Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
There hasn’t been a ton going on of late, so it seems like a decent time to catch up on some Dodgers news that isn’t major free-agent signings or extensions or rumors about either.
======
In case you’ve been under a rock, Mookie Betts is moving back to the dirt, and specifically they’d like him to handle shortstop.
“He’s ready for the challenge,” Gomes said in his suite at the Hilton Anatole. “He feels like, with a full offseason, he can go and tackle that. Like we’ve said before, he’s one of the guys that I certainly wouldn’t bet against.”
He didn’t grade out well during his time there last year, but as Brandon Gomes mentions, most of the issues were with throwing.
“If you look at all of the most challenging parts of the position, he does (those) really well,” Gomes said. “And where he struggled was throwing. You go watch him in right field, it’s one of the best arms in the game; it’s incredibly accurate. So those things are most challenging to teach: getting off the ball, range, making exceptional plays, his pre-pitch timing. He nailed those. It was really syncing up his throw from that because he’s been so used to the outfield throw.
“So I think that will be the majority of his work, is how does he access what is an elite arm and have that translate to the infield?”
I’ll never count Mookie out, but man that is such an unreal position switch this late into his career. Then again, with his bat, he really just needs to be below-average for it to make sense and it’s not like he lacks the arm.
——
In terms of injury updates, Freddie Freeman underwent surgery on his right ankle, as expected.
Earlier today, Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman underwent surgery on his right ankle consisting of debridement and the removal of loose bodies. The surgery was performed by Dr. Kenneth Jung at Kerlan Jobe in Los Angeles. Freeman is expected to be able to participate in…
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 5, 2024
They say he’ll be ready, but if he starts off slow or something, I better not see bitching.
Speaking of, Shohei Ohtani isn’t likely to be ready for the mound come Opening Day due to surgery on the labrum of his left shoulder.
“Very unlikely,’’ Roberts said when asked if Ohtani could possibly pitch in Tokyo. “I just don’t see us starting the clock in March to then think that we would keep that continuously going through October. Then, that would call for a break or reprieve in the middle of the season, so I don’t know.
“I still think unlikely.’’
Predictably and understandably cautious.
Same caveat about his start applies.
——
Not exactly the signings people want to see right now, but the team inked minor-league deals with both David Bote and Matt Sauer, who will also both get invitations to Spring Training.
Bote is a utility player that has mostly featured and second and third, and he’ll be entering his age-32 season. He’s been a plus defender at both of his primary positions and has a career .234/.318/.392/.711 line for a 90 OPS+ in 1213 plate appearances. Not sexy, but good to have as organizational depth, nevertheless.
Sauer is a right-handed pitcher entering his age-26 season, and he’s coming off a 2024 where he made his MLB debut with the Royals after being picked in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft from the Yankees system. His 2024 didn’t quite go the way he wanted, as he coughed up 14 runs in 16.1 innings and was sent back to the Yankees. He also struggled in the minors between AA and AAA, surrendering 22 runs in 32.1 innings with an unremarkable 30 strikeouts against 11 walks. Not a ton there to feel great about, but he did start 16 games in 2023, where he struck out 93 in 74 innings against 34 walks and had a 3.41 ERA primarily at AA. That’s presumably why he was taken in the Rule 5 Draft to begin with, and maybe the Dodgers can find some depth there.
Another signing was Sam Carlson getting a minor-league deal from the team. A 2017 second-round pick of the Mariners, and once their top pitching prospect, he battled unfortunately-timed arm issues that eventually resulted in Tommy John surgery in 2018 and ended up costing him three seasons due to the pandemic screwing everything up in 2020. After signing as a minor-league free agent with the Brewers in 2024, he was assigned to AA and put up a 4.25 ERA in 48.2 innings as a reliever with 51 strikeouts and 19 walks. Nothing jumps at you statistically, but he does have a unique fastball.
Sam Carlson's fastball has a unique characteristic called Vertical Approach Angle, which is the angle at which a pitch approaches home plate. ?
— Tread Athletics (@TreadHQ) November 10, 2024
In Carlson's visit to HQ at the start of his offseason, his VAA stood out as an area where he can really set himself apart. ?… pic.twitter.com/LpulzWmSqm
——
Due to Roki Sasaki being a part of the 2025 international free agent class, the Dodgers had money to burn in the 2024 period, and they inked seven players at the deadline in right-handed pitchers Shai Romero, Cesar Sanchez, and Samuel Savinon, left-handed pitcher Aneudy Almonte, and infielders Antoni Urena and Hendry Arvelo from the Dominican Republic, as well as right-handed pitcher Alexis Reyes from Venezuela.
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially signed 7 players before the conclusion of the 2023-24 international signing period:
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) December 13, 2024
DR
RHP Cesar Sanchez
RHP Samuel Saviñon ($225K)
INF Antoni Ureña
INF Hendry Arvelo
RHP Shai Romero ($200K)
LHP Aneudy Almonte ($50K)
VEN
RHP Alexis Reyes pic.twitter.com/zrD30KEAcB
They had around $2.5 million left to spend, so it’s a bit of a shame to let a lot of that go to waste, but I guess they were doing everything possible to make sure they’d be in position to sign Roki no matter what happened. Can’t blame them.
