Dodgers News: Kluber, LeMahieu, Sunday Night baseball schedule

With the annual winter meetings underway, a lot of rumors have been circulating in regards to the Dodgers.

The most recent, and likely the biggest piece of news to come out is that the Dodgers are still talking with the Indians about a potential deal surrounding two-time Cy-Young winner, Corey Kluber.

LA has been linked with Kluber all offseason, so this doesn’t really come as much of a surprise. Last month, it was reported that the Indians would be interested in Yasiel Puig if a potential deal were to be completed.

On top of showing interest in Puig, Cleveland is interested in LA’s top prospect, Alex Verdugo.

Verdugo, 22, has appeared in 52 games over the last two seasons with the Dodgers. Though a small sample size, he has hit .240 with two homers and five RBI. With a crowded outfield, Verdugo has struggled to establish himself on the big-league roster so far.

Kluber, 32, has been one of the best pitchers in the American League since 2014. He’s won the Cy Young twice, and finished in the top 3 four separate times. In 2018, he went 20-7, with a 2.89 ERA. He had 222 strikeouts in 215 innings.

On top of being one of the better pitchers in the game, Kluber has arguably one of the more team friendly deals in all of baseball. He is signed through 2022, and making an average of only $17 million a year. For a pitcher of his caliber, that is a bargain.

The next bit of news once again doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but the Dodgers are still keeping an eye on second-baseman DJ LeMahieu.

This news was reported last month as well, but this is noteworthy as the Dodgers are still showing interest in the 30-year-old. Last season, LeMahieu hit .276 with 15 home runs and 62 RBI. He also took home his third gold-glove award.

The last rumor comes as a brand-new one, in that the Dodgers are interested in reliever David Robertson.

This doesn’t come as much of a shock, as the Dodgers are looking to improve their bullpen this offseason.

Robertson, 33, appeared in 69 games with the Yankees last year. He was 8-3, with a 3.23 ERA. In 69 ²⁄₃ innings of work, he struck out 91.

Dodgers have four games scheduled on Sunday Night Baseball

On top of the latest rumors, ESPN announced their slate of Sunday Night baseball matchups. As of now, the Dodgers will appear at least four times.

Also ESPN announced that they are moving up the start times to 7:00 p.m. Eastern (4:00 p.m. Pacific) this year. The start time should both give fans in most of the country the opportunity to see the game end before 11:00/10:00 (Eastern/Central) time and give teams traveling an earlier flight time.

Keibert Ruiz adds one more honor to his 2018 season

Ruiz who was already Baseball America’s Texas League’s No. 3 prospect and in Top 100 prospects for both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline was named to the Arizona Fall League Top Prospects Team.

Ruiz and Daulton Varsho from the Arizona Diamondbacks are the two catchers on the team. Ruiz hit .286/357/.306 with six walks and two strikeouts in 55 plate appearances. He did have only one extra-base hit, a double, during his AFL campaign.