Dodgers post winning bid for Korean left-handed pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu

The Dodgers were rumored to be interested in Hyun-Jin Ryu, and that rumor turned out to be true. The team posted $25.7 million for the exclusive negotiating rights for the Korean lefty. The sides now have 30 days to agree to a major or minor-league deal.

Ryu, 25, will turn 26 in March and the Dodgers didn't post more money than any of us will ever know just to sign him to a minor-league deal. He'll sign a major league deal and be inserted into the rotation.

There's no great model for predicting his contract, but I'd say a 4-year deal with an average annual value of $5 to $8 million isn't out of the question.

Mike Petriello did a great job of informing the masses of Ryu in a post on Friday.

"That all said, who is Ryu? He turns 26 in March, and has been a Korean All-Star in each of his seven seasons there. In five of those years, with the exception of 2008 & 2011, he led the league in strikeouts; he’s also notable for having gone 8 1/3 innings in helping Korea to beat Cuba for the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics."

He follows that up with links and excerpts from three or four different scouting reports on Ryu.

Here's a video from April of him striking out 13 batters in a game.



Keith Law, to no one's surprise, sees him as a reliever. But he says that a lot, so take that for what it's worth.

Chad Moriyama is a little skeptical of Ryu's ability, but said he thinks he could adjust to the majors.

"A 25-year-old Tommy John survivor, the Dodgers have to be expecting him to start, and reports have him sitting between 87-92 mph with two solid average breaking balls in a curve and a slider, and a plus out-pitch in his change-up. Even the reports that like him pencil him in as a #4 or #5 type, but the Dodgers will end up paying him like a #3, and I think his profile could reach that status as he adjusts to the league"

My take? It's always nice to add a quality starting pitcher, but at this point, he's not really much better than Chris Capuano. It could be argued he isn't much better because Ryu is an unknown at this point. After Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers have a bunch of No. 3, 4 and 5 guys, and Ryu is no exception.

I'd like him more if his fastball sat consistently in the low-90s rather than the upper-80s and low-90s. His changeup seems to be his money pitch. If he can lock down one of the other pitches -- his slider or curveball -- I'd feel better about him being more than just a back-of-the-rotation starter.

There's also the question of where he fits in among the Dodgers' top prospects. I'm going to publish my Top 50 hopefully before the end of the year, but I'd say he's easily a Top 10 guy, but closer to No. 5 than No. 10.

The Dodgers still need to land a true No. 2 to support Kershaw. That guy is either Zack Greinke or James Shields. Before this signing, there wasn't much room in the Dodgers' 2013 rotation. With everyone expecting the team to land a legitimate second starter, the Dodgers will have to trade a starter or two -- a luxury not many teams can claim. Expect Capuano and/or Aaron Harang to be dealt this winter. But I'll have more on that in a future post.

Side note: Ryu is my favorite character in the Street Fighter series. It means absolutely nothing in the context of this; just a self-serving aside by yours truly.

Despite Hiroki Kuroda's ability, the Dodgers cannot afford to sign him

Hiroki Kuroda's major league career began with the Dodgers in 2008 at the spry old age of 33. He was nothing but good for the Dodgers (3.45 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 11.9 fWAR) and had a solid season for the Yankees in 2012.

But the Dodgers should not and cannot sign him.

It's nothing personal with the guy. Hell, the Dodgers should not have let him walk after the 2011 season. But the fact he was extended a qualifying offer by the Yankees should take the Dodgers out of the running for his services.

Because he was extended the offer, the signing team would have to give up its first-round draft pick. The teams interested in Kuroda's services include the Yankees, Red Sox and the Dodgers. There is also a chance he could return to Japan.

Yet, reports say he's one of the team's top targets this winter. From Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times:

"The Dodgers' pursuit of free-agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda illustrates how much the franchise's economic realities have changed in the last year.

The Dodgers never made Kuroda a formal offer when he was a free agent last winter, as they were still owned by Frank McCourt and in bankruptcy. Now, even with six starting pitchers under contract for next season, they are among the teams in active talks with Kuroda's agent."

Thankfully, Hernandez goes on to write this:

"The Dodgers are also believed to be interested in Zack Greinke and Anibal Sanchez."

I get it. Kuroda is a quality pitcher, something the Dodgers could use in the rotation. But he's not a young guy and having to give up the draft pick is the only reason I don't want to see the Dodgers bring him back.

Now, before you call me a prospect hoarder, let me justify my stance.

Many experts are saying the 2013 draft class could be even weaker than the 2012 class, which wasn't particularly strong. With the Dodgers not getting any competitive balance compensatory selections or any picks from their free agents, they can't afford to give up their pick for a guy in his late-30s -- no matter how good he is.

Love ya, Hiroki, but the Dodgers need to stay away.

Report: Dodgers interested on Korean lefty

The Dodgers are interested in acquiring Korean left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin. The 25-year-old is considered to be the best pitcher available from the country.

The Cubs have submitted a bid for him. It's unknown if any other bids were made for Hyun-jin's services.

Photo credit: Cbl62, Wikimedia Commons

Catching up on Dodgers' news: Kerhsaw, Greinke, Sanchez, prospects

Clayton Kershaw is one of the three finalists for the National League Cy Young Award. He's competing against the Mets' R.A. Dickey and the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez.

Kershaw, the reigning winner, wasn't as good in 2012 as he was in 2011, but his 2011 was quite dominant.

Good money says Dickey will win, but Kershaw was the best pitcher in the NL this season.

Greinke, Sanchez among Dodger rotation targets

Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times reported the Dodgers will try to land at least one starting pitcher, and the name Zack Greinke has come up.

He's by far the best starting pitcher available and the Dodgers have lots of money to spend.

I penned a post in September that the Dodgers would sign Greinke to a mega deal this winter. I still stand by that prediction. He'd be the perfect No. 2 starter to slot in behind Kershaw.

Jayson Stark of ESPN tweeted the Dodgers could also look to Anibal Sanchez to fill the rotation need. Sanchez was traded to the Tigers from the Marlins in July and pitched relatively well. He wouldn't be the big-name pitcher Greinke would be, but he'd be a solid backup option.

Garcia makes AFL debut

Dodgers' prospect Onelki Garcia made his long-awaited debut in the Arizona Fall League on Tuesday. His status was in doubt due to a potential oblique injury.

If that was the case, Garcia showed no ill effects of the injury. His line: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 26 pitches, 17 strikes.

Garica, 23, was the Dodgers' third-round draft pick this year.

Another 2012 draftee chimed in on Garcia's potential. From John Sgromolo, 37th-round draft pick: 

"(F)aced him in a sim game, electric stuff! Great guy too!"

Dominguez suspended 25 games

Prospect Jose Dominguez, a favorite of Jared Massey's (LA Dugout), was suspended 25 games for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

No word on if it was a recreational drug or a performance-enhancer.

Dominguez, 22, threw 72 of his 79 innings for the Loons this season in Low-A before a late-season promotion to Double-A. He averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings while boasting an upper-90s fastball.

Silverio outrighted, re-signed

The Dodgers outrighted outfielder Alfredo Silverio to Triple-A and was subsequently re-signed. The move was made to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Silverio, coming off a breakout 2011, was in a car accident in January that resulted in him needing Tommy John surgery.

The Dodgers must have been rather confident they could re-sign him, otherwise they wouldn't have risked losing him. Then again, how many teams would be lining up to sign a 25-year-old minor-league outfielder coming off a lost season?

Photo credits

Kershaw: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Greinke: Jninja, Wikimedia Commons

Dodgers tab Mark McGwire as their next hitting coach, and it's a good thing

Well, that certainly came out of nowhere.

When Dave Hansen was dismissed as the Dodgers' hitting coach on Oct. 12, I don't think one person thought Mark McGwire would be the man to replace him. But here we are, nearly a month later and that's exactly what's happening.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"Mark McGwire will leave the Cardinals as hitting coach to accept the same post with the Los Angeles Dodgers, three years after the former single-season home run king returned to the game from relative exile.

Though the Cardinals withheld comment Friday, McGwire notified numerous players and members of the club’s baseball operations of a pending announcement as well as his appreciation for the time spent as hitting coach in St. Louis.

The club extended McGwire the opportunity to return, but the geography and family ties led him to pursue an opportunity on Dodgers manager Don Mattingly’s staff."

Bill Plashcke and T.J. Simers can't wait to sink their teeth into this one. But all steroid/performance-enhancing drug use aside, what does this mean for the Dodgers? To find out, we should look at what McGwire did for the Cardinals' hitters in his tenure.

McGwire was surprisingly offered the Cardinals' hitting coach position in October 2009. And despite having players such as Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran in his stint with the Cardinals, McGwire earned praise for working with the younger, less-established hitters.

Quotes from McGwire in a USA Today article prior to last year's World Series:

"'I truly believe power hitters are born. I don't think you can make power hitters. But the thing is hitting is hitting. I've always enjoyed talking hitting; I've always enjoyed teaching hitting.'"

and

"'You get to this level, this is where it's all mental. There's always fine-tuning with your mechanics, but there's a reason why you're here: You have good mechanics; you know how to hit. And then in order to stay here for a long period of time you have to understand you can only cover 8 1/2 inches of that plate, you can't cover 17. So you have to be really good at one side or the other. And you have to know what this guy has on the mound. He has a plan; you have a plan. Let's take it on.

"I played pretty much five years, six years of my career on physical ability itself and not understanding this game is mental. If you're going to swing at pitches you shouldn't swing at, it's going to change your mechanics. So what happens with the young kid, they're going to look at that and say, 'I need to change my mechanics,' when they don't need to.'"

Guys like Allen Craig, David Freese and Yadier Molina have all seemingly benefited from McGwire's teachings. A number of times during the 2012 postseason, I saw tweets to the effect of, "Allen Craig can really hit."

Craig was never a blue-chip prospect coming up through the Cardinals' system. His bat was always going to be the thing that made or broke his career. McGwire's guidance, coupled with opportunity, allowed Craig to post a .307/.354/.522 triple slash this season.

Freese was an afterthought at third base for the Cardinals. He was a light-hitting third baseman who got a late start in baseball. Since McGwire took over in 2010, his home runs per at-bat number has improved every season:

• 2010: 60 AB/HR
• 2011: 33.3 AB/HR
• 2012: 25.1 AB/HR

Oh, and he has a shiny World Series MVP trophy and a career .345/.407/.645 triple slash in postseason play.

McGwire's best job might have been what he did with Molina. Molina has never been questioned defensively. He is the best in the game. However, some wondered if his bat would ever catch up.

Through the 2010 season, Molina managed just a .268/.327/.361 triple slash. His next two seasons, he had a .310/.362/.484 triple slash. He's gone from glove-only catcher to MVP candidate in two years. It's an amazing transformation.

With this hiring, I hope McGwire is able to coax more power out of the Dodger hitters. Matt Kemp, provided his shoulder is OK, should be no issue. Adrian Gonzalez, whose isolated power has dropped from an elite .210 in 2011 to a just-better-than-average .167 in 2012, could benefit from McGwire's tutelage. Andre Ethier's ISO had decreased three years in a row prior to bouncing back last season. The same can be said about Hanley Ramirez.

There's nothing not to like about this move. McGwire, in his three years, has proven to be a competent hitting instructor. For a team with a lot of big names, he might just be the perfect fit.

I wonder if Carl Crawford is going to have to change his number now?

Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr