The Dodgers announced they have selected outfielder Steven Souza Jr. to the big league club. Utilityman Zach McKinstry was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to open an active roster spot, while reliever Garrett Cleavinger has been transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man roster space.
Souza is up for his second stint of the season with L.A. Signed to a minor league deal at the end of Spring Training, Souza was promoted to the big leagues in mid-June. He wound up designated for assignment after just thirteen games. After passing through waivers and very briefly reaching free agency, Souza signed a new minors pact with the Dodgers and has been with Oklahoma City over the past couple months.
A seven-year big league veteran, Souza had a strong year with the Rays in 2017, hitting .239/.351/.459 and popping thirty homers. He floundered upon being traded to Arizona that offseason, though, and he hasn’t gotten much big league time since suffering a catastrophic knee injury in Spring Training of 2019 that cost him that entire season. The 32-year-old has performed well with Oklahoma City this season, though, hitting .247/.387/.504 with nine home runs and a massive 16.7% walk rate over 186 plate appearances at the minors’ top level. Because Souza was in the Dodgers’ organization by August 31, he will be eligible for their postseason roster even though his addition to the 40-man roster comes during the month of September.
Cleavinger landed on the 10-day IL on August 8 because of a right oblique strain. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from that date, so his regular season is officially over. Cleavinger could’ve theoretically make it back if the Dodgers go on a deep postseason run, but manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that he won’t return this year. Acquired from the Phillies over the offseason, Cleavinger gave Los Angeles eighteen innings of eleven-run ball (six earned) in his first season with the club.
To reach him, do they call him on the Souza phone?
That’s tuba determined.
You guys have a lot of brass.
Donkeys son
He’s a big star wars fan, his favourite character is oboe wan Kenobi
Wow
For a team with a payroll well over a quarter billion dollars this season, it is hard to believe how many journeymen and scrub players that have played for the Dodgers this year…
Ya it is amazing and equally amazing is how many bullpen games they’ve needed.
Says the fan of the team trotting arrieta out
Jersey a ton of injuries. Seager, Bellinger, Pollack, Muncy, Mookie, Kershaw, May, Gonsolin, Nelson, Urias, Alexander, Ferguson and the list goes on. I would have preferred Beatty.
Every team has a list that length for IL placements this year. A team without the quality or depth of the Dodgers was probably hurt more by a regular getting hurt, than the Dodgers by losing a star player. (And no, I am not referring to the Mets).
Sty, not every team has a list of quality above average players who have been out. Not even close. And that doesn’t even include Bauer. And how many of those teams are playing anywhere near 35+ games over 500. I dare none. Not even close.
But mWAR
I think they want a righty bat against lefties so that they don’t have to put Bellinger in there against lefties. Souza will play LF and Taylor at CF. Against righties Bellinger at CF and Taylor at LF. Doesn’t seem like they like Beaty against lefties either.
In theory the Dodgers should be able to hit lefty pitching but with Bellinger struggling and Pollock out it’s less favorable. Dodgers not mashing righty pitching as much mostly due to Bellinger being so off. Seager is a notch below his usual self too.
Bellinger in CF, Taylor in LF, Souza in RF. Against a lefty tonight. You got it all wrong.
That’s because they’re resting Betts tonight. Ever think about that? Have always wondered why Roberts has these set days off. Why not rest Mookie tomorrow so that Bellinger doesn’t have to face a lefty? Unless Mookie’s hip is not feeling well and really needs to rest today.
Your thinking is disjointed if you think they sit Mookie and keep Belli. Not sure Belli could hit a high school pitcher right now, right or left.
Honestly with my recent bullpens I feel like I could punch out Bellinger
Beatty and mckinstry are both LH. Otherwise they’d have stuck instead of Souza. It’s just a lineup balance thing. Beatty is in real danger of becoming the next Scott van Slyke. Too good to dump, not good enough to earn real playing time.
Beaty is so underrated on this stacked lineup, maybe package in a trade for Hader this off-season…
I like Beaty but probably doesn’t have much value due to limit upside. He has some great ABs. Great off the bench but probably not starter material due to limited pop and glove. On a much lesser team he can be a fringe starter but his best value is off the bench and reserve role.
So he was signed in the late spring and spent 13 games on the 26 man roster, yet he only managed to get 186 AB’s in the minors for 2021 – looks like he’s spent another lengthy period on the IL this season. He better make a big splash in the last few weeks of the season if he wants to avoid a future in the indy leagues.
Says he was signed to a minor league deal, not that he spent the season in the minors. He spent a bit of time at the Dodgers alternate training site, then got moved to OKC for a few weeks then on to LA. Since being released by the Dodgers and re-signed a week later he has been a regular at OKC until his call-up. One three day span with 0 AB’s, Other than that, in there daily. No short or lengthy IL placements.
He had just short of a .900 OPS in AAA this year. While that doesn’t mean help he’ll succeed at the mlb level, he is pretty far from being relegated to Indy ball
Watch what happens now. Take .300 off the .900. AAA parks hitter friendly coupled with poor pitching. He will be overmatched again and left off the postseason roster looking for work again. He’s better off to go to Japan or Korea
What you said has nothing to do with my point
Now if the Dodgers can somehow get Will Myers, they can pull off the rare feat of winning a 3-team trade that they weren’t even a part of!
Joe Ross has entered the chat lol
Once again the Rays knew when it was time to let a player go.
Once they cost more than the minimum?
Once they are unable to play 11 positions including pitcher and DH
Dodgers really don’t want Bellinger hitting against lefties. Move makes sense but it is disappointing that the Dodgers don’t have a better option in the minors. Having K. Hernandez in the roster would have helped. We’ll see if Pollock will be ready by playoffs. Maybe not. I wonder if the Dodgers entertained moving Trea Turner to the outfield. Against lefties you could occasionally slot Pujols at 1B. Move Muncy to 2B. Turner to CF or LF. Taylor at LF or CF. Your offense is better but the defense could be shaky with Pujols at 1B and an inexperienced Trea Turner in OF.
What has happened to Bellinger? MVP in 2019 now he’s pulling a Chris Davis. It’s like he forget how to hit.
W E E D and he is a one swing pony; think Chris Davis, that’s how his career is likely going to go. He can’t hit heat but also can’t not chance breaking stuff.
Must be, because it couldn’t have anything to do with the shoulder surgery or the fractured leg.
This slump has been worsening since the first couple months of the 2019 season. This isnt about shoulder or leg, it’s about approach, mechanics, commitment. Looks like he’s more committed to his bong than his plummeting career.
And you know any of this, how, exactly?
Trea was a good CF when he played just is likely very rusty
While this has absolutely been an insane year for every team in dealing with injuries. I’m happy to see some these vets get another chance with the Dodgers. Shane Greene, Feliz, Souza for just a couple off the top of my head. Love seeing the rotating cast be able to come in and help out while the rest of the squad heals.
A big thing for me is being able to hopefully see these vets resurrect their careers someplace else. They hang out with the Dodgers, get some good coaching while they figure out what went wrong and then sign somewhere else the next year. Fun to watch.
Souza has played most of his career in RF, so my guess is Souza in RF, Mookie in CF, and Taylor in LF. Belli is now looking like a late inning defensive replacement only. Cant afford his empty AB’s any more. He better get un-stoned real quick like, or he’s going to find himself out in the cold. He needs a complete overhaul, from approach to stance to mechanics. If that doesnt happen this winter I expect he wont finish next season with the team. He’s as broken as I’ve ever seen a hitter.
That makes sense too. Betts is better than Taylor at CF. My thought was that they’d want Betts in RF for continuity and better arm. I still think they give Bellinger a lot of ABs against righties but maybe less ABs with occasional days off even with a righty on the mound. But I think they’re still hoping that Bellinger gets hot into the playoffs because they really could use his bat.
Agreed. I’m sure Bellinger will be working extra hard on his swing. this offseason A lot of it is mental too, as his swing has always been prone to a high degree of error, so you hope he gains some confidence. He’s a defeated guy there at the plate. It just shows you how difficult it is to maintain performance at the MLB level. We’re talking about a former NL MVP going down to the utter bottom. Year in and out you see guys who were extremely successful to barely hanging on to their careers. Maybe not NL MVP types but very productive guys to getting DFA’d. It makes you appreciate the skill level of those who do it year in and year out. He’ll be able to survive at the MLB level because of his elite glove but does need to hit higher than his weight.
Other than the first 2 months of 2019 Belli has been a below average hitter. The “swing for the moon” approach is killing not only his career, but Dodger rally after Dodger rally. And he just keeps trying the same thing over and over while we watch his stats fall to the point that the Mendoza line looks like the impossible dream. I am shocked that he hasnt begged for help from ANYONE hitting the ball, but nothing has changed in his mechanics or approach so I can only assume he thinks he can fix a swing that has been exposed as completely deficient. As Hershiser has said, “If you have a hole in your swing the League will find it. If you dont adjust, the League will fill it up.”
Belli’s whole swing is a hole….
Empire- Other than the first 2 months of 2019 Belli has been a below average hitter”. Define what you mean by below average hitter.
Weird how you and some others are totally convinced that Dodger coaching has completely left the building, and it’s some guy watching games on TV who really knows what is going on.
Yeah, that’s not true about Bellinger at all. His second half of 2019? Over a .900 OPS. People act like he fell off a cliff in the second half of his MVP season, but it’s simply not correct. His first half was otherworldly, but he was still a well above average hitter the rest of the way.
different… I dont look at a .263 batting average as “a well above average hitter”. He swings for the fences and actually connected for a few in the 2nd half, but the numbers across the board declined month by month. 2020 was worse, and since you like OPS does .789 sound great to you? This year he’s at .571
My point is that he DID fall off a cliff, you just didnt notice until he picked up speed the further he fell from early 2019
Bellinger will still get playing time against righties, but he’s probably gonna lose even that to Billy McKinney or McKinstry
I like Beatty better than the “Mcs” apparently he is a defensive liability.
I like McKinstry if he never tries to hit another homer. He looks and feels to me like he should be a slap hitter
McKinstry has really gone downhill where he looked so promising early in season. Now he is looking more like roster filler material.
Good field no hit. With Belli hitting like he is (not) they really can’t afford both.
Even the fielding was suspect. He’s versatile as he can play both the infield and outfield but he was a bit sloppy on the field. Hoping he cleaned that up during his last stint at AAA. He’s no left handed K. Hernandez.
Way things are going (downhill) for Belli he may make the list for the worst batting averages of everyday players with 300+ at bats.
Agreed. Seems like he either Ks, pops it up, or flies out. Best chance for him to get on base this year is HBP.
During the ESPN stream of the Dodgers Giants Sunday game I almost reached through the TB to choke ARod cause he wholeheartedly suggested IBBing bellinger. I’m a lifelong dodger fan but even I wouldn’t put Bellinger on in the state of his offensive production