Spring Notes: First cut claims 12, Ohtani stays hot, Stone 5th starter, De Paula is a freak, injuries, more

Chad Moriyama 03/04/2024 Dodgers News Leave A Comment

Hey everybody, we’re back again from Spring Training, sooner than I anticipated as the Dodgers have already made first cuts that consists of 12 players. Gotta get a move on with the Seoul Series coming early, I suppose.

Anyway, the Dodgers optioned pitchers Landon Knack, Ricky Vanasco, and Nick Frasso, catchers Hunter Feduccia and Diego Cartaya, and outfielder Andy Pages. They reassigned pitchers River Ryan, Stephen Gonsalves, Jesse Hahn, Michael Petersen, and Eduardo Salazar, and outfielder Travis Swaggerty. Guys on the 40-man are optioned, non-roster invitees are reassigned, basically.

Nothing all that surprising in these moves outside of maybe one guy, which you can read my thoughts on below anyway.

There’s now 50 players left in major league camp, so 24 players to go.

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Shohei Ohtani

Updates on him are basically mandatory, and he went 3-for-3 with a stand-up triple and two RBI. I wouldn’t have worried if he was slow to start, but emphatically showing he’s healthy is fine with me.

Gavin Stone

Told reporters he put on 12 pounds in the offseason eating Chipotle and basically has the fifth starter job locked down now. Yesterday, he had three shutout innings, striking out one and only allowing a pair of singles. Stone is on the same build-up schedule as the other starters who are definitely in the rotation, so that takes the drama out of any competition there.

Gavin Lux

Went 3-for-4 with three singles on Saturday, but had another rough time defensively, as seen below. Yesterday he went 0-for-3 at the plate (not worried), making one routine double play turn and then getting his footwork wrong on another that led to the runner being safe (worried).

Daniel Hudson

Allowed a homer in his most recent outing, but also got three outs and there’s no report of any injury, so an absolute win.

Michael Grove

Bit of a rough go yesterday, striking out two in 2.1 innings, but giving up three runs on two hits and two walks. Mostly competing for the depth swingman role, though I was more excited to see him in short bursts this year.

Miguel Vargas

Following a bit of an ugly stretch, he went 3-for-3 with a walk, double, and homer on Saturday. It’s something.

Kyle Hurt

Looked impressive again, allowing just a single and striking out two in two scoreless innings on 21 pitches. While he likely starts the year in the minors, there’s not a whole lot to suggest he isn’t ready for the call. Their logic is likely that they want to keep him starting just in case, but he figures to be a weapon for the Dodgers in some capacity at some point this year.

Andy Pages

Coming off shoulder surgery, the power was what you wanted to see return, and he singled and smashed a three-run homer on Saturday.

Saw some hand-wringing on social media about him being optioned, but the position players on the team is already set in terms of position players and he can still play in games on the major league side regardless, so it impacts nothing. Just be happy he looks healthy.

Josue De Paula

18-year-old did his best Ohtani impression, flipping an inside pitch the other way for a two-run homer. Unreal upside in the box. Scouting the statline is always perilous, but especially so for young players still growing into their game power, and here’s a prime example.

Kody Hoese

Former first round pick has a .237/.294/.355/.649 career line in the minors and hasn’t had an OPS over .700 since 2019, but the 25-year-old is 4-for-6 with a double and a triple in limited action this Spring. Probably nothing, but I dunno, seemed worth mentioning as he looks more comfortable at the plate than ever.

Dinelson Lamet

Making his Dodger debut, he gave up a single and was then victimized by an error, but struck out the next two batters. The breaking stuff is still nasty, but his recent struggles have revolved around control, and he was all over the place if you watched the outing. Should be interesting to see if the Dodgers can get him on track this year.

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Nick Frasso

While rehabbing from labrum surgery on his pitching shoulder, he had a “cleanup procedure” on his hip labrum as well. Doesn’t really seem to change his outlook much, as he was unlikely to play in 2024 anyway.

Diego Cartaya

He hasn’t been seen yet this Spring due to a back problem (a recurring issue, which isn’t great), but he should be ready for the start of the season in AA.

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If that wasn’t enough #Content to get you through the off day, then wait a few hours for this to be published.

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