Los Angeles Dodgers Mailbag Episode: Freddie Freeman, the Bullpen, Two-Way Players + More

no game for the Dodgers so we get into mailback episode are we concerned about Freddy Freeman we're definitely a little concerned about the bullpen what exactly has a two-way player and how does it work for the roster we'll get into all that and more let's get locked on [Music] Dodgers you are locked on Dodgers your daily Los Angeles Dodgers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Music] day yo yo yo Dodger fans welcome to lock on Dodgers we are part of the lock on podcast Network the number one local sports daily podcast Network locked on your team every day today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel now through September 22nd off handle customers can bet $5 and get a three- week free trial of NFL ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV visit f.com locked on to get started this is the daily podcast covering the Los Angeles Dodgers bringing you the smart fans perspective on our boys in blue can find us for we get Podcast and on YouTube or you got to do a search for locked on Dodgers and if you want to be com in every day or that's someone that listens or watches every day all you have to do is uh do that and make it easier on yourself by subscribing or uh subscribing and being notified when our episodes already ready or when we're going Live Like We Are here on Monday evening if this is your first time listening watching welcome my name is Vince sario usually joined by Jo co-host Jeff Snider Jeff and I are both lifelong Dodger fans that have covered the team for a decade now in a few different ways writing about the team uh being in the press press box being the locker room talking about the team uh not just on this year podcast but in other areas but this podcast has been around uh we've been doing it for this our sixth season now so a long time and uh we've talked a lot of Dodgers and we're here to talk more Dodgers today Jeff is actually on his way to Los Angeles right now uh looks like he is listing in from his car as he heads to LA to go to the Dodger game this week so I'm handling it today with no game it just made more sense uh you know to get to get Jeff a night off and uh no game mailback episode coming up the Padre's AR playing I believe they're winning right now but again the Dodgers uh control their own destiny so we're not at the point yet where we need to worry too much about the other teams as long as the Dodgers continue to play the way they've been playing and hopefully that's going to come up but uh the first thing we're going to get into is Freddy Freeman there wasn't a we we put out a call to our uh our subtext followers uh you can do that and join there and be go to join sub tex.com lockdown Dodgers and you know ask for some question but we already had one uh segment in mind and that's Freddy Freeman and you know Freddy's a guy that we haven't really talked about too much since he came back from missing time uh to be with his child and then you know we talked a little bit about him when he got hit in his finger and if there was any concern there and generally I I don't think there's still too much concern uh with all that stuff but I do know that a lot of people are maybe a little bit worried about just his overall performance and and it it's been around this whole season and when you look at it you look at the numbers uh you know hidden to 84 Ops 857 you know he's got 703 RBI 70 runs scored like all in all those are good numbers but obviously may be a little bit off from what we're used to with Freddy Freeman I mean the last two seasons as a Dodger he's hit 325 and 331 so you obviously the average is down the average being down a little bit more than the ambay so he is walking still at a at a pretty consistent clip of not better clip than than the past but the LPS is down over 100 points from from last year and about 50 60 points from his first year with the Dodgers so obviously there are some struggles and maybe a little bit of concern about Freddy Freeman and it's been a weird year for Freeman in general I think it's uh you know father time is undefeated like to say I don't want to put that on it I do think Freddy is fine in that department he's getting up there in age with nothing to be too concerned about but you know I think every time maybe he's gotten it going Something's Happened or he just hasn't felt comfortable at the plate and and I think where I really believe that part of him not being comfortable at the played or comfortable with the swing is when he did come back from missing time uh with Max and and everything that was going on with him is you know one of the things Freddy did say in that return press conference was that he really likes his swing he had been working in the cage and you know obviously there was a lot going on in his mind but it was kind of and I think we even put that thought together here is you know maybe this was good he he gets a little bit of a break he you know gets to get in there have his swing and maybe priority switch a little bit you know you're not so much worried about the day-to- day at bat to At Bat when you have a lot of other things going on and you're you know maybe a little bit more grateful to be there now not saying that that's not what's happened but obviously you know Freddy has had a tough week uh a tough last 15 games even going back the last 30 games like you know his last 116 at bats Freddy Freeman's hitting 241 uh with an Ops under 750 so it's been more than just uh a short time with with Freddy struggling and it's going back to you know before he was even dealing with everything that was going on with his family and you know I don't have an answer as to what that is you know Freddy Freeman he's a good hitter he's always been a good hitter so it's hard to you know not kind of just say maybe it's just been off and and the other part with this that we always kind of mention is we're at the point this year where where Freddy Freeman's not gonna have the stats and numbers that he's had in years past like he's probably not gonna get 200 RB he's probably not gonna hit 320 he's probably not gonna Ops you know 977 like he did last year uh he's not going to hit 60 doubles like he did last or 59 doubles uh like he did last year but he can only help the team moving forward and right now specifically I think yeah the Finger probably bothering him a little bit he's playing through it I do think the Dodgers are in a spot where they could have you know let Freeman rest a little bit and deal with the finger and have Max Muny at first base and you know the the rolling the rolling Rolodex of guys that can play Third Base between you know Taylor being back K Miguel roas if Edmund's at short and all that type thing and that might still be something that happens if the finger is not recovering the way they want but realistically if he's been playing through it so far he's going to continue to play through it and uh yeah again it's hard to really look at anything and say oh yeah this is why Freddy Freeman is struggling we already talked about that you know he's still walking uh same to what he was doing before he's not striking out any more than he was before uh if anything his strikeout rate is lower than it was last year his walk rate is 3% higher than it or almost 3% higher than it was last year uh you know his babip is lower than it was last year that could contribute a little bit to the average last year the last his bad bit right now is 312 it's never been that low since 2012 hasn't had a bad bip that low since 2012 it's always been you know 318 was the lowest beyond that everything else has been 320 or higher so that contributes a little bit there's not anything that necessarily stands out uh I do think the one thing that might stand out is it's a little and and it's hard because it's not like you know Will Smith was that great in the second half of the season last year but Smith hasn't been good for a while now now that you know Tail's mixing in they're in the number four spot but Tail's a guy that you're not necessarily you're like f Will Smith was a good enough hitter to where you know you maybe want to attack Freddy a little bit more uh and and give them more pitches in the zone because you don't want to walk him to get to Will Smith because Will Smith can do damage I think that with Will Smith struggling and then now tail back there you know a pitcher can realistically pitch around Freddy a little bit or at least try to get him to chase a little bit more because you know that the guy behind him uh is more likely to strike out or get out just based on everything that's happening so um yeah that that really what it comes down to I think it's just a combination of you know a a little bit here and there uh a little bit of guys behind him struggling so maybe he's not getting the pitches that he was in the years past you know maybe a little bit of age catching up and maybe just a little bit of bad luck uh with the badet being that low so all the you know combination of all that type of stuff is is probably what makes the most sense um you know with with the bat speed and everything else we don't have the the swing numbers from any other year so we don't if you you know swinging a little bit slow or anything like that but you know that data will continue to show up as we move forward and you know maybe we'll get we'll see something there um Christopher here says the the finger affecting Freddy's exit velocity grip strength matter matters for barreling balls I would completely agree there but it's also a matter of this has been going on longer than when since Freddy hurt his finger uh you know over the last 30 Games 120 at bats or so you know Freddy Freeman hasn't been an above average hitter um and he or at least compared to what he's been in years past so I think it it matters I don't think there's an impetus to to move him down in the lineup or anything like that I think the Dodgers is g to let him go through this and and hope that his best baseball is ahead of him and realistically that's all that matters if Freddy Freeman hits in October uh you know what he did in August Is Not Really Gonna matter at all so that's what we're gonna hope in and see what happens so uh there's a lot of questions that we got from our uh subtext followers are locked on Dodgers insiders we're going to get into some of those so make sure to keep it locked on Dodgers today's episode is brought to you little delayed there today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel FanDuel America's number one sports book and you've heard us talk a lot about FanDuel and now FanDuel is proving why they're America's number one sports book because they have a little something different because now right now through September 22nd all fand customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free Tri of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV that's right you just have to bet any bet of at least $ Five Doll you get three weeks free of NFL Sunday 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for the Dodgers we're not really in the dog days because we're we're fighting for the division but either way he's getting you through the summertime getting you ready for the MLB playoffs prepare for the fall classic with Sully has it all covered every single day on lockdown MLB available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day also part of the lockdown podcast network is locked on sports today and locked on Sports Los Angeles two 247 streaming channels that are bringing you the biggest news and stories from the sports world and the LA Sports World and check them out all day all night on YouTube and remember the lock on Dodgers postcast with host Pete Fox is available for you live after most Dodger games on the lockon sports Los Angeles YouTube channel all right so we put out a call to our lockdown Dodgers insiders and got a couple questions and a couple that are similar um and and we'll just get into that straight up with the bullpen one of them was from uh estabon he said how confident are we with the bullpen and why does it seem like guys can't go back to back like copc Kelly and Phillips and what would be a plan B in case they can't go back to back and then uh John from the lockdown Dodgers inside here said a bullpen faith is weak can you increase my faith who would be the top six seven relievers we would have available for postseason play assuming as always they are healthy and yeah obviously this is a good question for me the offense is always going to be a question mark in October but that could to for me personally the Dodgers could have you know a lineup full of guys that are hitting 350 and I would still feel uneasy about it but the bullpen is probably assuming health is probably the biggest question mark for the Dodgers in in the sense of the three uh the three aspects being hitting starting pitching and relievers like if you get everyone healthy glas now Yamamoto Jack flarity and then whoever they decide for number for that's a formidable formidable group with the bullpen on paper you have a formidable group but they've had a on paper a lot this this last few weeks or last month or even last couple months and hasn't quite worked out for them and you know part of it early on was yeah the the starting pitching is not going deep into games the bullpen is taxed and you you had a lot of guys pitching back to back three out of four four or five times a week week and it it wasn't sustainable and right now we're at a spot where the starting pitching starting to be a little bit better even with the uncertainty they're facing but uh you know who can you trust and and you look at we'll go first from the 40 man roster and which relievers are there and it's Anthony Banda Ryan brazer Conor Brogden who started a rehab assignment a while ago I don't haven't heard anything about him I don't know if the Dodgers are seriously considering bringing him back uh probably not maybe just holding off until if someone gets hurt uh you got Tony gonin who might come back and if he did it would be as a reliever got Bruce D grov who's expected to start a rehab assignment and maybe come back you got Michael Grove Who's down in the miners right now Daniel Hudson Joe Kelly Landon Knack who could be a starter or a long reliever or just a reliever in general you got Michael Co pick you got uh Michael Peterson who's on the Freddy man roster Evan Phillips Lake try and Alex vessia so there's a lot of names there uh you know if you go right off the the answering the question of the six that you kind of trust right away you know you're going and obviously trust is is a word in the sense of you trust what they can do not maybe what they've done or done recently and it goes you know Evan Phillips Michael copc Daniel Hudson Blake tryan Ryan brazer you know Anthony Banda that's six right there you add Alex vessia that's seven like that would be a seven that'd be seven relievers that I'd be comfortable going into October with not completely sold on Alex vesia and some of these guys as mentioned by one of the questions of maybe not being able to go back toback is a legitimate question but and it just depends on what the Dodgers plan or thoughts are going into the postseason like with let's just say healthy starting rotation you have glas now Yamamoto Jack flarity those are three guys that you're comfortable with going through a lineup three times obviously if they're struggling they're not going to make it through three times through the lineup but if not you know pitching well enough you're comfortable with them going through line three times which gets you into the sixth inning which means you know you only maybe going to need three Innings of coverage every night and if you only need three Innings of coverage every night you can get by with some guys maybe not being able to go back to back and you can try to work around that it's not ideal and realistically I think once you get to the postseason uh it won't be as much of an issue because you know right now if a guy does can't go back toback on August 26th yeah it's August 26 I've played a 100 plus baseball games I've maybe pitched 40 to 50 times this year you know it's 90 degrees or humid or whatever it is wherever we play like he might just be tired and and I do think that is why you know the the Buy has its different questions in the sense of should the Dogers get a buy or should they play through and and you know maybe that's what sparks them I think you take the buy any way you can especially with the fact of you know these relievers and and guys needing a little bit of a break and and coming in you know if you're coming in with four or five days of rest rather than having to you know pitch through a two or three game series and then if you win okay you have a day off and then you you know start another five game series that's not gonna get it done with with this type of of Bullpen because of the guys that and the age and everything else so I think with those seven you're solid you're hoping bruar Grog comes back and can be the bruar gr of of the past that adds another one you know and realistically that's eight without me naming Joe Kelly I mentioned on yesterday or whatever episode that I am fine with Joe Kelly not being on the postseason roster as it presently stands you know with health and I think that's the way it might be trending you know even if the Dodgers go four starters nine relievers you know I'd take whoever doesn't make the starting rotation whether it's stone or Kershaw or Miller you know maybe not he hasn't shown it yet but uh you know Landon Knack Jess roesy like i' take all those guys as a long reliever over maybe seeing Joe Kelly if you're gonna go you know nine relievers four starters type deal and then you got you know Michael Grove in one inning Michael Grove not terrible but you know I just don't think there's room for him now um but I do think there's there's a lot of guys before you get to Joe Kelly in terms of guys I trust right now so it's obviously a big question mark the bullpen but you know those are the six seven guys I would name I don't know if it's increasing your faith uh that's more based on on you rather than me you know I can present you the names I can present you you know a ten of numbers but T of numbers on August 26 is not going to make you feel better about going into October uh but I do feel confident in the bullpen of the guys that I just named and I do feel confident that if the Dodgers get the by and they go into any playoff series with the rested Bullpen you know and with the days off in that first round like I think Michael copc he'll be able to throw you backtack days I do think Daniel Hudson will get to throw you back to back days the added adrenaline the little bit of rest uh and the fact that it's the postseason that that's just you know the way it goes so it's gonna and again everything I just said right here could not matter in a week two weeks three weeks four weeks like it's all health heal dependent but Health dependent I'm very confident in this Bullpen of having the right stuff you know then performing is a different question but I do believe the right stuff the right combination is there uh with this Bullpen so that's what I got there so uh what is a two-way player what does it mean for the roster specifically more for next season and just a little bit more talk on the starting rotation uh with the caveat again that we got a month too and who really knows at this point but we're going to get into that so make sure to keep it locked on Dodgers today's episode is brought to you by today's episode is brought to you by supply house supply house is the site that is made forth skill Trad supplyhouse.com is the reliable way to order Plumbing HVAC and electrical products online their easy to use website is packed with helpful resources and the latest product info to help you get the job done right shop a complete inventory of over 200,000 parts from over 400 top brands and get your order delivered right to your door with fast shipping from coast to coast if you need help with an order G can get expert support and industry-leading service from the friendliest folks in the business and talk to a real person every time Pros in the skill trade can get a Competitive Edge by joining Supply house.com free trademaster program every trademaster gets access to a dedicated phone line free shipping and discounts on every order join the thousands of trade Pros already benefiting from their free membership at supplyhouse.com TM in order Plumbing HVAC and electrical supplies from anywhere but just a few cck clicks at supplyhouse.com or thank you for making lockdown Dodgers your first or last or any listen of the day I know with us going live sometimes it might be your last listen of the day or maybe your middle listen of the day or maybe your first listen of the day for still uh one of those that listens in the morning but we're here for you every Monday through Friday for about 30 minutes uh so make sure to check us out tell your friends tell your family spread the word however you want and uh if you want to go be on the podcast come on locked on Dodgers Insider all you got to do is go to join sub.com loock on Dodgers it's a few bucks a month you get text directly from us uh with any Dodgers news updates thoughts uh anything we get you know from Dodger Stadium or or anything like that a lot of things that come your way for just a few bucks a month so make sure to go to Joint sub tex.com lockon Dodgers and uh check it out you can get the a free trial there first if you want to see how it is before you fully immerse yourself so go check that out and let's get into one of the questions we got uh this one from our lock on Dodge Insider Matt he says with show he getting closer to pitching uh specifically for next year not this year can you explain how the roster limits for pitchers work with two-way players like shohi is this something that other teams should be considering developing for as a way to increase roster flexibility now you know obviously uh if you can get more guys that are like shotani that's going to help you a lot but specifically when it comes to roster flexibility yeah it does help the the answer I have uh for the question is one with I'm not sure how it's going to work next year but by reading the definition of the rule this is how I believe so a des if you designate someone as a two-way player they have to meet certain criteria uh and they're able to pitch whenever and they don't count toward your pitcher total so if Shani is designated as a two-a player and the Dodgers have a 26-man roster they can have 13 pitchers and then they can have sh Otani so technically they have 14 pitchers but only 13 count towards pitchers otani's designated as a two-way player the qualifications for a two-way player is this having to be done the season you're currently in or the previous season so this is why I'm not sure what it is with Otani but the criteria are to pitch at least pitch 20 Major League Innings and played at least 20 Major League games as a position player or DH with at least three played appearances in each game so as it stands for 2025 with Otani I'm not sure if the Dodgers have to list him as you know I don't know if they list him as a position player then he can't pitch unless it's Extra Innings or the team is ahead by or down by six if he's listed as a pitcher then well I guess if he's listed as a pitcher he can hit so maybe that's that's what the Dodgers gonna have to do next year if if if you're counting the current or previous season in 2025 as the 2025 season and the 2024 season sh T doesn't qualify yet he started the 2025 season listed as a pitcher he could still be a DH and once he reaches 20 Major League Innings the Dodgers could designate him as a two-a player they could call up another pitcher and they would have 13 pitchers plus Otani so yeah it basically goes yeah Jeff has it here summary Otani will go will count as a pitcher until a month or two into the season until he reaches uh those 20 Innings so you know maybe not even two months maybe a month if he gets four or five starts so obviously in terms of roster flexibility that's huge because you get to have 13 pitchers plus whatever the other guy or 14 pitchers uh realistically and fotani is in your rotation and you have and you only go a fiveman rotation then you can have nine relievers which is huge or you can go six-man rotation and you know there's a lot of different ways to to go about it that way now yeah if teams want that roster flexibility you can develop more two-way players there have been more guys that are two-way players drafted in recent years but a lot of them haven't been coming up as twoa players you know even back to when hunter green was drafted they you know if a team wanted to they probably could have had him try to do both the Reds had him stick to pitching you know River Ryan on the other hand was a position player the Dodgers had him go to pitching only and then there's been other guys drafted Jack caglione from the from Florida who got drafted in the first round this year I don't know if they've said if he's gonna try both or just do one I would imagine moving forward in the next five to 10 years there's going to be other two-way players besides sh Otani I don't believe there's going to be any as good as sh Otani is at both things but I do believe that there will be you know three five more players designated two-way in the next five to 10 years in Major League Baseball because one you do get that roster flexibility and I think the other part is I think we might see some reliever like you know in college the big one is reliever hitters guys that are hitters and they also come into come in as relief pitchers I do think that's kind of the wave going and it might even be the wave for Otani like you know realistically we he's still young enough and and if he gets another arm injury that doesn't sacrifice his hitting you know maybe the Dodgers decide then and there but I do think that when it comes to Otani they're gonna give him another chance to start and he's gonna get that going but I do think moving forward like I don't know if we'll see another starter that also is that is a two-way player I do think we'll start seeing some relievers that are two-way guys and you know that'll make for a fun time and you know I mentioned the other day just kind of a pipe dream fantasy of Otani coming in to a game in October when the Dodgers are you know maybe down to one pitcher and and you know T's ready to go and uh he throws an in in relief so but realistically I don't know how how it's going to be uh for other teams the Dodgers have a two-way player at least for the time being you know maybe 2025 maybe Beyond maybe not who knows uh I I did have a thought you know I can expand on it here of if Otani was to never pitch again are you fine with everything that he brings offensively if this is what he's going to bring to you offensively and considering the fact that one it's not our money two it's it's not 70 mil against the luxury tax which would not stop the Dodgers from spending but could curb spending a little bit and the fact that with all the sponsorships he's brought the Dodgers probably already have whatever salary they owe him uh stored up and and just maybe sitting in in the bank uh and waiting for him to get through his 10 years and then they started paying it out so yeah I would say 100% if sh never pitched for the Dodgers I'm completely fine with the contract they gave him uh just based on everything else obviously it would be contingent on him hitting but I think with with Otani the the excitement is the fact that he's going to tr you know try and be a pitcher and uh you know if it takes away slightly from the stolen bases but he's putting up a sub three ra as a starter I think that's just you know the the nature of the Beast and you're going to take that uh when it comes to its H so yeah that that aners that there uh one thought on the starting rotation we didn't get a question about it but obviously it's another topic conversation if all is healthy as it presently stands you know what would the rotation look like I think it's glas now Yamamoto flarity and stone I think the Dodgers have a conversation with Kershaw and let him know like you can stick around obviously and be here but you know we don't think you're you're gonna be given a roster spot and then I do think that if they can well contingent on Bobby Miller and and or Walker ber being somewhat decent uh or good enough to maybe compete for a spot if not I do think you know you take maybe take Kershaw it's one of those where like would you rather have your long relever claim Kershaw Landon Knack Michael Grove you know I think I'd go Kershaw and and then Knack right behind him um I'm curious to see if they give Knack another start here soon just you know waiting for glasnow to come back waiting for Yam Mo to come back know maybe trying to play some matchups here moving forward one of the Insiders I forget who it was did bring up the fact that I had mentioned moving Walker flipping Walker berer and flare gets you flarity starting against the Dbacks and not Walker beer I forget it's a wraparound Series so it's you know Friday Saturday Sunday Monday so if you go with the fiveman rotation Walker ber would start for the Dodgers against the Dbacks on Monday uh but also a Thursday starter is TBD so they go with the bullpen game or call someone up to throw um that that kind of fix all that type of stuff so we'll see what happens there's obviously a lot of time before all that but uh we'll just have to to write this wave uh I want to note that we did have one reply uh in the call for questions and it said I had a lot of burning questions a few weeks ago not so much now I'm just enjoying the ball that they're playing and and the playoff atmosphere that's coming with a lot of these nights and yeah yeah with with the orios in town coming up this week with the Dodgers going to Arizona this weekend it's definitely going to feel like playoff baseball for the next week or so and maybe even more depending how everything goes the Dodgers you know hold the lead control the destiny if they can split that series with at least split that series with Dbacks they're sit pretty with a month to go but uh you again as as we say a lot on here we'll just have to wait and see so that's going to do it for today's episode thank you all for listening thank you for making lock on Dodgers your first listen of the day make sure to find us where we get podcasts and on YouTube uh you can subscribe and get notified on our episodes are ready or when we go live like we are here right now I remember you can check out our pal suly with the locked on Mobb podcast for your second listen of the day or another listen in your day you could check out that description and in our Link in the link uh in the description you can go beond the podcast come lockon Dodgers Insider at join sub tex.com lockon Dodgers few bucks a month get textex directly from us with uh any breaking news or updates or comments or anything like that you can also text us if you have any questions comments or thoughts you can check out lockdown sports today or lockdown Sports Los Angeles 2 247 streaming channels from the lockdown podcast Network bringing the biggest news and stories from the sports world and the LA Sports World locked on Dodgers postcast with host Pete Fox is available on the locked on Sports Los Angeles YouTube channel after most Dodger games you can find us on social media Twitter Instagram and Tik Tok at lockon Dodgers much more active on there these days so make sure to go check that out Jeff's on Twitter at snogg I'm at vincens 91 can DM us with any 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