9:56pm: The Dodgers have formally announced that they’ve designated Baker for assignment and acquired first baseman Andy Wilkins from the Blue Jays for cash considerations.
7:52pm: The Dodgers will designate veteran righty Scott Baker for assignment, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. The move will likely clear a roster spot for another reliever, who will be needed after the team used seven relievers in their 13-inning win over the Diamondbacks today. The Dodgers will continue to use Carlos Frias to their rotation, and it seems like they’ll have to add someone else, perhaps an arm from Triple-A, for what would have been Baker’s next start Wednesday against the Brewers.
The Dodgers signed the 33-year-old Baker last month after the Yankees cut him near the end of Spring Training. He made two starts for Los Angeles, allowing seven runs while striking out eight and walking three in 11 innings. In parts of ten seasons in the Majors, Baker has a 4.26 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
This is how I would use the 5th starter spot if I were a GM. Rotate between 2-4 pitchers (a mix between vets on minor league deal and prospects) in April/May and continue to do that until someone sticks. It creates roster flexibility (more valuable to teams in the NL), which allows you can carry an extra pen arm or position player.
Kind of creates a messy situation with the 40-man at times, but seems like a good plan for the team. Lousy for the players, however.
I’m more than okay with DFAing Scott Baker, David Huff types to clear a spot.
But yeah, you’d have to be mindful of service time. Obvioisly, I’m not calling up Julio Urias up to make a few starts only to spend him back down. I should say if my 5th starter spots were mediorce, I’d the same as Freidman’s doing now.
Dodgers could just call up lee or the young pitcher we got from the pads and call it a day. But they want spot start pitchers