Yeah, but it isn’t that simple. Who’s to say that the Dodgers wouldn’t have won some of those games anyway, no matter who was pitching? So it wouldn’t be a flip of position in the standings, just a closer race.
I’m going on record right now as stating that the Diamondbacks won’t finish higher than 3rd in the NLWest next season. I’ve put money on it. (Well, I’ve put money on the Dodgers.)
Dodgers in talks to acquire Aroldis Chapman? I don’t think the Dodgers are just missing a shut down closer as their final piece. Chapman is better than Jansen, but Jansen is more than adequate.
I’ve seen a report where the Chapman-to-Dodgers trade is done for 2 prospects. Can’t find anything definitive, though.
I think the idea here is everyone wants to be like the Royals and have closers from the 7th inning on.
It’s probably not a great idea. It works very well, of course, to have lots of great relief pitchers, but the Royals didn’t get there by giving away a lot to get it; they got there because the guys they had became really good while they were Royals. Herrera and Holland were organizationally developed, and Davis was a small part of a bigger trade.
The Reds will apparently not get any of the Dodgers top 3 prospects, SS Corey Seager, P Julio Urias or P Jose DeLeon. They’re smart to sell Chapman now, but dude, you gotta get return on value!
If thats true this is a big win for LA. Anyone else wondering if they are looking to Chapman as a starter?
I’ve heard he’s not willing to start. The Reds tried it once. No cite, though.
Wade Miley traded from Boston to Seattle
Good point. I hadnt seen the Iwakuma signing. It makes less sense for him to start with that signing. I still hope LA gets another starter. They have Kershaw and injury risks for a rotation.
There’s no chance the dodgers would have traded either Seager or Urias for Chapman.
Seager is already in the bigs and will start at SS for the Dodgers next season. His value is WAY higher than a year of Chapman.
Aroldis only has one year of team control remaining at about $13m, that is just not worth a top 10 prospect, let alone two. DeLeon would make sense, but if not, the Dodgers do have some other decent prospects who could be involved in the deal (Peraza, Barnes, Calhoun).
Kris Bryant files a grievance against the Cubs gor starting him in the minors. Boras is truly a boil on the butt of baseball. I understand it’s all about the money and Boras wants his clients to get to free agency ASAP, but really? Bryant and Boras know how the game is played.
http://sportsmockery.com/2015/12/kris-bryant-files-grievance-cubs/
If it ends the lame-ass practice of teams leaving their best rookies in the minors until mid-late May, they’ve done the world a service.
Doesn’t look like a great trade for Seattle. They give up starter Roenis Elias and reliever Carson Smith. Miley is only a slightly, if any, upgrade over Elias. And Smith was one of their better relief pitchers. Who knows, both might end up in the pen for the Sox.
Chapman may be in doubt. The league has launched a domestic abuse investigation over an October incident, and the Dodgers really don’t like that kind of stuff around the team. If he’s cleared, great. If he isn’t, the deal will probably fall through.
MLBTradeRumors also reported a mysterious hand injury that might be related to the domestic abuse issue and might be responsible for holding up this and prior trades.
You know about the Puig incident, right?
Notice that Puig’s name is one being bandied about as trade-bait. Domestic violence doesn’t play in baseball the way it does in football. Especially these days. Dodgers management will likely tread very carefully around any allegations, and I’m sure Puig’s incident will figure quite prominently in trade talks, if only internally.
I can’t see Bryant winning this. According to MLBtv, the Cubs front office has known about the grievance for months, so there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood. But Bryant didn’t get called up until after Olt got “hurt,” and went on the DL. The service time issue is one that teams have manipulated for years. Bryant is just kind of the face for the dispute since he was Rookie of the Year. Those extra at-bats would have let him crack 100 RBI, instead of the 99 he ended the season with.
Everyone on the planet knew Bryant would get called up when he did for exactly that reason. He won’t win because the Cubs were well within the rules and because there’s no way he can prove their intentions.
I agree 100 %. My point was that the Olt injury can be used by the club as an excuse, should they feel they need to provide one.
MLBtv is reporting Cubs trade Starlin Castro to the Yankees and sign Ben Zobrist to a 4 year, $56mil deal, but not finalized.