BOMBSHELL: Los Angeles Dodgers SHOCK MLB World by CUTTING Austin Barnes to PROMOTE Dalton Rushing

BOMBSHELL: Los Angeles Dodgers SHOCK MLB World by CUTTING Austin Barnes to PROMOTE Dalton Rushing

You can know something’s coming and still be surprised at when and how it happened. No, I’m not talking about your parents’ divorce. I’m talking about the start of the Dalton rushing era in Los Angeles. Let’s get live on Locked on Dodgers. You are Locked On Dodgers, your daily Los Angeles Dodgers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Hey Dodger fans, this is Locked on Dodgers, part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Thanks to everydayers for making Lock on Dodgers your first listen every weekday morning. And thanks to those of you who with us live here on Wednesday evening. Remember, this show is free and available on all podcast platforms and on YouTube simply by searching for Locked on Dodgers. So, please subscribe wherever you’re watching or listening right now. If this is your first time with us, I am Jeff Snyder. My normal co-host is Vince Serio. Vince is wrapping up a vacation and so instead I have my abnormal co-host Clint Pacas with me. And joining us shortly will be our even more abnormal friend and co-host Doug McCain. The three of us will be here. Uh all of us are lifelong Dodger fans. We’ve all spent time covering the Dodgers in the press box and the locker room. So we bring you the smart fans perspective on our boys in blue every weekday morning. Uh we are going to be talking about the big news. Yes, the Dodgers won. We’ll touch on that a little bit, but the big news was off the field. Dalton Russian got called up because Austin Barnes got designated for assignment. We’ll talk rushing first segment. We’ll talk Barnes second segment. And in the third segment, we will talk about whether or not people like Chris Taylor ought to be a little bit nervous now. Yeah, it’s nervous season. We mentioned Dodgers won this game. They won 9 to3. It was closer than that for most of the game. They busted out for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Uh in Shoi Otani’s year and two months as a Dodger now uh Dodgers hitters are seven for 12 with 14 RBI’s in the plate appearance following a Shoi Otani intentional walk. There was two more of those today. A two-run double by Mukie Betts. Uh I I think it’s still the right move probably, but you know that’s why you have the MV3, right? you you watch why why you have so many good hitters behind Ottoni so that even when they make the right move to walk him. It’s like well it’s not like you’re out of the woods. Not like it’s going to get easy now. Yeah. I mean it’s a pick your poison sort of situation for for any of these other uh any of these opponents. And I would hate to have to be the guy to one, you know, be the manager to make that call and make that decision and two have to be the dude throwing to one of those three, you could even say four and five uh you know players when when Tay Oscar’s in that lineup. So, um, Muki really does get off on those situations, though. He was 0 for four leading up to that point and then he said, uh, you know, a big FU to the A’s with that, uh, that two-run double. That was a much needed insurance hit at the moment. Yeah, moment. Mookie himself is now three for four with a walk, a single, a double, and a homer uh immediately following a show uh intentional walk. So, you know, um that I think that’s all we’re going to really talk about about the actual game about the game. It’s it’s called the big newsy day. It’s Dalton day. Yeah, we found out uh you know the way this news always trickles out. First, we found out who’s getting called up and it’s huge news. Dodger call up the top prospect Dalton rushing. Absolutely huge news. And but there’s that little thing like oo why though, you know? And my my first word was like, uh, I hope Will Smith didn’t sleep wrong and he’s hurt or something, you know. Yeah. Uh, but then you start thinking, okay, well, uh, rushing has played some outfield, you know, maybe maybe they’re just sending Outman back down and they’re going to DFA one of these guys in the minors and they’re just calling up rushing. But then when we got the uh we got the word probably what half hour, 40 minutes after we found out the rushing was coming up, it felt like three days. It’s like what’s the corresponding move? That’s how that’s how this baseball news trickling in feels. Um, but when we got the news, Austin Barnes had been designated for assignment. Like I said, we’re going to talk this second segment about Austin Barnes. Um, but obviously they’re inextricably connected because the reason they called up rushing right now is because the Barnes era was ending. They had decided that. And I wonder how much of that, Clint, do you think had to do with Barnes? How much of it do you think had to do with rushing? I think a lot of it had to do I I mean, it’s it’s such a loaded a loaded topic here because Barnes has always had that, oh, he’s a good defender, so that’s why you keep him on there. He’s he’s obviously a great clubhouse piece, but the the defense eroded along with the bats continuing to not be there. So, he almost became a completely non-playable character uh for the Dodgers. At the same time, Will Smith, we know, needs days off early in the season and through the regular season if he’s going to survive and and uh be a productive hitter in the second half of the season. So, those are two factors, but also the big one for me is the Dodgers have told us uh uh for for years now, Dave Roberts has told us for years, it’s a meritocracy. You can play your way, you know, AAA players, minor leaguers can play their way into playing time. You can play your way up to the big leagues. Dalton Rushing had nothing else to prove at Triple A. It was time. He is a bat. He is a a budding defensive, you know, catcher. He’s still going to get his legs under him there. And what better spot to do it than at the big league level with the Dodgers. So, you love that move. And I love seeing that guy there. That’s my Yo. Wow. Look at the legends in the building. Wow. Welcome, Doug. You know, right on time, just like we expected from you. Uh Clint and I had a little wager. I now owe Clint a dollar because he he he bet me that you wouldn’t be on time. So, here we are. You know, I like Toss Hernandez. I’m last off the bus, but I’ll get you a double in the gap. A little RBI with runners in scoring position. I got you. That’s right. We are talking, of course, about the Dalton rushing era starting in LA. And and yeah, Clint, like you said, the the Dodgers want to give Will Smith time off and you I think it got to the point where they need to and it got to the point where they couldn’t afford to because Austin Barnes I I told our insiders in our in our Discord the other day, I thought it’s funny that after being a bad hitter for almost his entire career, it’s going to be Austin Barnes’s defense that eventually gets him cut from this team. And that’s really what it was. He’s not bringing any value anymore. He can’t throw anybody out. The framing is average. It’s not elite anymore. And Dodgers pitchers throwing to Austin Barnes this year have a 516 RA. And so it’s like and some of that is yes, he he has caught Rocky Roi more and Roki has had his struggles, but you know, if if Austin Barnes isn’t doing a magic behind the plate, he doesn’t have a spot anymore, right Doug? Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s what it comes down to. to him as you point out it’s like what he brought the intangibles the stuff that did show up on the back of the baseball card the box score once those have started to diminish and then it’s your best prospect it happens to be a catcher that’s hitting over 300 that’s 45% above league average down in AAA you have to start that you have to start that process especially if you think that they can help you into the postseason they can preserve Will Smith and we saw that last season I mean Will Smith started made his second all-star team up until the All-Star break. He was great. I mean, first 80 games of the season, 838 OPS, 30% above league average, 15 home runs. After the All-Star break, he was looking a little Austin Barnesy at the plate, right? 626 OPS and a 78 weighted runs created plus. So, I think that that’s the number one thing that you look at how he can immediately help this team. The truth of the matter is is is Austin Barnes one of the 13 best position players in this organization. No. But Don Rushing, I think, can make a strong case. is. Yeah. I’ll add one thing, too. DMAC, with your your rebuilt back, I’m pretty sure Barnsy still couldn’t throw you out anymore trying to steal a bag at second base. It It’d be like It would come down to like a really close review. Like it’d be a tight review that depend on what they would call it might be too much too too much overturn it. Angel Hernandez would call you safe. I got you there. And and don’t worry guys, we are going to say nice things about Austin Barnes in the second segment because Austin Barnes has been an important part of this team. Uh but right now like uh Dalton Rushing actually gives the Dodgers the option of if they want to give Will Smith three days off in a row sometime like hey just relax for a few days they can actually do that. And obviously they won’t do that immediately, but as rushing gets going, and I guess we just talked about this a little bit, that Dave Roberts said Dalton Rushing’s role is backup catcher. He said he’s not going to play outfield. He also said that can change. And and my view on this is that’s the right thing for Dave Roberts to say right now, hey, no pressure, dude. You’re just a backup catcher. Going to play a couple times a week. Just come up here, get your get your feet wet, get your bearings. But if Dalton rushing hits, I think he’s going to play his way into some more playing time. Whether that is, you know, also occasionally getting a start in left field, occasionally, hey Freddy, why don’t you take a day off now that we have somebody other than Kiki Hernandez to play first base, you know, that I I think there’s definitely if he hits, he’s going to find played appearances, right? That’s going to be the big thing, I think. Yeah. Go ahead, Dmac. No, you go first. I say that’s going to be the big thing. Um, no, for Dalton right now, it it is just roll out the red carpet. see what you can do, kid. Uh if you can hit, which we know you can do at the AAA level, they’re going to find a way to to get that bat in the lineup some way uh in some shape or form or however you say that expression. Of course, there’s there’s it’s not like that. Just so you know, there’s also the back pocket thing that people would really really love to see is Will Smith getting some time at third base, which he’s not. They signed him to a 10-year extension for a reason. he is their starting catcher uh moving forward, but he’s also 30 and you do need to kind of figure out the uh the future of the position, the future of third base and all that kind of stuff. So, you do have some options, but we’re looking at right now and Dalton with that bat, you’re going to get some opportunities and and the more you hit, the more they’re going to find a way to get you in that lineup. Yeah, for sure. I mean, you mentioned Will Smith. I mean, first catcher to sign a 10-year deal. We know he wants to be a catcher. We know that that’s his legacy. has played some third base throughout his career in a very very small small sample sizes, but that’s not what he’s here to do. I mean, when I was uh when I interviewed Dawn Rushing during spring training, he told me that, hey, my job is to make Will’s life easier and help him get to the Hall of Fame. So, it almost feels like maybe there was like a conversation they had with him early on about a potential role. He’s kind of slipping that out just a little bit because the truth is, I mean, look, we saw Gavin Lux a couple years ago. They weren’t afraid to just throw him out there. It led to injuries and the poor wall there and the the tape outline and all that stuff, but they’re not afraid to try guys in the outfield. And yes, it’s been limited him in left field. There’s no doubt about that. But you point out the number one thing. If he hits, he can stick. I mean, that’s the number one thing. If there’s any any type of translation to his mile numbers and he’s anywhere well above average and he’s that threat, then there’s no doubt about they’re going to find opportunities for him on the field. And if that’s in the outfield, I mean, Conforto, I mean, he’s got the the reverse splits this year. You give see him in the corner outfield spots. Give Teao a day off. My big thing, I mean, look, for Freddy Freeman to come out of a game, you pretty much have to go out there with security, have him remove from first base, put barbwire around first base. But at some point, I mean, I was in the I was in the clubhouse yesterday. There was three people there. It was Landon Knack, it was Austin Barnes, and it was Freddy Freeman. And Freddy Freeman was full-blown had two dudes working on his ankle. And it’s an hour after the game. I mean, at some point, I think Freddy’s going to accept the fact that, hey, I mean, I just have to take a little bit of a step back in the regular season to make sure that I’m at my best in the postseason. So, I would love to see that as well. So, I totally agree with you. And the other thing is even when Dalton rushing started, he’s a weapon off the off the bench in a way that Austin Barnes wasn’t. You know, now having another hitter on the bench right now, and you know, we’re going to dig in in the third segment about, you know, some other weak weak links on that bench. Uh Seth in the chat makes a good point. says, “We should have known there was some big news coming because Jeff Clinton, Doug were all planning on being together tonight. We did plan this on Monday. We had no idea that we would have the biggest news of the year, I’d say, to talk about.” Yeah. Um, but Austin Barnes is the the casualty in this. And as I said, Austin Barnes has had some big moments in Dodger Blue. Was a very important part of this team. We are going to say some nice things about Austin Barnes uh and the end of the Austin Barnes era. So, thank you for making Locked on Dodgers your first listen and please keep it Locked on Dodgers. This episode is brought to you by Supply House. Get the supplies you need from the site made for the skilled trades. Supply house. Whether you’re in plumbing, HVAC, or electrical work, Supply House is the reliable way to order products online. Their easytouse website is packed with helpful resources and the latest product info to help you get the job done right. Plus, with a complete inventory of over 200,000 parts from 400 plus top brands, you will find exactly what you need delivered fast from coast to coast. Need help with an order? Supply House offers expert support and industryleading service so you’ll always talk to a real person. 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And you, while you’re on YouTube checking things out, you might as well check out all Dodgers with Clint Pacas and Dodger Territory with Clint Pacas and all the stuff that Doug does over at Dodgers Nation. I mean, Doug is just basically he’s live streaming his entire life over there at Dodgers Nation. Yeah. Where’s the vlog, bro? Make the vlog happen. I know, right? Going to vlog my appearance on Locked on Dodgers, right? There’s cameras all around. But I I just want to say, guys, I I I thank you guys for being here with me. Uh Vince has been on vacation this past week. And uh the last two days, I was talking to myself. We had fun here. Uh but I I’d rather talk to somebody else. And especially two guys who I really like. Two of my my best Dodger friends friends right here, Clint and Doug. So, thank you guys. Doug of course is a part of the lockdown family as one of the hosts of Lockdown Rams. Uh so he knows how how this is and he knows that I have been talking too long without getting into the topic of our second segment which is farewell Austin Barnes. Barnsy had one good season at the plate 2017. It was a long time ago. It’s kind of crazy that Austin Barnes and Yasmani Grandal in 2017 made up the best hitting catching tandem in baseball. My god, it’s it’s weird to think of either of them in that sense, but especially Austin Barnes as any any part of a good hitting anything. And yet, he had a great hitting season that year. His first kind of fullish season with the Dodgers. And uh you know, obviously, especially now, Austin Barnes is the one memory we’re allowed to still cherish from the last out of the 2020 World Series because the other half of that out, you know, it has some issues. So, that was Austin Barnes’s moment, right? Did you guys see that? By the way, the way they uh Yeah, the way they edited that. Oh, that was good. That was good by the Dodgers. Good on them. Yeah. So, you know, that that World Series, I feel like that was Austin Barton’s greatest contribution. He he did uh he played he had a big home run. Well, he had a a squeeze bunt and a home run in the same game. Uh he had obviously the hit that knocked Blake Snell out of game six. Austin Barnes’s legacy with the Dodgers, I think, is the 2020 World Series. Yeah. And for me, uh, looking at what he did defensively because Will Smith at that moment in time was not ready for prime time and and to get Barny stepping in, assuming the everyday catchers role for the Dodgers. I mean, that’s something uh Walker Beller had mentioned, you know, navigating him through a base is loaded like nobody out jam against the Braves. Uh there’s a number of moments where where Barnsy and his Moxy and you know all the veteran presence he brings behind the plate. It really showed up and showed out for that team and and we’ve talked about it on on Dodgers territory myself and Alana have have Alana said like you don’t win that World Series and I agree you don’t make it to that World Series without Barnes behind the dish. So now long time ago but we appreciate the hell out of him for doing it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I think the thing with Austin Barnes is when you’re a player that’s not an all-star, you’re not a Hall of Famer, you’re probably not even the Hall of Very good for you to stick with one organization for 11 years, you had to do something at an above average level where you had to have incredible intangibles and which we know he did have. I mean, we know that pitchers loved throwing the baseball to Austin Barnes. Of course, his pitch framing, getting the strike zone at the bottom of the zone. Yes, he was not a great hitter by any stretch. I think people have to remember that he played his role the way they asked him to for the majority of his career. And I think that look, you add the fact, I mean, the dude’s from Riverside, you know what I’m saying? Like the dude from Riverside play his whole career with the Dodgers. Ben Scully calls your first hit. You win two World Series, should have been three. Hey, you pitch to some of the best pitchers in the history of the game. And life ain’t so bad. Made over 17 million. I looked it up. 17.2 million in his career. And it’s, hey, it’s once a Dodger, always a Dodger. Unless you’re Manny Machado, Josh Reg, Alex Verdugo, right? But I think for him, I he’s got to feel good about his time here. He put He didn’t like how it ended for sure. I’m sure this was a massive blow. And as Dave said, it was a very, very tough conversation, but I think that he understands because I think he knows what this organization is about. You can also make a case that the Dodgers kept paying him probably 2 years after his play on the field warranted it. Yeah. And and and for me, I mean, that is the loyalty. Yes. It’s going to have to end at some point and it’s going to be hard whenever it ends. Um, but you know, the Dodgers knew Daltton rushing would be getting called up this year. Uh, I I think it made sense to start Dalton rushing in AAA this year. He’d only played 37 games at AAA coming into this year. So, you know, start him there, make sure that he’s ready to go, but they absolutely could have cut Barnes loose and went with Hunter Fiducia as their backup. Save some money. Uh, and they didn’t. They gave Boston Bars three and a half million bucks this year. uh you know that sort of loyalty and and Barny you know everybody loves him like all all the players he was the captain uh I I’m not worried about his absence. I think the Dodgers have plenty of veteran leadership. Um and so I I don’t think Barnes is an irreplaceable captain or whatever you want to call him. I maybe that says more about the the role of a team captain than anything else. Uh but but he was absolutely a guy who people respected and because the reason they respected him was because he was dedicated to being the best he could be. The problem was at this point in his life the best he could be isn’t very good. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean that’s the case. I mean when they traded AJ Ellis he was hitting 194. And who was the guy who did that? It was Andrew Freriedman. And Andrew Friedman me was making the case that Ruiz was going to help this team more. They wanted to see Grondall’s power. So, I it’s not like this the first time this group of decision makers has done something kind of shrewd like this. I think that the interesting that makes this that much more intriguing is that you do this the week that Clayton Kershaw is coming back and a lot of people out there just assumed that he was going to be on the Dodgers until Clay and Kershaw was going to hang them up. This is not the case in this situation. So, I think it’s like okay, maybe let him go throw him one more time. But I think the more I think about it, I it kind of made more sense to just do this before Kershaw comes back so you don’t kind of have to deal with that situation. I mean, this could be overblown. We’ll see. I mean, some I’m sure is going to ask Kershaw about it. We’ll hear what he has to say. But I think that’s just an extra little layer and subplots to all this. Yeah, he’s not going to be crying like he was for AJ Ellis. That’s for sure. But, uh, what I do appreciate, uh, about the timing of it, as Dave said today in his pregame presser, it gives Austin the opportunity to go out and find himself another job somewhere. Hopefully on a team that is willing to take him in and not just DFA him also like a week later after he catches a couple of games or whatever. Hopefully, a team that that is like one leader away from a postseason birth or something like that. he will land on his feet and eventually he’s going to be uh some you know doing something for the Dodgers in the front office that’s for sure alongside uh our boy Justin Turner and all of that but um listen it what I love the most about this the same with that that Chuch Ruiz thing is the Dodgers the front office is telling us right now they are putting uh a mark on that clubhouse nobody is safe we are here to win we are here to try to become the first team to go backtoback and World Series wins since the 992000 Yankees and you got to, you know, put up or shut up. You got to do something at the plate or or something, you know, net positive, not just be vibes anymore. Yeah. And I I’ve said this many times here. I always thought the Kershaw angle was overblown because because of the AJ Ellis trade. Like AJ Ellis was not only Kershaw’s personal catcher, he was also his literal best friend and Kershaw was the ace of the staff back then. like the there was no way they were going to keep Barnes just for Kershaw. I still didn’t expect it to happen like this necessarily. Um but but yeah, I mean the the Marlins would make sense. Maybe they’ve got a young catcher who is a big part of their future. Obviously Barnes is familiar with the Marlins manager. Bring in Barnes as the backup to uh Ramirez and as kind of a mentor to him, you know, could be a fit for him. We we’ll see what happens. Uh, but like Clint just said, this could be there. There could be some members of the Dodgers who are feeling a little bit uneasy right now, saying, “Oh, if they are willing to DFA Austin Barnes, I know they don’t like me as much as they like Austin Barnes, and I’m not playing much better than Austin Barnes was.” We’re going to talk about at least one of those guys. So, thank you for making Locked On Dodgers your first listen, and please keep it locked on Dodgers. We are back. It’s almost like didn’t go anywhere at all, but thank you for making locked on dodge your first season. Thanks for being live with us. Uh we expected a big group tonight and you did not disappoint. The chat is hopping popping all those other opin words. We appreciate that. Absolutely. You talking about the movie or the old 97 song? Yes. Uh man, now I just want to listen to old 97s. Can we just cancel the show and I’m just going to pop on some old 97s? Anyway, thanks to Clampacas and Doug McCain for being here with me. I love you guys. I appreciate you talking Dodgers with me. Uh, be sure to check out their stuff everywhere. Their Twitter handles are on the screen. I guess I’ll say them in case you’re listen on the podcast. Clint is at FRG. Doug is at dmac_la. Uh, and obviously check out their various shows. Uh, Austin’s We work too hard, man. I know. Now we got a we’re adding a third show, man. We I mean it’s the MV3. We got a new new podcast. The MV3. I’m telling you, man. Let’s make it happen. U Can Can I be show Hey. Um just Well, you just got to walk up there and hit and then sit on the bench. It’s a good night. I like Yeah, that’s that’s kind of my jam. I will say I’ve seen Doug at Dodger Stadium at shortstop. We should probably put him at second base. I have to say or Yeah, I’ll be the back. People are already clamoring for a position change for Doug, huh? All right. So, let’s talk about Chris Taylor. What does Chris Taylor have to do with with Austin Barnes and Dalton rushing? Well, Chris Taylor is a longtime Dodger, a veteran, a fan favorite, a player favorite who isn’t very good at baseball anymore. And I could have just been describing Austin Barnes. the fact that the Dodgers were willing to cut Austin Barnes at this point. Uh especially now that you have Jes Kim who fills a lot of the roles that Taylor did just better, you know, oh he can pinch run for you in games he doesn’t start. Oh, he’s got some positional flexibility. He can play infield or outfield. Those things he’s basically Chris Taylor but better. And do you need good Chris Taylor and bad Chris Taylor on the same team? And when we’ve got, you know, Tasks Hernandez and Tommy Edmund both uh took live abs against Emma Sheen today. Uh they’re both expected to be back next week. Obviously, James Outman getting sent back to the miners is the obvious move when those guys come back. But then, do you really send Kim back down or do you say the time has come, Chris, thanks for the memories. Uh go away, DMAC, you take it. I think look for Chris Taylor there’s really no metric. There’s nothing you could look at that would say, “Oh, this guy is going to look like the guy that we said Chris Taylor never did anything wrong in his entire life.” The Octaylor, the guy that hit the the wild card walk-off home run there. That guy, there’s nothing in there in his numbers that suggest that that guy is going to turn his seasons around. And I think that you look at just the other available options, they’re better than Chris Taylor. And I think that Hesson Kim is extremely intriguing because I mean you saw him tonight leged out a single, he got a home run. He just kind of has that juice, right? He just kind of has that that juice, that excitement that he brings. And I think that if you’re going to kind of move his development down the road, that could make him less of a viable option in the postseason, right? I think that you need to start the process of him going through the the high highs and the low lows and the slumps and everything that goes with that. And with Chris Taylor, you just don’t benefit from that, right? I mean, yes, there is something to be said about having someone on the roster that you don’t need to give everyday playing time to that you can say, “Okay, play once or twice a week, that’s it.” And it’s not going to hurt us from a developmental standpoint. But I also think too that Kim hasn’t gone playing time every single moment of every single game and he still kind of made the most out of it. And if he continues to show that and the fact that you signed him, you’re committed to three years, 12 a.5 million, the two years of club options, why not just start that process? said, “Look, everyone said this whole season it’s about getting CT through the 10 years of service time and everything that goes along with that.” I don’t buy that. I really don’t. You know what I mean? Like, I just don’t think that Freeman is sitting there saying, “Oh, we got to give CT3 is 10 years.” I don’t think that’s the case. I I don’t think it’s even a a factor at all. Yeah. Like because what the 10 years gives you health insurance like even even after Taylor’s got Taylor’s got what 10 million bucks in the bank right now. He could pay to go to the doctor. He he he’ll be in a good spot if he were to lose his job tomorrow. He would also probably pick up another gig and and find a way over the next couple of years to piece together enough time to get to that 10 years of service time. But I like what Doug was saying there. Um we’re we’re starting to see already Dave um be a little bit more open to moving some guys around. Uh pulling some dudes. We saw Kim today had two hits. Hey, ride the pine and then it worked out with with Migro getting in the game there and and uh getting a big a pinch hit later on with the double. um having dudes that can hit and field and run as opposed to people that show up to work on time and are friendly and that you like them but don’t necessarily hit and do all the things you need need to do as a baseball player. Like the more better options you have, the easier it is going to be for Dave in this front office to do pull the right strings, look smart, uh uh win ball games, and ultimately go out there and win that piece of metal at the end of the year. and Kim is showing a lot and CT3 is showing that it might be time to move on and uh we can give him uh you know a sayanara love fest uh in a couple of weeks a couple of days whatever it may be but the clock is absolutely ticking as it should be on Chris Taylor and it’s not ticking down to that 10 year service 10 years of service time and you look at what the Dodgers bench was yesterday it was Austin Barnes Chris Taylor Miguel Rohos and Kik Hernandez and now picture that instead a bench of Dalton rushing, hes Kim, Kik Hernandez, and Miguel Roa. Suddenly you have four guys who all have a role, who all have potential to come up and get a hit for you. Uh who can all, you know, play a couple positions on defense, they can fill in at different places and and kind of they run the bases. You can, you know, you got Kim to run the bases. Like that’s actually a solid bench. All of them are guys who you don’t mind giving a start to once in a while, too. Yeah. like and then every once in a while, oh, rushing’s playing, so Will Smith is on on the bench instead. Like that that it’s just a totally different look uh that it could be when Edmond and and uh Teao come back. Suddenly the talent matches the payroll when you have these dudes and not Chris Taylor and not Austin Barnes. Yeah, absolutely. And I think with Chris Taylor, too, it’s a thing where I’m not even sure the last guy on the bench is even on the roster right now. I mean, you got some hopefully right-handed pop off the bench and Kik Hernandez when that comes around if everyone’s healthy. There’s some redundancy there with Chris Taylor. I think that you get a more bat-to ball type of hitter. And look, uh, are the Dodgers going to win or lose the World Series based on what either Chris Taylor or Hesson Kim do for this team? Probably not, right? This team’s success is largely going to be dependent on the health of the starting rotation, how the bullpin performs, and how their three best players perform along with Teao and some of those other parts. But still, I mean, at the end of the day, it’s like this organization is showing us now. I mean, forget what they say. I always say, forget what they say, watch what they do. And you see the limited playing time for Chris Taylor, the limited at bats. They’re showing us that they’re easing off that role to plug in someone else potentially, and I think it’ll be kind of an easier way to get out of it. Yeah. And I I said, you know, early in the season, I think Chris Taylor made sense to be on the opening day roster because, like you were saying, Doug, they needed somebody who it wasn’t going to hurt anything if he only got two at bats a week, you know, and he was just coming in for defense late in a game or to pinch run for, you know, pinch run for Conforto and then take over left field. Great. That’s your role, Chris Taylor. But that’s because Kim needed that time in the minor leagues to develop. Now that Kim’s development, obviously he’s still developing, but his his main development stage seems to be done. He is now a major leager and and like you said, Doug, doesn’t need to play every day. So, he can be that bench guy who gets, you know, a handful of starts. the the Dodgers are in position to give themselves that really good problem of we have too many good players for spots available and then they can start thinking okay well maybe we do give Maxim more days off you know and you know who whoever it is they can start actually giving everybody days off get getting a lot of stuff going because they have a full roster of 13 good players or at least you know 13 guys with the potential to be good yeah could not agree more and I think if you are this Dodger team right now and you’re kind of looking at the end of your bench and the roles for some of these guys. I mean, for some reason, I just kind of almost feel like a disconnect between Chris Taylor and the team. Almost like he almost is anticipating he’s not going to finish the year just from just the overall kind of just vibes that I just kind of get from him. I don’t know if I’m just like reading too much into that, but seeing this now and seeing what this could be, it does feel like, hey, we are we have entered the show Otani era of Dodger baseball. And look, I mean, even a couple non-tender Cody Bellinger, they didn’t bring back Justin Turner. This whole idea that the Dodgers always bring back the Dodger guys is not true. They brought back Kik Hernandez for a reason and that’s because he’s great in the postseason. Help them win in October. If they think that you can help them win, you will stay on this team. I I will say like I can there’s a part of me that’s like damn he was eight for his last 72 before he hit that walk-off home run off of Reyes. Like there’s a part of me that like Chris Taylor looks like he’s a a double A player for two months and then for three weeks he looks like a Hall of Famer and that always kind of scares me but it does feel like those kind of runs are few and far between at this point. Yeah, we we haven’t seen a heater. We haven’t really seen a heater from from CT in quite some time. Hey, he was solid last year. The the final what, two, three months of the season hit a little over 300. But but that was a very selective who are you facing and choose your spots. That doesn’t work anymore for this team. Even with 13 position players now, it does not work. They don’t need that anymore. Uh unfortunately, we’re out of time, guys. I could talk Dodgers with you guys all day long. We’ll have to do it again sometime for sure. Thank you guys. Uh last little bits of news. Uh Blake Snail did start throwing. His his appointment with Dr. Neil Elatro went well. He got clearance to start throwing. So that’s good. I mentioned EMTT Sheen through live BP to Edmond and and uh Teao. Shien was in the mid to high 90s which is awesome for where he’s at in his rehab. Uh Teao ran and looked good. I saw video of it. He was looked to be running full speed. So everything is on track for Teao and Edmond hopefully to be back next week and Sheen to come back in the next, you know, couple months and uh just just let let’s become that monster that everybody complained that the Dodgers were all offseason. You know, don’t let this team get healthy. Watch out MLB. Do not let this team get healthy. That’ll do it for us. Thank you all for being here with us live. If you were, thanks for listening later or watching later. Thanks to Clint and Doug for being here with us. DZ, let’s go. Uh we uh be sure to uh subscribe wherever you’re watching or listening right now so you could be an everydayer. You can also check out the new locked on MLB game night on locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can go beyond the podcast and become a locked on Dodgers insider by going to joinsubt.comdodgers. You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok at locked on Dodgers. Vince is on Twitter at Vince991. Doug is on Twitter at dmac_la. Clint is on Twitter at realfrg. I am on Twitter at sny dog. All of our DMs are open. You can also email us [email protected] or send us a voicemail or a text message to 323863 lock 5625. We are here every weekday morning and we hope you’ll be here with us when you get in your car or sit on your couch. Tell your smart device to play podcast Lockdown Dodgers. And remember, you don’t have to agree, you just have to listen. We will talk to you tomorrow. Bye.

Los Angeles Dodgers Shake Up Roster: Dalton Rushing Steps Up, Austin Barnes Steps Out

The Los Angeles Dodgers make a bold move by calling up top prospect Dalton Rushing, while veteran catcher Austin Barnes is designated for assignment. How will these changes impact the Dodgers’ strategy in the MLB?

Explore the implications of Rushing’s arrival and Barnes’ departure, as the hosts analyze potential shifts in the Dodgers’ lineup. Key figures like Will Smith and Chris Taylor are discussed, with insights from guests Clint Pasillas and Doug McKain. Injury updates on Blake Snell, Teoscar Hernandez, and Tommy Edman add another layer to the Dodgers’ evolving narrative.

Tune in for an in-depth look at the Dodgers’ roster dynamics and what these changes mean for their season.

Be sure to subscribe to Locked On Dodgers wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube, and come back every weekday morning and spend your morning commute with two of the biggest Dodger fans you’ll ever meet. Thanks for making Locked On Dodgers your first listen every day, and please tell your friends!

For your next listen, check out the Locked On MLB podcast. Enjoy the 2025 season with Sully, who has it all covered every single day. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.

0:00 Dalton Rushing era begins for Dodgers

5:06 Doug McKain discusses Rushing’s call-up

8:42 Analyzing Rushing’s potential impact on lineup

12:25 Austin Barnes designated for assignment

16:32 Barnes’ legacy and contributions to Dodgers

20:09 Timing of Barnes’ departure before Kershaw’s return

24:25 Chris Taylor’s future with the Dodgers

29:16 Improved bench options without Barnes and Taylor

33:47 Injury updates on Snell, Sheehan, and others

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