not over in May guys…-_- GO BLUE!
It’s over. Not just because of the miserable start to the season and getting hammered by injuries. The real reason is between the lines of what you said: the FO is more interested in profits than winning. We knew that over the winter when they decided to play a pat hand, and now they’ve put a big old cherry on top of the sundae by showing no intention to address the team’s massively obvious and steadily growing problems.
There’s still 130 games left and the Dodgers have major league ready prospects like Verdugo, Buehler, White, etc. to fill needs. Way to early to give up on the season even if its a WC spot.
Zero chance Bueheler is traded, so hypothetically, from both teams perspective, is Verdugo & White for Manny palatable for both sides? I only see a few realistic fits for Manny (teams in win now mode with a need to upgrade at SS, if Manny was open to moving back to 3B, then the options increase).
What’s a realistic trade scenario/prospect haul for Manny?
LAD- Verdugo & White (or Alvarez–not as high on him)
STL- Flaherty + an OF (maybe Carson Kelly and flip him or Sisco)
If Manny was open to shifting back to 3B for the pennant stretch, I think he would drastically help CLEV. Would Clev consider Triston Mckenzie for Manny?
I’ve already explained why this is a non-starter, but I guess it needs to be said again. This team has problems that will require either money or the trading of top prospects to fix. They will not spend the money, and they should not trade the top prospects. So don’t tell me how many games are left, as if I don’t know. Tell me how they fix the problems.
The team is top 10 in hitting and pitching WAR. They’ve been a little unlucky. Even Puig, who’s numbers weren’t great before getting hurt, was hitting the ball hard (92 MPH exit velo). This is still a good enough team to win a WC spot.
So we’re hoping for a marginal team that might get lucky enough to sneak into the playoffs and then be unprepared to compete in the postseason? I don’t know about you, but I’ve had plenty of that already.
If the Dodgers don’t trade prospects then why should they ever win a pennant? Not saying the Dodgers should definitely trade for Machado, but remember Houston’s trade for Verlander was the difference between winning and not winning a WS. That said I tend to agree this might a year the Dodgers should punt, meaning any trades they do make should be with next year in mind in addition to this year.
If they are in a good position in July and are looking to nail down the corners for stretch run and the postseason, then trade they must. That’s what they did in picking up Darvish last year, and had he not excelled in his awfulness in the World Series the Dodgers would have won it. The question now is the likelihood that the Dodgers will be in a good position in July. I would say when the chances get to slim to none, the sooner the punt, the better.
The 2006 Cardinals were the worst team of that era of good Cardinal teams and was somehow the only team to win a WS. All you have to do is make the playoffs and anything is possible.
I keep asking what the plan might be and I get anything is possible. Anything is possible is not a plan.
What do you mean plan? Injuries have forced them to reconsider their expectations for this season. The “plan” should be to play Verdugo and start Buehler and see if you can still compete while developing them and other young players.
You don’t give up a season in the first week of May
Another case of wondering how often the same clear question needs to be repeated before someone at least attempts an answer.
Seems like you keep repeating the same thing, while people on here keep telling you that it’s not smart to write off a team in early May because of a bad April. Furthermost, you seem not to understand the words people like myself keep repeating to you.
Nobody has answered the questions. You haven’t even come close to trying.
There’s five months of baseball left it’s not over for anybody. Even my crappy Orioles and even the Reds still have a chance. Does everybody have a bad memory the Dodgers started worse than this last year
The bullpen is a complete catastrophe. The loss of Seager blows a huge hole in the lineup. Ryu is probably going to miss a month at least. No idea when Turner will play again. Management clearly will not spend the money required to fix any of these problems and they should not sacrifice the future for some short term patches that only provide an outside chance of sneaking into the postseason with a marginal team. Dodger fans have had lots of postseasons recently. What they’ve been crying out for, for 30 years now, is a world championship. No way this team gets there. None. So I am fine with them packing it in and setting up better for next year.
If Machado didn’t sign with a team now for $30 million a year (not that I’m suggesting anyone is offering that right now) he would be a fool. We’re talking about a a very talented player who, while still young, has never had an OPS above ..900. How many players not named Trout or Kershaw are making that much a year? He’d have to win the MVP to justify not taking that much a year, and even then it would be dumb.
Why would he sign on the captive market when he is only 6 months from the open market?
Dodgers complaining about injuries while the Giants have had 11 so far this year and still playing better. Lol
Whos complaining? Even if you stack the injuries up Turner Seager Puig Forsythe is more lost to injury than what the Giants have
We don’t need machado. Id rather take adam jones and dominating Zach Briton from the O’s. solves center field dominating closer slash legit set up man. jansen may falter. did anyone say back up plan. jansen might become set up man this yr the way he looks. get archer and a bullpen from rays for Verdugo and any other prospect that’s blocked for the next 5 years. Ill give away Verdugo for 3/4 years control of archer not machado as a rental. cheaper to get center fielder than SS in terms of giving up prospects. kike looks like ozzie smith with the glove at SS this year. ridicoulous play after play . u c last night .machada please . we don’t need pretty boy pre madona over here. he will be overwhelmed by living in heaven on earth slash los angeles. Rather get Charlie guilberson back from Atlanta then him
I don’t get the argument that a player’s future is out of his own hands. Feels like a copout. The agent works for you…not the other way around. So if you’re Machado, if you really wanted to stay with the Orioles, then just tell your agent to strike a deal (it’s up to you if you deem that offer fair or not or how low you’re willing to go to stay). But if you want to be a free agent that’s understandable but to pretend like you have zero say, no I’m not buying it.
When a player says that it means “I’m testing free agency and that’s it.”
Has Machado stated any particular playoff contending team of which he’d like to be traded? Maybe a team he could sign with for 2019 and beyond?? I’ve heard a very good friend, from when they were kids, plays for the Cubs! That appears to be his pick of the teams interested in him for 2018.