Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
(Via)
God I hope we get baseball back soon.
Gonna go insane at this rate.
——
New York Daily News: Been talking for a while now about how the negotiations to get baseball back are not going well, mostly due to the owners trying to stall and break the union, and the latest on that grim front is that Spring Training is likely to be officially delayed soon in a coming announcement. We mostly figured that, I think, but it’s still depressing that it sure looks like we’re headed for a partial season.
Boston Sports Journal: Former Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill was based as usual, laying it all out as to why things are the way they are in regards to the lockout, and he saves the harshest criticism for Rob Manfred.
“What has he done to show the fans that he loves baseball?” asked Hill. “When he comes out and calls the World Series trophy ‘a piece of metal,” (as Manfred did in 2020), it’s disheartening, it’s vile, it’s objectively disgusting. You lost me. Look what’s happening with the NBA, where the players and the league get along. Basketball is flourishing. And I’m actually enjoying the league more now, with the league and the players working together as opposed to butting heads all the time.
——
The Athletic: Andy McCullough talked with Dave Roberts about his contract status, and Dave is sure an extension will get done.
When he sat for breakfast this past weekend, he was a man without a contract beyond 2022. His status as a lame duck may not last through the spring. Both Roberts and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman indicated the two parties would negotiate an extension in the coming weeks. “It’ll get done,” Roberts said. “It’ll get done.”
Los Angeles Times: Cody Bellinger struggled all of last season but found something that worked in the playoffs. He’s confident that a healthy off-season will lead to a bounce back.
“My offseason has been amazing,” he said. “Obviously being a dad, you want all the time in the world. But I’m ready to get going. I’m excited for the season.”
This offseason he’s been free of that burden, going through a full workout program that has included training with other players near his home in Arizona. He said he’s even had opportunities this winter to face live pitching. “I feel really good,” he said. “My shoulder is feeling better. I’ve been doing proper lifts to feel good. I’m swinging the bat. I’m feeling pretty good about it.”
WBSC: The Dodgers signed Ben Serunkuma and Umar Male out of Uganda, a first for MLB. Joshua Kizito Muwanguzi, a former player for the Ugandan national team, will be signed as a coach.
Ben Serunkuma and Umar Male are the first Ugandan-born players to sign a professional baseball contract with an MLB club. Uganda is No. 43 in WBSC Men’s Baseball World Rankings, the second African country in the rankings after No. 26 South Africa.
The deal reportedly includes a US$ 10,000 signing bonus and a US$ 10,000 education bonus for both players. Both players will start their professional careers at the Dodgers Academy in the Dominican Republic.
Speaking of signings, the Dodgers inked Cole Duensing and catcher Chris Betts to minor-league deals.
Betts is a 24-year-old catcher who played in AA for the Rays last year. If nothing else, he seems fun.
Duensing is a 23-year-old former Angels farmhand, who posted on Twitter last month that he was looking for a job, with evidence of a couple new pitches.
Not exactly surprising that such an approach would attract a team like the Dodgers.
——
Baseball, come back.
