Dodgers notes: Pedro Baez & the pitch clock, Justin Turner & the LA Marathon, and Donovan Solano

While waiting out the slow offseason and wondering how the hell one makes tiny pizzas as toppings for a pizza, here is some news regarding the Dodgers and around baseball for the last few days.

A pitch clock is coming. The details haven’t been decided yet and are still up for debate, with MLB and the players union squabbling and the latter angry at its players not getting in this free agent market. Jeff Passan of Yahoo chronicled intricacies of MLB’s proposal. Among them:

MLB intends to use a 20-second pitch clock with the bases empty and runners on, according to the memo. In the proposed agreement, the pitch clock would have been 18 seconds with the bases empty and would have been shut off with runners on. The clock will start when a pitcher has the ball on the mound and stop when the pitcher begins his windup or comes set. If the pitcher steps off the rubber, the clock resets. Batters must be in the box five seconds after the clock starts.

The commissioner can implement a pitch clock if the two sides don’t agree. This will force a big change from Pedro Baez, who by several accounts is one of the slowest-working pitchers in the game (FanGraphs, for instance, estimated Baez at 31.1 seconds between pitches).

There has been a clock in parts of the minors for four seasons, and the folks at Baseball America weighed in after watching the effects for themselves. Generally speaking, the pace of play seems to have improved since the implementation of the pitch clock.

Notes

• Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner will be an honorary starter at the 2018 LA Marathon, which starts at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, March 18. In addition, Turner’s foundation is a charity partner of the event.
• The Dodgers will hold their annual week of service in and around Los Angeles starting next Monday, all leading up to Fan Fest at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 27 (tickets are free, but have to be downloaded digitally). Among the scheduled events is Yasiel Puig taking orders behind the counter at an undisclosed McDonald’s location.
• On Thursday the Dodgers signed infielder Wes Darvill to a minor league deal per the Manitoba Press. The 26-year-old played the last two years in independent ball in Winnipeg after seven years in the Cubs’ system. He reached as high as Double-A, where he hit .196/.266/.256 in 108 games.
• The Dodgers have also reportedly signed infielder Donovan Solano to a minor league deal, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The 30-year-old hit .282/.329/.391 in 99 games for Scranton-Wilkes Barre in the Yankees’ system in 2017 and has spent parts of nine years in Triple-A. Solano played parts of five major league seasons (2012-16) with the Marlins and Yankees.
• The Dodgers haven’t announced any minor league signings yet this offseason, but those should be coming soon. In the last two offseasons the club revealed its non-roster invitees to big league camp on Jan. 26 and Jan. 25, respectively.