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David Price Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Dodgers left-hander David Price announced that he will not play during the 2020 season via a post on his Instagram page, as first reported by Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. Price becomes the highest-profile player to opt out of this year’s campaign, joining the likes of Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman, with others likely yet to come.

The Dodgers acquired Price, 34, in the February blockbuster trade that also sent Mookie Betts to Los Angeles. He was set to embark on his first year in Los Angeles after a stint with the Red Sox that included a memorable postseason run culminating in a World Series title. However, with Price choosing not to play this year, the trade certainly looks a bit bleaker from the Dodgers’ point of view. Whereas the team thought it would get at least a whole year with Betts in the lineup and Price in the rotation, it’s looking increasingly likely that the pair will not play a game together in Los Angeles, with Betts set to reach free agency at season’s end.

By choosing not to play this year, Price will forfeit his prorated 2020 salary, which would have been roughly $11.9MM for a 60-game season. He will remain under contract with the Dodgers for two more years, valued at $64MM total. It’s worth mentioning that, with the Red Sox agreeing to shoulder half of Price’s $32MM salary for this year, Boston will also save nearly $6MM this season.

From a baseball perspective, Price’s absence will certainly be detrimental to the Dodgers’ title aspirations in 2020. With no Price in the rotation, expect to see Ross Stripling or Dustin May bumped into a regular starting role. The Dodgers have enviable depth in their starting pitching core, so they’re uniquely well-positioned to work around decisions like Price’s: Between Stripling, May, and Tony Gonsolin, the Dodgers have a host of young starters who can share the load in the rotation.

In the statement Price posted to social media, he says that he’s “decided it is in the best interest of my heath and my family’s health for me to not play this season.” His concerns are no doubt shared by plenty of players across baseball, with the Angels’ Mike Trout expressing a similar sentiment yesterday. We’ll see just how many players choose to forego the season out of concern over the coronavirus, but it’s almost certain the Price won’t be the last big name to do so.

The Dodgers, for their part, had the following to say regarding Price’s decision:

The Dodgers fully support David’s decision to sit out the 2020 season. We have been in constant contact with David and we understand how much this deliberation weighed on him and his family. We know he’ll be rooting hard for the club every day and look forward to having him back with us in 2021.

NL Notes: Camp Delays, Dodgers, Cardinals, Gallegos, Health Updates, Senzel, Hamels

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Expect delayed arrivals to camp to become somewhat of a recurring story early in training camp as players attempt to clear the many hurdles to return to play. The Dodgers, for instance, will be missing a few players at the start of camp, though manager Dave Roberts wasn’t able to name specific players, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Likewise, the Cardinals will be missing reliever Giovanny Gallegos, who is delayed in his return from Mexico, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The Cardinals have not given a specific reason for his delay, per The Athletic’s Mark Saxon. Rather than speculate on reasons for the holdup, let’s check in on some health updates from around the league…

  • Nick Senzel’s had a banged-up rookie season, appearing in 104 games with a .256/.315/.427 slash – but he’s ready to go for his sophomore campaign. His first season ended early when a torn labrum required Senzel to get shoulder surgery. That injury is fully recovered now, but only just now, as Senzel reported having throwing pain as recently as a month ago, per Bobby Nightengale of The Enquirer. Senzel may not have a steady defensive home when play begins, but he figures to be an everyday presence in the Reds’ lineup regardless, especially with the DH now in play.
  • Cole Hamels was never going to get a full Spring Training, not once a shoulder injury took him out of commission for a few months. The 36-year-old knows that the four-week leadup to the newly-rebooted 2020 season isn’t exactly the same, not at his age, but he plans to be ready to contribute, per Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Said Hamels: “It’s not as if I’m going to go out there expecting to pitch seven to nine innings. There’s going to be a gradual buildup process, and there’s going to be guys who will be able to piggyback on you, like in a high school or a college season. All that really matters is putting up zeroes. If you can put up two or put up five zeroes, that’s really helping the team, more so than (other pitchers) having to pick up and try to eat a lot of innings.” 

2020 Amateur Draft Signings: 7/3/20

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Here are the latest draft deals …

  • The Dodgers have agreed to a $1,622,500 bonus with third-rounder Jake Vogel, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. That’s over a million north of the slot value of the 100th overall pick, so clearly the high-school outfielder represented a draft priority for his home-state club. Vogel had been ticketed for UCLA. Keith Law of The Athletic was most bullish on his outlook, rating him the 77th overall prospect. Law emphasized Vogel’s speed, defense, and quality hitting outlook while noting that he’ll likely always be limited by a lack of power.
  • Likewise, the Indians struck a big deal with a California outfielder plucked in the third round. Petey Halpin inked for $1.525MM, well north of the $610,800 pool allocation. He had been slated to play at the University of Texas. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs placed Halpin as the 59th-best prospect in the draft class while Law ranked him 50th. While there’s obviously a good deal of talent, it seems scouts are still a bit unsure exactly how Halpin will develop in the long run. Law calls him a “high school outfielder who might move to a corner but doesn’t have clear corner-outfielder power.”
  • A true two-way prospect, second-round draft choice Casey Schmitt has agreed to a $1,147,500 bonus with the Giants, Callis reports on Twitter. The San Diego State product is said to have possible routes to the majors as a power-hitting third baseman and/or solid relief arm. Baseball America ranked him 76th overall on its board. Also landing with the Giants is supplemental second-rounder Nick Swiney. Callis tweets that he’s set to earn $1.2MM ($976,700 slot value). Law was the high man by Swiney by a fair sight, grading him the 22nd overall talent in the draft pool. It’s all a question whether you believe in the strides Swiney showed before the 2020 collegiate campaign was cut short.

MLB Cancels 2020 All-Star Game; Dodgers To Host In 2022

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Major League Baseball announced this morning that the 2020 All-Star Game, which the Dodgers were slated to host, has been canceled. The Dodgers will now host the 2022 All-Star Game, as the Braves are already lined up to host next year’s Midsummer Classic.

“Once it became clear we were unable to hold this year’s All-Star festivities, we wanted to award the Dodgers with the next available All-Star Game, which is 2022,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in today’s press release announcing the news. “I want to thank the Dodgers organization and the City of Los Angeles for being collaborative partners in the early stages of All-Star preparation and for being patient and understanding in navigating the uncertainty created by the pandemic.  The 2022 All-Star celebration promises to be a memorable one with events throughout the city and at picturesque Dodger Stadium.”

The Dodgers haven’t hosted an All-Star Game since way back in 1980, so the cancellation is surely a tough pill to swallow for the club. Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the unlikelihood of mass gatherings and capacity stadiums anywhere on the horizon, however, today’s news was surely not a surprise. The Dodgers will instead extend a four-decade wait by another two years.

“As excited as we were to host this year’s All-Star Game, we know that it will be worth the wait and that Dodger Stadium and Los Angeles will host a world-class event in 2022,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in today’s release. “We’d like to thank Commissioner Rob Manfred for re-awarding All-Star Week to Los Angeles so quickly, as well as Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilmember Gil Cedillo for their continued support of this premier sporting event, which will have lasting benefits for our community.”

Dodgers To Sign AJ Ramos

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The Dodgers have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty AJ Ramos, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Ramos will join the club’s 60-man player pool.

This is great news for Ramos, who hasn’t pitched competitively in quite some time. He has been sidelined by serious shoulder issues since a disappointing half-season with the Mets in 2018.

It emerged only recently that Ramos was on the comeback trail. Once the Dodgers got a look at his form and related pitch tracking info, they obviously decided to jump right on the opportunity.

Now 33 years of age, Ramos looked to have regained his fastball velocity in his recent workout. But he’ll still certainly have a lot to prove once he arrives to Dodgers camp.

Ramos was long a quality late-inning arm for the Marlins, spinning 327 1/3 innings of 2.78 ERA ball over parts of six seasons. He recorded 92 saves over that span before being shipped to the Mets in an off-beat swap between non-contending teams in the summer of 2017.

Dodgers To Pay Minor Leaguers Through August

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Dodgers Sign 2nd-Rounder Landon Knack

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The Dodgers have signed second-round right-hander Landon Knack for $715K, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. It’s an under-slot deal for the 60th overall pick – whose selection carried a recommended value of $1,157,400 – but may be a record bonus for a fifth-year college senior, Callis notes.

The 22-year-old Knack was previously at East Tennessee State, where he logged a 2.29 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 122 innings from 2018-19. Despite the dominant numbers he posted in school, Knack did not rank among the top 100 draft prospects available at MLB.com, Baseball America, ESPN.com, FanGraphs or The Athletic. BA, which placed Knack at No. 113, writes that he possesses a high-90s fastball but only “fringy” offspeed offerings.

Although he’s just a couple weeks removed from coming off the draft board, it’s possible Knack will make his major league debut sometime this year. At the very least, there’s a good chance Knack will end up in the Dodgers’ 60-player pool, Callis suggests.

Dodgers Announce Initial 60-Man Player Pool

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Today marks the deadline for teams to submit to Major League Baseball their initial spring training player pools, which can comprise up to 60 players. Players are not eligible to participate in either a spring training or regular season game until they are included in the pool. Teams are free to change the makeup of the pools as they see fit. However, players removed from a team’s 60-man (for reasons unrelated to injury, suspension, etc.) must be exposed to other organizations via trade or waivers.

Not all players within a team’s pool are ticketed for MLB playing time, of course. Most teams will include well-regarded but still far-off prospects as a means of getting them training reps with no intention of running them onto a major league diamond this season. A comprehensive review of 2020’s unique set of rules can be found here.

The Dodgers’ initial player pool consists of the following players.

Right-handed pitchers

Left-handed pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

MLB Suspends Four Minor League Players

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MLB announced today that it has suspended four minor league players in violation of the league’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

  • Reds right-handed pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The 24-year-old Gutierrez played all of the 2019 season at Triple-A, starting 27 games and notching a 6.04 ERA while striking out 117 batters in 137 innings. Gutierrez received a $4.75MM signing bonus from Cincinnati after defecting from Cuba during the 2016-2017 offseason.
  • Two Dodgers pitchers have also been suspended: Juan Idrogo and Reza Aleaziz have received suspensions of 72 games and 50 games, respectively. Idrogo signed with the Dodgers during last summer’s international signing period, spending the summer in the Dominican Summer League. Aleaziz, 24, reached High-A ball last year after the Dodgers made him a 28th-round selection in 2018.
  • Twins infielder Jose Rosario will also receive a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse. Rosario, 18, played last year, his pro debut, with the Twins affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. He posted a stellar .422 OBP in his first foray in affiliated ball.

The Most Stacked Lineup Of The Millennium Missed The Playoffs

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With MVPs Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts sharing a lineup with thumpers like Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Corey Seager, the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup is stacked. That’s five players who have proved capable of posting 5-6 WAR seasons. We can even include A.J. Pollock in that group (6.8 fWAR in 2015) if we’re being generous – though it would open some eyes to see Pollack produce at that level again (even for a 60-game span). The ceiling hasn’t been set on youngsters like Will Smith and Gavin Lux, who could very well enter that elite territory with a best-case development future. There’s no denying that the Dodgers have a loaded lineup – but has there been a more MVP-loaded lineup in recent history?

The most stacked lineup of the last twenty years belongs to an 85-win, 3rd place St. Louis Cardinals team from 2003. “Most-stacked,” of course, isn’t exactly an official metric, so let me define it. Fangraphs explains fWAR in their glossary by classifying a “good player” as worth 3-4 fWAR, an “All-Star” to be worth 4-5 fWAR, and a “superstar” as worth 5-6 fWAR. But for the “most-stacked” lineup, we want the cream of the crop. Fangraphs classifies MVPs as those worth 6+ fWAR in a given season, so I went looking for the lineup with the most “MVPs”, and I found the unequivocal champ with the 2003 St. Louis Cardinals.

Not only did the Cardinals carry four MVP-caliber bats that season, but they’re the only team since 2000 to accomplish that feat. There have been four other teams since 2000 with three bats in the lineup worth 6+ fWAR (2004 Orioles, 2003 Braves, 2004 Cardinals, 2011 Red Sox) – but only Tony La Russa’s Cardinals fielded a quartet of such players.

Albert Pujols (9.5 fWAR), Jim Edmonds (6.3 fWAR), Edgar Renteria (6.3 fWAR), and Scott Rolen (6.2 fWAR) each put up an “MVP-like” seasons in 2003. The 23-year-old Pujols would have been a shoo-in to snag the actual NL MVP, but that was the era of supernova Barry Bonds, who won his third of four consecutive MVPs (10.2 fWAR) that season. 

The Cardinals finished 5th in the majors in runs scored with 876, second in total fWAR on offense, fourth in wRC+. J.D. Drew, Tino Martinez, and Bo Hart were productive members of the lineup, So Taguchi gave them 59 plate appearances with a 109 wRC+, and Eduardo Perez (122 wRC+) was a successful power bat off the bench. Only at catcher did they really struggle offensively, where Mike Matheny hit .252/.320/.356 to total 0.4 fWAR while starting 121 games behind the dish. In short, the offense did its part. 

Unfortunately, the entirety of the Cardinals pitching staff mustered just 7.3 fWAR. They finished 19th in ERA, 22nd in FIP, and 26th in home runs per nine innings. The bullpen was a particular disaster, finishing the season dead last in the majors with -1.8 fWAR. The rotation boasted legitimate arms in Woody Williams, Matt Morris, and less so, Brett Tomko. Dan Haren made an okay major league debut with 14 starts and a 5.08 ERA/4.57 FIP. 

That said, they could have done without the 55 starts from Garrett Stephenson, in what would be his last dash as an MLB hurler, Sterling Hitchcock in his second-to-last season, 40-year-old Jeff Fassero, and Jason Simontacchi, who was coming off a surprisingly decent rookie season at age-28. 

Giving 34 percent of their starts to suboptimal contributors didn’t pave the runway for the bullpen to take flight, but the relief crew struggled all their own. In particular, the main culprits were (again) Fassero (56 games, 6.52 ERA/6.13 FIP), Dustin Hermanson (23 games, 5.46 ERA/5.49 FIP), Russ Springer (17 games, 8.31 ERA/8.97 FIP), and Esteban Yan (39 games, 6.02 ERA/5.59 FIP). It didn’t help that injuries limited closer Jason Isringhausen to 40 games and 22 saves. He would otherwise anchor the Cardinals’ bullpens of that era. 

The 2003 Cardinals paint a picture of the difficulties in team-building. Four monster seasons making up half their everyday lineup, and still the Cardinals only managed to eke out a third-place finish. They underperformed their Pythagorean record, but only by three wins. The Cubs won the division with exactly 88 wins, overperforming their Pythagorean record by – you guessed it – three wins.

Things can go right – so right – in any given season, and it still might not be enough to counterbalance what goes wrong. That’s not to say that the 2020 Dodgers are in trouble – but their spot in the postseason is hardly assured. The ’03 Cardinals had the most MVP-level bats of any team in the past 20 years, and yet it was only enough for 85 wins. The margin for error will only be smaller in a short season.

Of course, here’s the other funny little part of baseball. Pujols/Rolen/Edmonds/Renteria couldn’t power their way to the postseason in 2003, but the foundation in St. Louis was solid. They did reach the postseason in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006. La Russa’s Cardinals capped off the run with a World Series title. That season, they finished with 83 wins, one less than the “disappointment” their stacked lineup produced in 2003.

So the most-stacked lineup of the millennium missed the playoffs, and the “worst” division winner of the millennium won the World Series. If that’s not a good primer for the chaos to come in a short season, I don’t know what is. 

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