January 20th, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 Anyone else tired of discussing liars, cheaters, failed leadership, discipline, and penalties? No more woulda-coulda-shoulda, it is time to turn our focus from 2017 and 2018 to 2020. Let’s talk about Dodgers baseball.
Valentine’s Day 2020, Dodgers pitchers and catchers will participate in their first organized workout of the spring, and four days later they will be joined by the remaining rostered players and non-roster invitees for a full team workout. Sure, there will be continued rumors of roster changes, but players will actually be pitching, hitting, and fielding!
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
So far, many Dodger fans have been disappointed with the team’s tepid off-season roster maneuvers. Some nice additions have been made, some old friends will be playing with other teams, but the expectations that fans had of Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and on-field Dodgers manager Dave Roberts following the final out of the 2019 National League Division Series of elite players being added for the 2020 season have not yet been fulfilled, and at this point probably won’t be.
Criticize Friedman for setting high expectations, but also credit him for the 2020 roster that is one of the strongest in the National League and for retaining some of the very best prospects in the game today. The glass is definitely half-full, not half-empty. If the regular season started today, the active roster would include plenty of terrific Dodger veterans, highly regarded prospects, and/or veterans from other teams hoping to revitalize their respective major league careers.
Pitchers Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez, Walker Buehler, Caleb Ferguson, Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Adam Kolarek, Ross Stripling, and Julio Urias; with Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Jimmy Nelson, Josh Sborz, Dennis Santana, Blake Treinen, and Alex Wood competing for a place on the opening day roster.
Catchers Austin Barnes and Will Smith return, with Rocky Gale and Keibert Ruiz backing them up at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Infielders Gavin Lux, Max Muncy, Corey Seager, and Justin Turner are all back from last season, and if they can remain healthy figure to be one of the best infields in all of baseball in 2020.
Outfielders Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, AJ Pollock, and Alex Verdugo; what more can you say that hasn’t already been said. This group could very well set a new franchise record for most home runs by any Dodgers outfield.
And on the bench, there’s Matt Beaty, Kyle Garlick, Kiké Hernandez, Edwin Rios, Chris Taylor, and Tyler White competing for what will likely be the final three roster spots.
Like the age-old saying goes: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
There are many reasons for Dodger fans to be excited about the 2020 season and “It’s [almost] tiiiiime for Dodger Baseball!”
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Thanks-needed some optimism!
Article from Larry Brown sports, Boston wants to package Betts and David Price in a trade. This is not great insight, most of us thought of that type of trade weeks ago. But, the Dodgers are in really good position to make that kind of deal as long as Boston takes back AJ Pollock, and perhaps Kenta Maeda, in return. I am not a fan of Price, but if he is part of the price to get Betts then it might be worth making that deal. Price annual AAV is $31M; Pollock is $12M — so the net difference of $19M is still too high, but if another player is added like Maeda ($3M AAV + incentives) then the net increase to Dodgers ranges from $16M to ~ $10M. Who might the Dodgers trade in addition? Likely Keibert Ruiz (who I think will be terrific) would be at the top of the list, along with Edwin Rios, Jeter Downs?
Price = bad juju.
That is a deal breaker. I don’t recall him having problems in Tampa (Friedman should know), but no doubt he has had issues with some of the players, fans, and most certainly the press in Boston. If it is a character flaw then pass on bringing him to LA; but, if it is just Boston being Boston, then he may be a good fit in LA. As I wrote, Friedman should know the answer to that question.
Jesse, please, please no need or mention is deserved for Rocky Gale in this player mix. As I said a while ago Rocky Gale makes Austin Barnes offensively look like Johnny Bench or Mike Piazza.
Gale is a valuable guy to have at OKC in case of injury because of his top-notch defense. He is a AAAA player who provides needed insurance in case one of the two catchers is injured in the short term. I believe Ruiz will be available by mid season (unless traded)
SoCal, in answer to your question as to who else Dodgers could put in a deal it would be Rios , if for no other reason we have already a plethora of LHB on the roster and of course bench spots too. I am still not convinced a trade with Boston will take place before the start of 2020, IDK. But Betts is for now anyway a 1 year rental because he says he will test FA, so wss.
Any dodgers fan who is not enthusiastic about the upcoming season should look up 1967. Sandy had retired and we were pathetic.
These are exciting times for us dodgers fans with a great young team full of stars loaded with star prospects and a solid chance to win it all.
Don’t forget, Maury had also been traded as a result of O’Malley’s snit.