rossrarelytalks

Well, thanks. It's the off-season and this is interesting. I enjoy seeing the opinions of other teams' fans. On the current narrative, it's my opinion that the Dodgers do have quite a few very talented players in their system, which as I noted way earlier, is really great for us Dodger fans because that idiot Frank McCourt completely destroyed the farm system. I think that De Leon has very real potential, and I'd be happy to see him make the Dodger roster this spring. Having said that, I get the concern of twins fans because prospects are prospects and that's just scary. Especially pitching prospects. Personally, I think De Leon/Stewart is a pretty fair trade value for value. Both are real MLB prospects with decent to high upside. But I also get that the Dodgers are squirrely about giving up two MLB-ready pitchers, given what happened last year (we had to freaking trade for Bud Norris!). So we'll see. How are you all feeling about your FO on this, though? The signals coming out of the Twins FO seem, from the outside, to be a bit concerning -- lots of "we want this resolved for Dozier's sake," but then "we'll never say no to a deal" stuff. The Dodger FO seems to me to be playing this pretty well, in that they can just kind of wait and see -- they'd obviously love to get Dozier, but also obviously don't feel it's crucial to get it done at all costs (which I'd say is the right position -- and as I said, I'd love to get him). Anyway -- baseball is just so great. Talk to ya.

I've said no to Buehler, but neither of the others would be an untouchable for me. Also, you're talking apples and oranges a bit here -- De Leon is a prospect. Maeda, McCarthy, Kazmir are MLBers with MLB records. Prospects are dicey, but De Leon has a real chance to be better than any of those three. Potentially. He also has a higher upside than Stripling, also probably Wood and Stewart. So he is actual talent. Just because there's no clear path to the majors at the moment given the Dodgers priorities doesn't lessen his value. I don't think it's fair to think the Dodgers should give up more just because they have depth. Dozier's value is Dozier's value. Twins can choose to pass (which I totally get!), but the value should be judged in a vacuum, I think. I know we are in a good spot right now. But believe me, if you'd lived through that SOB Frank McCourt --who bankrupted the team and ruined the farm system -- you'd probably be a little more sympathetic. Not that you need to be. Cheers.

De Leon is the Dodgers no.1 pitching prospect and is ranked as a top 35 talent in all of MLB. Wouldn't that make you wince a little? Dodgers are trying to trade from a bit of depth, and can't just rely on rookie pitchers to be competitive this year -- we are already putting a ton of pressure on Julio Urias. Who should be able to handle it, but a top contender with two rookie starters isn't precisely what you'd want. Especially with Hill, who is elite when healthy but how many innings can we get from him? Not to mention Kershaw's back. And the fact that Maeda got tired, and reportedly has a potential grenade in his elbow. So De Leon would make me wince. And we'd need to add let's say two other players. Verdugo would make me wince. Stewart would make me wince. Buehler definitely wince-worthy also, Calhoun and Sheffield also somewhat wince-worthy. I love Dozier, but prime Chase Utley he definitely is not. We have one year of elite production on top of four additional very solid years (not trying to denigrate him at all, but he only cracked a 120 WRC+ in 2016 -- although I saw the 4.7 fWAR in 14, too -- he's very good). But the question is how much is enough?

It's cool to talk to other team's fans and get a feel for what you're thinking. We all tend to overvalue our assets (unless we really hate somebody who caused us all kinds of pain, in which case it's the opposite!) In my opinion, the general vibe here from Twins fans is tending toward undervaluing some of the Dodger prospects. Note -- I said tending! I can see how there may be concern about De Leon, but he's a highly ranked guy on most lists, and his MLB stats last year are too small to be relevant. He is a very good prospect. As I've said before, I'd be shocked if Bellinger and Alvarez are on the table. So as far as top guys, that leaves people like Buehler, Stewart, Verdugo, Calhoun, and then on to probably Sheffield, Lux, Diaz, De Jong, Sborz. Or similar -- there are probably a few others in that range. For me, Buehler would be off the table -- but I'm personally really high on him. Anybody else, in some combo, wouldn't be. You may be undervaluing Verdugo, especially -- he has a very, very high upside, with great feel for hitting and contact, and a solid defensive profile including a plus arm (although maybe you don't need him, which is fair). I would HATE to lose him. Calhoun also should be a hitting machine, and the possibility of being a DH definitely works in his favor, as he is clearly not a good defender. Offensively, though, he profiles very well. Sheffield, Diaz (again, the position player issue), Stewart all with pretty high upside, too. I find this whole thing interesting. Obviously the Dodgers are playing hardball, knowing there just isn't that much interest. But we can definitely use Dozier, so I'd be really surprised if they weren't at least making what they think are fair offers, as opposed to lowballing. I'm guessing the optics from the new Twins FO make this hard -- they want a player that screams potential, and may not feel that what the Dodgers are pushing gets them there. Or so it would seem. Dozier for De Leon, Verdugo, and Sheffield? That's a good haul from where I sit. I really like all three of those guys. But I get it if you're underwhelmed. Baseball fans! Very interesting.

From a post above: "For a more specific breakdown I think a return of De Leon, Verdugo and Buehler would be a fair return. It allows the Dodgers to keep their most coveted prospects and Stewart so their MLB pitching depth is maintained. It gives the Twins immediate rotation help, a high upside flier and a position player to help reduce the risk of the two arms (plus I actually think the Twins will need another OF)." Boy, this is just the trade that never ends, isn't it? It's interesting to read the Twins fan takes on this -- as I noted earlier, I'm a pretty fair minded guy. I thought the above post was definitely in the right ballpark. Issue for me is that both Buehler and Verdugo are really good prospects and I'd be reluctant to trade both for Dozier (and by the way -- I do think De Leon is a real prospect -- he should be very good and I'd be very happy to have him as a Dodger). I get that Twins fans think Dozier is worth all three of those guys. I'm not sure, but it seems close. I'd do De Leon, Verdugo and somebody else easily -- it's just who is that third guy. Just don't know how important this trade is to the Dodger FO -- Dozier really helps us, but is not having him worth holding the prospects? Dodgers are trying to be continually competitive and we will be with or without Dozier. We'll see. It's definitely interesting.

Yeah, that may be the case on the Twins side, but if they insist on Bellinger, the Dodgers will say no and do something else. I would love to have Dozier, he's very good and would help the Dodgers greatly. And I'm not a guy who would propose some dumb one-sided deal. But we just aren't going to give up Bellinger for him. No Alvarez either. Those guys are not going to be in a Dozier trade. Think it's cool for the Twins to say no, if you can't get one of those guys -- I get that the new FO wants to make a move fans will think is strong. But if that's the case it's going to be no deal. I do wonder if the Dodger FO would consider Buehler. I think no, but they might. We want to win now.

No way the Dodgers expect to get Dozier for just De Leon. That rumor is ridiculous. I'd never make that trade if I were the Twins. I do not believe this is a credible rumor.

Hey there. Dodger fan here. Boy, this is the trade rumor that just never ends. So here's my $.02 from a Dodger perspective (and one who is seriously trying to be fair-minded): Dodgers will never do Bellinger or Alvarez in a Dozier trade. I am also very skeptical about Buehler also -- I believe the team is very, very high on him. Anybody else feels like fair game to me. So I would say De Leon, plus somebody like Stewart/Sheffield/Calhoun (or possibly Alex Verdugo, who is also very good and close to the majors, and I'd swallow hard to include him, but hey -- Dozier's a good player!), and maybe one other lesser piece (but with some real upside -- AJ Alexy? -- he just got drafted -- young and a risk, but could be good). If fans from both sides are kind of annoyed, it should be about fair. I'd hate to lose De Leon AND Stewart or Sheffield, but we need to give you talent for talent -- especially proven MLB talent. For me Bellinger, Alvarez, and Buelher are all too good to go in this trade. We'll see what happens.