The Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline is approaching and the Dodgers are in need of starting pitching, relief pitching and bench help. Will they make a move?Pitchers were put through programs modeled after the Driveline training center, helping cultivate desirable traits like fastball velocity and increased spin rates.
“We’re able to think outside the box,” he added, reflecting on all that has changed within the team over the last decade. “Or, think like there’s no box at all.” It’s in moments like these that the Dodgers’ organizational philosophies are put into practice — where their ability to eliminate silos between coaches of different backgrounds, and departments of different expertise, helps them impact their players in myriad ways.
When James Outman was drafted in the seventh round in 2018, the scouting department knew he would be a big project. He was an outfielder with natural pop but a raw prospect with plenty of mechanical flaws in his swing.Whether it’s on your list to take in a game at every stadium or you just want to soak in the atmosphere at a specific field, here’s a guide to all 30 ballparks.
“Your heart and soul has to be player development,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes says. “That has always been a guiding light for us.” One such project: giving presentations on how they would improve the pitching department if they were in charge. And in almost every case, it is Barbary who informed them of the news, delivering the happy decision in middle-of-the-night phone calls, celebratory clubhouse announcements and emotional office meetings.
Producing homegrown stars is a plus. But providing inexpensive and dependable depth, or an ever-available prospect pool from which to facilitate trades, is a necessity — one the player development department seemingly has mastered.