Dodgers Add 3 To Player Pool, Activate Pedro Baez From Injured List
Outfielder Terrance Gore and infielders Kody Hoese and Devin Mann have all been added to the Dodgers’ 60-man player pool, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports (Twitter link). In other roster news, right-hander Pedro Baez was already in the player pool but has now been activated from the 10-day injured list.
There is some mystery to the Baez news, as Gurnick notes that the team hadn’t previously announced that Baez was on the IL, or why he had been absent from Summer Camp. The lack of information inevitably leads to COVID-19 speculation (whether Baez tested positive for the virus or perhaps was just held up by a delay in getting test results back), though we won’t know for certain unless Baez agrees for such information to be made public.
Whatever the case, the Dodgers bullpen will be bolstered by the return of a pitcher who become a key part of the relief corps. The 32-year-old has a 3.03 ERA, 3.15 K/BB rate, and 9.5 K/9 over 339 career relief innings for Los Angeles, and delivered just a touch below those career norms over 69 2/3 frames in 2019. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Gurnick and other media that Baez is expected to be ready for Opening Day, and will throw a simulated game against teammates at some point this week.
Of the new players joining the player pool, Gore is the best-known name, as the outfielder has appeared in 100 Major League games over the last six seasons. The majority of that experience has come as a pinch-running specialist, as Gore has only 77 plate appearances (and a career .608 OPS) to his resume, though he has stolen 40 bases from 49 attempts. That total jumps to 45-for-55 if you count postseason games, and Gore was a valuable bench piece for the Royals in their back-to-back trips to the World Series in 2014 and 2015.
Hoese was selected 25th overall in the 2019 draft, and the Tulane product has a .299/.380/.483 slash line over 171 plate appearances as a pro. Since Hoese has yet to play above the A-ball level, his inclusion in the player pool is likely more about getting him some high-level reps in training camp than it will be about potentially making his MLB debut in short order. The same could be true of Mann, a fifth-round pick in 2018 who has also yet to advance beyond high-A. Hoese and Mann rank seventh and 22nd, respectively, on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 30 Dodgers prospects.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/14/20
A couple of minor MLB moves…
- The Dodgers have added infield prospect Kody Hoese to their 60-man player pool, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports. The 23-year-old went 25th overall to the Dodgers in the 2019 draft and is now considered one of their top 10 prospects (MLB.com places him seventh in LA’s system, Baseball America eighth, FanGraphs ninth). An elbow injury slowed Hoese to some extent during his first taste of Single-A ball last year, but he’s still seen as someone with the potential to emerge as a quality hitter in the majors down the line.
- Left-hander Brian Flynn has elected free agency after the Rangers didn’t add him to their player pool, Steve Adams of MLBTR reports. Flynn joined the Rangers on a minor league contract in the offseason after appearing in the majors in each of the previous four years with the Royals. Thanks in part to a sprained UCL, Flynn could only muster 29 1/3 innings of 5.22 ERA pitching a season ago. To his credit, though, Flynn still managed a respectable overall mark of 3.76 during his 162 2/3-frame KC tenure.
Dodgers, First-Rounder Kody Hoese Agree To Terms
The Dodgers have agreed to terms with first-rounder Kody Hoese, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). The now-former Tulane third baseman will receive the full slot value of $2,740,300 that accompanies the No. 25 overall selection.
Specific evaluations of Hoese had a bit of variance, but he was generally regarded as a Day One talent in this year’s draft. Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs were most bullish on the 21-year-old, ranking him 16th among all draft prospects. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked him 25th, while the Baseball America team tabbed him 29th and ESPN’s Keith Law pegged him 32nd overall.
Scouting reports on Hoese generally agree that he possesses the potential for at least an average hit tool and above-average pop. There’s less certainty regarding his defense down the line, though Fangraphs and MLB.com both tout him as a potential average defender as well. Hoese posted an absurd .391/.486/.779 batting line with 23 home runs, 20 doubles and a triple in 286 plate appearances in his junior year, but his track record prior to the 2019 season was more marginal. He’s frequently tabbed as a late bloomer/breakout/pop-up prospect whose stock rose dramatically in his final season of college ball.