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Youngsters Making An Impact In 2016; National League West

Shane Kay (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – sonsof84tigers.mlblogs.com Follow @sonsof84tigers
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Position players are in camp and games are just around the corner! For the last week, we;ve been taking a look at a couple of young players for each team that I think will have a larger impact in 2016.
We started with theAmerican League East, moved to the AL Central, hit the AL West, swung it to the National League East, NL Central and today we take our final look at the NL West!
Arizona Diamondbacks
Archie Bradley, RHP – This one is part pipe dream and part reality as I’m not sure Robbie Raywill hold the 5th spot all year.
Bradley had been on top prospect lists since 2012 and finally made his debut in 2015 with Arizona and started off with four strong starts where he was 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, but was hit in the face by a line drive by Carlos Gonzalez that knocked Bradley unconscious for 3-minutes.
Bradley made his way back two weeks later, but it was pretty clear he wasn’t the same pitcher. His ERA ballooned to 5.80 by June 1st and Bradley was sent to the minors shortly after.
The potential is there and Bradley showed it, if it wasn’t for bad luck, who knows what would have transpired last year and who knows if Bradley will be the pitcher he once was after this trauma.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast Archives Dec.1, 2012 – Dec.31, 2012 (Lost Eps 39 – 69)
Paul Francis Sullivan (please call him Sully) does a podcast 365 days a year – unless it is a leap year – then he will do another 1. He has done a show everyday since Oct.24/2012. This to date represents a streak of 1215 days consecutively!
Past the CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY are episodes 39 – 69 of the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully starting posting his daily podcasts at the mlbreports.com on Feb.6, 2013. So we will add the dates between Oct.24, 2012 and Feb.6, 2013 in case you missed any of his awesome 1st 105 episodes.
But we will also archive all of his podcasts to date (in coming weeks) – so they are easily accessible for all his fans.
Our website followers have grown larger each year for his podcast.
Follow Sully Baseball On Twitter Follow @sullybaseball
To subscribe on iTunes, click HERE.
To subscribe on SoundCloud, click HERE. Read the rest of this entry
Welcome To The Baseball Hall Of Fame Corey Seager

Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) Follow @Dynasty_Digest
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It’s time to hop on the Corey Seager Express, because before you know it, he will be giving his Hall of Fame speech.
While this is a complete joke, I do think he holds the skills and assets to have an incredible career.
While Seager is very far from a bid to the Hall of Fame, I’m not afraid to say that he has talent that is very comparable to what a Hall of Famer possesses.
To understand my rationale behind this statement, please click on the link below:
The Dodgers Make The Right Move To Re-Sign Kendrick

The Dodgers may have overpaid to hold on to Brett Anderson with the Qualifying Offer, however lucked out with Howie Kendrick rejected the QO in November, only to sign for just $4.2 MIL for a 2nd year. The club was able to ink the 31-year-old to a 2 YR/$20 MIL – where the Qualifying Offer would have paid him $15.8 MIL for just 2016. That is luck for the Los Angeles franchise.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Dodgers are running pretty good today with the status quo on the offensive side of the ball anyway.
Since it was agreed on that Howie Kendrick would sign a 2 year deal for $20 MIL – this is an economic win.
1st off, the Dodgers avoided the $15.8 MIL Qualifying Offer they extended their 2015 2B, then only had to pad $4.2 MIL to the total for a 2nd season.
This is a loss financially for Kendrick, who must have thought a multi-year offer of 3 – 4 campaigns must have been out there for the same kind of money that Daniel Murphy signed for (3 years at $12 MIL per AAV).

Howie Kendrick was unfortunately in the same market as Daniel Murphy and also lost another club that could have bid for his services, when the New York Mets traded for Neil Walker. Kendrick is a .293 Career Hitter, but doesn’t really have great power for Extra Base Hits. This brought down his value a little. He is till a great professional hitter. I am surprised the Angels didn’t come calling for his services – considering the lower AAV.
Not only did the Dodgers brass finally reel in their Starting Second Baseman, they were able to add Chase Utley as a backup/quality bench hitter for $7 MIL. If you combined Kendrick and Utley salaries, it is just $1.2 MIL over what would have happened had Kendrick accepted the QO.
Love Kendrick as a professional hitter. The man is a .293/.333/.423 career hitter – and his 2015 season closely resembled this at .295/.336/.409 in 2015 for the Dodger Blue.
It shows that the Dodgers management/ownership is also willing to fork out the necessary dollars to keep up their NL West Division prowess.
As the 3 time defending Division Champs, they are in prime position to challenge the Giants for a 4th year in a row in 2016.
This contract vaults the Dodgers up to around $245 MIL in total team salary in 2016, yet it was a necessary move.
Los Angeles is also staring at a 50% penalty for going over the Luxury Tax Threshold for a 4th straight year. They will pay around $28 MIL with cash situated as it is now.
For the fans that wanted the organization to dole up for the bigger Free Agents, it is hard to fathom paying that 50% penalty for years upon years at the present rate.
This approach has had the super management team of Andrew Friedman, Farhan Zaidi, Josh Byrnes and newly appointed Alex Anthopoulos under heavy scrutiny, but may work out better in the long run.
Had the club inked Zack Greinke to his $34.42 MIL AAV, that would have put them so far in committed $ over the Luxury Tax, that they would never be able to get under for a reset.
With the 2016 season concluding without a CBA after, it is also wise not to be so far over the Luxury Tax mark when they don’t know what the new deal between the MLBPA and the owners will look like.
2017 has them over $203 MIL in contracts guaranteed to 12 guys already, but 8 players will become Free Agents after the 2016 season, and after 2017’s end comes the best news for Dodger fans. Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford will finally be off the books!
The Dodgers have a ton of young talent coming into the fold here. Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda are under team control for a long period of time here. You still have Julio Urias just coming up to the Major Leagues for service time as well.
The Infield is definitely going to be clogged up with Utley, Enrique Hernandez and Alex Guerrero on the depth chart. Guerrero is out of options and will need to be kept on the Major League Roster (or be released, waived or DFA’d).
Of course Justin Turner is listed as the Starter at 3B for now. Micah Johnson and Utley may join Hernandez as guys that could spell him at the hot corner.
Guerrero could also play the OF, but I am sure that Dave Roberts would love to use Scott Van Slyke as 1st on the taxi squad.
Los Angeles has also strengthened its bench with this move. The one thing they could still use it Relief help. That may be obtained by signing more Free Agents, or perhaps this may clear the deck for another trade to happen.
The Dodgers were 10th in the NL during 2015 – with a .250 Batting Average, and losing a .293 hitter last year would have been tough for this years lineup.
With Corey Seager for a full year, and a return to prominence for Yasiel Puig, this squad could really put up some runs and improve all facets of the offense.
While the club wasn’t so great at Batting Average, they were 3rd in the Senior Circuit in Slugging Percentage at .413.
One has to also think that Chase Utley will be a lot better in reserve role – compared to his .202/.291/.363 3 Slash Line with the team last year. I would say he could be 80% like his worst year (prior to 2015), where he hit .259/.344/.425 in 2012.
For the record, baseballreference.com has Utley hitting .247/.315/.398 in 2016. I am sure the club would take that.
Whether the implementation of a lot of players on the roster – as opposed to having a limited bench and depth if they would have signed Greinke projects well to the upcoming season is yet to be determined. 4
No doubt they are not as strong in the Rotation at the top. But perhaps the addition of Scott Kazmir, the return of Hyun-jin Ryu, Alex Wood for a full year, and a surprise comeback from Brandon McCarthy could pick up the slack.
Signing Kendrick was the right move all day long. This is one less position with the team having questions for.

The fans are seeing a different management philosophy with the new brass under the tutelage of Andrew Friedman. They are taking a big long term picture look. Even though they wasted $90 MIL in dead money last year with questionable decisions, they are trying to clear the deck for many years in the future, by dropping the heavy amount of committed dollars. With a new CBA forthcoming, who knows what the new Luxury Tax Threshold will be. At least by keeping the new contracts to smaller years and figures, Los Angeles may be able to drop underneath the limit in 2018 – 2020. Right near they are at a 50% penalty for every season they are over the Luxury Tax ($189 MIL) until they get under.
*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their other partners.***
A big thanks goes out to our ‘Chief Writer/Part Owner’ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured post.
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Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 11, 2016

Mark Hirsch – Getty Images
The Dodgers have dead weight on their payroll.
The Brewers want to get out of the Ryan Braun contract.
Should these two talk with each other?
It is a trade proposal episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
The Dodgers Should Not Stop Acquiring Players Even After Signing Kazmir And Maeda

Scott Kazmir has revived his career over the last 3 years after seeing it almost end after his days with the Angels. The LHP has gone 32 – 29 record wise, but has dropped in ERA over the last 3 years from 4.04 in 2013 – 3.55 in 2014 – and 3.10 last year for both the A’s and Astros. Kazmir, who will turn 32 later this month, signed a 3 Year deal worth $48 MIL that he can opt out after next campaign. If that is the case, he will collect $16 MIL in 2016 for salary at hit the open market in a Free Agent class where he could really garner some big dollar offers.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part-Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Dodgers have finally entered the Free Agent Starting Pitchers frenzy this offseason In two moves over the last week they have inked Scott Kazmir to a 3 YRs/$48 MIL and NPBL stud Kenta Maeda to an 8 year pact – where terms were not disclosed until mid last week ($24 MIL is guaranteed – with incentives on performance that could bring that up to $10 MIL per year) .
These are decent deals to counter what the D’Backs did in picking up former Dodgers hurler Zack Greinke, and then trade for Shelby Miller, while the Giants inked Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija to help bolster both of their clubs.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 17, 2015

Marvel Studios
What are the Dodgers up to?
Is the team falling apart and letting the other NL West clubs, like San Francisco and Arizona, take over? Or are they building something that we can’t quite see right now but will be dominating.
It reminds me of Tony Stark in the cave during the first Iron Man movie. He built something powerful right under everyone’s noses and turned failure into victory.
Maybe that’s what the Dodgers are doing.
Avengers Assemble for this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Chicago White Sox State Of The Union For 2016

The White Sox should be decisively better in 2016, however to lump them in with the Royals right now for the Division is just not practical yet. However the team could hit on all cylinders and then add players as the year goes on. Chicago only stands to lose four player to Free Agency after 2016 in John Danks, Adam LaRoche, Al Avila and Dioner Navarro. The latter 2 were brought in on one year deals to provide the Catching tandem in 2015.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Chicago has finally thrown their hat into the ring for the AL Central Race. They have pulled off a trade to acquire Todd Frazier in as 3 way deal with the Reds and Dodgers.
The end result is they get 2 years from the former Reds, while parting with Trayce Thompson, Frankie Montas and Micah Johnson away from the club. It is a quality versus quantity deal.
This comes on the heels of the club picking up Brett Lawrie for 3 years worth of service for a couple of Minor Leaguers.
Before these deals, the club really only hand secured a tandem of Catchers with Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro for the offense. Now they have much more depth, and are asserting themselves with one of the better lineups in the AL Central.
If Adam LaRoche can bounce back with his usual 25 HRs and 80 RBI power, you could have 3 Infielders and the Designated Hitter all crack 20+ HRs in the 2016 campaign.
Jose Abreu also stands to benefit with bringing in a hitter like Todd Frazier. You could see a lineup that goes Adam Eaton, Melky Cabrera, Jose Abreu, Adam LaRoche, Frazier, Lawrie, Avisail Garcia, Avila or Navarro and Tyler Saladino. This looks a lot lengthier than a few days ago.
By the moves they made, they could also trade LaRoche to another club if they were so inclined. There is no reason to think the Avila and Navarro couldn’t see some DH action for their roles in the 2016 club. Read the rest of this entry
San Diego Padres State Of The Union For 2016

It was a disastrous plan from the beginning, and now the 2014 winter is causing the 2015 offseason to play out different. The NL West has also seen the Giants and Diamondbacks beef up their Rosters while San Diego has lost their top 3 Bullpen arms. This squad will have a tough time avoiding 100 Losses in the 2016 season in my view. The saving grace is they can trade every Veteran player they can and start building up the club for 3 – 4 more years down the road.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It certainly is a different feel to the winter of the Padres in the 2015 offseason than it was the 2014 Season. I never bought into the premise of how A.J. Preller built the team last year.
It was one of the easiest over/under wagers of the year. It ended in the club losing more games than they did the previous year – despite running a higher payroll.
The franchise loses Justin Upton to Free Agency, and have traded or lost their top 3 Relievers in Craig Kimbrel, Joaquin Benoit and Shawn Kelley.
Preller has also made a few questionable moves in acquiring Jon Jay for one year – and giving up on Jedd Gyorko. In my view, this is a weird move.
In an Infield that is already lacking power, this latest move furthers the need to bring in more hitters. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 15, 2015

Jamie Squire / Getty Images
I thought the Dodgers interest in Johnny Cueto was risky.
Now he signed with the Giants. I get the deal. Huge potential reward. Gigantic risk.
It also means the end of the Tim Linceum era.
Meanwhile Pete Rose is back in the news again and Serena Williams needs to compete with a horse.
Go ahead an bet on today’s episode of Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Assessing Adrian Beltre’s Place ALL – Time: Rangers Should Lock Him Up For A Few More Years

Adrian Beltre has earned every cent of his 6 years/$96 MIL deal signed before the 2011 season so far. He has 3 slashed .309/.358/.514 in his tenure and has finished in the top 15 for MVP voting in each of those campaigns. The Rangers should try to extend him for 2 or 3 more years past 2016 – and lock up the future Hall Of Famer so he can end his career in Arlington. Beltre will play next season at Age 37 – and will make $16 MIL in the final year of his pact.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
When Adrian Beltre arrived in Texas for the 2011 season he had a fine career that was started at age 20 in Los Angeles. What he has achieved in Arlington was turn a decent lifetime of playing baseball into a Hall of Fame Career.
The 36 year old Third Baseman could hold records for the hot corner for XBH, 2B’s, R, GP, PA, AB, Hits and RBI just to start with – and cement his legacy in Cooperstown.
So how many years can he play beyond next year? I think it is realistic to say he could play until he is 40. That would mean playing in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 8, 2015

Events at the winter meetings are going so quickly that they render doing a daily podcast almost an exercise in being incorrect.
Trying to make predictions during this winter meeting… an impossibility
It is an unpredictable episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 7, 2015

Elsa/Getty Images
The Dodgers had a devastating blow handed to them when Greinke left.
They need to make some moves and for some of them, quantity will matter as much as quality.
And by the way, BACK UP YOUR FILES!
It is a Bleed Dodger Blue episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 5, 2015

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Did you predict Zack Greinke leaving LA for the Diamondbacks? If you answered yes, you are a liar!
The NL West is upside down and Johnny Cueto’s agent is loving it.
Snakes in the desert in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 23, 2015
The Red Sox fan in me is thrilled to see Dave Roberts take over the role as Dodger manager.
It means they are going to play his stolen base in the 2004 ALCS on a loop.ring to his collection.
He has his work cut out for him in LA, but if he does his job, he could add another
It is a turn around to a title episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 16, 2015
I compare the Los Angeles Dodgers to the movie Green Lantern… and that is not a good thing.
It is a money NOT spelled wisely this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Read the rest of this entry
How To Fix The M’s For 2016: Seattle Mariners State Of The Union

Seattle was a lot of peoples pick to win the American League in 2015. A 76 – 86 season record ensued, causing the franchise to fire their GM and coach. Now with a tough AL West to contend with in the near future, we look on how the M’s may go about their business this fall.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Seattle Mariners made a lot of prognosticators look bad this year (including yours truly). Of course the Washington Nationals also did as well. Yep..Guilty again.
It was a good thing I put some money on the Blue Jays to win the World Series in preseason, and then hedged against them in the ALCS with KC. I was also fortunate enough to go 9 – 4 with my prop bets as well, and did decent in picking the Mets over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLDS, then win over the Cubs, otherwise I would have taken a beating for the year.
Anyways, enough about me, how about the 76 – 86 Mariners? This team dropped 11 wins from the 2014 campaign, and it looked ugly on them. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 23, 2015
Don Mattingly is out as the Dodgers manager. How much was his fault? Enough was.
One more day before the third anniversary for this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast!
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 16, 2015
The Mets won a wild and strange finale, Don Mattingly will need to find a new job and Fox Sports has to be thrilled with their potential World Series.
East Side… West Side… Every Body is coming down for this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Jacob DeGrom, Daniel Murphy, Zack Greinke and Justin Turner all added to their totals for Who Owns October
Daniel Murphy, Kevin Pillar, Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler all were named Division Series MVPs.
To see this year’s MVP and for previous seasons, click HERE.
Read the rest of this entry
Playoff Betting Lines For Game #5 Mets @ Dodgers + ALCS/NLCS + World Series Odds

I have no problem with the Jays being the favorite out of the remaining clubs left in the postseason – however they should not be favored over every other teams by twice the odds.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Toronto Blue Jays came back from 0 – 2 in the ALDS to beat Texas in the best of 5 series. Kansas City won their winner take all game with the Astros – so now we get to revisit my blog from last week coming to fruition.
I am talking about some precarious moves after the Canadian franchise clinched – costing them a chance for home field advantage. This may be the difference in this forthcoming American League Championship Series. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 14, 2015
The last 4 game day of the year should be a great one! Plus the With the Cardinals out, the remaining 7 teams are all franchises who have waited a long time for a title with stars who haven’t won a ring yet.
It is a once in a generation episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Hector Rondon, Clayton Kershaw, Kyle Schwarber, Justin Turner, Bartolo Colon, Stephen Piscotty and Daniel Murphy all added to their totals for Who Owns October
Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 12, 2015
The last 4 game day of the year should be a great one! Plus the Utley suspension comes through and a devoted fan got married.
It is a full day of playoffs on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Dallas Keuchel, Chris Carter, Marco Estrada, Troy Tulowitzki, Lorenzo Cain and Rougned Odor all added to their totals for Who Owns October
Read the rest of this entry

















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