The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Los Angeles Dodgers – INSIDE PITCH
The Dodgers got their first live look at South Korean left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu as spring training opened, and they came away impressed with their $62 million investment.
“Our scouts liked him — and I liked what I saw on video,” Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. “I’d have signed him myself just based off what I saw on video. This guy has command of four pitches, knows how to pitch at a young age.”
Honeycutt said he liked Ryu’s “smooth delivery” and fastball command early in camp and said he flashed a “plus-plus changeup.” At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds (his listed weight, though he appears heavier), that is the only thing flashy about Ryu. Honeycutt admitted Ryu’s conditioning was probably not where it needed to be, but Ryu good-naturedly shrugged off questions about his lagging behind in conditioning runs with the other pitchers.
“I don’t think the other players listen to what the trainers are saying,” Ryu joked through his translator. “The trainers tell us to run (each lap) in 35 seconds. Why are they running it in 26? I ran it in 35 seconds.”
Ryu is attempting to become the first player to go directly from the Korean Baseball Organization to the major leagues. The Dodgers have him penciled into their rotation, likely as their fourth starter, but he remains an unknown quantity.
“I kind of look at it as — if you can play, you can play,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “If you can pitch and execute pitches, if you can hit and swing the bat — if you can play, you can play.
“It’s how quickly you make that adjustment (to a new country, language and league). That’s the biggest thing.”
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MLB Team Report – Los Angeles Dodgers – NOTES, QUOTES
–LHP Clayton Kershaw will make his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Dodgers on April 1 against the Giants. Manager Don Mattingly confirmed the starting assignment during the first week of spring training. “It’s a huge honor,” Kershaw said. “I’m excited to do it. Any time you get to pitch on Opening Day, it’s a huge deal. Then it’s just every fifth day after that.”
–Kershaw said there have been no serious discussions with the Dodgers about a contract extension and he does not want to negotiate during the season. “I’m not saying, ‘Get it wrapped up’ or anything,” he said. “I’m just saying, during the season, I’m not talking about it.” Kershaw is under contract for $11 million this season and is not eligible for free agency until after the 2014 season.
–Minor league RHP Chris Withrow underwent an MRI after experiencing discomfort in his back during the first week of spring. The former first-round pick was involved in a car accident during the offseason, but the back pain is not believed to be related. Withrow has yet to advance above Class AA since being drafted in 2007.
–Former big-league LHP Eddie Oropesa has been hired by the Dodgers to act as a mentor to fellow Cubans OF Yasiel Puig and LHP Onelki Garcia. Both Puig and Garcia are considered top prospects in the Dodgers’ system. Oropesa defected while traveling with the Cuban national team in 1993 and eventually made it to the big leagues as a reliever with the Phillies, Diamondbacks and Padres for parts of four seasons (2001-04).
–CF Matt Kemp said he reported at a lighter weight this season, down to 213 from 220 last year. Kemp said his current weight is closer to what he weighed before the 2011 season. “I hit the most home runs at my lightest weight ever,” Kemp said of his 39-homer season in 2011. “Everything is a little more free and working the way you want it to work. I like lighter — the lighter, the better.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 2.80 — LHP Hyun-jin Ryu’s career ERA in seven seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “They have the right to talk. They can say whatever they want. They’ve won two out of three (World Series), but I’m not worried at all about our chemistry.” — Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly, when asked about Giants 1B Brandon Belt’s comment that the Dodgers “can’t buy chemistry.”
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MLB Team Report – Los Angeles Dodgers – ROSTER REPORT
PROJECTED ROTATION:
1. LHP Clayton Kershaw
2. RHP Zack Greinke
3. RHP Chad Billingsley
4. LHP Hyun-jin Ryu
5. RHP Josh Beckett
The Dodgers spent heavily this offseason on their starting rotation, giving free agent Greinke the second-largest contract ever for a pitcher and committing $62 million to an unproven commodity in Ryu, a 25-year-old South Korean. The result could be one of the best rotations in baseball, led by a 1-2 punch of former Cy Young winners in Kershaw and Greinke.
The Dodgers will have to satisfy some health questions before rolling out that rotation, however. Kershaw appears to have recovered from the hip inflammation that plagued him last season, and Billingsley spent the offseason working to avoid surgery on a partially torn ligament in his elbow. In addition, veteran LHP Ted Lilly is returning from shoulder surgery. RHP Aaron Harang and LHP Chris Capuano have been held onto as depth if those issues are not resolved.
PROJECTED BULLPEN:
RHP Brandon League (closer)
RHP Kenley Jansen
RHP Ronald Belisario
LHP J.P. Howell
RHP Javy Guerra
LHP Ted Lilly or LHP Chris Capuano
The Dodgers had one of the best bullpens in the National League last season, and GM Ned Colletti tried to bring it back intact for 2013. The first step in that plan was re-signing League. The former All-Star will enter the season as the closer, but Jansen and Guerra represent fallback options. Both have served as a closer in the past, and they give manager Don Mattingly excellent setup options — and alternatives if League reverts to the struggles that cost him the closer’s job in Seattle last season.
Howell was signed as a free agent to be the Dodgers’ lefty specialist. One of the Dodgers’ surplus of starting pitchers (Lilly, Capuano or Harang) could wind up in the bullpen if not needed in the rotation.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
1. 2B Mark Ellis
2. LF Carl Crawford
3. 1B Adrian Gonzalez
4. CF Matt Kemp
5. RF Andre Ethier
6. SS Hanley Ramirez
7. 3B Luis Cruz
8. C A.J. Ellis
With former All-Stars sprinkled throughout the lineup, the Dodgers potentially have one of the most dynamic offenses in the National League. Much depends on the health of Kemp and Crawford, however. Kemp had shoulder surgery in October and is expected to be ready for Opening Day. His power could take longer to return, though. Crawford is coming off wrist and elbow surgeries last season as well as two disappointing seasons with the Red Sox. If he can recapture the form that made him a four-time All-Star with the Rays, he could add an extra dimension to the lineup.
One issue that could hamper the offense is the lack of a true leadoff hitter. Manager Don Mattingly has limited options and will try to sort through them during spring training.
TOP ROOKIES: LHP Hyun-jin Ryu, 25, is expected to step right into the rotation after the Dodgers committed at least $61.7 million to acquire him from South Korea. Ryu was a seven-time All-Star in the Korean league. LHP Paco Rodriguez was a second-round draft pick out of the University of Florida last June. By September, he was a big-leaguer (the first from the 2012 draft to make that jump). Rodriguez, 21, made 11 relief appearances down the stretch for the Dodgers with a 1.35 ERA, allowing three hits and striking out six in 6 2/3 innings. That marks him as a legitimate candidate to win a spot in the Dodgers’ 2013 bullpen mix — particularly with LHP Scott Elbert sidelined indefinitely following his second elbow surgery in a four-month span.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–CF Matt Kemp (left shoulder surgery in October 2012) began swinging a bat in workouts in early January. He expects to be ready to play on Opening Day.
–RHP Chad Billingsley (partial tear of ulnar collateral ligament in right elbow) began a throwing program in November. He was throwing with the rest of the starters early in spring training.
–LHP Ted Lilly (left shoulder surgery in September 2012) began a light throwing program in November. He was throwing with the rest of the starters early in spring training.
–RHP Kenley Jansen (heart surgery in October 2012) had a surgical procedure to address an irregular heartbeat. He was throwing but proceeding cautiously early in spring training.
–LF Carl Crawford (Tommy John surgery in August 2012) began a throwing program in late December. He took batting practice on the field for the first time Feb. 17, and he is expected to be ready by Opening Day.
–LHP Scott Elbert (arthroscopic left elbow surgeries in September 2012 and January 2013) won’t start throwing until March. He hopes to be ready to come off the disabled list in May.
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