The Dodgers reassigned several non-roster invitees to minor league camp today, including Jake Lamb, Kevin Pillar, Tony Wolters, Shane Greene, Reyes Moronta, Tomas Telis, Stefen Romero and Eddy Alvarez.
While many minor league deals for veterans contain out clauses if they don’t make the roster, Lamb will remain with the Dodgers, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (Twitter link). His minor league deal does have out clauses in both May and July, Toribio adds. Similarly, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya tweets that Pillar passed on his first opt-out opportunity (April 2) but has other opt-out chances later in the deal.
Lamb had a huge Spring Training, going 9-for-27 with a pair of homers and three doubles, but his bid to make the roster as a corner bat off the bench will come up a bit short, at least initially. Los Angeles is going with a short three-man bench to begin the season, deferring to a slate of 16 pitchers at least early on in the wake of an abbreviated Spring Training.
Pillar, meanwhile, signed a bit later and had just two hits in 18 plate appearances, albeit one of them being a home run. He, in particular, seems like a candidate to eventually get a look as a bench option for the Dodgers, who don’t look as though they’ll carry a traditional fourth outfielder alongside backup catcher Austin Barnes, utility infielder Hanser Alberto and infielder/outfielder Edwin Rios. The recent trade of AJ Pollock thinned out the outfield mix in L.A., likely leaving Rios and infielder Gavin Lux as the backup options to Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor across the outfield.
It’s not yet clear whether all of the players who were reassigned today will stick with the team and head to the minors, though it’s common this time of year to see veterans on non-roster deals return to the open market or, in some instances, be traded to another club that has a more clear opening for their services.
Dang thats gonna be a strong AAA team
Beats the brakes off the A’s and Orioles MLB teams lol ugh
Can’t forget them Pirates
this literally could change after their opening series in Colorado, I bet. Between shortened ST and what Coors does to a pitching staff, I think they’re trying to play it safe with the extra pitcher(s). I bet a bench guy (whether Lamb, Pillar or someone else) is added within a week if not sooner.
I’d take Pillar back. He was good in Boston and they need RH hitting outfielders. He can play all 3 OF spots. Curious to see if Chaim sees it that way too
As soon as rosters reduce (5/1) and pitcher limits are reinstated, at least one of them will be called up.
Pillar, no doubt, has an opt out. He’ll be back after he gets some more reps in AAA.
Heavens people……
By April 20 there will have been at least 50 transactions of players being called up and sent down.
Teams roster well over 30 pitchers a year and at least 22-24 position players.
Get a grip.
Sparky Anderson:”If he’s lefty and breathin’, I want him.”
2022 version:
“If he’s lefty and he’s got a Work Permit, I want him”
Universal DH?
More like Universal Coors Field./s
Thoughtless of them not to pass a Mercy Rule.
.
They are bored because the basement is cold and mommy doesn’t have any fresh baked cookies.
Give ‘em a break
If you would have told me in 2017 that Jake Lamb in 5 years would open the season in the minors, I would have told you to up your medication. Add Pillar to that conversation and I would then said to go ahead and double your meds.
There’s a lot of factors at play here, including stronger data than ever to show how to get a guy out (and shifts, etc.), but I guess more than ever, it’s a young man’s game.
It’s always been a young mans game.
But one wouldn’t know it reading all the posts here each offseason encouraging all teams to overpay for veteran FA’s – and if they don’t, calling them “cheeep” and stating: “they aren’t trying to win”.
Agree about Lamb, but not so much Pillar. Pillar hasn’t been very good with the bat for his entire career. He has a career 88 OPS+, which is also what he gave the Mets last season.. He did have a 106 OPS in 2020, but that seems to be a short season outlier, since it was his only 100+ of his career.
He had value because he could play CF, but even that skill has waned. He has negative numbers in DRS and OAA since 2018, and at age 33, isn’t getting any better.
Thank you Johnny Superscout
What’s your point? You feel the need to make a snide comment, because I disagree with someone, since they obviously didn’t looked at the stats, that are easy and available for anyone to find?
Pillar was already a borderline major leaguer in 2017.
I realize he had 3 bWAR that season, but an 86 OPS+.
I don’t remember Rios having much (if any) playing time in the OF, did I miss something?
Infield is full, plus Bellinger and Lux aren’t looking like Maris and Mantle lately
He’s only played nine innings in the outfield in the Majors but has 300 (mostly LF) in the minors.
Even more intrigued why Beaty is gone
Because Rios has a better bat and glove than Beaty. Busch and/or Vargas will need a spot on the big league roster soon anyway
Quite unfortunate. Was expecting both of them to make the team given the lack of talent on the Dodgers team. Oh well, maybe next year…
That AAA team would win against the D- backs or Rockies that is serious depth , and this from a Diehard Pads fan.
God Bless.
Lamb looked great in Spring Training. I figured he’d land a big league deal somewhere (don’t act like agents aren’t calling around to find things out before these opt outs).
Incredible depth pieces for the Dodgers.
Of course, agents are calling around. The good agent never sleeps, and there are negotiations between player and team all year long: “I want 2 Baseball Betties in my room at night, not just one!”
Which of course makes this “I don’t want to negotiate a contract during the season’ stuff laughable. As Jim Bouton said, these guys want to negotiate contracts during their mothers’ funeral.
Not being cynical; it’s dog eat dog and you and I would do it too.
It shows how much he wants to stick with the dodgers. Players recognize how Justin Turner,. Chris Taylor and Muncy revived their careers in blue. The dodgers have a reputation for unlocking the next level in guys. Angels do a great job of finding talent but they struggle at maximizing that in turning it into wins. Some guys take the most $ and others go where they can thrive
Would have liked to see them find a roster spot for Lamb at least temporarily, considering the way the Dodgers have been hitting in spring training. Instead he’s probably he’s going to be sacrificed, which makes him…
Pillar is a beast in the field. .240-.250 hitter but can run down all kind of fly balls and will sacrifice his body.
I couldn’t disagree more. He’s about 12% below league average as a hitter. And while he used to be able to play a decent CF, at age 33 those days are gone. He’s -3 OAA since 2018. And he hasn’t had a positive number in DRS since 2017.
@tad2b13
Which only makes the whole DH-rule for pitchers only is ridiculous. They should expand it to a DH for all players on the field. Therefore, if you have a good defense team but they are terrible offensively, just have DHs for those players.
Why should the pitcher get a DH, while only doing one job while the fielders have to do two jobs of fielding and hitting?
It was through this post that I learned pitchers are not responsible for also fielding their position.
Do they just stand there? Do they have a designated fielder, too? Was this part of the new CBA?
16 pitchers to start the season. Yikes. Preparing for 6 pitchers per game, all throwing as hard as they can.
That will change when the roster size is reduced.
13 pitchers, all throwing as hard as they can.
they start the season in Denver, and with starting pitchers not fully stretched out. Plus with a DH now there’s not much need for pinch hitters. This it’s not as crazy as it sounds. Again, within a week that will be reduced.
Cody’s make or break year….he is in the Chris Davis zone right now which is well below mendoza line
If Bellinger continues to tinker with his swing and struggle endlessly through the 2nd month of the season, he’ll be joining that AAA team.
The Dodgers have a GREAT lineup when healthy, but let’s get some reality checking here – Mookie is coming off an injured season, Taylor had surgery on the off-season, Muncy is coming off a major injury, Lux will be given another runway that we can only hope he succeeds on, and Bellinger….. oh f*’in Geezus, he’s been an offensive mirage.
Betts has exactly one base hit in official spring training games. He isn’t coming off any sort of injury that should produce this kind of results so it’s mystifying. If I’m going to worry it would be about him over Bellinger.
Have you missed the last year? Bellinger looks cooked. Hopefully he figures it out but it’s not looking great for him.
Did you miss Bellinger’s two major injuries and surgeries? Did you miss the size and length of the commitment the Dodgers made to Betts? Bottom line, the Dodgers expect Betts, not Bellinger, to be the team’s tent pole. Without any obvious explanation for his terrible spring training performance you should be wondering and worrying about what is going on with him. Well I am anyway.
Bellinger looks absolutely lost at the plate so far in spring training. At one point he struck out 7 at-bats in a row without a single hard contact foul ball. I feel for the guy but how long can they keep him in the starting lineup or even on the 26 man roster when he is not hitting at all? Don’t the Doyers have about a half dozen “hitting coaches”? what do these people do besides scribble in their notebooks, spit, and scratch themselves?
But Betts is coming off an injury – the bone spur on his hip. Since he declined to have off-season surgery, I’d be concerned about the pain returning despite his, what I can only hope was, diligent treatment and rehab.
I’m pretty sure it’s safe to assume the $300m man got the best treatment the planet has to offer, and that the player is no kind of slacker.
Pillar will likely be up in short order. Dodgers have no OF depth on the MLB roster
I’d rather Pillar over JBJ in CF for the Red Sox.
Pillar may have wished he didn’t do the thumbs down last year now it is thumbs down for him.
I’d probably take Marisnick as my 4th of over Pillar right now.
Pillar just isn’t very good at anything anymore outside of recovering from a broken face.