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Trade Deadline Insanity: Dodgers Acquire Yu Darvish

Yu Darvish

Reports are indicating that the Dodgers have acquired Yu Darvish from the Rangers in a stunning move that makes me wet myself. The Dodgers will be sending three minor leaguers to the Rangers in the deal. One of those players is Willie Calhoun, according to Jon Morosi. I’m floored at this point. The Dodgers are indeed going for it as they try to break the nasty World Series drought that has hung over the franchise for nearly 29 years . This is a go year people!!! They got him.

Now discuss!

Scott Andes

Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic

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Scott Andes
Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic
https://ladodgerreport.com

98 thoughts on “Trade Deadline Insanity: Dodgers Acquire Yu Darvish

  1. Where did everybody go? Dodger Therapy??

    C’mon, who did a good job? C’mon, You phobes can do it, tell us who did a good job!!!!

    Remember, better late than never!!!

    1. For what they paid for the guy they did a very good job and best of all for the fans they moved away from their MO of not going after the big name on the market. Kudos for that, now lets just win. Deal was announced after the deadline passed.

  2. Well I was totally wrong. I did not think FAZ would commit to a high end trade and they surprised me. Well done. I knew they were in on lefty relievers. And considering that Calhoun was the main piece, they did all right. I have heard a few scouts rave about Alexy, but he is a few years away, same thing with Dixon. I am glad to see SVS move some where he will get some playing time. I wish him the best of luck because he is a good guy.

      1. I give credit where and when it is due, same thing with criticism. We have different views Box, that is just the way we are made. I like old school, and you are a fan of the FAZ. I have watched the game and this team over 60 years. Seen bad and good. This bunch is very good and just got better. So kudos. I wonder if Forsythe will give up # 11 to Darvish…….doubt it, but we will see.

        1. I knew that. That’s why I thought you might be first.

          I like old school, just also believe, “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door”. The path now comes through Dodger Stadium, a house of horrors for other teams.

  3. At least the Joey Bats and Jay Bruce rumors were BS. Quite a day to be a fan of this team. 4 of those kids traded were playing for the Loons. Now we can throw some lefty’s out there. I would think Paredes is back in the minors, Darvish and Watson already on the 40 man. This trade means that either Stewart or Stripling gets sent down I would think. O’Brien was DFA’d. Arizona traded for Rosales. Rocks get Lucroy, Az also gets Hernandez from the Angels. Ysla optioned to Tulsa, Here is a weird one, Yankees sent Jaime Garcia to the minors.

  4. Maybe they learned from their mistake last year thinking a Rich Hill type pitcher would be enough.

    1. We can only hope Artie. Prospects are just that until they prove otherwise. They got 2 RH relievers last year at the deadline, Chavez and Fields. But Liberatore and Dayton were nails last year. Bridge to Kenley was not so well defined. Hill has pitched better the last month, so maybe he is finally the pitcher they thought they traded for. Bit thing is only Kershaw is averaging more than 6 innings an outing. Darvish is averaging 6.1. So that right there is an upgrade.

      1. Hill has, with the exception of the Cleveland game and one other, been good all year.

        He was also excellent last year and in the playoffs when he pitched.

        So, this Hill has been around since last year.

        At least in my opinion.

        1. He’s been here a year and has pitched 112 innings. I know innings don’t matter to some, but they do to me. The innings he can’t pitch somebody else has to pitch. My biggest issue with the guys FAZ picks is their fragility. Hill has been good when he pitches. But he should have at least 150 IP by now. And that is my opinion.

        2. He did not pitch very well in game 2 against Washington. It was only one game, but his control was awful.

          But I agree he has been a pleasant surprise this year, blister and all.

          1. Artieboy

            Kershaw didn’t pitch that well against the Nats, in his first game either.

            But what I remember about Hill, was that he had trouble keeping the Nats quickie, from stealing.

            But that kid is on the DL I believe right now.

            Trace Turner I believe his name is.

        3. Yeah maybe, but his innings count is always a concern. Look, the guy has not been allowing runs, but he is not pitching deep into games either. Wood has been better of late at getting deeper, but also does not go much past the 5th and rarely into the 7th. if we start getting a solid 6 out of all those guys, just think how much better the BP will be. I can even see them using a 6 man to keep the whole bunch fresh.

          1. Again, look at the #s.

            NOBODY pitches late into games when the playoffs arrive. Nobody. You go 5, 5.1, 6 and then its matchups and high-leverage situations for relievers.

          2. Bluto, Last year in the NLCS the starter went 7 in 3 of the 6 games. Kershaw in game 2, Lester in game 5 and Kendricks in game 6. Hill and Maeda went less in their starts and Kersh in game 6 was KOed early. Those were the only guys who did it, Hill went 6.

          3. Michael,

            Three starters went 7 in a 7 game series. That means 3 in 14.

            Let’s look as a whole in Last year’s CS and WS:

            NLCS
            Maeda 5 innings
            Lester 6 innings
            Kershaw 7
            Hendricks 5
            Arrieta 5
            Hill 6 (got the win)
            Urias 3.2
            Lackey 4
            Lester 7
            Maeda 3.2
            Hendricks 7
            Kershaw 5

            ALCS
            Kluber 6
            Estrada 8
            Tomlin 5.2
            Happ 5
            Stroman 5
            Bauer .2 (injury)
            Sanchez 6
            Kluber 5
            Merrit 4.1
            Estrada 6

            WORLD SERIES
            Lester 5.2
            Kluber 6
            Arrieta 5.2
            Bauer 3.2
            Tomlin 4.2
            Hendricks 4.1
            Kluber 6
            Lackey 5
            Bauer 4
            Lester 6
            Arrieta 5.2
            Tomlin 2.1
            Hendricks 4.2
            Kluber 4

          4. I know, but you said No one goes 7, so you were wrong….that was my point. And it was a 6 game series. You do not count games that were not played. So it was 3 of 12.

  5. Question: Which 3 pitchers on the 25 man are sent out to make room for Watson, Cingrani and Darvish? I have 2 candidates for sure, Paredes, and Ravin, not so sure who will be # 3. Also, does Stewart still start game 2 in the ATL??? They are still carrying 13 pitchers and 12 position players.

    1. It’s kinda bonkers:

      When McCarthy and Kershaw return from the DL, you have to think the staff will be:

      Kershaw, Hill, Wood, Darvish and McCarthy.
      Long relief would be: Ryu and Maeda
      The rest of the pen: Morrow, Jansen Baez, Watson, Cigrani and Ravin?

      Thus Stewart, Stripling, Avilan, Parades are all optioned.

      A 13 man staff?

      1. I think all of them might rotate on and off the DL for the rest of the year. We only have 6 days off between now and October.

        I’m actually feeling more confident about this staff than I have all year. The 10 day DL is being used in ways that are of enormous help to the Dodgers. It’s like it was implemented for them. Darvish is huge in my mind. I don’t know much about the other two, their numbers aren’t all that, but maybe they are considered reliable. Reliable on this staff will be of critical importance from here on out.

      2. I think Ravin has more of a chance of going down than Avilan, 13 man staff looks like what they are thinking. Not sure they want to use both Ryu and Maeda in long relief. McCarthy has been less reliable than Maeda. Maybe he becomes the long man, or maybe they rotate to keep fresh. Right now with Kersh down, it really does not matter.

        1. I have my eyes on Ryu. He is a difference maker if he can get back to 90% of what he was.

          Maeda is ok but Ryu has higher upside all around and can get through a lineup 3 times.

        2. Michael

          Don’t say long relief and McCarthy in the same sentence!

          He was terrible when he came in from the bullpen last year, against the Giants, in that last series!

  6. Zaidi said Kershaw’s injury “didn’t really at all” factor into the pursuit of Darvish. However, Zaidi said the Dodgers did factor in their desire to avoid using Kershaw on short rest in October. Kershaw regularly has started Game 4 of the National League division series on three days’ rest, and he started three games within nine days in 2013 and 2016.

    1. That would mean pitching Hill in game 4, assuming Kershaw, Darvish, Wood go in games 1.2,3.

      I would think Hill is definitely an upgrade over previous “whose left” guys like Brett Anderson and Ricky Nolasco. But how much better?

      Would you pitch Hill in game 4 down 2 games to 1? It seems like FAZ have already made that decision.

        1. Darvish will pitch game 2 especially since it is a home game. With luck, you are up 1-0 after your ace pitches, you always look to go up 2-0. Especially in the first round, no margin for error in a 5 game series.

    2. Bluto

      That should help Kershaw mentally too.

      I know that Darvish throws a lot of different pitches.

      I wonder what pitches he throws.

    1. They DFA’d 2 guys, O’Brien and Freeman to make room on the 40, now they need 3 spots on the 25 man to be freed up.

      1. Peters? You sure? I read O’Brien and Freeman. Peters hit his 22nd dinger at Rancho last night. But they can send him straight to A ball I guess. That’s only to make room on the 40, 3 guys need to go off the 25.

      2. Scott, Peters was not on the 40 man roster. They DFA’d O’Brien and Freeman and sent Ysla to AA Tulsa. The 25 man roster moves will be made when they know when those 3 guys are reporting to the team. I think according to the rules that they have 72 hours to report.

  7. I think they did a great job with this trade.

    And I am looking forward into seeing Calhoun, get some major league at bats.

    1. I think Tree Trunks will fill in well at Texas. Hope they give him a shot soon since they are going nowhere. Doubt he will like that summer humidity down there in Arlington. When I was driving for National Carriers and stationed out of Dallas, I could not wait to get a load out of there in the summer.

  8. Yes! The FAZ did come through with multiple trades and we only lost Calhoun and AJ Alexy.

    Watson and Cingrani were so so – I think Cingrani will be better but Watson is a lefty sinker baller.

    These are very good trades in my opinion! I said we may all be pleasantly surprised and we were!

    1. More on Watson – he was a relatively expensive get for average stats, and he’s on a major down year. Cruz is an 18 year playing well at low-A already. And Alexy is not a bad prospect either (but we do have a ton of arms anyways as we were able to keep Dustin May and Imani Abdullah).

      However I have been waiting a long time for a lefty sinker baller for our bullpen and Watson’s sinke may be very good at Dodgers stadium. He can throw it in the mid 90s plus a slider.

      Cingrani throws billets but he needs to find himself again. He’s not even as good as Dayton until he gets it together.

      1. YF

        I remember last year or this year, a pretty good hitter, said that Cingrani is a good pitcher, but I can’t remember who said that.

        But it looks like Cingrani has good stuff, at least.

        But this has to be a instant shot in the arm, for both of these relievers!

        1. Brett Anderson did have his best year of recent memory here and parlayed that into a $15m payday.

          Our beloved dodger stadium is great for sinker ballers, and our infield grass treats baseball junkies well.

          But more than just “stuff”, I felt we needed to break up the steady diet of power flyball fastball-slider relief pitchers that we have before we get to Kenley Jansen, which was why I liked especially Britton more than Hand and Wilson. But I liked that perhaps the front office and the managers saw the same thing and went out and got a Watson. One problem with Watson may be that he’s being put in positions to need to strikeout people but he’s a groundballer not a power arm. He’s been asked to close without closer stuff. So maybe with less pressure, a good defense, a friendly park, better teammates and a more focused role pitching to his strengths, he will a revelation for is down the stretch.

          Cingrani may have great stuff but I think he needs some work. We didn’t have to give up anything for him – (not even a Zach Lee type), so it shows you how far he’s fallen. And he’s another flyball strikeout guy so I’m less enthused. But I still like the trade – he’s young and team controlled for many years.

      1. And we will have him until the end of the season. He has 57 games to make you forget the first 105.

  9. I think both Cingrani and Watson benefit from Honeycutt’s tutelage. Honey is pretty good at spotting flaws in ones mechanics, which may well be part of their problems.

      1. Had to love Perry. He was a solid coach. But do not forget Lasorda also had Dave Wallace for a while one of the better pitching coaches on the planet.

          1. Yep, the Honeycutt trade was the last trade between the Dodgers and Rangers until yesterday’s deal for Darvish.

    1. At least Maeda will have a teammate he can easily talk to now.

      And he can help Darvish with National League hitters.

  10. That’s because the Dodgers uniform is just so much better looking than the Reds uniform. I may be just a little bit biased.

    1. A little, but Red has always been one of my favorite colors. Just when you get used to seeing a guy in the blue, it is a little weird to see him in anything else. First time I saw Garvey in those awful Padres uni’s I almost puked.

      1. That is Mr. Red. Goes back a long long way. Same as the baseball with Dodgers across it flying out of the ball park. Mr. Met, and the swinging Friar of the Padres are pretty cool too. But you have to love minor league logo’s. They are very creative. With names like Mud Hens, Loons, Raptors, and Lookouts, they can really use their imaginations.

  11. At OKC, Buehler went 5 and struck out 6 giving up no runs. Culberson and Cunningham had 2 hits each. Bleich got the save and they beat former Dodger Chase Dejong 3-1. Dejong is 3-6 with a ERA of 6.12. At Rancho, It is 6-3 in the 8th inning, Meises, Peters and Ruiz have gone deep. #22 for Peters. Meises has 3 hits with 2 each for Isabel and Estevez. Tulsa CRUSHED Springfield 12-1. Beaty, Garlick, Robinson, Zarraga, and Gailen hit homers. Sborz, 5-7 got the win. Loons lost 13-7. Maybe because 4 players off their roster were traded today. Lux hit his 6th HR. DSL Dodgers played 4 games. 2 against the Indians DSL team and 2 against the Red Sox DSL team and won 3 of the 4.

    1. I read an article this morning that said after the deadline flurry our system rating dropped from 10th to 12th. We still have 4 Tier 1 prospects. When you have the best team in baseball, not certain a system rating drop is all that significant.

      Next 6 games on the road against sub .500 teams not playing all that well.

      Yes, it looks like we have made a good team even better. For several weeks now I’ve been looking forward to October. Roberts knows full well what has gone wrong the last 4 years. It would appear he is working the problem. Bless the 10 day DL.

      The number of different Dodger pitchers is now 20, soon to go up by at least 3, and the number of starters is now up to 9, with only 1 over 20 starts. Looks like those who took the under on 12, nobody, might have a shot at being right.

      I like our chances against the other better teams in the NL. Bumgarner able to throttle us is a concern, as the playoffs will see one great starter following another for a month. We will remain competitive.

      1. Not sure about that either, but the bulk of the talent is at A ball right now. A couple are at AA and of course Buehler and Verdugo at AAA. Some of those kids at A level are having pretty good years.

  12. If the National League gets its head out of its a** and adapts the DH, increases roster size to 28 (I hate the sham of the 10 day DL), do you see Agon being our DH next year? I hope for Puig, Toles, and Verdugo in the outfield with Kike and maybe Joc as spares. We should always strive to improve the team, and, sorry for those who feel differently, but I see Joc as an under-performer, just like Forsythe, and they should both be replaced by younger, cheaper players who may well out-perform them. No way is Forsythe worth $8MM next year.

    1. Unless he decides to retire, the most likely scenario is a Chase Utley role next year. He has no trade value, even if they Dodgers pay a big chunk of his salary. And even if the NL adopts the DL, it won’t be next year. Even if they do, there’s other players I’d rather see in the batting order.

    2. Probably the one old school thing I believe should be changed. The DH saves pitchers from having to hit, just think how Kersh would be relieved to not have to face Bumgarner. It does reduce some of the strategy, but makes for a lot more drama in the late innings when pitchers are facing guys who are paid to hit.Uh Patch, the DL is already in play in the NL, the DH is not…..

  13. The Dodgers didn’t get greedy here and overspend. The trade moves were smart, sensible…measured. They got just enough without paying too much. I actually like the Watson move the more I read about it. He’s not the lights out, high leverage, effective against both sides of the plate guy that Britton was, or maybe Hand, but the fact that no one was buying tells us how much of a ransom was being asked for them. He can be a definite upgrade in LOOGY scenarios in the playoffs.

    http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-best-reliever-traded-at-the-deadline/

  14. The Reds could start Schebler and SVS in the outfield, and I wouldn’t be surprised if both hit for power.

    Maeda, Ryu, Stewart and Strpling will have battle for long relief spots. They could be number 3 starters for some teams. Perhaps aces for San Diego? Philly?

    Austin Barnes is a top 10 catcher in WAR, when Azb thresholds are lowered.

    But still, if the Nats starters pitch lights out they could easily sweep the Dodgers.

    1. Bluto

      That last line doesn’t sound like you, unless you are trying to continue to make a point, about short series.

      1. He is right, They have some shut down guys. Scherzer would pretty much be game 1. Gonzalez game two and if he is healthy, game 3 would be Strasberg. But we would not meet them in the short series. Dodgers if they finish with the best record will play the wild card winner. Right now that would be AZ or Colorado. Nats have to play the other division winner, which would be the Cubs at this point.

        1. Michael

          Bluto’s point, was that anything can happen in the post season.

          So what he said about the Nat’s pitchers, he could easily say the same thing, about the Dodger’s pitchers..

      2. Short series or long series.

        If Scherzer, Strausburg and Gonzalez pitch lights out, it could easily be over.

        I’m not sure how something I write under a fake name about a subject I know little about can either sound like or sound unlike me.

        My point is don’t develop a Quixotic passion for winning the world series in any current year.

        1. Bluto

          You have a definite writing style, and you have certain beliefs, that you have made very apparent, under the same fake name, more then a few times!

    1. 5’6″ 212 pounds? Bullsh*t.

      Who cares. I’m the only one noticing things like 24 doubles, 3 triples, 75% success stolen bases, .980 fldg %. He will fit in the AL. I told you there was somebody who would want him. I look forward to seeing what he will do with real opportunity.

        1. Badger

          I just saw this writer on High Heat.

          The Dodgers really didn’t want to give Calhoun up, but they knew they had to give up something, to get something!

          Some people have said the Dodgers got the best of this deal, and Passan said, that was just not true.

          Because he said that Calhoun was going to be a middle of an order hitter, in the majors.

          The thing to watch for, is to see how the Rangers are going to use Calhoun.

          Do they just use him as a DH only, or do they try to get him better, on defense.

          1. He can hack. He blew through our system and most reports I read said he’s got a ML bat right now. Texas doesn’t much care what position he plays. He’s a guy who could hit in the middle of the lineup there for 10 years. I think it was a great pickup for them. It’s quite possible he and Darvish will be teammates by the end of the year. Good move by both clubs.

      1. Badger

        Passan said that there are not many 21 year olds, hitting like Calhoun is, in AAA right now!

        And he has did this at every level.

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