The rediscovery of Joey Gallo

Extreme Makeover: Dodgers Edition continues this season with Joey Gallo, and the team is confident that they know exactly how to help him out.

Gallo hit .159 in his year with the Yankees, but the Dodgers think little bit of California sunshine and expert input from their coaching squad will sort him out.

“I think Joey has a great approach,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He understands which part of the zone he’s really good at. But the way his body is working, it doesn’t allow the mechanics to work the way they should be. I think in this particular case, it’s largely mechanical.”

True to form, coaching staff have been relying heavily on video from Gallo’s All-Star seasons as a Texas Ranger. Gallo is also getting instant feedback during simulated games. The goal isn’t to reinvent his swing—rather, it’s to rediscover the one he had in Texas.

Results have been slow, but steady. Gallo has three homers and a double in 26 plate appearances with the Dodgers, registering a .261 batting average so far.

“Baseball is definitely a mental game,” Gallo said. “It’s nice to get a fresh start.”

Bill Plunkett at the OC Register has more.

Dodgers Links

Cody Bellinger is getting some time off in the hopes of letting him reset, writes The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya.

The Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward, a former Dodgers coach and instrumental part of Corey Seager’s decision to sign with Texas, writes Jeff Passan at ESPN.

In case you missed it last night, you need to see Chris Taylor’s game-saving catch (too bad the game couldn’t just end there). It was so unbelievable, even he didn’t realize he’d made it.