Scott Boras Sets Sights High For Hyun-jin Ryu Contract
This time last year, agent Scott Boras was waiting to see whether the Dodgers would issue southpaw Hyun-jin Ryu a qualifying offer at season’s end. The team did extend the offer, and Ryu accepted, betting that he’d be better off taking the big one-year payday and trying to turn in a big campaign in advance of a trip onto the open market.
That bet has paid off more handsomely than anyone expected, with Ryu turning in his best season as a big leaguer. Boras is understandably excited to market the starter at a high-point in value; the veteran agent tells Yonhap News that he’s angling for both a hefty salary and an extended length of contract. Is one more important than the other? “That’s like saying, with a car, do want the engine or the steering wheel?” says Boras. “You want both.”
Ryu couldn’t have scripted things better on the field in 2019. He was unbelievable for almost the entire year, outside of a few rough starts in late August. All told, Ryu spun 182 2/3 innings of 2.32 ERA ball with 8.0 K/9 against just 1.2 BB/9. Opposing hitters managed only an 85.3 mph average exit velocity and 30.8% hard-hit rate.
Now, Ryu will enter free agency on the heels of a fully healthy and productive season — and without the drag of draft compensation, since he cannot be issued a second qualifying offer. Boras says the southpaw was not only “the best pitcher in the league,” but “we’re just beginning to see the real Ryu.”
There has never been much question of Ryu’s ability, as he has been steadily excellent since coming over from his native Korea in 2013. But he hasn’t always been available owing to arm and other maladies. Ryu missed almost all of the 2015-16 seasons and half of 2018. That’s a red flag for a team considering a lengthy and lucrative outlay.
Never one to allow a bad fact to get him down, Boras posits a silver lining bright enough to blind one from seeing the storm cloud that renders it. Ryu’s injury history is, per Boras, a blessing in disguise: “He is, age-wise, 32, but the truth is, innings-wise, he’s probably about 26 or 27, because he doesn’t have many innings on his arm. That makes him very valuable.”
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the market situation plays out for Ryu. The Dodgers continue to make sense for him, particularly given the team’s predilection to employ highly talented but injury-prone starters. Which other teams will follow suit, and to what extent, isn’t clear. There’s obviously both upside and downside to a pitcher of this ilk — a premium vehicle with low miles but a lengthy history of time spent in the mechanic’s shop, to extend Boras’s auto analogy.
Rick Honeycutt Retires From Role As Dodgers’ Pitching Coach
Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt will not return to that job in 2020, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter). Honeycutt is expected to remain in the organization in a special assistant capacity.
The departure of Honeycutt from the staff of skipper Dave Roberts will not necessarily kick off a hiring search for a replacement. Bullpen coach Mark Prior appears to be in line for a promotion, Friedman indicated. There’ll be at least one new coaching staff opening regardless.
Honeycutt spent two decades in the majors as a sturdy starter and then reliever. He mirrored that longevity as a coach, running the Dodgers’ pitching operations for a remarkable 14 years. It seems that serious back issues and the rigors of the MLB schedule have combined to lead him to a more relaxed role in the organization.
Prior’s playing career was the opposite of Honeycutt’s — brilliant but excruciatingly fleeting. He tried for years to make it back from arm injuries but never did. Once he turned to teaching pitching, Prior quickly proved his merit. After a stint with the Padres organization, he spent the last two years as Honeycutt’s understudy.
Friedman also confirmed that Roberts will indeed be back as the manager — as had already been reported. Indeed, he expressed surprise that some had questioned whether Roberts would return after another exceptional regular season. The skipper’s job security became an issue after his confounding management of the team’s pitching resources in the recent NLDS Game 5 loss. But Friedman said that the organization still sees Roberts as an “additive part” of the club’s effort to capture an elusive World Series title.
Andrew Friedman Expects To Finalize New Contract With Dodgers Soon
Dodgers president of baseball operation Andrew Friedman is unsigned for the 2020 season, but he said in today’s year-end press conference that he expects to wrap up a new contract with the team within the next few days (Twitter links via Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times). Friedman also confirmed that Dave Roberts will return as the team’s manager in 2020, as Castillo originally reported late last week.
Friedman, 42, jumped from his role as the Rays’ executive vice president and general manager to the Dodgers back in 2014, agreeing to a reported five-year, $35MM contract that at the time was the largest deal ever inked by a baseball executive. He aggressively reshaped the Dodgers, trading away the likes of Matt Kemp, Dee Gordon and Dan Haren in his first offseason at the helm (netting Yasmani Grandal, Enrique Hernandez and others, including Andrew Heaney, whom he immediately traded to the Angels for Howie Kendrick).
Friedman’s front-office group has been involved in some of the most complex trades in recent history, including not only the Kemp trade but the three-team, 13-player swap with the Braves and Marlins that centered around Hector Olivera, Alex Wood, Mat Latos and the remainder of Bronson Arroyo‘s dead-money contract. Friedman even reacquired Kemp from the Braves in yet another financially motivated swap and then traded Kemp to the Reds this past offseason in a further example of juggling funds to remain south of the luxury tax line.
The Dodgers’ baseball operations group has, in some ways, become a pipeline for other organizations throughout the league. Former GM Farhan Zaidi was named Giants president of baseball operations last winter, while former vice president Alex Anthopoulos, who landed with the Dodgers after leaving the Blue Jays, became general manager of the Braves. Gabe Kapler served as the Dodgers’ director of player development before being hired as the Phillies’ manager, and one of Kapler’s top lieutenants, Jeremy Zoll, was hired away by the Twins to serve as their director of minor league operations.
On the field, Friedman’s penchant for aggressive, creative trades and his manipulation of MLB’s waiver/DFA process and shortened injured list minimum have helped the Dodgers to cultivate extraordinary levels of depth on their 40-man roster. That’s been a major advantage for the Dodgers, who have averaged 97 wins and taken home the NL West division title in all five of Friedman’s seasons atop the front office infrastructure. It has not, however, manifested in the form of an increasingly elusive World Series championship. The Dodgers appeared in the World Series in both 2017 and 2018 in addition to an NLCS berth in 2016, but they’ve yet to break through that final plane.
That said, the Dodgers are well-positioned for long-term success. Much of the team’s young talent, including Walker Buehler and Cody Bellinger, is under club control for the foreseeable future. Top prospects Will Smith, Alex Verdugo, Gavin Lux, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin all reached the Majors in 2019, giving a glimpse at what the future may hold. The ample resources provided by ownership, paired with the apparent annual tradition of dropping some salary and luxury hits on the trade market, should give Friedman’s Dodgers room to be active in free agency. The Dodgers certainly have needs to address as they look to return to a third World Series in four years, but it doesn’t sound as though there are any plans to change who’ll have final say over how those needs are addressed.
Dave Roberts To Return As Dodgers’ Manager In 2020
After losing to the Nationals in Game Five of the NLDS last night, the Dodgers will be missing the World Series for the first time since 2016. The heartbreaking nature of Wednesday’s defeat has already led to some speculation among fans and pundits that a change could (or should) be coming to the Dodgers’ dugout, though none seems to be on the way. Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports that Dave Roberts will indeed return as the team’s manager in 2020, “according to two people with knowledge of the situation.”
Roberts has an outstanding 393-256 record over four seasons as the Dodgers’ skipper, a resume that includes two National League pennants, four consecutive NL West titles, and a 106-56 regular season mark in 2019 that ranks as the winningest season in the Dodgers’ 136-year history. Despite all of this success, however, a World Series championship has remained elusive. L.A. dropped the 2017 Series to the Astros in seven games and then absorbed a five-game loss to the Red Sox in 2018, before making an unexpectedly early exit in this year’s postseason.
There were also whispers about Roberts’ future employment after last year’s Series loss, though the Dodgers exercised their option on his services for 2019 and ultimately signed him to a three-year extension that runs through the 2022 season. While Dodgers ownership certainly has the resources to eat the money owed on three years of a manager’s contract if a change was deemed necessary, that recent long-term commitment made it seem pretty unlikely that Roberts would be fired, despite the controversy over the last 24 hours.
Of course, nothing short of a World Series will ultimately satisfy Los Angeles fans, especially since the most common complaint directed at Roberts (his late-game bullpen management) perhaps reached its apex in Game Five against Washington. Dodgers supporters will forever bemoan the decisions to bring Clayton Kershaw out of the bullpen, and then to leave Joe Kelly on the mound for a second inning of work — just as they’ll always wonder why Roberts removed a dominant Rich Hill after 6 1/3 frames during Game Four of the 2018 Series. Roberts’ heavy focus on platoon switches and lefty-righty matchups have also received criticism, though this would seem like a more specific organizational focus rather than something Roberts is personally responsible for (and, this same flexible roster depth is a major reason the Dodgers have won so many games in the first place).
There are already eight teams looking to hire new managers this offseason, and while there is some debate over which of those jobs is the most attractive, one would imagine the Dodgers’ opening would have immediately zoomed to the top of the list if Roberts had indeed been replaced. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, as part of a subscription-only piece wondering about Roberts’ future with the Dodgers, also made the point that Roberts would surely be a sought-after candidate for one of those eight other open jobs, given his track record and ties to other executives on those manager-needy franchises.
Rich Hill Hopes To Re-Sign With Dodgers
The Dodgers’ season came to a bitterly disappointing conclusion Wednesday, but left-hander Rich Hill hopes it wasn’t the last time he dons their uniform. The pending free agent said after the club’s NLDS-ending loss to the Nationals that he wants to remain a Dodger in 2020, Andy McCullough of The Athletic tweets.
Hill’s weeks away from another trip to the open market, where he cashed in with the Dodgers entering the 2017 campaign. The late-career breakout hurler, whom the Dodgers acquired from the Athletics the previous summer, re-signed with Los Angeles on a three-year, $48MM contract. When Hill was healthy enough to take the mound, he lived up to that payday, evidenced by a 3.30 ERA/3.89 FIP with 10.68 K/9 against 2.97 BB/9. The problem is that injuries have consistently haunted Hill, who tossed just 327 regular-season innings over the life of his deal. He only amassed 58 2/3 in 2019, during which he totaled a mere 8 1/3 (including 2 2/3 in the playoffs) from June 20 onward.
Not only has a lack of durability hampered Hill, but as someone who’s set to turn 40 in March, he’s going into free agency as one of the oldest players available. However, even though free agency has been unkind to many aging players in the past couple offseasons, it shouldn’t preclude Hill from securing another guaranteed contract. After all, he’s still a bear to deal with for opposing offenses when he takes the mound, as he showed this year with a 2.45 ERA/4.10 FIP, 11.05 K/9 and 2.76 BB/9 and a 49.6 percent groundball rate.
While Hill’s plenty useful even in an injury-limited capacity, it’s unknown how serious the Dodgers will consider keeping him around. Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw are sure to remain part of their rotation in 2020, while Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling, Dustin May, Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin also represent in-house options who could factor into the mix. And with the offseason ahead, the Dodgers may pick up an outsider(s) in lieu of bringing back Hill and/or fellow soon-to-be free agent Hyun-Jin Ryu.
MLBTR Poll: Who’s Going To The NLCS?
If you like baseball (you’re reading this, so you probably do), Wednesday evening already looks rather promising. All four of the National League’s remaining playoff teams will square off then in win-or-go-home contests to conclude their thrilling NLDS matchups. The top-seeded Dodgers will take on the Nationals in Los Angeles, while the Braves will host the Cardinals.
To many, a third straight pennant for the perennially dominant Dodgers looked like a foregone conclusion entering the playoffs. But the 106-win club has had its hands full with the Nationals, a 93-69 team that needed a miraculous comeback over the Brewers in the wild-card game just to reach the NLDS. The Dodgers have led this series twice (1-0 and 2-1), but they’ve been unable to stamp out the Nationals, thanks in part to the heroics of Washington co-aces Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. The latter’s slated to take the ball in Game 5 against Walker Buehler, who has supplanted Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw as LA’s most valuable starter. Buehler put forth his latest ace-caliber effort in the Dodgers’ Game 1 win last Thursday, when he fired six scoreless, one-hit innings.
In Atlanta, the Braves will send Mike Foltynewicz to the mound to battle Jack Flaherty, who – like Buehler – has burst on the scene as an elite young arm. Foltynewicz entered the season as one of the Braves’ clear-cut top starters, though it nonetheless may seem hard to believe they’re turning to him with their season on the line. After all, the team did demote the 28-year-old to the minors in late June on the heels of a horrid few months. To his credit, however, Foltynewicz has rebounded since his early August return, and he continued to roll with seven shutout innings during a Game 2 victory over the Flaherty-led Cards. He’ll again contend with a St. Louis offense that has gotten exceptional production from Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna in the series.
The 23-year-old Flaherty will deal with an Atlanta club that has seen outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. continue to stake his claim as one of the sport’s up-and-coming superstars in October. Runs may be hard to come by for Acuna & Co., though, as Flaherty hasn’t yielded more than three in a start since July 2. Dating back to then, Flaherty has given up a ridiculously low 14 earned runs in 113 1/3 innings and 17 starts.
Of course, it would be foolish to only mention the starters who are lined up for these two games. With all four clubs’ seasons on the line, they’ll likely be in all-hands-on-deck mode (or something close to it) as they attempt to reach the final round of the NL playoffs. As is often the case in the postseason, the teams’ bullpens will probably play integral roles in the outcomes. Which clubs do you expect to advance Wednesday?
(Poll link for app users)
Dodgers-Nationals: Who Wins Game 5?
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Nationals 51% (7,449)
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Dodgers 49% (7,016)
Total votes: 14,465
(Poll link for app users)
Braves-Cardinals: Who Wins Game 5?
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Cardinals 51% (7,356)
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Braves 49% (7,109)
Total votes: 14,465
AL Notes: Alvarez, Astros, Benintendi, BoSox, Rays
The Astros and Dodgers “were at an impasse” in trade negotiations over reliever Josh Fields at the 2016 trade deadline, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow said, before Luhnow decided to aim beyond L.A.’s farm system. As Luhnow tells MLB.com’s Alyson Footer, the Astros had had interest in Yordan Alvarez as an international signing before he agreed to a deal with Los Angeles in June 2016. “Really, it wasn’t until the day of the deadline that I remembered the Dodgers had signed Alvarez, and I thought, ‘Well, if we can’t get a minor league player that we’re really excited about, why don’t we just take a flier on this young guy that they just signed that I know we like?’ ” Luhnow said.
After that sudden brainstorm, the Fields-for-Alvarez trade was concluded fairly quickly, putting Alvarez (then a somewhat obscure 18-year-old prospect) onto a new team less than two months into his pro career. “I was surprised and a little worried. I didn’t know what a trade was,” Alvarez said. “I thought they might have been releasing me. I was really surprised, but when they explained it to me, I understood.” The rest, as they say, is history, as Alvarez blossomed in Houston’s farm system and then made an immediate impact at the big league level, hitting an incredible .313/.412/.655 with 27 homers over his first 369 Major League plate appearances.
More from around the American League…
- Andrew Benintendi put on some weight last winter in an attempt to add more power to his game, though in the wake of a down year, the Red Sox outfielder tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that the new goal is “to get lighter and more athletic this offseason.” Many tabbed Benintendi to break out into superstardom in the wake of his impressive 2018 season, though he ended up hitting only .266/.343/.431 over 615 PA in 2019. Some nagging injuries played a role, though Benintendi’s added bulk didn’t translate into more power, as he posted a lower slugging percentage and fewer homers (13) than in 2018. Benintendi is hoping that better health and a more back to his old speed-based game will result in a better 2020 season.
- Also from Bradford’s piece, he notes that Trey Ball and Teddy Stankiewicz have reached minor league free agency and could be unlikely to remain in the Red Sox farm system. Ball was chosen seventh overall in the 2013 draft while Stankiewicz was Boston’s second selection (45th overall) from that same class, though neither player has reached the big leagues. Bradford takes the opportunity to look back at a draft year that ended up as almost a complete miss for the Red Sox, as only five (Mauricio Dubon, Carlos Asuaje, Matt Thaiss, Gabe Speier, and Kyle Martin) of the 40 players selected have reached the majors, and none ever suited up in a Boston uniform. Still, the 2013 draft class did plant some indirect seeds for future success — Asuaje was part of the trade package the Sox sent to the Padres for Craig Kimbrel, while Speier was included as part of the Rick Porcello trade with the Tigers.
- The Rays used a trade-heavy approach in building their roster, though beyond the low-payroll franchise’s usual tactic of trading veterans when they become too expensive, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes that the Rays have also looked to add MLB-ready players rather than younger prospects, while also being willing to move minor leaguers of their own. “But increasingly we’ve been more open to swapping players…earlier in their career. I think at the end of the day, we recognize that we have to be wide open to any acquisition method that gives us a team that we like better than the one we had previously, be it for today or be it for tomorrow,” GM Erik Neander said. “The more near-term sensitivity we have competitively the better position we’re in, so that’s the goal. Striking that balance has to be a constant….Where you want to be is having a mindfulness on the short-term and not having it 100 percent pushed out to the future.” A whopping 16 of the 25 players on Tampa Bay’s ALDS roster were acquired through trades, most in under-the-radar swaps.
Alex Verdugo “Very Unlikely” To Play In Postseason
It doesn’t appear as though Alex Verdugo will factor into the Dodgers’ October run, as manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic’s Pedro Moura (Twitter links) and other reporters that “to see him ready at all this postseason [is] very unlikely.” Verdugo himself said that he is still hoping to be available for the World Series, though while he has begun conditioning exercises, he has yet to begin swinging a bat.
Verdugo hasn’t played since August 4 due to a right oblique strain, and he was also hampered by a back issue that developed when the outfielder was on a rehab assignment. Given such a long layoff, it would be difficult to imagine the Dodgers immediately throwing the rookie into the cauldron of World Series play, especially if Verdugo is still at less than 100 percent.
It’s a tribute to the Dodgers’ depth that they have enough outfield options to make do without Verdugo, though the 23-year-old is still missed given how well he played in his first extended taste of Major League action. Long a highly-touted prospect, Verdugo hit .294/.342/.475 with 12 home runs over 377 plate appearances in 2019, continuing the solid contact skills he displayed in the minors by posting only a 13 percent strikeout rate. Beyond his hitting prowess, Verdugo also displayed some strong glovework at all three outfield positions, with a cumulative +7.1 UZR/150 and +13 Defensive Runs Saved over 756 innings on the grass.
Rookie Matt Beaty, another left-handed hitter, may have been the prime beneficiary of Verdugo’s absence, as Beaty was named to the Dodgers’ NLDS roster against the Nationals. Neither Beaty or Joc Pederson, however, were at all productive against left-handed pitching, whereas Verdugo was actually a bit better against lefties (.327/.358/.485 in 109 PA) than against righties (.281/.336/.471 in 268 PA).
Dodgers Announce NLDS Roster
The Dodgers have announced their 25-man NLDS roster, which will kick off with Walker Buehler facing Nationals lefty Patrick Corbin in Los Angeles tonight. They’ll carry a total of 12 pitchers and 13 position players. Here’s the full breakdown:
Right-handed pitchers
- Pedro Baez
- Walker Buehler (Game 1 starter)
- Kenley Jansen
- Joe Kelly
- Kenta Maeda
- Dustin May
- Ross Stripling
Left-handed pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
With the Dodgers more than perhaps any other team, the classification of “infielders” and “outfielders” is somewhat subjective. The Los Angeles organization has compiled an enviable collection of defensively versatile players, leaving manager Dave Roberts ample opportunity for creative lineup construction and in-game maneuvers. Each of Hernandez, Bellinger and Taylor, in particular, could be utilized in the infield or in the outfield — with Taylor and Hernandez both capable of playing nearly any spot on the roster.
Smith’s emergence as the team’s primary option behind the plate, paired with the veteran Martin’s still-excellent defensive skills, pushed Opening Day catcher Austin Barnes off the postseason roster. Martin is set to become a free agent at season’s end, meaning Barnes could be back in the fold as a backup option to Smith next year, but Smith’s .253/.337/.571 batting line and 15 home runs through his first 196 big league plate appearances point to him being the top option moving forward.
On the pitching side of the coin, the omission of impressive rookie right-hander Tony Gonsolin will come as a surprise to some. The 25-year-old debuted with great success this past season, pitching a total of 40 innings with a 2.93 ERA and a 37-to-15 K/BB ratio. But the Dodgers opted to carry May, another impressive rookie, and the veteran swingman Stripling to round out their collection of right-handed arms.
Kolarek, meanwhile, was an under-the-radar deadline pickup who thrived in a brief sample with the Dodgers. The former Tampa Bay Ray allowed just a run on nine hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings with the Dodgers, but even beyond that 0.77 ERA, the most eye-catching number he posted was a ridiculous 73.5 percent ground-ball rate as a Dodger. In all, he’s totaled 55 innings in the Majors this year and compiled a 3.27 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 66.3 percent grounder rate while holding opposing lefties to a pathetic .178/.221/.262 batting line.
Quick Hits: Kluber, Freese, Kapler
A quick look around Major League Baseball, which is now down to nine teams vying for a World Series…
- With their season having ended earlier than expected, the Indians are now facing an important decision on star right-hander Corey Kluber, who has a $17.5MM club option (or a $1MM buyout) for 2020. As of Sunday, the club’s higher-ups and Kluber hadn’t discussed his future, he told Zack Meisel of The Athletic (subscription required). It’s hard to believe the Indians would buy Kluber out, though the two-time AL Cy Young winner is coming off an abbreviated season in which he struggled to a bloated 5.80 ERA (with a much better 4.06 FIP) in 35 2/3 innings. Kluber wasn’t able to make it back after suffering a right forearm fracture May 1, thereby ending a run of five straight seasons with 200-plus frames. Indians manager Terry Francona found a silver lining in Kluber’s truncated season and made it sound as if the longtime ace will stick with the club in 2020, saying: “Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise for next year. I mean, we leaned on him pretty heavy for six years.”
- The Dodgers re-signed first baseman David Freese for $4.5MM last offseason, though the veteran nearly retired after their World Series loss to the Red Sox, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. In the end, however, the “deep mutual interest” Freese and the Dodgers had in a reunion won out, Castillo writes. “I came back because this was everything I wanted to be a part of. And it was worth another year to get up for 180 games and just get after it,” said Freese, who, as Castillo details, seems universally respected in the organization. It doesn’t hurt that the 36-year-old has thrived with the bat this season, having batted a spectacular .315/.403/.599 with 11 home runs in 186 plate appearances. The former World Series hero with the Cardinals will have another chance at a memorable October this year, though this postseason could prove to be the end of the line for Freese, Castillo suggests.
- It wouldn’t have been a surprise if the Phillies jettisoned maligned manager Gabe Kapler after their disappointing season ended Sunday. A couple days later, though, they still haven’t announced whether he’ll return for a third year. But it’s “likely” they’ll make Kapler’s fate known on Wednesday, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The Kapler-led Phillies just concluded a second straight season in which a summer implosion canceled out a promising start. Philadelphia went 80-82 under Kapler in 2018, and despite an incredibly active offseason, the club only mustered an 81-81 mark this year.