Kenta Maeda is unhappy the Dodgers shift him to the bullpen every postseason. The Dodgers and, surprisingly, their fans, are giving Maeda the cold shoulder about it.
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
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We got into a pretty lengthy discussion about Maeda on the other blog I post on. Kenta is upset about being sent to the pen and feels he is a starter and that is that. Most fans that I have seen posts from feel that if he is that upset, just trade him. You do not need an unhappy player on the team. I feel the same way. Now, the reason most fans do not care is simple. Maeda is a good starting pitcher, but not a great one. His stats out of the pen are much better. I also read that Friedman has challenged Maeda to step up his game if he wants to stay in the rotation. Part of this is because of the money. Maeda signed a very team friendly contract when he came to the Dodgers, and it is really loaded with incentives. Which over the last couple of seasons, he has not come close to hitting with the move to the pen. The Dodgers and his representatives could not reach an agreement on restructuring the deal. Hence, he is now unhappy. The projected rotation for next year, barring any major additions to the staff is Kersh, Buehler, Maeda, and Urias, with Gonsolin, May, and Stripling in the running for the #5 job. If they bring back Ryu, it will be the same bunch as last year minus Hill. Right now it is a wait and see situation. But if this persists, I could see them moving Maeda in a trade. Around the game, the Braves resigned another of their pick ups from last year, Martin. They have a good, if not aging bullpen. 6 of those guys are over 30. We won’t be seeing Gerardo Parra next year. He signed with the Yomuri Giants of the Japanese League. Angels have until the end of the year to decided whether to renew their lease at the Big A or not. It runs for 10 more years.
Michael what is the other blog you post on ,I enjoy reading your your thinking on different subjects.
thinkbluepc.com. Lots of good people there.
https://thinkbluepc.com/