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Shohei Ohtani Reads Statement In Relation To Former Interpreter

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Star two-way player Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers read a statement today in relation to Ippei Mizuhara, his former interpreter and friend. Mizuhara was fired last week amid his involvement with an illegal sports gambling operation.

Ohtani read the statement in Japanese, which was translated into English by Will Ireton, for a period of about 12 minutes. Video of the full thing was relayed by Talkin’ Baseball on X. Chad Jennings of The Athletic transcribed all of Ohtani’s comments, as translated into English by Ireton.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was among those to relay a few days ago that Ireton would be serving as a translator for Ohtani in the wake of Mizuhara’s departure. Ireton served as Kenta Maeda’s translator when he was with the Dodgers and Ireton stayed an employee of the club after Maeda was traded to the Twins in 2020.

Reporting last week highlighted that over $4.5MM had been wired from an account in Ohtani’s name to the gambling ring. Mizuhara said that he racked up that debt by betting on sports other than baseball, then Ohtani wired the money to help him pay it off. Later, Ohtani’s attorneys contradicted the story, saying that Ohtani “had been the victim of a massive theft.” Ohtani’s version of events that he relayed today aligned with the theft story, accusing Mizuhara of using his account to wire the money and then lying about it.

Ohtani said that he was “saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this.” Ohtani stated that he has never bet on baseball or any other sports and has never gone through a bookmaker to bet on sports. “Up until a couple days ago, I didn’t know this was happening.” He also flatly denied the original version of events, wherein he supposedly sent the money to help his friend Mizuhara. “Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”

The Dodgers were in Korea last week to play the Padres as part of the Seoul Series as the initial reporting on the story was coming to light. Ohtani stated today that the media in Korea inquired about the story but Ippei never told him about the media inquiry. Ippei then told the media and Ohtani’s representatives the version of events that involved Ohtani paying off the debt. “All of this has been a complete lie,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani says he first found out about Mizuhara’s gambling after the first game of the Seoul Series, when there was a team meeting in the clubhouse. “During the team meeting, obviously, Ippei was speaking English and I didn’t have a translator on my side. But even with that, I kind of understood what was going on and started to feel that there was something amiss.” Ohtani then states that he did not know until that meeting about Mizuhara’s gambling addiction or his debt. “Obviously, I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.”

Ohtani then states that he and Mizuhara met one-on-one in a hotel room after the team meeting. “Ippei admitted that he was sending money, using my account, to the bookmaker.” Ohtani states he contacted his representatives at that point. “When I was finally able to talk to my representatives, that’s when my representatives found out that Ippei has been lying the whole time and that’s when I started contacting the Dodgers and my lawyers.” Ohtani states that his representatives and the Dodgers found out at that point that they were being lied to.

“My lawyers recommended that, since this is theft and fraud, that we have the proper authorities handle this matter.” He concluded by saying that “The season’s going to start so I’m obviously going to let my lawyers handle matters from here on out and I am completely assisting in all investigations that are taking place right now. I’m looking forward to focusing on the season. I’m glad that we had this opportunity to talk and I’m sure there will be continuing investigations moving forward. Thank you very much.”

On Friday, MLB announced that it its department of investigations formally began the process of investigating the matter. This is a developing story that will be updated as more information comes to light.

Dodgers Outright Andre Lipcius

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Infielder Andre Lipcius has been outrighted by the Dodgers to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment last week. He will remain in the Dodgers organization as non-roster depth.

Lipcius, 26 in May, only joined the Dodgers three weeks ago via a cash deal. He was drafted by the Tigers and had been in their system until getting designated for assignment when the club claimed Buddy Kennedy last month, which led to the trade to the Dodgers.

He has largely served as a hit-over-power guy who can bounce around to multiple positions. Over the past three years, he has stepped to the plate 1,487 times in the minors, hitting just 36 home runs but drawing walks at a 13% clip and only striking out 17.9% of the time. His .264/.360/.419 batting line in that time translates to a wRC+ of 110, indicating he’s been 10% better than league average. He did that while playing the three non-shortstop infield positions and the outfield corners. He also made it to the majors, though only in cup-of-coffee fashion. He took 38 plate appearances over 13 games with the Tigers last year, hitting .286/.342/.400 in that time.

He was squeezed off the roster in Detroit and now in Los Angeles as well. Most clubs around the league are dealing with roster crunches at the end of spring and none of them put in a claim on Lipcius. Players with at least three years of service time or a previous career outright can reject a further outright assignment in favor of free agency. But Lipcius has just a few weeks of service time and this is his first outright, so he won’t qualify, meaning he has no choice but to report to Oklahoma City and try to work his way back to the majors from there.

MLB Opens Investigation Into Allegations Involving Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara

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Major League Baseball issued a statement today, which reads as follows: “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhari [sic] from the news media. Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter.”

Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and friend, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday. Reports had emerged which connected Mizuhara to an illegal gambling operation in California, where sports betting is not legal. Per those reports, over $4.5MM was wired from an account in Ohtani’s name to the gambling ring. Mizuhara and a spokesperson for Ohtani initially told ESPN that the debts were Mizuhara’s and Ohtani sent the money to help his friend pay them off. But attorneys representing Ohtani later claimed that the player had been “the victim of a massive theft.”

The league opening an investigation was inevitable. Even if Mizuhara was the only one involved, there would be serious grounds for concern. All MLB players and employees are prohibited from betting on baseball, given their access to information that may not be public. They can bet on sports other than baseball and Mizuhara insists that he never did bet on baseball, but the connection to an illegal operation under federal investigation makes it a different matter.

The fact that the sport’s biggest star is involved only gives the league further grounds to look into it. To this point, there’s been nothing to suggest that Ohtani himself did any betting. Per the initial reporting from earlier this week, multiple sources asserted that Ohtani does not gamble. But multiple wire transfers in his name to an illegal operation under federal investigation was clearly going to be grounds for the league to take a look. As recently pointed out by Craig Calcaterra at Cup of Coffee, Ohtani may have violated federal laws and/or league rules just by wiring the money, even if he did no gambling whatsoever.

Per T.J. Quinn of ESPN, the league is expected to request interviews with all parties, including both Ohtani and Mizuhara, though “officials will have no way to compel Mizuhara’s cooperation since he no longer works for baseball.” Quinn adds that Ohtani will have a right to refuse as a member of the MLBPA.

In terms of organizations outside the league, Quinn adds that neither the California Bureau of Investigation nor the FBI are investigating. Stephen Wade, Tong-Hyung Kim and Stefanie Dazio of The Associated Press reported earlier today that Mizuhara is being criminally investigated by the IRS.

Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Dodgers

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The Dodgers stole all the headlines this offseason, as they gave out multiple record-breaking deals, traded for an ace and did a bunch of other stuff as well.

Major League Signings

2024 spending: $162.9MM (counting Ohtani’s salary as the league-adjusted $46MM; doesn’t include posting fee for Yamamoto)
Total spending: $1.096 billion (adjusting Ohtani’s guarantee to present day value of $460MM makes this number $756.4MM)

Option Decisions

Trades And Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

The Dodgers have already been a powerhouse team for a long time, having won the National League West in 10 of the past 11 seasons. The one exception was 2021, when they won 106 games but somehow were one shy of a surprising 107-win Giants club.

But they still came into this winter hungry for improvements. That 11-year stretch of playoff appearances only led to one World Series title, which was in the shortened 2020 season. The 2023 season ended unpleasantly, despite the club winning 100 games and earning another division title. Their rotation was largely decimated by injuries as the season wore on and they were quickly swept by the Diamondbacks in the NLDS.

With the club looking to make a bold splash and this winter featuring one of the most anticipated free agents of all time, there were many who expected a pairing between the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani. In fact, it’s something that has been expected for even longer than that.

When Ohtani initially came over from Japan, the Dodgers weren’t a perfect fit since the National League did not yet have the designated hitter, which led Ohtani to pick the Angels. But the NL got the DH in 2022, which started a countdown for many people, just waiting for the two-way superstar’s free agency.

The Dodgers were obviously going to be interested but also made their intentions clear by deciding not to issue a qualifying offer to J.D. Martinez. Under normal circumstances, he would have warranted one, given his strong 33-homer campaign in 2023. But if he had accepted, it would have clogged up the designated hitter spot they wanted to put Ohtani into, so they didn’t risk it.

It probably shouldn’t have been surprising that a player as unique as Ohtani ended up having one of the most unique free agencies. From the outset, it was marked by a strange insistence on secrecy, to the point that clubs would reportedly hurt their chances of signing him if they acknowledged that they were trying to do so. Perhaps the most absurd example of this was when Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins missed the winter meetings and met with reporters via Zoom but wouldn’t tell them he was in Florida, showing Ohtani the club’s Dunedin complex.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seemed to break protocol when he admitted that he and his club had recently met with Ohtani. Given the cloak-and-dagger nature of the Ohtani free agency and the lack of real information, it seemed genuinely possible that this would actually have a negative impact on the club’s chances of getting the deal done. There was even more worry when there were reports that Ohtani was on a plane to sign with the Blue Jays, but those eventually proved to be inaccurate. The long-awaited Ohtani-Dodgers pairing finally got done with a massive 10-year, $700MM deal.

Or did it? The unicorn player with the bizarre free agency apparently couldn’t sign a normal contract. After news of the deal landed, reports quickly emerged that put the shocking numbers into more context. Despite the $700M price tag, there was some fine print.

Ohtani will actually only make $2MM in each season of the deal and then get $68MM annually, without interest, in the 10 years following the expiration of the deal. He will still get $700MM, but over 20 years instead of 10. Deferred money reduces the present day value of the deal to $46MM annually in the eyes of the league and $43.8MM from the perspective of the MLBPA. Even with those caveats, the approximate $460MM guarantee is still the largest in MLB history. Even the lower of the two AAV numbers puts Ohtani ahead of Max Scherzer for the largest of all-time.

This was perceived by many fans as a way for the club to “dodge” the luxury tax, but MLBTR founder Tim Dierkes argued otherwise at the time. The $46MM competitive balance tax hit the Dodgers will get for Ohtani was in line with most expectations coming into the winter. The $700MM number isn’t truly real, but it’s helpful for the agents to describe it that way.

Regardless of the optics, Ohtani reportedly suggested the structure to multiple teams. The Giants and Blue Jays were willing to pay it, just like the Dodgers, but the Angels were not. The appeal from the player’s perspective is obvious. The $2MM salary is obviously paltry by baseball standards but Ohtani won’t be starving as he has millions coming in via endorsements every year. By kicking his payments down the road, he can ensure the club has more resources to put a winning team around him. And the contract reportedly has language that makes sure they use their savings towards making the club as competitive as possible.

They certainly held up their end of the bargain with the remainder of this offseason. As mentioned, the club’s rotation was snakebit last year. Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin both had surgery last year and couldn’t be counted on to start 2024 healthy. Walker Buehler’s Tommy John was back in 2022 but he still missed all of 2023 and will be handled with care this year. Lance Lynn, Julio Urias and Clayton Kershaw all hit free agency after 2023, making starting pitching an obvious priority for the club.

Kershaw had hit free agency twice before and re-signed with the club but the Dodgers couldn’t rely on the same thing playing out this winter. Kershaw announced in early November that he had undergone shoulder surgery and wouldn’t be able to return until some point this summer. Ohtani wasn’t going to help either, as he underwent some kind of UCL surgery in September and will be limited to hitting only in 2024.

Despite already giving out a record-setting deal, the Dodgers seemed prepared for more, casting a wide net in their search for starting pitching. Throughout the winter, they were connected to high-profile free agents like Blake Snell and Aaron Nola, mid-range guys like Lucas Giolito and Seth Lugo, as well as trade candidates like Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes and Jesús Luzardo.

Their first big rotation strike came via the trade market, as the Dodgers were able to land Tyler Glasnow from the Rays. With Tampa looking to cut payroll, the Dodgers took on both Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot, sending younger players Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca the other way.

Glasnow has struggled to stay healthy in his career but has pitched at an ace level when healthy. He overcame a lengthy Tommy John absence in 2023, setting a new career high with 120 major league innings, putting up a 3.53 earned run average in the process. The Dodgers were clearly not scared by the past health issues, as the deal they made with the Rays was conditional on getting an extension done with Glasnow, which they eventually did. The combination of this year’s salary and the four they added on means they are committed to him for five years and $136.5MM.

But they weren’t done there. The market around Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto seemed to get hotter and hotter as the winter nights grew darker. That was a testament not only to his incredible skills but also his age. It’s hard to find an ace in free agency but it’s almost unheard of to get a 25-year-old ace. He comes with no experience in the big leagues but a 1.82 ERA over his seven NPB seasons and little doubt about his ability to handle the show (rough debut notwithstanding).

Due to that rarity, multiple clubs were willing to go over the $300MM mark to land Yamamoto, but the Dodgers ultimately sealed it with a 12-year, $325MM deal. But since Yamamoto had been subject to the posting system, the Dodgers will also have to pay a fee to the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball. Such fees are calculated as a percentage of the deal, so a massive deal means massive fees. This contract led to a $51MM posting fee for the Buffaloes, meaning the Dodgers were effectively paying $376MM to get Yamamoto. Factoring in the club’s luxury tax status means the outlay is even higher. Even before that posting fee, it was the largest guarantee ever given to a pitcher not named Ohtani.

They had one more move to remake their rotation, but it was far more modest than the Glasnow or Yamamoto acquisitions. They signed lefty James Paxton to a one-year deal. It was initially reported an an $11MM guarantee but was later changed to $7MM with incentives. The Dodgers apparently adjusted it down after Paxton’s physical, though they didn’t find anything to scuttle it entirely. Paxton has been oft-injured in recent years, hardly pitching at all from 2020 to 2022, but was able to make 19 starts for the Red Sox last year.

On the position player side of things, the most surprising developments surrounded Mookie Betts. Having spent the vast majority of his career in right field, the Dodgers moved him to the middle infield last year. He came up as a second baseman and had dabbled at that position earlier in his major league career, but the club was evidently impressed enough to make him their everyday guy at the keystone coming into 2024. More on that later.

With Betts moving to the infield, there was room for additions in the outfield. Jason Heyward was re-signed to a one-year deal, but he was effectively replacing himself. He had a nice bounceback for the Dodgers in 2023, being limited to a strong-side platoon role. The Dodgers were frequently connected to Teoscar Hernandez and were able to get him to sign a one-year deal as well, adding yet another potent bat to their lineup.

With Hernandez and Heyward set to join an outfield mix with James Outman, Margot started to seem a bit unnecessary. He could platoon with Heyward but they also had Chris Taylor on hand for that. They eventually decided to send Margot to the Twins and use the $4MM they saved to sign Enrique Hernandez instead. He can also hit from the right side and play the outfield, but his ability to play the infield gave them a bit of extra cover for Betts and third baseman Max Muncy.

But the position player mix had one more twist to come in spring. The Dodgers planned on having Gavin Lux, who missed all of 2023 due to a knee injury, as their everyday shortstop. But he struggled with some consistency in his throws this spring, an issue he’s had in the past. The Dodgers quickly decided to flip Betts and Lux, a move that Roberts described as “permanent for now.”

This put the Dodgers in the wild position of having committed over a billion dollars this winter (kind of) but somehow ending up with a 31-year-old right fielder as their everyday shortstop. Betts briefly played the position last year, getting into 16 games. That’s already the most ever games at the position for a guy after winning multiple Gold Gloves in the outfield, per Sarah Langs of MLB, highlighting how unprecedented this experiment is.

Many fans grew tired of hearing about the Dodgers this winter, as the club was incredibly active while many others sat on their hands. But the fact is that they were doing so many interesting things that it was hard to look away. No one had ever given a free agent $500MM before, let alone $600MM or $700MM. It turns out the Dodgers didn’t really do any of those either, but the bizarre deferral structure of Ohtani’s deal was itself interesting and unprecedented. They gave the largest guarantee ever to a pitcher that isn’t a two-way player. And they gave it to a guy with no major league experience. They put their MVP candidate right fielder at shortstop.

They did all of that and more, adding multiple bats and arms to a club that has already been a dominant force for over a decade. After getting Ohtani and making all of these other moves, the expectations will be even higher from now on. For the next 10 years, the club has Ohtani on the roster and is only paying him $2MM per year, a pittance in this league. All the chips are on the table and anything short of a World Series in that time will be counted by many as a failure.

Ohtani’s Interpreter Fired; Accused Of Theft And Illegal Gambling

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On Wednesday evening, the Dodgers announced they’d fired Ippei Mizuhara, who was working as Shohei Ohtani’s personal interpreter. Mizuhara has been Ohtani’s friend and interpreter dating back to before his signing with the Angels in 2017.

Gustavo Arellano, Adam Elmahrek, Nathan Fenno and Paul Pringle of the Los Angeles Times first reported the news, which comes amidst a probe into an alleged illegal gambling operation in Southern California. Attorneys for Ohtani told the L.A. Times that the two-way star “had been the victim of a massive theft.” While that statement did not specify who had committed that alleged theft, the evident implication is that Mizuhara did so.

ESPN’s Tisha Thompson reported that upwards of $4.5MM had been wired from a bank account in Ohtani’s name to the alleged gambling ring. Sports gambling remains illegal in California. A spokesperson for Ohtani initially told ESPN that the two-time MVP had wired the money to pay off gambling debts which Mizuhara had accrued. The spokesperson later retracted that and pointed to the attorneys’ statement concerning theft.

Mizuhara and other sources told ESPN that Ohtani does not gamble and that the wire transfers covered losses which the interpreter had racked up. An attorney for Matthew Bowyer, the alleged bookmaker, said in a statement to ESPN that “Mr. Bowyer never met or spoke with Shohei Ohtani.” ESPN reports that Mizuhara had placed bets with Bowyer on various sports, not including baseball, going back to 2021.

On Tuesday, Mizuhara told ESPN that he’d asked Ohtani to pay off his gambling debts. “Obviously, he wasn’t happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again,” Mizuhara had said. “He decided to pay it off for me. I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.” Mizuhara had stated that he and Ohtani sent multiple wire transfers to the bookmaker in installments; ESPN observed two transfers at $500K apiece in Ohtani’s name.

Mizuhara disavowed those comments this afternoon, telling ESPN that Ohtani was unaware of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money. “Obviously, this is all my fault, everything I’ve done. I’m ready to face all the consequences,” he said on Wednesday. He reiterated that he did not place any bets on baseball.

Needless to say, MLB players and team employees are prohibited from placing bets on baseball. They are allowed to place bets on other sports, although that obviously only applies in jurisdictions where sports gambling is legal.

“The Dodgers are aware of media reports and are gathering information,” the club said in a statement. “The team can confirm that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara has been terminated. The team has no further comment at this time.” An MLB official told Andy McCullough, Fabian Ardaya, Britt Ghiroli and Sam Blum of the Athletic that Ohtani is not currently facing discipline. A league source tells ESPN that their next step is to “gather facts,” although it’s unclear if they’ll launch an official investigation.

Dodgers Place Four Pitchers On Injured List

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The Dodgers finalized their roster for the Seoul Series this evening. Los Angeles didn’t make any 40-man transactions but did place four pitchers on the 10-day injured list: Walker Buehler, Emmet Sheehan, Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen.

None of those is all that unexpected. The Dodgers announced early in camp that they’d start Buehler on the IL so as not to push him too quickly after missing last season working back from his second Tommy John procedure. The team announced Sheehan’s injury as forearm inflammation. That’s a little surprising at first glance, considering they’d previously said he was dealing with shoulder discomfort. Fortunately, Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic reports (on X) that this isn’t a new injury and Sheehan is throwing to hitters.

Graterol and Treinen were each banged up in spring. Graterol has been delayed by hip tightness and inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The Dodgers announced the latter injury as the reason for the IL placement. Treinen suffered a bruised lung when he was hit by a comebacker in a Spring Training game on March 9.

None of the injuries seem all that serious, as the Dodgers appear to be playing things cautiously with this series. The placements could afford an opportunity for righty Landon Knack to make his major league debut. He’ll get a spot in the season-opening bullpen after the Dodgers selected his contract over the winter.

Knack, 26, was a senior sign out of East Tennessee State in 2020. The former second-round pick has posted strong numbers in his minor league career. He turned in a 2.51 ERA over 22 starts between the top two minor league levels last season.

Of course, L.A.’s more anticipated first big league outing will come on Thursday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is tabbed to start the second game of the season opposite Joe Musgrove. It’ll be Yu Darvish and Tyler Glasnow kicking things off on Wednesday.

Dodgers Name Gavin Stone Fifth Starter

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Dodgers right-hander Gavin Stone told members of the media, including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, that manager Dave Roberts informed him he will break camp as the club’s fifth starter.

The rotation for the Dodgers has a lot of moving parts due to health and will likely be in flux throughout the year, but they entered Spring Training with four spots accounted for. Tyler Glasnow is a lock since he has been a borderline ace on a rate basis in recent years, though without the health to provide that production in a quantitative sense. But the Dodgers clearly believe in him, as they acquired him in a notable offseason trade and then quickly signed him to an extension that runs through 2028. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has yet to make his major league debut but parlayed his dominance in Japan into a 12-year, $325MM contract.

Bobby Miller has earned a spot after a solid showing last year, wherein he tossed 124 1/3 innings with a 3.76 ERA and solid peripherals to match. James Paxton will be there as well after he signed a one-year, $7MM pact in the offseason with incentives.

Walker Buehler could have been in line for the fifth spot but it seems he and the Dodgers have decided to slow play his season a bit. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 and almost returned late in 2023 but ended up not rushing and therefore sitting out the entire season. That puts him in the position of going into 2024 presumably healthy but likely with workload limitations. He threw 207 2/3 innings in 2021 but was limited to just 65 the year after before the surgery and then missed 2023. Rather than start him in the rotation and have to shut him down at some point, it seems he and the club are going to have him be a bit behind everyone else, increasing his odds of being around for a stretch run and the playoffs.

That left pitchers like Stone, Ryan Yarbrough, Michael Grove, Emmet Sheehan and others as options to take a spot behind Glasnow, Yamamoto, Miller and Paxton. Sheehan was taken out of the competition a couple of weeks ago when it was reported that he would begin the season on the injured list due to shoulder soreness.

In the end, Stone won the job thanks to some encouraging results last year and a strong performance in spring this year. He made his MLB debut in 2023 but allowed 31 earned runs in as many innings, though that’s a small sample size and also came in a fairly unstable fashion. He made four starts and four relief appearances around frequent optional assignments. He had a larger sample size of 100 2/3 innings at Triple-A, wherein he posted a 4.74 ERA. His 27.8% strikeout rate was quite strong and his 43.2% ground ball rate close to average, though his 10.7% walk rate a tad high.

Here in camp this year, he has tossed 9 2/3 innings of official action with a 0.93 ERA. He has punched out nine hitters while walking just one and allowing only one earned run. The Dodgers played an exhibition game against Team Korea today in preparation for their Seoul Series and Stone tossed 3 1/3 scoreless with eight punchouts, one walk and no hits.

He will slot into the back of the rotation for now, though the rotation will be constantly changing this year. Buehler will slot in somewhere whenever he is ramped up and ready to go. Sheehan could get back in there if he gets over his shoulder issue. Dustin May underwent flexor tendon and Tommy John revision surgery last summer and could rejoin the club at some point. Clayton Kershaw underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and is targeting a return in the summer. Tony Gonsolin is more of a long shot since he underwent Tommy John on September 1 of last year and will probably just be nearing readiness as the 2024 season is winding down.

On top of all that, new injuries are sure to crop up throughout the season as they always do. Taking all that together, there will probably be very little consistency in the rotation this year. But there is undoubtedly heaps of talent here and the club seems likely to be in good shape, regardless of who is actually taking the ball. For now, Stone has an opportunity and will look to make the most of it. If other pitchers return to health and he gets squeezed out at some point, he could move to a long relief role in the bullpen or be sent down to the minors, since he still has a couple of option years remaining.

Dodgers Notes: Lux, Hurt, Future Moves

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made waves earlier this month when he announced that superstar Mookie Betts would play shortstop this season. The former MVP and seven-time All-Star is entering his 11th big league campaign and has played only 31 games at shortstop throughout his professional career. It was surprising enough in December when Roberts revealed that Betts, a six-time Gold Glove winner in the outfield, would play second base in 2024.

However, while Betts dominated the headlines, this move arguably had more to do with his teammate, 26-year-old Gavin Lux. The Dodgers originally planned for Lux to be their starting shortstop, but he will now play second base instead. Although Lux was primarily a shortstop in the minor leagues, he has spent most of his major league career at second. He has handled the keystone well, earning 16 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and 8 Outs Above Average (OAA) in 1346 2/3 defensive innings.  As Lux prepares for a full-time role in 2024 (after missing the 2023 season with a torn ACL), the Dodgers decided it was in the young player’s best interests to keep him at second base for the time being.

When Roberts first spoke about the decision, he told reporters the new middle infield alignment was “permanent, for now” (per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). Those words are something of an oxymoron, so yesterday, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman offered a little more clarity on the situation. Speaking to Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation, Friedman said the team remains “confident” Lux can play shortstop in the future. They will re-evaluate his health and position as they “get into the offseason next year.” That certainly suggests Lux will play second base and Betts will handle shortstop for the full 2024 campaign, but nothing is set in stone for the following season and beyond. In 2025, Lux will be another year removed from major knee surgery, while Betts will be 32 years old, an age at which many players begin to move down the defensive spectrum.

More Dodgers news as the team prepares to open the 2024 season in South Korea…

  • According to Roberts, there is a “very good possibility” Kyle Hurt is in the Dodgers bullpen for the team’s opening series against the Padres at Gocheok Sky Dome (per Ardaya). Hurt, whom the team acquired from the Marlins in February 2021, has looked sharp so far this spring. The righty was selected to the 40-man roster last September and made one appearance for the big league squad, striking out three Padres batters in two scoreless innings of work. Nevertheless, he was optioned back to Triple-A the following day. As Ardaya notes, the Dodgers still see Hurt as a starting pitcher, but he has made appearances out of the bullpen in all three seasons of his professional career. He can offer the team a little extra bullpen depth early in the season before returning to the minor leagues to stretch back out as a starter. Hurt struck out five across 2 1/3 scoreless innings during an exhibition game against the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO on Saturday.
  • Speaking to McKain, Friedman would not say the Dodgers are done making moves. “We really feel good about this team,” the executive explained. “That being said, we’ll continue to explore avenues, and if there’s ways to get better, we won’t hesitate.” Perhaps this should be every team’s approach to roster building, but hearing this from the Dodgers president is still notable. L.A. has significantly outspent every other team this offseason, signing the most sought-after MLB free agent, Shohei Ohtani, and the most sought-after international free agent, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They also made a deal for one of the most talented players on the trade market, Tyler Glasnow, and inked him to a nine-figure extension. The Dodgers have won at least 100 games for three consecutive seasons, yet they arguably improved their roster more than any other team this winter.

Dodgers Select Daniel Hudson

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The Dodgers have announced to reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of Dodgers Nation) that the club has selected right-hander Daniel Hudson to their 40-man roster ahead of the Seoul Series, during which they’ll play a pair of regular season games against the Padres next week. The club has designated infielder Andre Lipcius for assignment and optioned infielder Miguel Vargas to make room for Hudson on the club’s 40-man and active rosters.

The move is hardly a surprise, as manager Dave Roberts announced earlier this month that Hudson would be in the club’s bullpen to open the season. Hudson had the opportunity to trigger an opt-out of his minor league deal with the club yesterday if not added to the club’s 40-man roster. It’s unclear if Hudson triggered the opt-out yesterday, though it ultimately will make no difference now that the club has added the right-hander to the roster.

The 37-year-old righty is now set to participate in his fifteenth major league season and has been among the more effective relief arms in the game in recent years, pitching to a 3.08 ERA (141 ERA+) and 3.73 FIP since the start of the 2019 season. That includes a sterling 1.98 ERA with L.A. over the past two seasons, although injuries have limited him to just 27 1/3 innings of work over that time. If the veteran hurler can stay healthy this season, he’ll likely be in the mix for high-leverage innings alongside the likes of Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol, and Ryan Brasier.

Hudson being added to the roster likely spells the end of Lipcius’s time with the Dodgers just weeks after he joined the organization in a cash deal with the Tigers. The 25-year-old infielder made his big league debut in Detroit last season, slashing a respectable .286/.342/.400 in 13 games while splitting time between third base and DH. In addition to those serviceable numbers in his first cup of coffee at the big league level, Lipcius hit a solid .272/.363/.419 in 98 games with the club’s Triple-A affiliate last year while splitting time between third and second base. The Dodgers will now have seven days to attempt to pass Lipcius through waivers or work out a trade. If Lipcius clears waivers, L.A. would have the opportunity to outright Lipcius to Triple-A, where he would act as non-roster depth entering the year.

Meanwhile, Hudson will take the active roster spot of Vargas. The 24-year-old was a consensus top-40 prospect entering last season and has slashed an incredible .298/.405/.500 in 173 games at the Triple-A level in his career, but struggled badly in 81 games at the big league level last year. In 303 trips to the plate in the big leagues, Vargas hit a paltry .195/.305/.367 with a wRC+ of 85 last season. Vargas is largely blocked at the big league level with Mookie Betts having moved to the infield full time alongside Gavin Lux and Max Muncy and the club’s recent signing of Enrique Hernandez to join Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas on the club’s bench.

MLBTR Podcast: Injured Pitchers, Brayan Bello’s Extension, Mookie At Shortstop And J.D. Davis

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Who had the worst offseason and why is it the Angels? (25:15)
  • Fact or Fiction? The Red Sox are going to trade Masataka Yoshida. (28:50)
  • Considering the amount of effort the Tigers front office has put into fielding a major league team in the past 10 years, should Tiger fans feel slighted? “They can wait” seems to be the attitude. Should Tiger fans just stop buying Little Caesars pizza and encourage their friends to buy their pizzas elsewhere? I am sure franchise owners enjoy being associated with a cheap loser. (31:20)

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