Dodgers notes: Jonny DeLuca, J.D. Martinez, Roger Craig

Jonny DeLuca made his major league debut last night, as did reliever Nick Robertson making for a rare double debut for the Dodgers.

Agoura High School coach Anthony Chevrier recalled DeLuca’s time playing for him, roughly 35 miles from Dodger Stadium.

“I remember speaking to Jonny and his father when he was a freshman and I said, ‘Man, you’re gonna play in the big leagues one day,’ ” Chevrier told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. “His dad kind of giggled, but you could just tell. The physical tools, the intangibles, the decision-making skills were there. He was the complete package.”

DeLuca worked in the last few years with swing guru Doug Latta at “The Ball Yard” in Northridge. From Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic:

Latta quickly noticed what Chevrier and the Dodgers already had — DeLuca, for his size, had outlier strength in his lower half. The amount of weight he is able to move with his lower body has impressed Dodgers officials to the extent that Roberts called him “probably one of the strongest guys in the organization.” Chevrier said DeLuca was “built like a horse,” with his compact yet sturdy frame. It earned him a nickname.

“They called him ‘Quadzilla,’” Latta said.

J.D. Martinez talked to Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic about his swing changes and being patient during the ongoing process.

“It’s never just a little light switch. You’ve got to marinate it. You’ve got to marinate the steak,” Martinez told Rosenthal. “It takes time. The way I view it, you work on things, you work on things, then you plan on everything clicking in August. But you’ve got to fix all these things. I don’t think it’s one of those things where everything started feeling great.”

Jay Jaffe’s tribute to the late Roger Craig at FanGraphs included this quote from the pitcher who went from the Dodgers to the expansion Mets during his playing days: “Losing was a tremendous influence in shaping my pitching philosophy. ... I learned the value of being competitive, regardless of the circumstances. I learned the value of positive thinking and the power of self-esteem.”

Stephanie Apstein at Sports Illustrated wrote about the A’s “disaster,” and how Major League Baseball is bending over backwards to help the team grease the skids in leaving Oakland.