Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts acknowledged after last night’s game that there’s a chance top prospect Cody Bellinger won’t be optioned back to Triple-A when Joc Pederson is ready to return, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register was among those to report. The 21-year-old has only 32 plate appearances under his belt, but he is batting a robust .345/.406/.655 with three walks to go with five strikeouts. “I think I belong,” said Bellinger. His manager seemingly agreed, praising the youngster and noting that “things can change” when addressing the question whether Bellinger would be sent back as planned. The question remains one of playing time, as the organization no doubt prefers that Bellinger play more or less every day. Unless first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is sent to the DL to rest his forearm or the club decides to reduce the playing time of its existing group of outfielders, that might be difficult for the Dodgers to arrange.
Here’s more from the National League:
- While Mets players and coaches say Matt Harvey has been on the rebound in terms of his stuff, the results just haven’t been there, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo explores. Both Harvey and manager Terry Collins say they believe the issue is command, especially with his secondary offerings. Whatever the cause, it’s concerning. While Harvey’s average velocity isn’t too far from his typical range, he is managing only a 7.4% swinging-strike rate. That has left him with as many earned runs as strikeouts (5.14 per nine apiece) over his 35 innings this year.
- Meanwhile, Mets catch Travis d’Arnaud left yesterday’s game when his recent wrist injury “acted up,” in the words of Collins and as DiComo further reports. It’s not immediately clear whether he’ll miss any time; presumably, that’ll depend upon how the joint responds today. The 28-year-old has rebounded somewhat after a rough 2016 season at the plate. Over his 66 plate appearances, he owns a .203/.288/.475 batting line with four home runs and six walks against just 11 strikeouts — and a .182 BABIP that could suggest some misfortune.
- Though Cubs star Kris Bryant was forced out of last night’s game with a calf issue, it doesn’t sound as if it’s much cause for concern. Bryant told reporters, including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter), that he is very confident of returning to the lineup today. Unsurprisingly, the 25-year-old has continued to rake in his third MLB campaign. Over 122 plate appearances, he’s slashing .291/.393/.553 — a near-exact match for the 2016 batting line that helped him to the NL MVP award.
I dont see how the dodgers could even option chris taylor at this point. Let alone bellinger who is already better then gonzalez
That has to be one of the most ridiculous posts I’ve ever read!
And why is that?
First of all I love what Bellinger could be but slow your roll it’s been 8 games. Agon has been consistent over his career and though he’s slowed with age it’s not like he’s hitting below the Mendoza line..plus his defense is still elite!
Agon isn’t the same player he was 2-3 years ago
And he is banged up
He’s not banged up enough for the DL and so isn’t going anywhere. In the words of the great Kevin Millar..Bellinger doesn’t have enough dirt in his spikes yet.
Elite defense? He’s average. Bellinger is the best defensive first base prospect in the minors. Not to mention a much much better hitter then what agon is now. It’s time to move on and let the kid stay
Bellinger’s hot, Gonzo is not. Should be an easy decision. You don’t have to send Gonzo down, just give him some rest.
Bellinger’s triple last night was really impressive. He pulled an inside fastball foul into the upper deck, and the very next pitch, hit a pitch over the outer half down the leftfield line to clear the bases. It’s early, but he’s looking like he ought to stay put.
Yup. Are you paying attention, Joc?
I’m glad they sent done SVS he was not hitting. Maybe Kike is next
Couldn’t they option Toles? Because from my limited knowledge he’s been terrible.
He started off slowly, but has picked up recently – he currently has a 6 game hitting streak going.
A .182 BABIP could also suggest an injured wrist, cause you know, hitters kind of need those
Wrist looked strong on those bombs he hit off Scherzer the other day!
Boom!
AGon needs to put pride aside and do the DL stint to fully rest up. Playing through injury is admirable if there isn’t a better option, but we do have a better option. Bellinger at first, Joc back in center, Toles/Guti in left would stabilize the lineup. AGon needs rest more than anything, his body is starting to show wear from so much baseball over the last decade plus. Good thing is his skills haven’t gone anywhere, just looks like his body is tired/reflexes are slower. 10 day DL trip or even a little longer, maybe a few weeks, should do the trick.
The obvious move is the DFA/release Utley. Have Taylor play second until Forsyth comes back and Hernadez can back him up and you will always have one of Guti/Toels on the bench to back up the OF so I think that’s the move. Utley is old and bating under .200 time to do as the saying goes “out with the old, in with the new”
The problem with this scenario is Forsyth is due back in just a few days and a DFA on Utley is effectively releasing him, and I am sure the Dodgers don’t want to do that. No it seems the clear path to keeping Bellinger on the roster for now is giving Gonzo a rest.
I agree. Utley is terrible. Let the better players stay.
Utley is off to a slow start, but it would not be the first time, and he adds a lot to this team that you can’t read on a scorecard. If you listen to what management says about Utley you will know that his position on the roster is secure. If he doesn’t pick it up on offense somewhere along the line that could change, but I would not count on it.
How does D’Arnauld batting 203 represent a bounce back year?
.475 slugging. So far he’s been exactly league average where last year he was well below average
When has he had a good full season to “bounce back” from?
If you go way, way back to 2015 (does the internet go back that far?) he had an .825 OPS and 126 OPS+. (Granted only 268 plate appearances…)
He shows flashes of being a good hitter, he’s just not built to endure the rigors of catching.
That’s why I wrote “good full season”. d’Arnaud”s got a 1.4 WAR over five seasons in the bigs.
With your keen research skills, you have confirmed that he hasn’t had a good full year yet, so no “bounce back” is possible.
p.s. And his defense is below average to boot — pun intended.
My take on this situation
This is a good situation, maybe an envious situation, when there’s so much talent and space is getting crowded.
Gonzo needs to get healthy. This lineup is carried right now by Seager, Turner, Bellinger with the occasion help from its supporting cast. The possible loss of Gonzo is outweighed by the potential return of Gonzo. Now with that said his 25-30 HR with 30 2Bs are probably behind him. Yet a healthy Gonzo continues to lengthen this lineup.
Toles is going through that learning curve pretty much every rookie goes through, not named Seager. You can see the adjustments though. You can also see he’s toned down some of his free swinging nature. He could probably use some AAA seasoning. He’s not an everyday starter, but can be a productive piece every contending team needs.
I’m not going to blind myself thinking that super two status might not come into play with Bellinger. With that being said, I’m not sure that we haven’t seen the ceiling with Puig. Puig hasn’t been bad but also hasn’t been spectacular. It’s been sort of a throw up between Puig and Toles as to who’s been the more productive player.
That was a very convoluted way of saying Gonzo needs to go on DL the, Toles is probably in need of seasoning, and Puig at the end of the day could be the odd man out come deadline time. This is going to be a very interesting and exciting summer for the Dodgers.
I’ve been giving the idea some thought as well – the notion of manipulating service time. Might this be another way for the Dodgers to flex their financial clout, by ignoring things like that in favor of putting the best players in the field? The Angels did it with Trout during his rookie season, and they barely missed the playoffs, whereas Seager had the job on opening day.
I think it’s more about winning right now and they aren’t to concerned about it. It just wouldn’t surprise me if it happened.
I like your posts. While I have, in a sense, jumped off the AGon bandwagon I still believe and know that the Dodgers lineup is better with him in it. The key is when healthy. It is difficult to be a good team leader and role model when you’re struggling with production and injuries. Dodgers have known for a long time that the roster has too many OFs. Now with Bellinger thrust into the position there’s even more. Outside of Joc and Puig, Clay just might be the best everyday option in left field. I would love to see Trayce back punishing the ball and left-handed pitchers but the rebound curve from a serious injury is very wide. In my opinion it makes sense to give AGon a break on the DL and let Clay play. 10 more days might show how pitchers and teams are adjusting to him. Which would give him a reason to go back to AAA and work on his own adjustments. Lots of decisions more informed minds than ours make. Thank you for thinking about everything in your posts and giving support to those thoughts. Well done
Managers love to be able to play their hottest hand, and for now that’s Bellinger and certainly not Gonzo. All of that could change in a week or two and probably will, but no better time than the present to evaluate exactly where Bellinger stands, and to see how well the opposition adjusts to him and how he responds to those adjustments. Will teams continue to shift on him if he continues to drop down bunts? Lots to learn here, both for the player and the team. Better in May than in September.
The decision on Toles can wait. He’s a card in Roberts’ hot hand, for the moment at least. Maybe he gets sent down again (Ethier’s return perhaps in June will force that issue), but not now.
Just realized I said Clay and not Cody. My bad. But yes I agree
Wait Dnaurd is injured, what else is new
If he goes on DL mets should pick up Saltalamacchia
Tell me why joc is an automatic in the outfield. Yes great defender but he strikes out way too much and at key points with runners on. We have been seeing the same thing for the last 3 years all hoping he becomes this high average power hitter that is never going to happen. I would love for them to put him in a trade package but there is nothing out there to get back on him. I love utley but business is business. Cut him. Taylor deserves a shot to see what he can do. Time for a youth movement.
Utley is pointless at this point. It would be different if Chris Taylor wasn’t doing very well and if Hernandez couldn’t play the middle infield, but Utley is a guy who is on the wrong side of 30 and isn’t even batting .200
At this point, Hatcher, A-Gon, Utley and Kike need to go either down or be DFA’d. Taylor, Bellinger and anyone Forsythe can do the job and A-Gon just needs time off. Possibly plasma shots or whatever Kobe got but no way do you send Bellinger, Taylor etc., down when they are young and able to playhow they have been. No matter what small sample size they have compared to the veterans, they can hit now, and we need that.