November 2nd, 2018 at 9:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka During Thursday’s season-in-review press conference at Dodger Stadium, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was asked if he and Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi are planning to seek additional starting pitching help from what figures to be an interesting – and expensive – free agent market this off-season.
Although there is no disputing that the addition of any one of “The three Ks,” as one reporter put it, regarding left-hander Dallas Keuchel, current Nippon Baseball League star left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, and, of course, current – and hopefully returning – Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw would be an enormous boost for the team, Friedman indicated that they are quite content with the arms that they already have within the system.
We will know later today whether or not one of the three Ks, current Dodger left-hander Clayton Kershaw, will be among those in the Dodgers’ starting rotation in 2019 … and beyond. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Asked if left-hander Alex Wood, right-hander Ross Stripling, and “all the others” will be in play to be in the Dodgers starting rotation in 2019 (as opposed to pitching out of the bullpen), Friedman was very specific and concise in his answer.
“I think all of those guys have a real case to be made to be starters, I think they’re talented enough to do it,” Friedman answered. “What our roster looks like as we head into spring training, I just don’t have a great feel for right now.
“And I would want all their mindset this winter to be and train and focus on being a starter,” he added.
Asked if this also includes left-hander Caleb Ferguson and right-hander Dennis Santana, who is recovering from a torn lat, Friedman indicated that it does.
As for that second K, Yusei Kikuchi, Friedman kidded that he is not familiar with the Japanese superstar, but then acknowledged that Kikuchi is very much on their radar … sort of.
“We have a lot of respect for him, watched him over the years,” Friedman said. “To the extent that he is coming over (to the MLB), we’ll spend more time on it and talk through it more publicly.
“I think it’s always a good market for really talented players,” Friedman added about the free agent class of 2019.
Stay tuned…
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Friedman is completely off base thinking the Dodgers can reguvenate many pitchers who are way beyonnd their past forays as they descend into oblivion. Maeda, Wood, Ryu, Stripling, among others, are not going to skyrocket next season. 2018 saw only one pitcger reach double figure wins, and we may see more of the same for 2019. The ratings on Dodgers staff was below 12th of the 30 mlb teams. Going home and working on skills is a joke. Thee are many FAs out there that could uplift a defunct hurling crew. The onlt chance the Dodgers have to make the playoffs next year rests with the truism that the mlb West National conference is just as inept as tge Dodgers. Too bad for me, I have been a staunch Dodger fan since 1949. Oh, and by the way, could someone tell me who is on first? Player rotation bases on false analytics will never help to build team chemistry, nor team cohesion. I wuld guess that if the truth be known, many players who put up with the “who`s on first” platooning would, underneath it all, covertly express little admiration for the strategy.
Ryu doesn’t need to skyrocket. How many Dodger pitchers had an ERA under 2?
He’s not injury prone. Most of the time he missed was due to a torn labrum, which the Dodgers knew he had before he crossed the pond. He pitched two years for them with it.
He’s a free agent, but I believe he’ll sign with the Dodgers. Not signing him would be a big mistake unless he makes outlandish demands, which I doubt.
Dodgers should sign Manny Menacho!
I assume you meant Machado. It’s not going to happen.
Walker, Clayton, Julio, Rich, and fifth starter is a pretty decent rotation.
“fifth starter” = Hyun-Jin Ryu
Agree on that 5. But the trouble is that none of those pitchers can be counted on to start anywhere near 30 games. Maybe only Kershaw can do that again. Buehler could too but they won’t let him. So, they’ll need Wood, Stripling, Ferguson, maybe Santana to fill in fairly often. And Ryu may not be on the team.
Hello everyone. How do you guys feel about buying low on Sonnny Gray. Hes actually still a great pitcher, just away from Yankee Stadium. Sub 3 Era in the AL can translate into 2.5 Era in NL. Seem likes a good buy low prospect with potential upside of adding a polished #2 RHP to the rotation. Wouid probably also be efficient on the prospect or trade cost required to obtain. What do you guys think?
Interesting point, and one that I have honestly never even considered.
I’ve actually always liked Sonny Gray. He IS a Vandy boy after all. lol!
I wouldn’t be opposed to the Dodgers taking out a marker on him if the price was right. I don’t see him as a top three guy, but he most certainly could fill in the number four or five spots in the rotation.
Interesting take. Thanks for the input.
A few years back I was hoping they’d pick up Gray. Didn’t happen then, would be a good idea now. Sorry, I don’t see him as a great pitcher, but pretty darn good.
Well, who know’s how he can translate. Obviously he would get a boost from transitioning to NL. Like I mentioned, I thought he was just damaged goods at this point, but due to the splits, seems he is an excellent buy low candidate. Cashman has already maintained that he is definitely trading him as the NY faithful are over him. His splits have maintained the last 2 years as well, even though last year was actually a pretty good year from him overall. 3.11 away and 3.90 at home 2017. Overall Peripherals are somewhat similar, 8 HR away, 13 at home. This year though… Night and Day. to simplify, similar 3.17 away in the AL, 6.98 ERA at home… 3 Hr away, vs 11 at home. His peripherals Away are also outstanding an in line with his ERA. Less hits than IP, more Ks than IP, .226/.295/.320 against for the season away. Only 4 AL pitchers last year and 7 AL SP pitched to a better ERA than his away ERA. Only Kluber and Sale were on the list both seasons. Think of a slightly worse 2017 Sale (2.89 vs 3.1) or a slightly worse 2018 Kluber (2.89 vs 3.19). Not a bad pick up on the low, and if he just pitched in a Neutral Park (Dodger Stadium being slightly more favorable to Pitchers as well), transitioning to NL, we could pick up a 2017 Sale or 2018 Kluber for the low. Believe the transition to the NL plus facing one less hitter with a pitcher will lower to 2.95. In addition to pitching half the innings in Dodger Stadium. He would balance the Starting Rotation more, 3 LHP vs 2 LHP. Just an idea.