Before the Astros hired Dana Brown as their new general manager, the team also interviewed one of Brown’s co-workers from the Braves front office in special assistant of scouting operations Jonathan Schuerholz, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports. Schuerholz played six seasons in Atlanta’s minor league system (from 2002-07) before moving into a minor league instructor role for the next seven seasons, and then in front office since October 2014 in assistant director roles in the player development and scouting departments.
Houston’s search involved candidates with several differing levels of experience, ranging from at least one former MLB general manager in Bobby Evans to a former manager in Brad Ausmus, who has mostly worked in on-field roles apart from brief stints as a special assistant in the front office with the Angels and Padres. (Brown was the Braves’ VP of scouting, a role that won’t be filled since Nightengale writes that the team specifically tailored the job to Brown himself.) Schuerholz was one of the younger known candidates at age 42, though he comes from a noteworthy lineage — Schuerholz’s father John is a Hall-of-Fame executive known for his success in building World Series winners in Atlanta and Kansas City. The younger Schuerholz could well be a name to watch in future years as teams look to fill GM/president of baseball operations vacancies.
More from around the National League…
- With the Mets signing Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, and Jose Quintana to fill their rotation holes this winter, in-house names like David Peterson and Tylor Megill were pushed down the depth chart, and might not even be on New York’s active roster to begin the season. “If those guys start the year in Triple-A, we have two guys that probably deserve to be in the big leagues just from their past performance and their stuff,” Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner told Mike Puma of the New York Post. That said, Hefner noted the unlikelihood of the Mets’ top five starters getting through the season in perfect health, so the team will keep Peterson and Megill stretched out and “readily available” to step into the rotation if a need arises. If they are on the big league roster, Peterson and Megill could work out of the bullpen in the interim, and Hefner said the Mets haven’t yet decided on whether Joey Lucchesi will also be used as a reliever or might be stretched out in the minors as starter depth. Lucchesi underwent Tommy John surgery midway through the 2021 season and didn’t pitch at all last year as he continued to rehab.
- The Dodgers’ multi-positional players give the club some flexibility, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in an interview today on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that he currently views the regular lineup with Max Muncy at third base, Gavin Lux at shortstop, Miguel Vargas at second base and Chris Taylor in the outfield. Miguel Rojas, acquired via trade from the Marlins earlier this month, is being thought of as more of a utility option, offering sound defense in reserve. Vargas made his MLB debut last season and didn’t actually see any action at second base over his first 18 big league games, plus he played far more third base than second base in the minors. Still, the Dodgers clearly think highly of the top prospect’s potential, and Vargas’ .304/.404/.511 slash line in 520 plate appearances at Triple-A indicate that he is ready for a longer look in the Show.
Vargas at second is a stretch. I know AF loves athletic utility players especially before LA used shifts (kike, Chris Taylor etc) but Vargas doesn’t move laterally as much as a 2B should now with the shift ban
He might well get better, but as of now Vargas figures to be a defensive liability no matter where he plays.
2B is a lot easier to play than 3B. Ball gets to you slower, more time to make a play and a shorter throw to 1B/2B. From his minor league stats, Vargas really struggled at 3B, where he played by far the most at. I figured that they would hide him in LF but I guess they will try him at 2B first. All is forgiven if he can rake.
Well I wouldn’t call 2B a cakewalk and it’s about to get a lot tougher to play. Vargas might clean up well, who knows? Muncy did. I’m not writing him off defensively just being realistic about where his defensive skills stand him now. Only thing we know is he’s getting thrown into the deep end because Freedman doesn’t have a better plan. Hard to get real excited about that.
Statistically 2B fielding percentages are much higher than 3B fielding percentages for all the reasons I’ve mentioned. They don’t call it the hot corner for kicks. I’m sure that they’re trying to make it as easy as possible for Vargas to adjust to the MLB level. Part of that is trying to minimize the defensive stress so that it doesn’t start impacting his hitting which is clearly why he’s going to be in the active roster. Muncy is still a below average 3B and better suited for 2B. But for now he’s the best option at 3B for the Dodgers.
On average a 2B will be involved in 380-390 plays per season including DPs and relays on OF throws. A 3B will be involved in 130-135 plays per season.
The 2B position requires better speed, better footwork, and better agility. It is by far the most difficult of the two positions and with the end of the extreme shift it will become even that much harder to play and more important defensively.
I agree that 2B requires more athleticism than 3B, and obviously more responsibilities due to double plays. But for an iffy fielder like Vargas the longer throws and ball coming at him faster and less time to make a throw are definitely huge factors. More likely that he will make errors there.
Less chances doesn’t mean it’s easier. That’s why every season fielding percentages are much lower at 3B compared to 2B. Look at Muncy’s career fielding percentages. 0.937 at 3B and 0.983 at 2B. I would hardly consider Muncy athletic or having great footwork. He moves relatively well for a bigger guy though. If 3B is so much easier it then begs the question as to why Muncy is not at 2B and Vargas at 3B.
Its about the number of times they are involved in a play. 2B has nearly 3 times as many outs they are involved in.
3B is by far the lowest in the infield. 2B is the harder and more important position to play. There is a reason its called the keystone.
I don’t think those numbers are accurate. 3B in a full season should get 320-360 plays. Yes, 2B will get more opportunities but mostly on force outs compared to much fewer forced outs at 3B. But let’s face it force outs are much easier. Yes, sometimes there are tough double plays to be turned. But sometimes it’s as easy as catching a flip from the SS for the last out. Also, 3B has much tougher outs. The dreaded slow roller bare handed pickup nail the runner at first probably single handedly one of the highest percentage for errors. Anything hit to the right of the 3B is tough since you have to backhand the ball against your body and make a big time throw. The throws at 2B are typically much easier and shorter. A 2B can boot a routine grounded and still nail the runner out at 1B, while that is almost never the case for a 3B. So, definitely added pressure for the 3B. Typically 2B are the better athletes but 3B usually bigger, better arm, and tougher outs. All that said, these are reasons why 3B is tougher than 2B. I remember a young Jeff Kent struggling at 3B with a career fielding percentage of 0.925 and getting moved to 2B where he was a career 0.980 fielder. Again, not bad for a not very athletic guy. It can be done.
How do you know Vargas doesn’t move well laterally?
Video
Tons of video. As a side note I’ve worked primarily with INF development. I could be wrong but I haven’t seen anything to prove he can work laterally
The Mets have quite a group of starting options this season, and they’ll need every one of them. Verlander/Scherzer need to be rested and given some extra days to make sure they are healthy down the stretch. A six-man rotation could benefit them at times throughout the season. Guys like Peterson, Megil, and to a lesser extent Lucchesi, E. Hernandez, and Butto.
After his start last year, Jose Butto shouldn’t be working at the gas station down the street from Citi Field.
He has solid minor league numbers over 450 innings. Not sure you should use one 4 inning spot start to cast him off just yet.
Yeah I think the Mets have high hopes for Butto. He needs a little more work before the team can make a decision on what his role will be
I don’t see the Dodgers being as good as all the experts think they will be this year. Their outfield depth and the back of their rotation are definitely weak spots and losing the two turners I believe will have a bigger impact than some of the prognosticators believe. I could see the Padres running away with the division. I don’t think the dodgers will be bad but I don’t see an elite team..How much can Freeman and Betts do..maybe I’m wrong but I see a lot of holes.
Yeah…I think this is one of their weaker teams thus far over the past seasons but Dodgers are Dodgers, man. I hate to admit but after AF took the helm they are doing great things in LA and I am sure they will still field a highly competitive team. Still the team to beat in the NL West unfortunately.
I don’t think it’s unfortunate. If other teams are good enough, they’ll win. Unless, of course, they don’t.
Andrew Friedman is a baseball genius! Dodger roster definitely took a bit of a step backwards this off season but if ANYONE thinks Friedman is done revamping this roster you are sadly mistaken! Guaranteed Friedman will make a big trade before Spring Training and another at the trade deadline. I agree it’s time to let the young studs get their feet wet but they will be sifted in slowly. Don’t expect them all to be on the Opening Day roster, they will be eased in slowly and in the meantime Friedman will will be scouting the trade market!
Having Vargas starting at 2B and Lux at SS is a highly questionable middle infield. That looks more like desperation than genius, and I don’t know where you think the salary space is coming from to accommodate a big trade. Or even a promotion from the minors, for that matter.
They’re “falling” from a 111 win team that, frankly, underperformed for their talent level
You can hope they will magically suck, but they won’t
The Dodgers over-performed based on WAR of the players on the field. Even with the loss of so many good players, they are still a 93+ win team.
Lol the Padres aren’t running away with anything. I think the division will be tight for most of the year but L.A. has way more depth than San Diego. The reinforcements are still there either to call up when a guy goes down or trade away at the deadline for better major league pieces. San Diego is too top heavy to withstand any major injuries, especially to their pitching staff. There’s a reason it’s a 162 game season.
We will see. It would not surprise me if the Padres do runaway with the NL West. Then again, I can see the Dodgers keeping it close. The Padres do certainly have the firepower lineup, and it’s not like the Dodgers have an elite rotation without injury concerns. If you had bet one way or the other it would be that the Padres finish first in NL West.
The Padres have neither an elite rotation nor a lack of injury concerns (but to be fair, no team does)
Yeah, I think pretty obvious that the Dodgers have taken a big step down this season. The depth and talent is not as good. They really need a couple of the younger guys to produce. Question will be how big of a step down. Squeak by and get to playoffs or worse than expected and miss the playoffs. Injuries and youngster performances will answer that question.
@Pauly – The back end of the Dodgers rotation is a definite weakness? Do you know who Dustin May and Noah Syndergaard even are? Go look at how many other teams have the likes of May and Syndergaard at the back of their rotation. Not to mention the high upside arms of Ryan Pepiot, Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone, Michael Grove, and even Landon Knack a quick phone call away.
Dodger starting pitching will be a position of strength.
At the top of the rotation the Dodgers have Kershaw who will be great for 120 innings or so. One of the greatest of all time nearing the end of his career.
Then the true star of the Dodgers rotation, Urias. He takes the ball every outing and puts up great numbers.
Then Gonsolin, a starter that still hasn’t finished a full season because of injuries. There are still questions about his health because he ended the season on the IL with a forearm strain an injury that usually indicates TJ surgery is imminent. Good when healthy though.
May threw 30 innings last season. He is similar to the Padres Morejon in terms of innings they night be able to pitch in 2023. That is definitely a weakness if they are relying on him for 150-160 innings, because he can’t go that deep.
Syndergaard was a great signing. Roughly league average production for 120-130 innings. Very nice for the back of a rotation.
Add up all those guys and there are about 30 starts that the Dodgers will have to find elsewhere. Pepiot, Grove, and Jackson are on the 40 man and better be ready for action because they are going to get a huge share of the starts. .
It will take most everything going wrong in LA and everything going perfect in SD for SD to run away with anything.
Realistically, it will be a good race. And LA has one of the best systems to supplant the roster either directly or via trade, and SD sold everything to just match LA. They appear tapped or close to it.
The best case scenario in SD is that LA is only a wild card team. They’re not going to fall from 111 wins to outside the top 6 in the NL. I just don’t see it
@BeforeMcCourt. Do you really think that? The Padres lineup to me is already better than the Dodgers lineup. Now, if the Dodgers get good production from the lesser knowns (Vargas, Outman, Thompson, etc.) they could be the better lineup, but that may also assume that some of the Padres hitters are off.
When you look at rotations I don’t think that you can say that the Dodgers have the better rotation. On paper the Padres get a slight edge. Now if May has a big year, Syndergaard has a very good bounce back, Gonsolin maintains performance and is healthy, ditto for Kershaw, this could be a better rotation than the Padres, much better. And if there are injuries this assumes that the youngsters can fill in. But those are a lot of ifs. Certainly possible and in some of these cases likely. But it hardly lines up perfectly like that. They will likely be injuries and some may not pitch as well as 2022 or to their “potential”. The Dodgers also seem less committed to going above the luxury, and they’re already near that threshold. I’d think more limited in what moves they could/will make at the deadline.
Padre’s have a great playoff rotation, not a great reguilar season rotation. They have 3 really good starters, 2 relievers turned starters, and no depth to fill in. Lugo and Martinez are not going to give them much more than 120 innings after having pitched as relievers for the last couple years. Also, all 3 of their good starters have injury history, so if one of them goes down they will be in serious trouble.
Martinez has only pitched as a reliever for 1 season. The last 4 seasons before that he was in Japan and was a starter. He can go 160-180 innings. Can he be effective like a starter as he was in Japan in the question. As a #4, he is certainly a better option than May who threw just 30 innings last season.
Lugo is a huge question mark for them. He has hasn’t started a game since 2020 and has been a reliever most of his MLB career. He has the kind of stuff, 5 average to plus pitches, that plays well as a starter, but never really had that chance with the Mets. After 65 IP last season, the most that they can expect from him is in the 120-140 innings range. Maybe that is enough from a #5.
I think that guys like Morejon, Groome, Teheran, Honeywell, Font, and possibly others will have to pick up some starts. I don’t think that the Padres will have to have those guys pick up nearly as many starts as the Dodgers will for their starting 5.
The thing is, LA has planned for the last 3-4 years to use 7-8 starters. Clearly, their decisions are driven by the tax situation currently, but it’s a pretty large assumption they just do nothing because of the tax line. They’ve shown an ability to be extremely creative when needed to skirt a tax penalty.
I’d take LA’s starting 7-8 options over SD’s. There’s a lot of hope and prayer in SD. I’d much rather take May over Martinez or Lugo, for example. If you disagree, we’ll talk at the end of the year
The lineup in SD is fantastic if Tatis comes back as if it’s 2020. But… good luck with that prediction. A shoulder surgery or a PED tend to limit guy’s production the year after they return. He’s coming back from both.
So, yeah, LA is weaker than they’ve been in years. In theory. Or they built a top 5 system and are going to let the kids bridge the gap to the next generation of LA baseball. And given they’ve made the playoffs every year for the last decade, it’s pretty dumb to bet against them at this point, especially with 3 wild cards. They’d have to win like 25 fewer games to have missed the playoffs last year. You’re really predicting that? Biased much?
I thought so prior to Bauer reversal. Now, they’re fairly close to the limit. There is no requirement for the Dodgers to stay under but you’d think if they were going to do it, it would be this year. Perhaps, they will play the wait and see game and see how the team performs. If they’re contenders, Friedman can make some trade deadline deals.
I may be wrong but when you’re trying to stay under the current limit it’s much harder to do so, then going over current year to save on future years. That really only leaves players with bad contracts or hurt. Getting rid of CT3 can save you $15mm and Treinen another $8mm. You can get rid of Hudson but then you’re out one of your better relievers and he’s cheaper. I’d see that as the pecking order. Any of the first two options would come with the price of packaging a few prospects, you’d think. And if you want to get an elite type of player or any player that will move the needle, you’re going to have to deal more prospects without hurting current roster. I’d think that Friedman would prefer not to at this point.
I certainly think they want to duck the tax
But I don’t think it’s an absolute mandate. And as you said, they have a few luxury tax burdens that are tradable. It may not be a fun trade to make, but they’re there
Great players aren’t necessarily the highest paid either. Again LA built a top 5 system, or better depending who you ask, based on late draft picks and a depleted international pool many years. Betting against this team to at least be a WC is foolhardy. And sorry, but SD isn’t that much better than 2022 unless things go perfectly. Show me any team ever that had everything break right. For SD to run away with the division, up 15+ games at the end, a lot has to happen on both sides of the equation. Maybe it happens. But what’s the likelihood?
Haven’t Padres fans been predicting the downfall of LA for… 10 years? Who cares?
Pointed out before that we really don’t know how the Dodgers payroll is being computed for purposes of the CBT. All we have is third-party estimations, all of which are based on assumptions rather than inside baseball information. Just considering what we’ve seen from this offseason, I suspect they aren’t over the official number. The simple reason for the suspicion is it makes little sense for them to go slightly over for a player such as Miquel Rojas and not go further over to pick up a more important piece.
Yes I know who they are but Thor didn’t look like himself last year and May is coming off an injury. I meant it is weak compared to last year but who knows..notice u didn’t say anything about the outfield depth..or do u expect Trayce Thompson to have another season like last year. I get it the dodgers do usually know what they are doing..maybe they get something out of Heyward and Zimmer.
Pauly, Martínez and Lugo are relievers who padre fans are telling me to look at Japanese numbers to make themselves feel better.. or just telling me to trust Preller. I mean, sure, bank on them and talk to me in OCT
I’ll take the 23 year old who throws 100 and can cut the ball clear across the plate, both directions for 120-130 innings than either of them. I know, I’m the biased one. Mhmm
NYM have enviable depth at SP. Peterson/Megill probably among tops in league for 6/7 SP depth chart. One guy has shown he can be a LHP winner with regular work. Other was the main man in no-no last season
Only problem with Megill is that he didn’t look nearly as good post injury as he did pre injury. So we don’t know which Megill we’ll get. Maybe something in between
Megill doesn’t seem like he’ll be able to pitch 5+ innings consistently. He got off to a great start last year in getting the injury-driven Opening Day nod. But I can’t help but think that his shoulder may get cranky again if he’s forced into a full-time rotation spot.
I am betting the Mets take the same page out that the Astros did and go a 6 man rotation. The extra day rest makes a huge difference in a healthy starting rotation. He just needs to be healthy. JV case in point. He could be an anomaly bc of his work ethic and preparation.
There’s going to be some frustrated Dodger pitchers with that infield defense behind them. Could be the worst in baseball
I can understand your point, it is a reasonable assumption. However, I will point out that Trea Turner was not an above SS defensively. In fact, many metrics have him average defensively at best. Muncy is solid at 3B and Freeman is good at 1B. Lux is a natural SS that has been asked to learn new positions. I think it is too soon to say that he won’t be at least as good defensively as Trea Turner at SS. 2B is definitely a ? at this point.
I’d say Muncy is a very average 3B at best. He doesn’t give you the best range and at times gets a bit sloppy with fielding and throws. You can certainly do worse though.
Lux is a very big question mark. While I agree that Trea Turner is not as good of a defender as he should be, he’s more athletic than Lux and has a bigger arm. So, Trea Turner may have been a bit of a klutz but overall he’s still a better defender than Lux, until Lux shows improvement. To me, in the few times I saw Lux at SS he looked a step slow to the ball, especially to his right and his arm seemed more suited for 2B. Small sample size though. Nevertheless, Lux will get his shot to prove himself. He’s got a shot to be at least average at SS.
Muncy is solid at 3B. Above average in nearly all metrics.
Turner was a league average SS. As a SS, Lux graded out as average as a minor league player.
Vargas graded as below average at 3B and that is an easier position to play than 2B.
Freeman has been roughly league average on defense since 2019.
The Dodgers defense won’t be terrible, but it has taken a huge step backwards from the last few seasons.
Urias comes to mind. I know there was a clip in 2021 of him getting mad at Lux for letting a fly ball drop in front of him for a single when he played CF. One of those he didn’t meant to but just natural reaction in the heat of competition. I can see Kershaw also getting frustrated. They will both be professional though in after game interviews.
I don’t think we’ll see Kershaw get frustrated. He’s in a different head space now, rolling with whatever happens. He even talks with his teammates between innings now, something he never did in his earlier years.
Kershaw is still very much a competitor and fiery one. As his abilities have declined and as he’s aged perhaps he has toned that down a bit. But he’s gotten plenty mad at himself and opponents, and has let that out during games. I’ve never seen him get mad at teammates on the field but I’m sure deep inside he has high expectations, and I’m sure gets frustrated by some mistakes. You just won’t see him show them up on the field or after game interviews.
You did say we might see it, so I was responding to that assertion. His attitude change doesn’t have to do with a decline in his abilities so much as growing up in the game. For most of his career he was Mr. Game Face, completely off-limits in the dugout between innings. Nobody dared to even look at him, let alone, talk to him. In recent interviews he’s said that he’s come to realize this high degree of intensity doesn’t help his game or his team, and that his focus on the mound isn’t compromised by being more relaxed. So he is. Kerhaw could write a book about baseball, and I hope he does some day.
Ah nepotism will never die. I am not passing judgment on the younger Schuerholz’s ability, but I have zero doubt that he had an easier road than a person of similar ability with a different name.
Ivy League graduates gain access to better networks and get more opportunities. It’s just the way it is.
Let’s go Red!
Has nothing to do with where he went to college. He could have gone to Georgia Tech or Podunk U and still gotten the same opportunity in the front office simply because of his last name.
He went to Auburn. Guy has been around baseball his entire life, played it professionally and spent time scouting. Could have been partially because of his last name, but he put in the work. You are passing judgement on his ability. Also ironic that he was interviewing for an organization that has the business operations run by Jared Crane (owners son) and Reid Ryan (guess his connection to Astros).
“I am not passing judgment on the younger Schuerholz’s ability”
Yes, you are.
Players kids get to grow up in the club house and when they are older they already have connections to many organizations. A team seeing two players with the same abilities will choose the one they have known all of their life. A kids dad is exposed to all the different aspects of scouting/ development/ management/ playing and is known by many organizations—they will have a leg up. If you could do that for your children you probably would. Maybe you wouldn’t because it’s not ‘fair.’ Good luck.
Nepo babies in MLB too? Gadzooks!
Thought the Mets note was going to be that they signed first baseman Dariel Gomez to a minor league deal. Source – Alex Smith SNY
Who’s Dariel Gomez and why should we care?
Let me help you out. letmegooglethat.com/?q=Dariel+Gomez+1b
And why should we care?
I don’t think anyone is losing sleep not knowing the Mets signed an org-filler.
Lol. Mets rotation will be luchessi Peterson megill Elieser Hernandez and Jose butto by June. Put it in the books!
I can’t care for you too. You are going to have to do that like a big boy. 🙂
It was a rhetorical question, Einstein. Look up what that means and learn something.
No.You look it up yourself. I’m tired of taking care of you. All I hear from you is “I don’t know this player, I can’t navigate the internet to look. Help.” or “I don’t know why my multiple personalities should care (you did refer to yourself as we).” You are like an infant asking questions. At least put “Dad???” in whiny voice quotes before asking.
I am just messing with you and apologize. Have a nice night. 🙂
Vargas will be better than folks think playing 2B. He spent time this winter training at Dodger Stadium. Besides, the greatest infield in Dodger history had two converted outfielders playing 2B & SS and a converted 3B playing 1B. They did pretty well.
Great point. He is an athlete, by the way
Guys that were ticketed for 3B or 1B already coming out of the minors are typically not the athletes on your team. Vargas was a bad defensive 3B in the minors. What he did do well was hit.
A lot of players work out/train in the offseason, and work on fundamentals during the season. It doesn’t mean that they will improve. If that were true you would see a lot more improvement from all players on defense, hitting, etc.
Vargas had some pretty bad defensive numbers in the minors, mostly at 3B. That’s why when he is asked about his best position he always says batter’s box. To me you’re better off hiding a bad defensive player in LF than 2B but as he’s more familiar taking grounders they moved him to 2B..
WampumWalloper;
I don’t think that the Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Cey infield was the best in Dodger history In fact, far from it.
Garvey had little range but was very good picking errant throws out of the dirt…which he got a lot of. Lopes was a poor 2B, and refused to move to CF when LaSorda / Campanis asked him to. Russell was stiff as a SS, the best that can be said is that he was passable. Cey was an adequate 3B. That infield was an adventure to watch.
–
The one thing that can be said is that playing the infield at Dodger Stadium at that time – in the words of players on all teams – was like playing on concrete. The sun baked the infield and the lack of rain during draughts caused major problems. At some point in the 80’s the Dodgers FO asked the schedule makers to send them on long road trips around July. While they were gone the groundskeepers dug up the infield, dropped dirt and nutrients in, then topsoil, and watered it heavily for the rest of the year. Don’t know if they still do that. As an aside I knew people in the high desert area – Sylmar etc. – that had to put in new sod 3 times in 4 years.
To me Vargas looks a little bit like Pedro Guerrero (not physical appearance) in that he was a bat first prospect who struggled playing the field in the minors. The Dodgers played him all over the place to get his bat in the lineup, including 3B, where he really struggled. Eventually he moved to 1B and LF. I remember Guerrero saying that moving out of 3B was a big mental relief that helped him perform better at the plate too since he didn’t have to stress so much about a position where he struggled so much. 1B and LF are ideal positions to hide a player. Freeman has 1B, so I’d think LF is a better fit for Vargas.
The lineup has to be decent with Mookie, Freeman, Will Smith, JD Martinez, Muncy and Lux. Defense…….eeeek
It’s the bottom three in the lineup that you worry about. They could potentially rake but all three could potentially be really bad. Lux also needs to build from 2022 and provide more power in 2023.
And yes the defense overall is going to be really bad. Outside of Betts and Freeman, the rest of the team is average to really bad, or unproven. The bats and pitching will have to compensate for the bad defense.
Vargas is a big body (6’ 3”) for 2nd base but if he’s as athletic as they say he is, it could end up working out fine for them. One thing for sure is that Vargas should be able to hit much better than he did in MLB last season (a very short look at that). Vargas is an excellent hitter for sure.
I haven’t heard of his athleticism but I hope that is the case. The range will probably be below average but I hope that he doesn’t self destruct there. If he can just make the plays the he gets to and minimizes errors he should be fine. If they keep sending him out there it must mean that he’s somewhat having success at the plate, or else there is really no reason to have him out there. A tall Jeff Kent I remember played 2B for most of his career. Never the best fielding 2B, but he was adequate and of course his bat was more than adequate.
If he was athletic, he would have been a great 3B. He was absolutely awful in the minors. What Vargas does is hit. He could hit in his sleep I think. Eventually his position will be DH.
I can’t see any way LAD regresses big-time this year. Lots of talent lost. Yeah their rotation is good, but its a shocker that lineup from last year won them 80 games, much less 110+. Mookie and Freeman are great, and guys like Smith, Vargas, and JD should be good. The rest? Not expecting much of anything.
I can’t see any way LAD regresses big-time either. A lineup anchored by Betts, Freeman and Smith, supported by Muncy, Martinez, an improved Lux, and Vargas is deep 1 thru 7. If the team gets any kind of production from Taylor, Thompson, Outman they could be one of the deepest lineups in baseball.
Just like last season when they were the highest scoring team in baseball, with the highest OBP, 2nd highest SLG% and highest OPS in the sport. Not sure why it was a shocker to you that last seasons lineup helped the team win 111 games. That’s kind of what the #1 offenses in the sport do…
I’m lost. Muncy would be much better at 2nd as the double play flip the ball to first guy after the typically good athletic move from a typically tall SS. Now we have like the shortest SS, Muncy with limited range at the hot corner when most of the league bats right and pulls left, and our new minor league hometown story guy who is a 3rd baseman but he’s gonna have to stand in the middle or shallow right center and make the athletic moves and plays that the two lumberjacks on the corners and the short shortstop are gonna negative WAR into passed balls, baserunners, and losses.
Give me back Kike, Corey, and Justin. They’re all better than Miguel Vargas trying to play 2nd base because Trevor Bauer forced the Dodgers to sit on their hands on top of their pocketbooks.
We’re the Dodgers. We don’t rebuild. We just….slip out of contention for awhile and then come back when the money’s back.
“limited range” is a funny way to say “perennially out of shape”
It wasn’t a funny way, it was a nice way. Big difference.
I think he meant “funny” as in “strange,” “curious,” “indirect,” etc. That was my take.
Perhaps but he finished it with a direct jab at his weight, so.
I can understand your reasoning and I can understand why moving Vargas to 2B is better. Flat out he’ll commit more errors at 3B over the course of a season because 3B always has a much lower fielding percentage than 2B. On the other hand I agree that Muncy at 2B and Vargas at 3B makes more sense. Seems like the Dodgers are just trying to minimize total number of errors/potential mental strain for Vargas. Best plan though is to put Vargas in LF and move Taylor to the infield. You may see some of this but I wonder if the Dodgers are losing some confidence in Taylor as a starter. Ideally he’s better off as a bench play all over the field guy.
No way the Dodgers were going to sign/keep Seager to that kind of contract and he’s flat out not worth it. Kike is fine but he’s always best as a super bench player, not starter. And Justin’s production will continue to go down, although Fenway may be a better match. At this point he’s just a DH and Martinez can equal if not better Justin’s numbers.
Every team has to reset at some point, even big market teams with higher budgets. What the Dodgers need now more than ever are for the young guys to go from potential to reality. That is the best way to get much better production than what you’re paying them. That and reclamation projects. You can only sign a handful of big time expensive free agents before it starts to really impact the payroll and getting under the CBT.
Looking forward to this season of Dodger baseball to see what we have under the hood, so to speak. The kids will be up to support the superstars. Time for Lux, Vargas, Busch the arms in waiting to step up and contribute. Not every top free agent needs to be signed for the Dodgers to be an elite team. It’s been a hell of a ride for the Dodgers this last decade plus. I’ll take a “down” year of 90+ wins once in awhile.
I try to keep faithful, but all of the Dodger hate in the comments here is hard to sift through sometimes. I was 3 and 35 years old for our trophies. Thanks to the coast swap Yankee hate we’ve been getting for years, I now kinda feel that the 2020 ring just doesn’t count. However, if I’m a player and a true fan (which I am) then I know that everyone put in the same amount of offseason work to achieve the goal of a ring that year, and everyone got to play those 60 games. Then we have back to back 100 win seasons so, flukes are for fakes. The Dodgers aren’t fakes. Winning 3 trophies damn near successively and then tanking as an organization, that’s another story.
Interesting that you don’t like the Dodger “hate” but yet say that it feels like the 2020 ring didn’t count, the true haters are the ones that argue that.
I think a lot of us are just being realistic in that you always knew at some point that the Dodgers could slide out of playoff contention. I’m not going to necessarily say definitively that it will be this season because there are so many moving parts and factors, but it’s lined up to potentially being this season. Haven’t felt like that in many years. Nothing fake about past accomplishments. What the Dodgers have done in the past 10 years or so is very impressive. To sustain that type of level year in and year out for that long.
I live Arizona, Dodgers are always on. I’m from Chicago, one of the few White Sox fans from Chicago.Dodgers are so good it’s ridiculous, my son gives me White Sox news, they’re no where as good as the Dodgers, largest payroll, best farm system, they’ll be fine
Fifth largest payroll as of now. The Dodgers are over $100m behind the Mets in 2023 and three other teams are also spending more.