MLB Roundup 2/25: Good and bad news for Dodgers fans

Dodgers back in on Bryce Harper?

Since the start of the offseason the biggest story in baseball has been where Bryce Harper will play in 2019. You can make an argument that he isn’t the best player that was available in free agency this year, but there’s no argument that he wasn’t the biggest star. Harper is a huge name, and it sucks that we are still wondering where he’s going to play. Putting aside who you blame for it coming to this — whether it be the owners, the player or the agent — it’s not great for baseball that this is still the topic of the league when we’re supposed to be celebrating the start of free agency. It’s seemed for some time that the conclusion to this saga was inevitable soon, and there were even reports the Phillies would have a deal done by Monday

Well, not so fast, apparently. Sunday night we got new reports indicating that the Dodgers are jumping back into the mix after seemingly never really getting as involved as everyone expected. When Los Angeles made the trade with the Reds that sent away Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood, most assumed it was clearing some luxury tax space to make a run at Harper. Now, that could be coming true. At this point, so late in the game, one would have to imagine the Phillies are still the favorite. There has just been too much smoke there to believe otherwise. That being said, it would be very on brand for this offseason if this saga takes another turn and we wait another couple of weeks before something gets done.

Clayton Kershaw dealing with shoulder troubles

Sticking with the Dodgers, their ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is dealing with some shoulder troubles early in camp. Kershaw has been dealing with various injuries over the last couple of years, taking a bit of the wind out of his sails after he was clearly the best pitcher in baseball for a long stretch. The lefty is still very good when he’s on, but shoulder injuries are clearly nothing to mess around with. In this case, the Dodgers don’t seem to be overly worried about the ailment, but given his recent injury history and the simple nature of shoulder injuries for a pitcher, it’s hard to feel good right now as a Dodgers fan. They are still the favorites in the NL West, and that’s not changing any time soon, but they don’t have the same depth they’ve had in the past. They could really use a healthy Kershaw, and preferably one who gets something close to a full camp.