Podcast: ‘Dugout Blues’ episode 249 – Kershaw, Freese, Grandal, Ryu, Zaidi

On this episode of “Dugout Blues,” Jared and I get you prepared for what we hope is an eventful offseason.

First up, the Dodgers retained the best pitcher in their franchise history in Clayton Kershaw with, in effect, a 1-year, $28 million extension. Here’s hoping he can “prove a lot of people wrong” over the next three years. David Freese is back to play the role of Chase Utley. He took what amounted to a $1,000,000 pay cut to remain a Dodger.

Yasmani Grandal and Hyun-Jin Ryu were extended the qualifying offer. Both have until 2 p.m. today to decide whether to accept it. During this recording, it was reported that Ryu will “most likely” accept the offer. That’s great news for the Dodgers and a healthy gamble for Ryu. He’s betting on himself putting up a good 2019 to enter the free agent market in 2020. Grandal is all but sure to decline the QO.

Farhan Zaidi, Chris Woodward and Turner Ward are all now former Dodger employees. Zaidi is leaving to be the president of baseball operations in San Francisco (boo), Woodward is going to manager the Texas Rangers and Ward will be the hitting coach in Cincinnati. Good luck to at least two of them.

Keibert Ruiz left the Arizona Fall League due to a death in the family. Here’s hoping he spends the offseason with his family and getting ready for a big 2019 season for him.

We close with a solid Q&A session. Please keep the questions coming.

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Look for new episodes of “Dugout Blues” every Monday (or every other Monday during the offseason). Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we’re always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you’d like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us ([email protected]) or send us messages on Twitter (@JaredJMassey or @DustinNosler). You can also “Like” the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.