Carlos Beltran is my only trade target
As the trade deadline gets closer there is going to be lots of rumors/discussion about who the Dodgers are interested in, or who they should be interested in, but the only player who I’d like to see them acquire is Carlos Beltran.
The much-needed rotation reinforcements have arrived and unless the Dodgers are set on acquiring Chris Archer or Sonny Gray I don’t see anyone else out there better than what they currently have. If Clayton Kershaw was going to miss significant time that would change the equation but Clayton will be here sometime this week which should put Norris in the bullpen. Or Ryu. Shortly to be followed by Wood, so that again leaves Ryu or Wood headed to the bullpen. Any new starter without one being subtracted would leave one of Maeda / Kazmir / McCarthy / Wood / Ryu in the bullpen and I don’t see the names being bandied about being any better than those options. Not to mention Jose De Leon ready to help.
For once I like our bullpen. Has the trio of Liberatore / Blanton / Jansen been just as effective as the much more celebrated Betances / Miller / Chapman? Maybe? Granted Miller would be a nice addition, but given the price I’m not that interested. 2014 heck yes, 2015 again yes. 2016, not so much. Besides, I fully expect Urias to be added, and of course, Jose De Leon could bring his big arm to the bullpen.
However the offense needs an upgrade and the only place to upgrade for me is the outfield. Many would prefer LuCroy over Grandal, but not me. The outfield names being bandied about are Jay Bruce and Josh Reddick. Both are decent options but not my main option.
Which brings me to my trade target. Carlos Beltran. Not much of an outfielder anymore but I’m pretty sure he can do what Howie Kendrick does in LF. What Carlos can still do is hit, hit with power, hit in the clutch, and hit good pitching. If you acquire Carlos Beltran you strengthen the lineup from top to bottom, you strengthen your bench by making Howie the super utility player, and you take some pressure off of the kids who have been carrying the offense so far. And I didn’t even mention how historically awesome Beltran is in October.
I have no idea the asking price of Carlos Beltran. He’s a free agent, so unlike Andrew Miller he’s not part of the future plans for the Yankee’s. The last time Beltran was traded was in 2011 when he was a trade deadline acquisition by the Giants for the steep price at the time of Zach Wheeler which would be equivalent to Jose De Leon. That was five years ago, he’s now 39 years old, and price should be something akin to Brock Stewart but I could be off base.
Whatever the Dodger FO decides to do, it will be interesting. If they can somehow pry Chris Archer or Sonny Gray I shan’t complain, but at the same time, I do hope they address the outfield situation with someone who will help in October not hinder. If they add a bullpen piece, cool, just not my top priority.
Abbreviated Dodger player of the week goes to Chris Taylor
The Dodgers only played three games this week, and Chris Taylor only excelled in one of those games, but what a game it was.
- 1st LAD to hit a grand slam as his first home run
- 1st LAD second baseman to drive in six runs
- 1st LAD to hit a grand slam, a double, and triple in the same game
- 1st Dodger second baseman since Jackie Robinson to drive in six runs
For good measure, Taylor had two additional singles giving him a robust triple stat line of .556 / .600 / 1.222.
In a normal week Justin Turner would have won with his two home runs, and six RBI in just three games or Howie Kendrick and his eight for seventeen but the Chris Taylor game will be fighting the Chase Utley duo of dynamite games, and the Corey Seager three home run game for games of the year.
Two hitters who were not eligible were Adrian Gonzalez who went two for thirteen and Yazmani Grandal who went one for twelve. Grandal severely impacted his case for player of the month for July.
Edwin Rios Prospect Player of the Week
Rancho Cucamonga 1st baseman Edwin Rios capped off a spectacular week with another home run on Sunday giving him five home runs for the week, ten RBI, ten hits, all in only twenty-five at-bats. Using my rocket science math calculator, Rios was hitting a home run every five at bats.
The 22-year-old was a 6th round draft pick in 2015 who started out this year with the Great Lake Loons Dodger affiliate in the Midwest League and found himself promoted in June. At the time it seemed like a strange decision because Rios wasn’t exactly smoking the much younger competition but the Dodgers must have seen something and moved him up a level to the Rancho Cucamonga affiliate. Rios has taken to California and is on his way to earning player of the month for his work in July.
In July Rios has seven home runs in sixty-one at-bats, and has a robust 1.166 OPS. Rios has also been coming through in the clutch with a sweet 1.258 OPS with RISP, collecting sixteen hits in thirty-eight at-bats, including nine XBH, and driving in 22 runs. Rios may have to stay in Rancho for a while as first base is filled at AA Tulsa with Bellinger and AAA Oklahoma with O’Koyea Dickson.
Rios and Bellinger both bat left-handed and both play 1st base. Bellinger is two years younger, one level higher, but can also play any outfield position. They are both intriguing trade chips where Bellinger would be the highlight of any deal, and Rios would be someone who could fill in the back end of a trade.
Prospect player of the day Cody Bellinger fills out the box score.
Bellinger had the big offensive day yesterday , home run, single, two walks, and two stolen bases. Cody filled out the box score yesterday.
On Saturday Verdugo slugged two home runs to pass Bellinger, but it only lasted one day, as Bellinger roared back Sunday to tie Verdugo by slugging his 11th home run. The two twenty-year-olds now have eleven home runs, leading the Southern League in home runs for twenty-year-olds. Here is the Southern League leaderboard. The best way to view this is to sort by home runs, peruse down by age. Willie Calhoun still leads all 21-year-olds with 17.
Corey Seager with three doubles just three doubles shy of LAD Rookie double record
The complete list at baseball reference:
| Player | 2B | Year | Age | |||
| Eric Karros (RoY-1st) | | | 30 | | | 1992 | | | 24 |
| Raul Mondesi (RoY-1st) | | | 27 | | | 1994 | | | 23 |
| Corey Seager | | | 27 | | | 2016 | | | 22 |
| Russell Martin (RoY-9th) | | | 26 | | | 2006 | | | 23 |
| Todd Hollandsworth (RoY-1st) | | | 26 | | | 1996 | | | 23 |
| Mike Piazza (RoY-1st) | | | 24 | | | 1993 | | | 24 |
| Mariano Duncan (RoY-3rd) | | | 24 | | | 1985 | | | 22 |
| Steve Sax (RoY-1st) | | | 23 | | | 1982 | | | 22 |
| Yasiel Puig (RoY-2nd) | | | 21 | | | 2013 | | | 22 |
Ted Sizemore – the leader of multi-hit streaks
Ted Sizemore had a five-game streak of at least three hits way back in 1970. The great part about this streak is that after Ted got only one hit, he then got three more hits two more games in a row.
Over an 11 game span, Ted collected 29 hits in 52 at-bats. If that isn’t one of the hottest hitting streaks in LAD history with at least fifty at bats, I’d like to know what is.
Dodger AA Tulsa Drillers, drilling home runs, Verdugo and Calhoun lead their respective age group
Alex Verdugo slugged two home runs yesterday giving him eleven home runs and the league lead in home runs for a 20 year old. He passed teammate 20-year-old Cody Bellinger who has ten. Unless they get promoted or traded to a new organization this should be an interesting race between the two top LAD positional prospects.
Not to be outdone, 21-year-old Willie Calhoun has hit seventeen home runs and leads all 21-year-old Texas League hitters in home runs.
Howie Kendrick has at least three hits in his last three games – by the numbers
Last night Howie Kendrick picked up four hits, and for the third game in a row had at least three hits.
This is the complete list of LAD with at least three hits in a game provided by baseball reference.
By the numbers:
- According to my search on Bref Twenty Six LAD have had such a streak but no LAD has done it four games in a row. However LAD notes that Ted Sizemore did it five games in a row back in 1970. I’m checking into it.
- Adrian Gonzalez was the last LAD to do it, in April of 2015. During that streak, Adrian hit five home runs. Adrian has seven home runs in 2016 in 89 games
- Ron Fairly and Adrian Gonzalez both had seven extra base hits. Fairly had four doubles and three home runs. Adrian had two doubles and five home runs.
- Mike Piazza drove in eleven runs in his three-game streak, with two doubles, and three home runs.
- Rafy Furcal had the most hits during the streak with twelve
- Dusty Baker, Adrian Gonzalez, and Mike Piazza had the most runs scored with seven
- Every Dodger on this list is well known except one, McKay Christensen
Yasiel Sierra takes to his relief role, and Jose De Leon makes his case as an elite trading chip
Big bonus Sierra was moved to the bullpen and responded with may have been the first time he’s pitched back to back hitless innings in his short professional career. He still walked two but I’m trying to look for the positive.
Jose De Leon continues to stretch out and got 17 outs in his latest start. Jose struck out 10 of those 17 outs but did give up three runs. Dodger beat writers, bloggers, and fans have been dangling Jose as they hope to pry some big time talent from sellers at the trading deadline. He’s the best chip the Dodgers have had in a while in that he’s a top prospect, and he’s already in AAA so he’s close to being major league ready.
Edwin Rios continues to mash for Rancho, slugging two more home runs, giving him 12 home runs in just 132 at bats. His OPS is now at 1.113
Dodger front office wins one on the margin
For whatever reason, the Dodger front office takes a beating from fans and old school newspaper writers. As the trading deadline nears, they are sure to take some heat no matter what they do, but they can take some solace that for the short term, two minor trades have already produced an important victory.
When Clayton Kershaw went down the Dodgers needed someone to step into his rotation spot and they shrewdly picked up Bud Norris cheaply enough to fill that spot. No one expected Norris to replace Kershaw, and while he sure hasn’t reminded anyone of Kershaw he has won 66% of the games he started for Kershaw. On Friday night he was less than stellar but still walked away with a win when the other minor trade the Dodgers made exploded for a career night. Bud Norris may only make one more start before being replaced by Kershaw but he has already earned his keep at a time the Dodgers were scraping the barrel for a starter.
Chris Taylor was acquired for Zach Lee, and while Zach Lee was never going to help the Dodgers win a game in 2016, Chris Taylor has already put one in his win column. WAR may only give him a few points for his memorable game, but in my ledger, his WAR is at 1.0.
Chris Taylor Notes on Dodger game on July 15, 2016:
- 1st LAD to hit a grand slam as his first home run
- 1st LAD second baseman to drive in six runs
- 1st LAD to hit a grand slam, a double, and triple in the same game
- 1st Dodger second baseman since Jackie Robinson to drive in six runs
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 