BREAKING: Dodgers make decision to DFA Jason Heyward for Chris Taylor

e M [Applause] magic dodg have one at all High Fly ball into right field she is gone he struck him out two balls at a strike the count on Taylor Reyes fires swinging a Drive De left downi his right [Applause] [Music] back what's up everyone welcome into Dodger heads presented by Dodger blue.com my name is jff spel join today on this on this Thursday by Daniel starkin here to break down some news that I don't think any of us were really expecting to be breaking down today but Robert Murray uh noting that the Dodgers have decided to designate Jason Hayward for assignment that was coupled with a decision to activate Chris Taylor off the injured list as well we knew Hayward was a candidate for this Daniel he hits the big home run the other day it felt like the Dodgers didn't need to make a decision today and yet here we are Jason hayward's time as a Dodger is uh at least for now officially over yeah well first of all it's it's good to see you again we were just on on the live show uh last night I guess a little little different tone to to that show than this one you know coming off a big sweep over over the Mariners and today um you know the jha um DFA you know to me at least came as a bit of a surprise just because there's always the option of of throwing him on the iil as well which like we were like we talked about this last night we just thought they would throw Miguel Roos on the I activate Chris Taylor considering you know Roos was scratched yesterday could use you know a couple weeks off um just because he he's been playing a lot and and such so um I I guess I was surprised by the DFA but like you said it definitely seemed like J was trending to be the odd man out here like we've seen Kier getting a lot of starts in center field recently and he's been playing well um obviously mooki is now the full-time right fielder which is Jay ha's main position so um not surprised that he was the odd man out but I guess I I just am surprised that they went the DFA route instead of just throwing him on the iio and figuring it out later if I put my tin foil hat on for a second is it possible that after Miguel roas is scratched that the Dodgers front office got a phone call from Major League Baseball that said don't even think about it like I mean it's not impossible right no it's definitely possible I don't know um you know they like the medical staff like looks at these guys so like you can't just totally make up an injury so um you know there has to be at least something there and I I don't know you know what Roos is dealing with for all we know he might be back in the lineup tomorrow um but but yeah you definitely have to be careful with that stuff because I think it was like the Mets um you know got in trouble with that last year so let's talk Hayward this was the guy two weeks ago when we were on this show saying who are the two odd people out of the ultimate postseason roster Jason Hayward was pretty much the one guy everybody agreed on and then he gets in pinch it in a big spot hits the three-run Home Run Dave Roberts says it's the best moment of the year you see the clubhouse reaction and it kind of felt to me like man the Dodgers historically have been crushed for you know all all they care about is loyalty they're not picking the best players they're picking the guys they like the best like all the things that we've been trained to believe about Dave Roberts and the Dodgers LED you to believe man they're just going to trust the veteran they're going to trust the clubhous presence he hits the big home run etc etc surely Jason Hayward might be back above the cut line now or at least higher on the list than he was and that's what makes this so surprising is is not necessarily because he deserved to to keep his spot on the roster you could look at his numbers and outside of basically Chris Taylor every other guy in the conversation has been better than Jason Hayward And even Chris Taylor has been better and by the way Chris Taylor has a contract for next year so it would cost them a lot more to get rid of him uh but I I think what makes this surprising again is not that that Hayward didn't deserve it Daniel it's that everything we've been trained to believe about the Dodgers led us to think they weren't going to do this for sure and look like like you said like the onfield production was what it was but there's no denying that Jason Hayward was a massive piece in that clubhouse as you know a veteran leader and kind of holding every everything um together so so that that that that to me was the surprising part like you said like that's a guy who has a lot of friends in that locker room is you know a lot of friends in the front office coaching staff Etc so um it didn't feel like he was a guy that they were just going to kick to the curb you know the way they're they're kind of doing here but you know onfield purposes it it it makes sense and um you know Chris Taylor is back now so he could play Outfield if you need like they got plenty of options so there wasn't really much playing time there for a guy like Jason Hayward and um credit to him like he he ended it on a high note you could say like the big three-run Homer is his last swing um in a Dodger uniform and um you know I appreciated what he brought to the club the last couple years like I know he he wasn't exactly able to replicate um his success at the plate from last year and that's why we're in this position but um really good dude both on and off the field so um he he'll be missed even if even if this is you know the quote unquote right decision yeah and even looking at his stats obviously last year he puts up 120 weighted runs created Plus in 124 games I mean even this year it was 91 like we were we were a couple months ago comparing guys who were all feel like they were hanging out in the 50s 60s and 70s so I don't think it's it's not as if Jason Hayward was utterly useless and worthless as a player but that's the beauty of where the Dodgers are now Daniels they're not choosing between the the least bad options they're actually choosing between you know man we got too many guys for too few spots which is is a good problem to have yeah yeah for sure and and I also think um in the few at bats he got against left-handed pitchers Hayward actually did well this season so technically his uh WRC plus against righties was lowered like I think it's like 81 or something and and you know that's kind of the role he was here for was to to hit to be a platoon bat against righties and um you know if if you're gonna be a platoon bat like you need to be at least above average against the the pitchers you're going to be facing and that wasn't necessarily the case and they got all these other options now so there wasn't there just wasn't a clear role for him so um as great as he was in the clubhouse he you know this is just kind of the way things go like when you're on a team like the Dodgers where you have a ton of really you know really good options yeah I think it's a great point it's a great Point uh let's talk two more sort of implications of this the first is the 40 man roster uh I did a video a couple days ago that the Dodgers both had a 26 man and a 40-man roster crunch basically incoming we knew that at least one player had to be DFA um unless they were going to do the IL thing which they chose not to and so Jason Hayward is that player the 40 man roster currently sits at 39 it seems Daniel that the obvious solution here is that Yoshi noou Yamamoto who's expected back in a few weeks would be the guy to take that 40-man roster spot I suppose the Dodgers could fill the roster spot with a reliever or something that they just plan on holding on to for a few weeks and then throwing back um if if they so chose not not exactly like their Bullpen has tons of um flexibility from roster crunch perspective either that's one option um Let me throw an absolutely psychotic I would say nonzero but maybe less than two% chance of happening uh oh is there any world where Dodgers top prospect Dalton rushing who was promoted to Triple A who has been absolutely mashing is there any world where this extra 40-man roster spot goes to Dalton rushing and comes September 1st he gets a bit of an audition with the big league club is there any chance I mean look that that's definitely an interest thought like like you said like I'd say it's probably not 0% but it's also not very high like um you know he's he's like if you're calling up a top prospect you want to be able to give them a Runway where like like you're not going to call up Dalton rushing to just sit on the bench every day because then you're not really getting a look at him so like what's the point of that and yeah like I know he's been playing you know left field or or you know Outfield in Triple A so like they're kind of preparing for that but at the same time there's not there's not really many field at bads to go around right now like you got teoscar locked in the left mooki locked in right and it's not like you're going to throw Dalton rushing in center field um you know and Edmond and km like that's solid there so they're pretty set in the Outfield but look like I I think the 40 Man aspect is kind of the conf you know the confusing part of all this like if if Taylor was on like the 60 day and they needed a 40 Man spot for him then I think obviously it would make complete sense but the fact that there's no like obvious move you know for that 40 Man spot kind of makes me question like you know what are they like what's going on here and maybe it is something like rushing like you're saying because like even though Jason Hayward isn't really a guy that you need like he still like was there for depth and now the fact that he's basically outside the organization now you're losing one less position player and and they still have you know they still have a roster crunch coming like you said but if an injury or two happens like now now you're like all right who's who's going to be on the roster so if you would have just thrown Hayward on the you know you could have been able to like if another injury happens down the line you could have brought him back whereas now you don't necessarily have that option and and even if even if no injuries happened and and you didn't need Jason Hayward and you end up needing that 40-man spot down the line you could have always just transferred him to the 60-day iil whenever Yamamoto is coming back or or whatever and then his season is over at that point but that's you're in the same spot you're in now with that so the the 40 Man spot is is kind of the Brian windhorse meme like what you know what's going on here here um I guess we'll see you know now they have a little flexibility like it could be um a reliever like maybe Brent Honeywell finds his way back up here maybe um you know the other guy who throws 104 whose name always Escapes Me Enriquez Enriquez he he he he could end up being in the mix Dalton rushing like you mentioned like I'll be I'll be curious to say to see just because Yamamoto they said you know midt at the earliest for him so like I don't think they're just going to keep the 40 Man at 39 for the next 25 days or whatever so I guess I'll be curious to see you know what they do with that and and um you know hopefully they don't have any more injuries to the point where now you're wondering like who's you know who's going to be that 26 guy on the roster just because now you know Hayward in theory is no longer an option for that yeah you mentioned honey well I I must have missed it yesterday that he accepted his assignment to Triple A so clearing waivers that was pretty surprising given how he had pitched um but I I think it's a great point because it makes the decision come September 1st seemed pretty obvious that Andy PES takes the extra spot now but who's next like if Kik or Chris Taylor or peses or somebody like that ends up getting injured there's not another obvious guy on the 40-man roster who's kind of your 27th position player now Hayward that would have been a tough spot for him to be in because he can't be optioned but just something to keep in mind it does seem like Yamamoto is the simplest but I I agree with you completely that the three-week gap between when the spot opened and what they're going to do when yamama until Yamamoto comes back makes me question because even if they add Honeywell then what you know did they just do the same thing again in three weeks or do they try and get creative then uh it's interesting we do have a super chat here from cordz happy with the decision makes me feel like the Dodgers are thinking more about logical decisions for the playoffs before Clubhouse veteran presence uh nice spelling there that's great joke the uh presence piece but um you know again this is this is kind of what we mentioned at the top Daniel that this this is the the thing that the Dodgers have been criticized for in the past they didn't do that and so I imagine there's lots of people who agree that they're happy with this decision for for sure it definitely feels like a bit of a change in philosophy here like um you know this is like like last year in the playoffs when they started Lance Lynn over Ryan pepio like they were clearly clearly going with the veteran presence as this this message says here so um I guess you got to be happy with the change in philosophy there like the way it's the way it should be like the best players should play and if you're not producing you know what what you did earlier in your career or you know what you your value to The Dugout isn't nearly as important if you're not you're not hitting so um you know I do agree I I like that they kind of went that route even you know it sucks for Jason Hayward a guy you know we all love but um the fact of the matter is that they just have better options right now and and especially when you're looking ahead to a postseason roster he was just he was on the outside looking in yeah absolutely absolutely Ely um so we got the 40 Man piece the other piece that I think is an interesting element here is Andy PES which is a name that I mentioned um the one sort of counter to the Phantom iel was that even if you do that and bring that person back then PES is stuck down at Triple A and so I I was always kind of asking the question of what do the Dodgers actually think about PES what's his role going to be come October you know is this a guy that they want as a pinch it bat I've mentioned he's he's one of best hitters on the team against lefties even despite the slump that he had been in um obviously he's not an answer in center field like I want to make that abundantly clear uh if he plays anywhere in defense it should be right field but this feels to me like one of the things that may have sort of pressed in on having them make this decision was the idea that well if they want peses back and they want him sort of testing out that pinch hitting hit against lefties type role come come September and October then maybe there's something there do do you see this correlated at all to maybe some sort of uh Clues as to how they how they are thinking of using Andy PES yeah I think it's 100% correlated like now he's you know essentially a lock to be called up on September 1st unless unless there's a surprise curveball like you said like um with Dalton rushing like I guess that's the only thing that could change that but definitely feels like PES will be up on September 1 he just he went deep last night for Triple A OKC so it's actually good that he you know he could go down there for two weeks get every day at bats because he's he hasn't been getting those you know up with the big league club and then hopefully when he comes back up September 1st he's kind of you know locked in a little bit and look I do think there's a you know a possibility for a role for a guy like him I know you were tweeting about this like if they wanted to do a platoon and they're willing to move mooki around the diamond which is a big ask and and obviously mooki has been willing to do it but it there is a natural platoon there where mookies and right against um right-handed pitching with Lux at second and then against left-handed pitching you move Muki into second base and throw pz in right field because PES has been really good against lefties this year Gavin Lux as great as he's been he he's struggled against lefties so um I definitely think that's something they they might try out and I tweeted about this like it feels like there's basically gonna have to be one roster decision when it comes down to the postseason and um you know um the starting nine is what it is and then you have four bench spots from there Austin Barnes is getting one of them feels like two of them are I wouldn't say locks but pretty close to it now is is Kik and and I would add Kevin kirm just because he's now kind of your only Lefty bat Off the Bench which means kind of that last spot is going to come down to Andy PES and and Chris Taylor um so so you want to at least get a look at PES you know come September 1st to see if if if he's still hot and if he earns that spot or if a guy like Taylor um given his experience is gonna get have that so um yeah I definitely think PES we'll see we'll see him on September 1st they probably have that flight booked already and then we'll kind of see what role he has from there another Super Chat here from roio Jeff I told you yesterday Kier Meer ain't going anywhere I said it on Twitter I was wrong um I thought he was going to be the odd man out and uh I was wrong I think to your point I still think there's one spot one guy is going to be the odd man outcome postseason time and I I think depending on how all these guys look Chris Taylor Kier Meer PES Kik Hernandez I think all four of those guys are going to have to play their way onto that roster because once you get to a tightened playoff format you know things change and needs change they're very different over the course of a month and a half than they are over a course of a week and a half when you can change your roster sort of series to series five to seven games at a time so um I'm with you I think there's there's the the what you tweeted out and I retweeted was there's four guys competing for three spots Austin Barnes is a lock on the bench and basically you know one person's going to be the odd man out you can go up to 14 hitter for on September 1st you got to go back down to 13 once the postseason starts and so um we'll see kind of how that all plays itself out let's get to a couple questions if you've got questions about implications of this we've got two or three more minutes we'd be happy to get to some of those um I do see some people in the chat talking about Freddy Freeman uh we know Freddy Freeman's relationship Daniel with uh with Jason Hayward um any concerns about you know we know Freddy's a a sensitive guy and I don't say that negatively so I mean we know how close he was obviously he's a professional he's an adult but any any concern about maybe how this might be received on his end I I wouldn't say concern it's definitely a thought I had but I I think at the end of the day you know uh Freddy's a grown-up and as much as he loves Jason Hayward um I I don't think he's gonna you know throw a big stink over this like you know Jay ha's still getting his full contract like it's not costing him any money it's just kind of costing him the last month of the Season or so if the Dodgers win a World Series Jason Hayward will get his ring as well so um yeah but but yeah obviously you have the thought of of um you know how's Freddy going to take this for sure yeah absolutely absolutely and just a reminder we will be live on the Dodger blue 1958 YouTube tonight um Scott and Blake no game tonight so I don't think we've got a time yet but make sure to follow dodger blue 1958 on social media and uh and if you're subscribed here you'll get notifications and and a reminder once that's coming um Derek wants to know does Kier Meer still have value in the playoffs if his Bat goes cold in September what do you think Daniel I I would say more more value from a standpoint of like a defensive replacement or or or like a pinch Runner like those are yeah roles in the playoffs that don't seem that important but when it's a big spot and it's a tie game in the bottom of the eighth inning and you know Will Smith you know gets on you know hits a double and and you need that that winning run to score like then you have a a guy with you know solid speed and obviously the defense is ex exceptional but I do think a lot of his value as far as being in the lineup will will be like could he be at least passable offensively which so far he has been and who knows if that will continue but um I I do think even if he's not hitting there's um there's value there but it's just it won't be a consistent role I'd say like it would just be like hey come play the ninth inning in center field or go pinch run yeah I could see pinch running that would be the greatest value to me and again it's just because like I I I wouldn't I would it the reasons that he tends to be starting when Miguel roas around Miguel roas right now I don't think necessarily apply in a five game series in October and so if he's not starting um I I don't see them taking Edmund out of the game for defensive purposes I could be wrong if Edmund doesn't hit in September I mean we could be talking about Kevin km starting in center field and Tommy Edmund as a bench bat I think that's in play as well but um I think pinch running would be the biggest you know sort of selling point for km especially if you're saying hey the Dodgers kind of have nine or 10 guys we're not going to need a ton of pinch hitters because who in this lineup are we taking out Lux against lefties but other than that who who who's getting taken out of this game um and so you know I guess Miguel roas might be the only one and then you can move some pieces around but um so yeah I I think running is the piece that that maybe should be talked about as far as value and we've seen the Dodgers go with at a guy on the end of their bench Just For Speed purposes um so something to keep an eye on and and just just to add on to that real quick I would say like there might be a scenario where like it's it's a close game in the eighth inning and they bring in a tough left-handed reliever against someone like Gavin Lux so you counter by pinch hitting you know Kik or something um and then you put Kier Meer in in center field for the ninth and move Edmund into second base or something like that like I I definitely think it would just be a way less significant role yeah last question here from cordus uh does this DFA make you guys feel like they will make harder decisions down the line for players like Walker or even Taylor if they don't have value to the Dodgers um I I'll just caveat this walker beer is going to be a free agent at the end of the year Chris Taylor's under contract for next year but I I think it's a fair question we've kind of assumed they're going to do right you know Yad y y does this change the way you view a walker bu free agent decision or a Chris Taylor roster decision this offseason I I would say more so for like the postseason roster I'd say like like it it probably shows a willingness to go with the best nine guys when when it matters most in the postseason um so so yeah I mean I I think we've been seeing them make tough decisions for the past couple weeks here which like don't get me wrong that's a good thing that the fact that a that they have to make these tough decisions that means that you have a lot of quality players and be that they are actually making them and not just going with you know the guys who have you know have the biggest influence in the clubhouse or have the most you know years of service time or whatever like I I think the best players should play and um that's that's kind of you know shows you know what we're seeing like I don't think like there would we'll see what happens with the starting rotation but I don't think Walker Beer's really in the mix right now and I think he kind of understands that that unless he improves significantly like he he's not expecting his name to be on the post season roster so yeah I do I do think it shows a willingness you know to make those tough decisions like you said with Taylor he's under contract next year so I wouldn't expect a Chris Taylor DFA anytime soon um and you know once the offseason r around like we could have that conversation when the time comes but but yeah I definitely think they are willing to make those hard decisions and this I'd say this you know Hayward one was probably the hardest of them all to be honest yeah and a guy that maybe was was a hint at this kind of thing is look at what happened with Justin Turner like when Justin Turner came up and they kind of decided hey we think the value has diminished and and doesn't isn't a great fit here they kind of you know I I we don't know the full story there but they they clearly weren't aggressive in pursuing him let's say that so um that tells me that with a guy like Walker beer from a roster perspective next year we could probably expect the same um again I don't think it means Chris Taylor ends up getting DFA obviously not now or even in the off off season but I mean if he's terrible for the next month and a half I wouldn't say there's no chance of it happening um let me end with one last question and this might seem like an absolutely insane one so that's why I'm ending with it is there any chance like in the offseason Jason Hayward is back back with the Dodgers like do do you think that is in play where they're looking at the roster construction now and saying well they're they full you know whatever but they they decide in the offseason that you know he's available maybe it's a minor league deal or maybe it's kind of minor league deal with like a hint wink wink guarantee to be on the roster like or do you think hey this is they wouldn't do this if they had any interest in bringing him back uh when he first started asking that I thought you meant like as like a coach or something I would say that's that might be more likely I I don't know I don't know where Jason Hayward is at right now like a I don't know how he's taking this decision like is he is he mad right now does he feel that he should still be on this team yeah and if that's the case then he probably wouldn't want to come back or does he you know understand it and is appreciative that he got as many opportunities as he did and N million bucks from the yeah and nine million bucks and if that's the case then like you said maybe they do bring him back on a minor league deal obviously we know he's got a great relationship with Freddy and other guys in the clubhouse but I would say you know when you're the Dodgers um you know you you got better options like let's just be honest here and even going into next year like Tommy Edmond still gonna be under contract Chris Taylor is still under contract you know PES is in theory gonna be ready for for a bigger role and I guess teoscar Hernandez is the big the biggest question mark like is he a guy that you bring back and if not then a lot more Outfield at bats just kind of opened up there so we'll see you know we'll the offseason's a long time away we'll have to we'll see how the playoffs go first like how some of these guys perform in October it usually affects you know the decision making in the offseason but I definitely wouldn't rule it out like you know you hope that you know this ended on good terms just because Jay ha is a great guy like you don't want him you know M upset you know even if like he you know he doesn't agree with it I I hope he at least understands it um but we'll we'll worry about the offseason when it gets here do you think he'll get claimed by somebody like could you see a post a playoff team out there looking at Jason Hayward looking at the veteran presence look at you know just kind of the platoon thing and and taking a chance I I don't think he'll get claimed just because that would mean they'd have to pay the rest of his salary I think he'll go unclaimed and then look I I definitely think he'll get he might get some calls in in free agency just because injuries you know injuries happen all the time and you never know when someone's going to need an outfielder and um you know the the the last you know memory of J was just him hitting a three-run bomb so maybe a team looks at that and says he's still got a little left in the tank and look he still has t September 1st to catch on with another team to be eligible um to make a postseason roster so maybe that played a part as well where the Dodgers said hey like we want to give you a chance to catch on somewhere else for the rest of the season but um you know we we'll see I I I definitely think there's some teams out there I mean we we just saw a series with the Seattle Mariners and if they threw J in right field that that you know that would probably help their offense so there there's some teams that could use him okay last thing because I'm just thinking I mean is there any chance there's a wink wink here deal with the Dodgers where it says hey we're going to DFA you probably nobody's going to claim you on waivers because they don't want to pay you you know the remainder of your salary and then you'll be back on the roster on September 1 like is that is that like less than 10% chance uh I would say it's very low just because if that was the case they probably just throw him on the I like they're paying they're paying him the N9 million regardless so like to me if if that was the scenario they could have just thrown him on the iil and that would that's unical Daniel that's why you wouldn't come on the yeah we've never we've never seen it before with the Dodgers totally it's fair it's fair well hey everybody that'll do it for us again the news Jason Hayward DFA by the Dodgers um stay tuned here again tonight Scott and Blake will be back doing a live show breaking down this reactions uh anything that comes out in the next few hours as it relates to Chris Taylor Jason Hayward the Dodgers plans anything like that so we appreciate you hopping on with us live on a Thursday after afternoon enjoy the rest of your day everyone and as always go Dodgers