Mailbag Monday: Andy Pages SZN, bullpen struggles + more
Answering questions from paid subscribers!
Happy Monday, everyone!
Hope everyone is having a great start to their week. The Nationals are coming to town so hopefully we can get this team back on track.
You guys crushed it this week with the mailbag. There were a lot of great questions! As always, if you’d like to ask a question for a future mailbag, please consider becoming a paid subscriber!
Mark — Is Andy Pages going to become the next Michael Busch, whereas he crushes in the minors but never gets the runway in the Majors?
I sure hope not! Busch didn’t have a clear role with the team. He likely would have started the season in the minors. I still think they could have found a role for him, whether that meant in left field or second base. I don’t care if his defense would have been bad, that bat has been one of the best in baseball so far!
Okay there’s my rant about Busch. I don’t think Pages will be similar. Next season it looks like there is a clear role for him in the outfield. Depending on how things shape out this season, he could carve a role as well. I expect Pages to be in the Opening Day starting lineup for the Dodgers in 2025.
Stan B — Will Buehler be the replacement for Bobby Miller heading to the IL? The timing seems to line up. And any updates on when Brusdar and Treinen return? We need them (now).
And lastly, why would the OKC team drop the dodgers name from their brand. Are there plans to sell the team?
Yeah it looks like Buehler will be taking Miller’s spot in the rotation once he joins. The good news is that it doesn’t seem as if Miller will be missing as much time as originally expected.
In regards to Graterol and Treinen, it sounds like Treinen is closer to a return than Graterol. Treinen recently faced hitters and could be going on a rehab assignment soon, maybe within the next week. Graterol was transferred to the 60-day IL, so we won’t be seeing him until the end of May at the earliest.
Finally with the OKC team name. It sounds like they want to rebrand to something more local, as opposed to being called the Dodgers. I totally get that, as most minor league teams have a unique name and don’t name themselves after their MLB affiliate. The plan is for them to have a new team name for 2025.
Marilyn Fisher — I’m glad we all asked about Stone last week because he immediately turned in a good game! Who do we have in the minors that can come up to help pitch? The Prior lab projects/other team castoffs don’t seem to be working.
Well, it sounds like we have a bunch on their way! According to reports, Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack and Ricky Vanasco are going to be called up this week. Three fresh arms who could hopefully pitch a lot better than the guys currently up!
Everyone knows how high I am on Hurt, but Knack and Vanasco could prove to be valuable assets for the team moving forward. I’m excited to see their debuts this week, whenever the time comes.
Edwin Becker — Where’s the help with the pitching??? Is it coming sooner rather than later? Also, who else here absolutely HATES Machado and on top of that hates losing to him?!
I know every Dodgers fan is different, but I still can’t stand Machado! I’m just not a fan of him being a dirty player over the years. So I do personally HATE when he thrives against us. But there’s nothing more I love than watching him strike out against us!
Alex Khalifa — Is this the forever format for extra innings?
I think the plan is for it to stay this way. I’ve said this before, but I actually don’t hate the extra inning rule. I actually really like it. I think the reason a lot of Dodgers fans hate it so much is because they SUCK in extras. I said it last week, but the Dodgers are 18-30 in extras since 2021. Whatever the reason is, they just can’t figure out the format. If the Dodgers were 30-18 in the format, I think a lot of fans would feel a lot different!
Adam — What's going on with the Dodger's poor track-record with developing this current crop of hitters? I know we've been spoiled by the successes of previous generations (Ethier, Kemp, Loney & Martin, then Seager, Bellinger, Verdugo & Smith) but this current crop (Lux, Busch, Hoese, Vargas, Cartaya...etc.) appears to have either been misevaluated or mishandled, with a heaping dose of bad luck, and poor James Outman seemingly-stuck as a poor man's Joc Pederson - super streaky power bat with more swing and miss than you'd like. That plus a bunch of veteran-focused trades (e.g. the Amaya for Miggy-Ro trade) seems to have hollowed out depth in awkward ways such that the Dodgers are stacked at positions where the prospects are long-term blocked (Catcher, DH), and weak up the middle.
I think you answered it perfectly. We’ve been spoiled by having so many players come up and turn into All-Star caliber hitters. Even last season Outman finished his season as an above-average hitter and top three in ROY voting!
Lux and Vargas didn’t pan out the way we had hoped, but there is still a chance for both to turn it around in their careers. Not to mention, Andy Pages could be the next great guy that comes up and mashes! While we haven’t had a Seager/Bellinger type in a few years, it hasn’t been AS BAD as one would think!
LifesEZ — How many of us said we still need to boost the Bull Pen during the off season? I hold my breath every inning they come in. Who is it? The good one or the bad one? No consistency. JP and several others they bring up and down? I just walk out of the room. Who can they trade for today?
There were a lot of great points you made in your original comment, but I wanted to focus on this one. I think overall the bullpen will be fine. As of right now, they’re a dumpster fire. I think (and hope) it’ll change soon. Entering the season I kept talking about how high I was on this bullpen. I still believe in them.
Treinen will return at some point. Graterol will return at some point. Kelly will be better. Brasier will be better. Things will get better! Again, I say that with hope!
If things are still bad by the time July rolls around, I could see them getting aggressive and trading for a reliever. It’s too early to tell now, so I’m not certain who will magically become available.
At first I hated the extra innings format, but I have come to like it too. Indefinite extra inning games are so hard on the bullpen. I remember years ago watching an extra innings game with Cleveland on tv. The other team had a position player pitch, not just to get through the inning but he really had to pitch! I think he had pitched sometime in his career so he did pretty good and got out of the inning. But then the next day he went on the IL for his arm!
And Manny, how irritating! Especially since he was a teammate of some of our guys when he was on the Dodgers