Autograph Relic
#IAR-CS Corey Seager #IAR-JP Jose Peraza
As you may know, this is a high-end card product that features ten cards per box; including six signature cards, two relics and two encased gem cards. Each box is actually a metal briefcase, and it will cost you about $1,500 each. The unusual packaging is meant to underscore how pricey and scarce these cards are suppose to be. Check out an example of what a box looks like on the right. Go here for a complete checklist.The Dodgers today announced the completion of a three-team trade with the Reds and White Sox, with the Dodgers receiving right-handed pitcher Frankie Montas, outfielder Trayce Thompson and second baseman Micah Johnson; the Reds receiving Jose Peraza, outfielder Scott Schebler and minor league infielder Brandon Dixon; and the White Sox receiving third baseman Todd Frazier.Obviously, the big name here is Reds infielder Todd Frazier. He becomes a White Sox. For the Dodgers, they essentially traded three prospect for three other prospects they liked better. The key player in this package for us is fireball right-hander Frankie Montas. Via Kiley McDaniel at FanGraphs:
Montas has steadily improved, with his average slider taking a big step forward this year to now flashing plus, his changeup is now enough to give him a starter’s repertoire and he still hits 100 mph at times. The question is whether his delivery and command fit as a starter and most think he ends up as a closer, but there’s still a chance he figures out a way to fit as a mid-rotation starter.So far, the early consensus is that the Dodgers did great, via a tweet from Ken Rosenthal:
Immediate question: Why didn’t #Reds take #WhiteSox’s package instead of #Dodgers’? Rival execs think LAD did much better than CIN.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 16, 2015
Below is more background on the new Dodger players via a press release:Johnson, 24, appeared in 36 big league games with the White Sox last year after making the club’s Opening Day roster and has a .301 career batting average with 153 stolen bases, 24 home runs and 163 RBI in 385 minor league games in four minor league seasons. He entered the 2015 seasons rated as the White Sox’s No. 4 prospect by Baseball America and combined to hit .316 with 28 steals, eight home runs and 36 RBI in 83 minor league games last year with Triple-A Charlotte and the Rookie-level AZL White Sox. During the course of his professional career, Johnson has exclusively appeared at second base following his selection in the ninth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Indiana.
Montas, 22, appeared in seven games (two starts) with Chicago last year, going 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA, and has posted a 16-25 record with a 3.86 ERA in 92 games (80 starts) in six minor league seasons in the White Sox organization. Montas has limited opponents to a .232 batting average during the course of his minor league career, while averaging more than a strikeout per inning with 390 strikeouts in 382.2 innings. He entered the 2015 season rated as the White Sox’s No. 5 prospect by Baseball America and was honored as a Double-A Southern League All-Star last season, registering a 5-5 record with a 2.97 ERA, a .219 opponents’ batting average and 108 strikeouts in 23 starts with Birmingham. Montas was originally signed by the Red Sox on Dec. 14, 2009 as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic.
Thompson, 24, saw his first big league action last season with the White Sox, batting .295 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 44 games. Thompson, who attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, has been selected as an All-Star at nearly every level during his seven-year minor league career, being honored as a 2011 Single-A South Atlantic League All-Star, a 2013 and 2014 Double-A Southern League All-Star and a 2015 Triple-A International League All-Star, while batting a combined .241 with 94 steals, 101 home runs and 395 RBI in 734 games. The son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson and brother of Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson was originally selected by the White Sox in the second round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.
Puig stepped off the plane, and a smile began to form, his eyes began to water.The photo above, via a tweet from Los Dodgers, shows an emotional Puig with his Baseball mentor Juan Arrechavaleta Cardenas. Via Jesse Sanchez at MLB.com:
Puig boarded the bus, one headed straight for the heart of Cuba, and finally some words spilled out.
"Smell that?" Puig asked, cheerfully. "That's that Cuban aroma!"
Puig was accompanied on the trip by his father, Omar, and the Dodgers outfielder embraced an old friend in the hotel lobby, the mentor he affectionately refers to as "Tata," and it looked like he didn't want to let go.I cannot image what this kind of homecoming would be like. We are no doubt in a changed world, and hopefully the folly of politics doesn't get in the way of allowing families to reunite once again.
The White Sox have acquired All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier from the Reds as part of a three-team deal that includes the Dodgers, according to sources.
None of the three clubs has confirmed the deal.
The Reds get prospects Jose Peraza, Brandon Dixon and Scott Schebler from the Dodgers in the deal while prospects Frankie Montas, Trayce Thompson and Micah Johnson go from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Kershaw told ESPN: "I think for me, just understanding the culture a little bit more. It's so important," Kershaw said. "I have, obviously, a lot of teammates who are Cuban, so just for me to understand what they've been through, some of the hardships that they've gone through, understanding how they grew up."
Even with the lingering questions, Braverman is talking about being gay in MLB now so that every LGBT person who might wonder if they can be out and work in professional baseball never again has to ask themselves that question."I did not have that when I was growing up," he said. "I think that's part of why I struggled personally. I didn't have any role models or examples or anyone to look up to as a possibility."
Japanese RH pitcher Kenta Maeda arrived to Los Angeles a couple of hours ago. #Dodgers #MLB - Thanks @2011MLBASG! pic.twitter.com/9AzIGxWA7h
— F. L. (@dgaijin) December 15, 2015
In studying Maeda's PITCHf/x data, one can see that Maeken is a cerebral pitcher. Aware of his lack of overpowering stuff, the right-hander uses what he does excel at–mainly his control and pitch repertoire–to keep batters off balance. Maeda keeps the ball away from hitters' power zones, throws pitches in counts you wouldn't expect them to be thrown in, and relies more heavily on his breaking pitches and off-speed offerings than his fastball. This would seem to be a definite plus for Maeda from a scouting perspective. Rather than succeeding against inferior hitters with below-average stuff, only to struggle against superior hitters, he should be able to adapt and continue using the approach with which he is familiar.
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So, when Seager hit his first career home run Saturday, we expected the ransom to be pretty substantial. The hit came on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and provided an excellent chance for an opposing fan to leverage the ball for a ton of swag. That's not what happened.
In return for Seager's first home run ball, the fan wanted an autograph ... from D-Backs outfielder David Peralta.
GIF: Red Sox at Dodger Stadium attempts to rip foul ball out of Adrian Gonzalez's glove, sudden realization hits pic.twitter.com/aRdGabLKH7
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) September 15, 2015
“It’s truly an honor to be our club’s Roberto Clemente Award nominee,” said Gonzalez. “Roberto Clemente was an exemplary man, a great player and humanitarian. I’d like to thank the Dodgers and MLB for this very special recognition that means so much to me and my family.”
At spring training with the Dodgers in Vero Beach on March 26, 1949, Sam Jethroe was unofficially clocked at 6.1 seconds in the 60-yard dash. That time tied the world’s record, and he had done it in full uniform and baseball spikes.
By comparison, Rickey Henderson ran the 60 in 6.4 seconds.
The current record for the outdoor 60-yard dash seems to be 5.99 sec.
Keep in mind that Sam Jethroe was 32-years old at the time.
The Los Angeles Dodgers today recalled infielder Ronald Torreyes (#59) from Triple-A Oklahoma City, increasing the number of players on their active roster to 35.As circumstances would have it, Torreyes made his Major League debut yesterday afternoon. The days starting second baseman, Jose Peraza, left the game at the bottom of the fifth inning due to an apparent injury. As you know, he has been having trouble with his hamstring the past week. So, Torreyes came in and made the most of it. He handled numerous plays on the field and recorded his first Major League hit on a double down the left field line off Diamondbacks pitcher Randall Delgado in the seventh inning. Watch it below.
Torreyes, 23, will be making his Major League debut in his sixth professional season after being acquired by Los Angeles on June 12 from Toronto in exchange for cash consideration. Torreyes combined to hit .261 with 18 doubles, four home runs and 36 RBI in 110 minor league games this season with Double-A Tulsa, Triple-A Oklahoma City, Houston’s Triple-A Fresno and Toronto’s Double-A New Hampshire. He has a .298 career batting average with 22 home runs and 253 RBI in 612 minor league games in six professional seasons with the Reds (2010-11), Cubs (2012-13), Astros (2013-15) and Blue Jays (2015) organizations. He’s primarily appeared at second base (367 games) during the course of his career, but has also played shortstop (144 games), third base (62 games) and the outfield (22 games), with a .974 combined fielding percentage. The Venezuela native was originally signed by the Reds as a non-drafted free agent on Feb. 23, 2010.
Imperfection is not the same as incompetence. Not having reached the ideal — especially in August — does not mean the season is lost.This game is about perseverance, and fortunately we've got plenty of Baseball left to play. Right now, we remain in first place. That's something to not only be thankful for, but is also something that should strengthen whatever faith you have that the Dodgers will be OK.
"Losing Howie hurts, but somebody else steps up. Your job as a leader is to make it as easy as possible, to help guys be themselves. Nothing changes; it's still baseball. The only thing that's different is that everybody's an All-Star now."
"At first, I thought he was going to get that ball," Peraza said. "When I saw he didn't, I just kept running and running."
The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired left-handed pitcher Alex Wood, right-handed reliever Jim Johnson, left-handed reliever Luis Avilan, minor league infielder Jose Peraza, right-handed pitcher Bronson Arroyo and cash considerations from Atlanta in exchange for infielder Hector Olivera, left-handed reliever Paco Rodriguez and minor league right-handed pitcher Zach Bird.
Wood, 24, has gone 21-20 with a 3.10 ERA in 86 games (55 starts) in three big league seasons with the Braves, including a 7-6 mark with a 3.54 ERA in 20 starts this year. Since making his big league debut in 2013, Wood ranks among the NL leaders (min. 350.0 IP) in ERA (9th) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.12, 15th), while posting a 47.7 groundball percentage and forcing an average of 1.03 groundball double plays per 9.0 innings (4th). The North Carolina native was selected in the second round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Georgia and quickly ascended to the Majors, while posting a 9-5 record with a 1.68 ERA in 26 minor league starts over three seasons.Below are Woods's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:
Johnson, 32, has gone 2-3 with nine saves and a 2.25 ERA in 49 games with Atlanta this year in his 10th big league season. The 2012 All-Star and Rolaids Relief Man Award winner has a 25-31 career record with 133 saves and a 3.45 ERA with the Orioles (2006-13), Athletics (2014), Tigers (2014) and Braves (2015). He was one of the American League’s top closers in 2012-13, topping the American League in saves in consecutive seasons and posting back-to-back 50-save seasons with the Orioles. He was originally selected by Baltimore in the fifth round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft out of Union-Endicott (NY) High School.Below are Johnson's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:
Avilan, 26, has a 12-5 record with a 2.77 ERA in 218 career games in four big league seasons with Atlanta from 2012-15, limiting opponents to a .225 batting average and posting a 1.16 WHIP. He has appeared in a team-high 50 games this year, going 2-4 with a 3.58 ERA, while limiting opponents to a .245 average. Avilan was signed by the Braves as a free agent in 2005 out of Venezuela.Below are Avilan's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:
Peraza excels in the speed and contact departments, but provides very little when it comes hitting for power and drawing walks.From the Dodger press release:
Peraza, 21, has a .303 career batting average with 203 steals, eight home runs and 178 RBI in 439 games over seven seasons in the Braves’ minor league system, including a .294 mark with 26 stolen bases, three homers and 37 RBI in 96 games this year with Triple-A Gwinnett. Entering the 2015 season, he was rated by Baseball America as the No. 54 overall prospect in baseball after earning selections as a MiLB.com Atlanta organization All-Star in 2013-14 and to the MLB All-Star Futures Game in 2014, when he ranked third among all minor leaguers with 60 steals. He was originally signed by the Braves in 2010 as a free agent out of Venezuela.Below are Peraza's career stats, via Baseball-Reference:
Arroyo, 38, last pitched on June 15, 2014 before undergoing Tommy John surgery on July 15, 2014. The 2006 All-Star has gone 145-131 with a 4.19 ERA in 405 games (369 starts) in 15 Major League seasons with the Pirates (2000-02), Red Sox (2003-05), Reds (2006-13) and D-backs (2014).Below are Arroyo's career stats, via Baseball-Reference: