Dodger Talk (7-24-25)

Off-day Dodger Talk with Tim Cates before the Dodgers begin series in Boston with the Red Sox.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is world Champion, Dodger World champion. Put a small
song time to get a people what they want to
die in a row? Who is special? I'm like, yeah,
it's not a headache. O. This holl's gone.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Ready to go?

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Sure, Old tell.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Your phone to get in on.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
The show called eight six six nine eighty seven two
five seven.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
I'll come to the show and now your host of
Dodger Talk.

Speaker 4 (00:26):
Tim Kakes.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Oh, glorious Thursday night here in Southern California, looking out
blues skies. The sun is still out one a night
here in Southern California. Thanks for being with us here
on off night Dodger Talk on your home of the
Blue AM five to seventy LA, Sports Life Everywhere on
the IHAR Radio app. Thanks for being with us. Tim

(00:51):
Kates with you here for the next hour until eight pm.
Eight sixty six nine eighty seven two five seventy is
the number you know, so it's in your phone. If not,
put it in your phone and keep it there to
be a part of Dodger Talk. Eight six six nine
eight seven two five seventy. You could also follow me
on ex Twitter at Tim Kates, tim CTEs. We've got

(01:16):
a big show tonight for you here on Dodger Talk.
Coming up at seven to forty five, A farm report,
the latest on the Dodgers' top minor league prospects, from
host Way to Paula down to Mike Sarota and everybody
in between. Jackson Ferris, Alex Friedland, Kellen Lindsey, ed WARDO. Kintaro,
who's in Rancho Cucamonga and tearing it up for the quake.

(01:38):
So that's coming up at seven and forty five. The
latest on some Dodger prospects who you're you're starting to
hear their name and rumbles. As far as trade talks, yes,
trade talks. As we are getting now less than a
week away from the Major League Baseball trade deadline next
Thursday afternoon, So we are now officially less than a

(02:00):
week away from the trade deadline in Major League Baseball.
And the Dodgers will they be aggressive at the trade deadline?
Will the be one of those teams that go out
and add to this roster, whether it's outfield help, bench help,
third base help, whether it's starting pitching or bullpen help.

(02:22):
Will the Dodgers be aggressive at this trade deadline? And
that's what we're gonna get in tonight, and I want
you to be a part of the show. At eight six,
six nine, eight seven two five seventy first and foremost,
the Dodgers sit atop the NL West after a win yesterday,
a walkoff win against the Minnesota Twins in dramatic fashion,
Dodgers down to their last out, down to their last strike,

(02:44):
bases loaded, Freddie Freeman delivers with a two out, two
run walk off single off of Jackson Griffin Jacks as
the Dodgers get the four to three win, as they're
now sixty and forty three overall on the season. It's
important because as we sit here on Thursday night, July

(03:05):
twenty fourth, the Dodgers are all alone atop the NL West.
And the Dodgers right now have the San Diego Padres
behind them in their rear view mirror, and they've got
the San Francisco Giants behind them in their rear view mirrors.
And the Dodgers are looking at two teams who will
be active at the trade deadline. How active and to

(03:27):
what extent and to how aggressive will find out. But
this is a Dodgers team right now looking at the
NL West going into play tonight four and a half
games up on San Diego, six games up on San Francisco,
and ten games up on the Arizona Diamondbacks, who within
the last ninety minutes have thrown up the white flag.

(03:49):
The Arizona Diamondbacks have said we are done for the
twenty twenty five season. Why well, they're the first team
to make a deal. The trade season has officially begun
in the last week here before the deadline, as the
Mariners have acquired Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The

(04:14):
Mariners get a first baseman and a left handed bats
they desperately needed, and they get it from the Arizona Diamondbacks,
who in return get two pitching prospects, including left hander
Brandon Garcia, who was just promoted to the big leagues
a week ago. So the trading has begun, and it's

(04:35):
begun out West, with the Arizona Diamondbacks being the first
team to say we're done. We're out of the playoff
race in twenty twenty five, as they have dealt Josh
Naylor to the Seattle Mariners, who are going all in
in a wild card race in the American League West.
So the Diamondbacks have become sellers. Will they start selling

(04:59):
off every everybody. Will we start seeing Zach Gallon and
crew be dealt from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Will we see
Merril Kelly be dealt from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Will we
see a Max exodus with Ahenio Suarez, the Diamondbacks third
baseman and one of the biggest home run hitters in

(05:21):
baseball this year be dealt maybe to the Yankees before
the trade deadline. It is off and running now. With
the trade deadline in baseball now less than a week away,
you're gonna start seeing teams getting active, some teams getting
aggressive in their playoff chases. And there's a lot of

(05:42):
teams still left out there that are becoming buyers and
will remain buyers even through the weekend, where you'll start
to see a little bit more of that line being
drawn between buyers and sellers. It's started now with Arizona.
They have become sellers, and they're gonna sell off three
more players, probably two starting pitchers and their third basement

(06:04):
Suarez and reloading that organization. But you look at the
American League, in the National League, the six divisional leaders,
and then in the American League, nine teams, nine teams
that were within five games in the wildcard race. Then
you look at the National League, six teams within three

(06:27):
and a half games of the wildcard race. You have
now got twenty one teams in essence still alive and
making playoff pushes in Baseball, twenty one teams that are
gonna be aggressive and trying to make moves to set

(06:47):
their rosters for a postseason run into October and try
to knock off the Dodgers. That's a lot of teams
that are buyers now. Not every team's a high price buyer.
Not every team is gonna be the Yankees. They're gonna
go out there most likely to get Jhenio Suarez out
of the Arizona Diamondbacks in a blockbuster deal. That seems

(07:10):
to be the way that is leaning as far as
a possible move. But they're gonna be teams out there
looking for Taylor Wards if the Angels become sellers. And
right now they're one of the twenty one teams I
look at that are still gonna be playoff contenders going
into the trade deadline unless something dramatically happens in the
last week and they fall completely out of the Al

(07:31):
Wildcard race, So the asking price Dodger fans is gonna
go up from teams that are selling the Diamondbacks, the Braves,
the Baltimore Orioles, the Miami Marlins. Teams that are looking
to get rid of players, the Minnesota Twins, the Pittsburgh Pirates,

(07:51):
the Colorado Rockies, the Chicago White Sox. The sellers at
the trade deadline are out there peddling their wear and
trying to get rid of expiring contracts, talented players that
they can load up then with other younger talented players

(08:12):
in their minor league system or at the major league level.
It is gonna be a seller's market. I believe when
the trade deadline gets here next Thursday, I think you're
gonna see teams holding out, whether they got a reliever
or an outfielder or starting a starting pitcher. You're gonna

(08:34):
see teams holding out to get as much as possible
in return, knowing that there's gonna be more teams out
there that are trying to buy, that are trying to
sell at simple economics, So it is gonna be a
seller's market. Teams like the Pirates, the Orioles, the White Sox, Marlins, Twins, Diamondbacks.

(08:58):
They are all licking their chops right now thinking of
what they can get back for Jaron Duran if the
Red Sox want to be active in sellers, Joe Ryan
starting a pitcher, an All star from the Minnesota Twins.
Dylan Cees the Padres have made it known he's available.
Felix Batista, the reliever for the Orioles, Emmanuel Class of

(09:19):
the Guardians, Seth Lugo the Royals, Mitch Keller of the Pirates.
We've seen Josh Naylor goal already, Merrill Kelly, Zach Gallen,
Sandy A. Kontina of the Miami Marlins. Who's coming off,
Tommy John surgery, Edward Cabrera starting pitcher of the Marlins.
A name being flowed out there, possibly on the Dodgers radar.

(09:39):
Marcelo Zuna will be dealt somewhere, Taylor, Ward could be
going somewhere. There's a lot of names and a lot
of talented players out there that are going to be
on the move. How aggressive will the Dodgers be eight
to six, six, nine, eight, seven, two, five, seventy and
right now, Dodger fans, what you've seen, What is the

(10:02):
biggest need If they can go out and make a
move at the deadline to improve this roster. Where is
that hole that they can fill. Where is that need
in your mind that they can go out and get
a player to help out this roster down the stretch

(10:22):
at into October. Just a couple of things to keep
in mind. During this last off season, there was a
big effort to bolster the bullpen. Tanner Scott signed a
forty year, seventy two million dollar deal. Kirby Yate signed
a one year, thirteen million dollar deal. You've got too

(10:43):
proven back into the bullpen, closers that you brought in
in the off season and spend a lot of money,
I mean almost thirty million dollars between the two of
them to pitch this year in the back end of
your bullpen, and we can all agree they have not delivered.

(11:03):
They have not lived up to what they've done in
the past and the success that they've had closing out
games and getting outs in the eighth and ninth inning.
They just haven't done it. So now Andrew Freeman Brandon Gomes,
are they going to have to go back out to
the bullpen well, so to speak, and see what they

(11:24):
can pull up. They did this in the offseason. That
was the concerted effort this off season was to get
the bullpen right and to add proven arms surrounded by
Ben Kispirius and Jack Dryers and Justin Robleskis. Those were

(11:45):
the names that they brought in this offseason, hoping to
avoid a rush at the trade deadline and having to
overpay for another team's closer. Here in July, it just
hasn't lived up to what they hope Tanner Scott and
Kirby Yates would combine to do. You and I both thought, man,

(12:10):
now you add basically six outs to a game between
Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott each pitching it inning that
is short in the game. Now it has made it.
It has made it so much better for a Dodger's
bullpen now with these two added arms and the Dodger
rotation to find twenty seven outs. The only problem is

(12:32):
the two guys you went out and spent a lot
of money on haven't delivered. And now they may need
the front office to go out and add it yet
another arm. And quite frankly, I don't know if that's
where I want the Dodgers using their prospect so to speak,
their trade baits to go out and get another reliever.

(12:56):
This was supposed to be solidified in the offseason the
trade deadline for the Dodgers. My thinking was adding a
bench player, adding maybe another bat to an already talented team,
just make it even a more depth, a more a

(13:17):
deeper team in the NL West. The problem is now
their needs may need to go to bullpen, and that's
a little concerning to me because you spend a lot
of money this past offseason starting pitching. To me, it's
not an issue. Some may agree, you may disagree, you
may agree. You have Tyler Glass now, who you're counting

(13:41):
on the rest of the season to be the Tyler Glass.
Now we've seen the last three starts, and again this
is all preferenced by assuming all these guys are healthy
and good to go, and you look at the back
of their baseball cards, continue to put up the numbers
and be successful. That's what we're all assuming they're gonna do.
Tyler Glasneow, Yoshi Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Clayton Kershaw, Show, Hey Otani.

(14:07):
That should be darn good enough for anybody's rotation in
the second half of the season and certainly into October.
Then you can throw in an intimate shean Dustin May.
Dustin May is a huge wild card right now and
his name is being talked about a lot more in

(14:28):
the last seventy two hours. David vasse our Dodger inside
are the best of the best, floated it out there
that free agent year for Dustin May. With the logjam
potentially here, with players coming off the injured list, of
the rotation, Glass Now's back, Snell's coming back, Otani's getting

(14:50):
built up, we could see Sasaki in September. Where does
Dustin May fit in? Is he a bullpen guy now
for the Dodgers or is Dustin May used as a
chip to go out at the trade deadline and get
bullpen help or another bat. David vs brought it to
that point, and it was a great point by him

(15:13):
because Dustin May is now going into free agency, spent
a lot of money in other arms, and Dustin May
is finally healthy, second on the team and starts at
any his pitch. Awesome. Awesome that he is healthy and back.
But maybe you could use him in a trade chip
to help another need on your team. We could see

(15:33):
that rather than having to go down in the minor
leagues and give it up. I don't know Jackson Ferris
and Alex Freeland, as I hear Hope Swaye, A Paula
A Nick Frosso, A Kendall George, a Mike Sarota having
to give up one of these talented young prospects or
a group of them to go out and better this team.

(15:54):
Destain May could be that bargaining. Chip Ken Rosenthal brought
it up today on a more national level. It's being
floated out there as a possibility, So you got to
wonder if that's something the Dodgers are thinking about doing.
And it certainly makes sense. He's pitched well, he'd fit
in nicely on somebody's rotation somewhere else. But on paper,

(16:20):
when all these guys are healthy that I just rattled
off Glass now, Yamamoto, Snell, kershaw Otani, I'm gonna throw
in an em Sheen in there when they're all healthy.
That's a lot of starters. It gives you maybe a
little flexibility to make a move with a guy like
Dustin May, and it's a win win for him going
out somewhere else, and it's a win win for the

(16:42):
Dodgers being able to use him as a trade chip
and bolster their team in some other capacity. So the
trade deadline's all about. I love it. We're less than
a week away from the trade deadline in Major League
Baseball and things are gonna get even hotter. We're hearing
a lot of rumors. The Internet's full of them right now,
depending on where you go. But the Arizona Diamondbacks again

(17:07):
waving the white flag trading first basement Josh Naylor, an
All star a year ago, twenty eight year old first
basement slugger, going to the Seattle Mariners for two pitching prospects.
So you expect the Arizona Diamondbacks to start dealing Zach Gallen, Merrill,
Kelly Eneo Suarez, and I think you're gonna start seeing

(17:31):
other chips start to fall. Just where did the Dodgers
slot in to this trade deadline? It's gonna be interesting
to see eight sixty six, nine eighty seven to two
five seventy. The Dodgers aren't a team that surprised people.
And now, wow, look where we're at in the standings.
Let's push the chips all in and add to this roster. Hey,

(17:52):
let's roll the dice and see what we can do. No, no, no,
no no. This is a monster roster already put together.
An offseason spent making the bullpen better by spending a
lot of money on talented pitchers who haven't lived up
to it. They just need it. Maybe at a piece
here or there. Eight six six nine eighty seven two

(18:17):
five seventy. Will take a break, will come back your
phone calls as we are a week away from the
trade deadline. Where do the Dodgers fall aggressive? Are they sellers?
We'll forget about a name Mike Bobby Miller sitting in
Triple A, Oklahoma City. He'd fit nicely into somebody's rotation.

(18:44):
Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy Off
Night Dodger Talk here on a five to seventy LA
Sports Dodgers starting a big road trip tomorrow, nine games
in eleven days Boston, Cincinnati, and Tampa Bay. By the way,
an old friend alert Sunday in the finale at Fenway Park,
the Dodgers scheduled to see Walker Bueller in the finale

(19:08):
of that three game series coming up this weekend in Boston.
Emmett Shean will go on Friday. Clayton Kershaw on Saturday.
Dustin May scheduled to go on Sunday for the Dodgers
trade deadlines. Coming up. Where did the Dodgers go? What
moves do they make? Eight sixty six, nine eighty seven
two five seventy It's off night, Dodger Talk here on

(19:30):
an FI seventy LA Sports Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Thanks for being with us Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Tim kates with you here until the top of the hour.
Coming up in about twenty minutes, a farm report latest
on the Dodgers' top minor league prospects. Names who you're
starting to see mentioned and floated around as possible trade

(19:52):
chips if the Dodgers were to make some moves here
at the trade deadline, which is next Thursday afternoon, less
than a week away. Now. Major League Baseball heating up
this time of year. I know NFL training camps have
opened up across the country, all thirty two teams reporting
and practicing. But this is the fun time for baseball,

(20:13):
where teams either push their chips in or they've fold
and say I'm out and we're gonna play for next year.
We're gonna punt to twenty twenty six, and that's exactly
what the Arizona Diamondbacks have done by trading away already
Josh Naylor today to the Seattle Mariners. We'll see what
other moves the Diamondbacks make now in moving forward in

(20:34):
some expiring deals with Zach Gallen and Merrill Kelly and
a genial Suarez. So fun times certainly the next week
coming up. A lot of names out there, a lot
of rumors out there, and Dodgers' top prospects certainly having
good years from TRIPAA all the way down to a
ball will tell you some of these names and what
they're doing. Here's some highlights from some of these young

(20:55):
Dodger minor league prospects eight six, six, nine, eighty seven,
two five seventy. I don't know if outfield is the
number one need right now for the Dodgers. I don't
obviously think starting pitching is a need for this Dodgers team.
But there is a name out there that I saw

(21:15):
pop up and I thought, man, that's great if the
Dodgers could get him. I don't see a desperate need
for him right now, but okay, if he's under contract
for a few more years, team control. Yeah, maybe he
is somebody that could be on the Dodgers' radar at
the deadline and help him this year. And that's Jared

(21:37):
duran of the Boston Red Sox Cyprus, his own Jared
Durant went to Long Beach State. Great young guy. If
you happen to watch the Netflix documentary on the Red
Sox last year, great behind the scenes about his growing up,
his work ethic, just how tough he is and easily
a guy you could root for and I think would
fit in beautifully at Dodger State and Dodger fantos would

(22:02):
fall in love with him instantly from the first time
he put on Dodger uniform on. But again, I don't
know if they necessarily need him. That's priority number one,
so to speak, at the trade deadline. If this was
a Dodger team that had a major injury to the outfield,
I would say, yeah, this would be I must have.

(22:24):
But if the Dodgers can get him at the right price,
and the Red Sox have a logjam in outfield right
now of young talent and so Jaron Durant, even though
he's under contract until twenty twenty eight, left handed hitting
all star A year ago. Having a little bit of
a dip this year offensively with his production, but he

(22:45):
can still get it done at the leadoff spots. Got
great speed, He's a tough, hard nosed outfielder, can play
different spots in the outfield. He may be the answer.
He can bat a lead off for you. Maybe his
role to the Dodgers isn't batting the lead off. He can
fly on the bass pass and he can play really
good defense for you. And the Dodgers need defensive help

(23:05):
in the outfield, in particular left field. And if the
Dodgers field at this point, Michael Confordo, what he hasn't
done so far up until this point is is basically enough,
and they want to go a different direction at the
right price, I'd look at Jaron Duran of the Boston

(23:28):
Red Sox. Now I wouldn't. I wouldn't give up the farm,
so to speak, for him. I wouldn't throw three or
four prospects at the Red Sox for Jaron Duran, but
certainly I would think about a possible deal to get
him be under contract for what another three years twenty six,

(23:49):
twenty seven, twenty eight. It'd be an interesting move. It
would help out the defense in the outfield, which is
glaringly not good right now. He can hit lead off,
I'm sure he can hit other spots. He can get
on base, he can hit for power. He's a left
handed bat. He'd basically be a swap for Michael Confordo,

(24:12):
but a better defensive player and could hit in more
spots in the lineup than Confordo. So I don't know
if that's on the Dodgers radar. It's certainly just kind
of popped up on my radar looking at who's out there,
and again it's not priority number one, But if the
right players were involved, I wouldn't mind, I wouldn't hate it.

(24:36):
I'd certainly be in favor for it. A deal for
Jaron Durant and outfield eight sixt six ninety seven two
five seventy. With that being said, they probably need another
arm of the bullpen, even though they spent all this
money this past offseason on Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott,
and maybe a role player that's not a Jaron Durant

(24:56):
starting outfielder. That wouldn't cost you an arm in a lay,
but it certainly can help you as that twenty fifth
twenty sixth player on the roster. All right, let's go
out to the phones. Got one line open if you
want to jump on board. Dodger fans eight sixty six
nine eight seven two five seventy. Roger and Marina del
Ray's going to start us off here on this Thursday night,

(25:18):
on Off Night, Dodger Talk. How you doing, Roger?

Speaker 4 (25:21):
Sure, doing fine? Thanks for taking my call.

Speaker 1 (25:23):
Sure.

Speaker 4 (25:25):
In the postseason, the Dodgers are likely to play no
more than nineteen games. They'll skip the wild Card round.
In the first series, they'll have to play five games
over seven days. Then in the second round they have
to play seven games and ten days, and then the

(25:46):
World Series of seven games over eleven days.

Speaker 1 (25:49):
Yeah, I see where you're going.

Speaker 4 (25:50):
That means. That means as you have properly identified four starters,
probably gets them through if necessary, could be the fifth starter,
but they don't really need starters. They're going to be
fine with starters, so because nobody gets injured again. So
I think what they really need is a closer, because

(26:13):
they don't have a closer, and not all innings are equal.
There are innings in the middle of the game where
you're down by more than three or up by more
than three. Sure, you don't need the best picture in
the world, but in the ninth inning, when you're up
by one or two, you need the best picture in
the world. And they don't have that. They don't have

(26:34):
a qualified closer, right.

Speaker 1 (26:36):
Who would you go out and get Roger? And again,
I'm frustrated because they did make these moves in the
offseason with Tanner, scottan Kirby eights and on paper were
great moves, and people around baseball said, gosh, how is
it that the rich get richer and this Dodger team
just adds two really good arms to the back end

(26:56):
of the bullpen. Now that being said, they haven't lived
up to it. So who would you go out and get?

Speaker 4 (27:01):
Well, there's Bednar in Pittsburgh, there's Hellesley in Saint Louis,
and the Twins have just shown us two guys who
looked very good. Although the Dodgers beat them, right, but
the two guys on the Twins looked very good. So
any of those four guys I think would significantly improve
their chances of winning the World Series. And I think

(27:26):
they can afford to trade to get those guys.

Speaker 1 (27:29):
I think those names you mentioned, and I appreciate the
phone call, Roger. You're talking about Don of the Twins
and Jackson griff who took the loss yesterday. By the way,
Griffin Jacks, excuse me, Griffin Jacks, the reliever for the
Minnesota Twins. Those names you mentioned, you're seeing them mentioned online.

(27:51):
And then the trade rumors out there as far as
maybe on the Dodgers' radar, They're not going to cost
you a lot. You're right, and it kind of fits
the mold of what Andrew Freeman does at the trade deadline.
Not gonna go out and overspend, not gonna go out
there and panic. Andrew Freeman's very level headed, very very

(28:15):
calm at the deadline, looks at the long term, at
the short term, at what's you know, right and what
best fits this team. And I think that would be
a fantastic move to add a bullpen arm, but not
at a high price, but not at the expense of
going out and getting giving up three or four top prospects.

(28:38):
Emmanuel Classe is that name that you keep hearing. Man,
if the Dodgers can go out and get him, if
another team out there is gonna go out and get
a closer, he would be fantastic The Guardians closer. He
struggled a little bit, but it's gotten better. He's owed
some money over the few years since he signed an extension.

(29:03):
He's owed about twenty million dollars in twenty seven and
twenty eight, So he's out there. Jan Duran is out
there as well from the Twins. As we mentioned, there
are names at different levels. Keep in mind you're looking
at different talents of players. You're looking at dominant closers.
They're going to cost you to a guy having a

(29:26):
really good year in the back end of a bullpen
and maybe you can ride that through the end of
this year and it doesn't cost you a lot in
a trade. So I think Andrew Freeman in this front
office are very good at penpointing talent and finding it
in other teams, and finding it in players that maybe
necessarily you're not looking at and saying, Okay, oh that's

(29:49):
that was a guy that's not on my radar but
is really good. It's not a household name, but he's
going to come in here and pitch really well for
the Dodgers. The Dodgers last year did it through Young
Pictures in October, helping out of the bullpen, Ben Casparius,
Jack Dryer, Eduardo Enriquez. We saw for a little bit

(30:13):
they did it that way in the offseason. They went
out and bolstered some veteran arms. Now, let's assume everybody
gets healthy, and by everybody, it's it's not going to
be certainly Evan Phillips coming back. But Bruce dark graderol,
I don't know. I feel at this point the season
is going to take a lot for him to ramp
up and get back to the Bruce dark graderole of

(30:34):
three years ago. But Blake Trining's knocking on the door.
Blake trying could be an arm that comes back if
you don't deal Dustin May at the deadline. Dustin May
is somebody that could go to the bullpen and help
you out. Ben Casperius was a starter, He wasn't a
reliever in the minor leagues, and they brought him up

(30:55):
and that just is continuing his role him, Jack Dryer,
Justin Robleski, They were all starters in the minor leagues.
They changed at the major league level their roles and
have adapted into bulcanning guys, relievers, openers. So they've evolved

(31:16):
in those kind of those roles, and with that being said,
will be it'll be interesting to see what their roles
are this October, because certainly those are arms that have
been used a lot. You know, these are benk Asparius,
Jack Dryer, Justin Robleski being used a lot in the
first half of the season, and I kind of wonder

(31:39):
if maybe it caught up to Benk Casparius in his
last few outings. He just hasn't looked the same that
he did for the first three months of the season,
a dominant arm out of the bullpen, whether he was
an opener, whether he was a bulcanning guy, or whether
he was, you know, a high leverage reliever in which

(31:59):
he did last October. Ben kiss Sparrius to me, has
thrown a lot of innings. I mean he's pitching thirty
games already in sixty four innings pitch total. It's in
different role, different capacity. And you may look and say
that's not a lot of innings. If you said he's
a starter in the minor league, sixty four innings, thirty games,

(32:19):
what are you talking about? You know, don't you make
thirty starts in the minor leagues in a season? You
make about thirty thirty five starts in the major leagues
in a season as a starter. Now his role is different.
But with that being said, you're asking his arm to
do different things. I just personally think it's caught up
to him. I think he needs a break, arrest, a

(32:42):
shutdown here for a little bit. And maybe that little
muscle cramping in the calf the other night, is that
opportunity for him to just take a breather and reset.
Eight sixty six, nine eighty seven, two five seventy. Allen
in silver Lake is next up here on Dotchie Talk. Welcome.
How you do an Allen.

Speaker 4 (33:01):
Great?

Speaker 3 (33:01):
I know you're gonna shoot this down for forty different ways.
But in the olden times veteran pictures, veteran starters became closers.
They got lots of saves. John Smoltz was a classic.

Speaker 1 (33:16):
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (33:17):
I would like to see go ahead, shoot it down,
Clayton Kershaw, let's see it, mister Dodger close out the
ninth inning. I bet if you asked him he would try.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
I think if you asked him to do anything, he
would do it for this Dodgers team. I don't know.
I mean, he is so regimented and has done this
for eighteen years now, Allan. I don't know if you
can just say, hey, pivot and you're now a closer
for the last two months of a season and change

(33:49):
everything about his you know, workout in between stars and
the roads and the rhythm of being a starting pitcher.
It's asking a lot of a guy, and you're eighteen
to pivot and become something different as a back end
of the row. It's not spring training, it's not the offseason.
You're giving a guy a chance to mentally get right.
You're asking him to now just pivot here end of
July to become something he hasn't been for almost two decades.

Speaker 3 (34:14):
Yeah, there's also a nice piece of cheese at the
end of it. Could extend his career. He could pitch
three more years like this if that's what he did,
you know, four hours, three outs, that was it.

Speaker 1 (34:25):
Yeah, and come October, you know there, as our previous
caller had mentioned, I appreciate Alan. You know, you start
playing you know, more games over, you know, a tighter window.
I don't know if he's built up to the point
where you could ask a Clayton Kershaw to close a
game two and then come back and pitch two days

(34:46):
later in Game three, and then the next day in
Game four. Again, eighteen years into his career. He pitches
one way. I just don't think you could do that
to him. Now, now show hey Otani closing it out
for you in October. He's built up to three innings
right now, what forty pitches let's say roughly. Now, that

(35:09):
to me is a little bit more realistic. If you
keep him where he's pitching right now once a week
and you keep him at three or four innings. As
you get closer to October, maybe he starts throwing twice
a week and you start getting him ready for that role.
I mean, you've seen how dominant he is. If you're

(35:31):
going out and asking him to get three outs, maybe
he needs to get six outs for you, get the
final eighth and ninth innings covered. That's that's a little different.
Now you know you got you can if you can
get to him. That's that's the other question. You got
to get to a show Heyo Tani to close it out.
That means you need your starting pitching in between relievers

(35:52):
to do their job and get it to show hey.
If not, you're wasting him. If you're not able to
get him into the game in the same situation, is
he thank you for being patient? How you doing?

Speaker 5 (36:03):
Is he?

Speaker 4 (36:05):
Well, I'm doing yesterday.

Speaker 3 (36:07):
That happened, Okay, anyway, you get yourself.

Speaker 4 (36:14):
But yeah, I agree with say.

Speaker 3 (36:19):
So, but he did.

Speaker 4 (36:24):
It, I cannot.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
Yeah, I appreciate it. I'm having a real hard time.
I'm hearing like every three words that are coming from
your cell phone. So sorry we couldn't get you longer.
I just the connection was not good. So but thank
you for checking in. As always is he Dodgers off tonight,
Back at it again tomorrow as they'll start a long

(36:48):
nine game road trip, a road trip in which the
Dodgers will be on the road for the trade deadline.
Next Thursday, It'll be an off day as the Dodgers
transition from Cincinnati and head to Tampa for a three
game set next weekend against the Rays. So they'll be
on the road on the East Coast, sitting in hotel

(37:11):
rooms waiting to see if any additions are coming to
this roster or if they'll stand pat and what will
the Padres and Giants be doing again? We know the
Arizona Diamondbacks are sellers. Josh Naylor already traded today by Arizona.

(37:34):
He Andio Suarez, Zach Gallan, Merrill Kelly. Could they be
on their way before the deadline. Seems like Arizona's throw
up the white flag. Which teams are going all in?
Which teams are out. It's gonna be an exciting week
coming up. We got an exciting seven still to come.
They get your farm report. With the trade deadline coming up,
you're starting to hear some of these Dodger prospects in

(37:56):
the names. Could they be moved? Could they be dealt
at the deadline. We'll tell you how they're doing at
different levels of the minor leagues. Tim Kates, Ronnie FOSSi
on you. It's Off Night Dodger Talks. The Dodgers are
on the road in Boston tomorrow right here on a
FI seventy LA Sports Live Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Thanks for being with us, Tim Kate's until the top

(38:16):
of the hour as the Dodgers head east and start
a nine game road trip for stop Boston tomorrow afternoon
at Fenway Park. Immagechean and Brian Bao the pitching matchup
on Morogo Casino Dodgers on deck beginning at three o'clock
in the afternoon. First pitch coming up at four to ten.
All right, as promised, Let's go down on the farm
from Oklahoma City and tripa all the way down to

(38:39):
Rancho Cucamonga in low A ball. Here the Dodgers' top
minor league prospects and how they're doing here in twenty
twenty five. Host Way to Paula, the number one overall
prospect for the Dodgers, a top fifty overall prospect in
all of baseball. Twenty year old outfielder in Great Lakes
with the Lunes High A Ball last night, took himself
out of the game with a right knee injury. Good

(39:01):
news he won't go on the injured list from what
I've been told, and just a night off tonight for
the Great legs Loons not in the lineup. Eighty two
games for Host Way to Paula to sixty two average,
ten home runs, twelve doubles, a triple thirty one RBI,
sixty nine walks with an eight to twenty five ops.
Zayere Hope, twenty year old outfield They're playing right alongside

(39:24):
Host Way to Paula three hits tonight and including a
home run.

Speaker 2 (39:28):
There it is again and it's crushed deep up the
left field line opposite way on its.

Speaker 1 (39:33):
Way out of here.

Speaker 2 (39:41):
Big League pop for Zai Year Hope.

Speaker 1 (39:48):
Well, they threw him a fastball and it was off
the plate, but wow, Loons Radio with the call Zai
Year Hope. Now in eighty six games, ten home runs,
He's got fifty eight RBI hit nearly thre hundred on
this season, with a OPS getting close to nine hundred.
Alex Freeland, twenty three year old third baseman in Triple
A Oklahoma City. A former shortstop out of Central Florida.

(40:11):
Third round pick in twenty twenty two, he has risen
up through the ranks. Now in Triple A this year
has made the move over to third base. In ninety games,
two fifty three average, ten home runs, twenty five doubles,
including this one over the weekend against Reno.

Speaker 5 (40:25):
Freelitz, sort on down the right field by fareball, running
all the way to the corner golf here around third
Scoringdeed is getting the wave because he's so fast, the
throat of the plate is not in time.

Speaker 1 (40:37):
It's a two round double court. Alex S. Freeland Reno
Ases Radio with the call his twenty to fifth double
of this season a seven eighty five ops. Alex Freeland
also very very good defensively at third base in Double
A Tolso with the Drillers. Jackson Ferris, top five Dodger prospect,

(40:57):
twenty one year old left hander. The Dodgers got him
in the deal from Michael Bush with the Cubs a
couple of years ago. Second round pick in twenty twenty two.
In Double A Tulsa, fifteen starts, he's six and five
with a four to seventy four ERA, seventy nine and
two thirty eight's pitched. He's got eighty nine strikeouts. Emil
Morales eighteen year old shortstop in rookie ball in Arizona.

(41:19):
Fifty nine games so far, three hundred valny and average,
nine home runs, thirteen doubles, forty three ribies and at
eight eighty one ops. Kellen Lindsey, first round pick of
the Dodgers last year, six foot, one hundred and seventy
five pounds shortstop. He's nineteen years old. In rookie ball,
he played four games and then went right to Rancho Cucamonga.
He's with the Quakes. Right now out in the IE

(41:42):
twenty eight games to eighty average, two home runs, seven doubles,
twenty two walks, is seven eighty four ops. How about
Eduardo Quintero, a nineteen year old outfielder signed in twenty
twenty three out of Venezuela. He's in Rancho Cucamonga and
absolutely tearing it up. King Taro slices it to right field,

(42:02):
fairly deep, rowdy.

Speaker 2 (42:03):
Rodriguez turning back at the track, it's caught the win
takes it right on out of here. Hey Twardo Kintaro
with yet another leadoff home run is league leading fourteenth.
Sliced it to right. She gets up at the jet
stream and just flies right on over. Tied at one, number.

Speaker 1 (42:26):
Fourteen for Keith Taro, Quakes Radio with the call, one
of his fourteen home runs on this season. Three to
zero six average through eighty one games for Kintaro, six triples,
sixty five walks, fifty three RBI. He's got a nine
to fifty nine ops. The nineteen year old outfielder at

(42:47):
Wardo Kintaro. Gandre Vargas a slow start for the nineteen
year old Dominican shortstop in Rancho Cucamonga is playing time
going back and forth right now with Kellen Lindsay twenty
three games too average, nineteen ribies and seven to two ops.
Kendall George, he was a first round pick in twenty

(43:07):
twenty three for the Dodgers out of high school. Now
twenty years old, he's a speedster. Seventy six games in
Great Lakes with the Loons and high a ball only
a two sixty two average. Doesn't hit for a lot
of power five triples. Got the speed, how about fifty
one stolen bases already in the twenty twenty five season.
Kyung Sik Jang twenty one year old South Korean. He

(43:28):
was the top pitcher in South Korea in twenty twenty three,
and the Dodgers signed him for a lucrative deal as
an international free agent. Six to four, two hundred pounds.
He's in Rancho Kuckamaga. Eleven starts. He's got forty seven
strikeouts and opponents just hit. He won fifty six against him.
Chase Harlan third round pick in twenty twenty four at

(43:48):
a high school in Pennsylvania, coming off a hit surgery.
This is his first full season. The nineteen year old
third baseman and rookie ball in Arizona forty two games
to eighty eight, average, six home runs, thirteen doubles, thirty
eight and at eight point fifty six ops. Got a
shout out Mike Saroda, twenty two year old center fielder.
The Dodgers acquired him in the Gavin Lux deal from

(44:08):
the Cincinnati Reds after tearing it up in Rancho Cucamonga.
Mike Serota, who's twenty two, is now thirty five games
in High A ball three sixteen average, six home runs,
eight doubles, thirty ribies, thirty three walks, and at ops
over a thousand with the Great Lakes Loons if you're
keeping track, the Great Lakes Loons and Rancho Cucamonga High

(44:32):
A and Low A sort of where the next wave
of Dodger prospects are. We saw this wave come through
as pitching with guys like Kyle Hurt and River Ryan
and Gavin Stone and Ben Kisparius Jack Dreyer. That group
has reached the major league level. That next wave position
players and pitchers seems to be in High A ball

(44:56):
Low A ball, not including Jackson Farris, who is in
Double A and Alex Freeland, who is in Triple A
playing third base. All right, so there you go. You're
all caught up in the Dodgers minor league prospects from
Triple A all the way down to a ball and
how they're doing here in late July of this twenty
twenty five minor league season. All right, that's gonna do it.
Many thanks to Ronnie Fossio. Thanks to you for being

(45:18):
a part of the show tonight weighing in with your
phone calls. We'll be back at it tomorrow with Morongo
Casino Dodgers on deck beginning at three pm. First pitch
from Fenway Park is at four to ten. Emmett Shean
scheduled to get the start for the Dodgers as the
Dodgers look to continue what they did against the Minnesota Twins,
taking two to three to wrap up this last homestand

(45:40):
coming up next, it's Fox Sports Radio until tomorrow. Thanks
for being a part of off Night Dodger Talk here
on a FI seven e LA Sports Live everywhere on
the iHeartRadio app. So long, everybody,