Dodgers: Free Agent to be Trevor Bauer Sort Of Pitches Himself to LA
Calling Reds’ pitcher Trevor Bauer the strangest man in baseball seems fair. Bauer’s actions on the field and off would support that league-wide, and I’m sure the Dodgers are well aware. Whether it be drones, weird workouts, tell-all YouTube sessions, or social media issues, Bauer comes with some baggage.
However much baggage he comes with, he also happens to be one of the best pitchers in baseball right now. In fact, there’s a really good chance that Bauer walks away with the NL Cy Young Award in 2020 after a ridiculous campaign. The 29-year-old Los Angeles native has expressed interest in coming to the Dodgers in the past, and he reignited that idea on Tuesday.
?? @Dodgers are short on starting pitching right now? You don’t say.
— Trevor Bauer (?????????) (@BauerOutage) October 13, 2020
Bauer jumped into the conversation after the Dodgers announced that Clayton Kershaw would miss his Game 2 start in the NLCS. Kershaw experienced back spasms that scratched him from his start just a few hours before game time.
This isn’t the first time that Bauer has talked about going to the Dodgers, but it also is not the first time this postseason he’s hinted at going to another team. Bauer had also tweeted about going to San Diego next season to join up with former teammate Mike Clevinger.
Love him or hate him, Bauer does make any pitching staff he is on better. But with David Price returning in 2021, the Dodgers probably don’t NEED a guy that will ultimately cost as much as he does. Bauer signed a one-year deal with the Reds worth $17.5 million this past offseason. With a Cy Young Award likely in his future, expect his pricetag to jump dramatically.
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Do the Dodgers need Bauer? Probably not. But just think how good the Dodgers looked pitching wise last week and how the cupboard suddenly emptied, particularly on the “experienced” pitcher shelf. And think about Bauer going to the Padres. Back problems and blisters don’t seem to go away for pitchers, at best they serve as future limiters. Price and Kershaw both become another year older. Buehler becomes a lot more “fragile” moving forward. Maybe Urías, May and Gonsolin turn into future Kershaws. Maybe not. They ought at at least a kick the tires on Bauer. There’s something to be said for a guy who really wants to play for you.
Right on. With the situation for those Dodger pitchers ya mentioned, adding an experienced arm can’t hurt. Besides, if Bauer really wants to come here he may agree to a hometown discount.
Paul, I say go after Bauer, especially in light of Kersh’s continual battle with back spasms, and the fact that we know nothing about David Price and his physical condition. I still am a firm believer that good pitching defeats good hitting. Go Blue!!!!!
The Dodgers don’t need more starting pitching. Kershaw goes down and they can still go to a guy that had less than 2.0 era!
Next year you’ll have Buehler, Kershaw, May, Gonsolin, Urias, Price plus Gray and Mitchell ready to move up. Unless you trade someone where would you put them all!
Kershaw will be another year older with balky back. Urias is questionable. Go big or go home. Dodgers have cash–use it.
Better grab this guy because Padres are right on their a**
Bauer only signs one year deals. This puts him in play for every team that can contend now. The Dodgers have to be in the mix here. I don’t care about the perceived depth of our pitching staff. The playoffs have already proven that starting rotations are fragile and you can NEVER have enough depth in the pen. Although a lot of our young guys might be good candidates for a starting spot, they can all be leveraged out of the pen for as long as it makes sense.
All teams in the mix for Bauer have to think about him in two ways. What does he do for my rotation? What does he do for my rival’s rotation? In roster construction, sometimes you have to play offense and defense. As a Dodgers fan, the last jersey I want to see on his back is the Padres, and that is a real possibility right now…
Like I said Bauer can’t hurt because who knows if Price will be able to pitch effectively and as for Buehler and Kershaw, no guarantees there either. BTW, since Buehler is not able to give the team any length because of 2 blisters and Kershaw having to be scratched, this series as I see it is over if Dodgers lose today.
Sad, but true!!!!
Have you guys ever followed the Dodgers? They always need a better player but think they are set (see this year not acquiring a starter.) We don’t “need” hitters until the playoffs. We need Lindor, Arenado, Bauer, and two reliever studs to win. We just might be able to squeak by and win something.
Tired of waiting…………….
At the beginning of the season, it was said they weren’t going to make many changes. Right away I figured, they’re going to need better pitching, better hitters, at least 2 of each to help at the end of the season. The Dodgers seem to follow in the Angel’s footsteps, look great during the season then start tapering off at the end. The owners and managers & coaches know what they have and what they need to do. I don’t recall how many holdouts there were but Price could have been a big plus on the roster. The Pandemic, hold outs and injuries are hurting the Dodgers right now. Maybe it’s time to use the bullpen for starting pitchers and hope for long relievers. Next year should be better with all the players showing up and hopefully new and better players. The Dodgers need to use the small ball right now, base hits, hit and run, run and hit, bunt when the situation calls for it. Too many times the Dodgers failed to move the runner over. There are situations when we have a runner on especially at scoring position, the infield players are back, a good bunt can move the runner over or have him score and maybe still get a base hit. The Dodgers have used this in the past, why don’t they keep useing it?
Sign him only if he can also manage.
You can never have too many arms. God forbid if he ends up in San Diego . They got Clevinger for practically nothing. And we are still hanging on to Lux!
Weird workouts? You mean using a plan, analytics, technology to become a better player? Yeah…really weird! Cy young weird ya tool.
Social media? His vlogs are awesome and insightful..doing more to help grow the game than the stale MLB promotions and gimics. Any team will be lucky to get an innovative competitor like Trevor… Enough with stupid/ignorant bashing