Dodgers Territory - May's Emotional Return, Dodgers Spring Training Updates with Mike DiGiovanna

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

LA Times writer Mike DiGiovanna joins Alanna Rizzo and Clint Pasillas discuss Dustin' Mays emotional return to the mound after missing last season with a myriad of issues. (Top of Show)(2:29) Plus all the latest out of spring training including Bobby Miller's bounce back from a scary scene at Camelback Ranch and the surplus of starting pitching. (6:24) Should Hyeseong Kim stay at second base full time? (11:00) Roki Sasaki visits the top-secret pitching lab, and Shohei Ohtani's personality is blooming on a winning team.Subscribe to DT on YouTube! DT is LIVE Thursdays at 10a PT/1p ET during Spring Training!Go to GreenChef.com/territoryfree and use code territoryfree to get started with FREE salad for 2 months plus 50% off your first box.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the under-explored pockets of F1, including the story of the woman who last participated in a Formula One race weekend, the recent uptick in F1 romance novels, and plenty of mishap scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years.

Listen to No Grip on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one-night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract.

Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love Trapped on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpbright became the victim of a random crime. The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything.

I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't know how many more years we got left doing this, but we're going to be able to go out of this business saying we covered the greatest players in baseball history. At this point, I don't know how you argue that. Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to a brand new live edition of Dodgers Territory. I am Alana Rizzo. That is Clint Paseas. We are your host for the next half an hour.

Thanks for joining us on an earlier time today. And we have a special guest right off the bat, if you will. Mike De Giovanna covers such a, that's such a tremendous job covering not only the Dodgers, but the Angels and the Chargers as well for LA Times. And DG, kind enough to join us now from Surprise, Arizona. Mike, thanks for taking the time to be with us. Let's get right to it.

You've been around Dodgers camp now for quite a few days. And really what we wanted to talk about off the bat was the, you know, come from, you know, comeback, if you will, from Dustin May. What a tremendous sight to see, obviously, the emotion there on that strikeouts, but a long time since he's been able to do it at the big league level. What did you notice? Well, first of all, the guy hasn't pitched in a competitive environment in 21 months, and his fastball's hitting 94, 95 right out of the shoot. Now, that's a little lower than his usual 97-98 below, but it's its first start of the spring. He hasn't pitched over a year and a half

who work into that philosophy. His stuff is nasty, but I think the biggest thing I noticed is just his demeanor, his attitude. I mean, he had a life-threatening situation last summer. And, you know, Dustin hasn't been around a long time. I've gotten to know him a little over the years, but you could really hear the gratitude in his voice yesterday after that game, just how happy he is to be out on a major league mountain.

again, competing, pitching for the Dodgers. He's really fired up, and I think he's just, you know, he's one of those, you see it sometimes with these younger players, something happens, and they realize that, you know, what they're striving for their whole life might be taken away in a blink of an eye. And so he's sort of a Boolean, I guess, is maybe the word I'd use. He's really fired up. And, I mean, the crazy thing is you think about what, how good he was a few years ago, the potential for how good he can be.

He's battling for like a fifth rotation spot on this team. It's kind of mind-boggling to have that kind of talent potentially at the back of your rotation. Yeah, the talent level for this team is pretty insane this spring training. We've talked about that a lot so far on the show this year. Looking forward to seeing how this works out. We've seen all of the guys fighting for that final spot, Bobby Miller, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin. Of course, Bobby Miller is the one. Things got scary there for him taking that comebacker off.

of the dome. Thankfully, it seems to be okay, but what's the latest you can tell us about Bobby Miller? Yeah, he was very thankfully as a hard head, as he said in his own words. He's apparently he's going to resume throwing today. You know, it's going to be a slower spring from him. We talked him the other day and he was still feeling a lot of dizziness, having trouble sleeping. If he's ever had a concussion, I did when I was young. It's really brutal. So he's going through that process. I don't think he was really going to be in that mix for the rotation right out of the shoot for the, you know, when the regular season starts. I think this kind of assures that he's been set back enough where he's probably not going to be

a factor. They want to take it slow with him. Smart way to play it. Make sure he's okay. And I think, you know, he'll probably be better served at this point starting out in AAA and, you know, working on his stuff and building his confidence. And, you know, if you've been around these daughters long, they'd go through pitching, man. They just seem to have a fair amount of injury. So he's going to be, you know, summoned at some point this year, and he's going to need to be ready to perform at a better level than he did last season.

Mike, going back to Dustin May for just a second, in your estimation, does he get the fifth spot? Will he be built up enough to do that? or with the arms that are there in camp right now, do you anticipate him starting in the bullpen or do you anticipate him starting in AAA or continuing to work up in AAA? We had a long chat with Mark Pryor yesterday, and they're not ruling out anything at this point.

His stuff, I think, personally, would really translate to a bullpen role, but they don't want to, you know, that's a fallback option. They don't want to go there this soon. You know, they're going to build up all these guys. guys as starters. And then, you know, there's, it's a weird schedule again. They go to Japan from two games. They come back. They won't start the regular season for, I think it's another week or so. So, you know, they're not going to put labels on anything. They're not going to put limits on

anyone. I do, you know, he's in his mind, it's a regular spring training. So I don't see any reason why he wouldn't be built up to a point where he's ready to be a starter when things break. And you know, injuries happen all throughout the year. They happen in spring training. They happen July, August. So, you know, they'll make, as Dave Roberts likes to say, these are champagne problems. If they have to make some tough, tough decisions at the end of March, so be it. You know, most organizations wouldn't love to have the shoes between Tony Gonsolin, who was 16 and 1 and an All-Star two years ago, and Justin May, who, while he hasn't, you know, full filled his potential and put together that one season.

We've seen glimpses of it. And then you have some of the kids, the Landon, Max, the Bobby Miller's, some of these other death pieces. You know, it's a really good problem to have. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpright became the victim of a random crime. He pulls the gun, tells me to lie down on the ground.

He identified Tremaine Hudson as the perpetrator. Germain was sentenced to 99 years. I'm like, Lord, this can't be real. I thought it was a mistaken identity. The best lie is partial truth. For 22 years, only two people knew the truth, until a confession changed everything. I was a monster.

Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Why hasn't a woman formally participated in a Formula One race weekend in over a decade? Think about how many skills they have to develop at such a young age. What can we learn from all of the new F1 romance novels suddenly popping up every year? He still smelled of podium champagne and expensive friction. And how did a 2023 event called Wag Ageddon change the paddock forever? That day is just seared into my memory.

I'm culture writer and F1 expert Lily Herman, and these are just a few of the questions I'm tackling on no grip, a Formula One culture podcast that dives into the under-explored pockets of the sport. In each episode, a different guest and I will go deeper into the wacky mishaps, scandals, and sagas, both on the track and far away from it, that have made F1 a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to no grip on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Good people. What's up? What's up? It's Questlove.

So recently, I had the incredible opportunity to have a real conversation with actors and producer, Jamie Lee Curtis, ahead of the release of her new thriller series, Scarpetta. I can honestly say I've never done an interview like that before. Or, you know, at one point I shut my laptop down. And we just started chatting as old friends, recent Oscar recipient. So we have some commonality there. I predicted that, by the way. And you said these words to me, dust off your mantle.

Yes. And I looked at you and I said, what? And you said, dust off your mantle. And then I left and that was it. And then when all of that happened, I remember. remember the next morning, I think I wanted to, like, write you and go, how did you know? Listen to the Questlove show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Yeah, and on the position player side of things, too, I mean, you bring back veterans like you have Kike Hernandez still around. Of course, Chris Taylor still exists for the Dodgers and expecting big things this year, but they bring in another kid, Heson Kim, who's playing a big role for this team, trying to move around, maybe become the, the, the, uh, the, um, the, the, super utility guy of the future. Also looks pretty dang good as a second basement. Of course, you wrote a column yesterday, I believe it was, looking at Heise on Kim,

what the Dodgers are saying. He could be a gold glove winner, a platinum winner at second base. What can you tell us about Kim and his progression and how the Dodgers are feeling about him a few games into the camp? Yeah, just go Google some highlights of Kim from the KBO. I mean, and you talk to the players in the Dodgers camp, Miguel Rojas, some of the coaches, it's really clear that his best position of second base. And that's sort of the baseline they're working with.

Now, Alana knows with their time following the Dodgers. V does not just stand for victory. It stands for versatility. And they value that asset in a player as much, if not more than any organization I've been around in 30 years. And, you know, he's left-handed. You have Pahez and James Outman in the outfield. You could conceivably start both those guys in AAA if Kim can play the outfield. They have plenty of short stops, but, you know, if you can play shortstop, that adds to the depth.

They're going to explore everything they can as far as him being a utility player. But I could very easily see this, you know, becoming a situation where, he's primarily a second baseman, which they need, probably more of a platoon second basement because you're going to want to have, you know, KK in the lineup against lefties. You can move Tommy Edmund over there, you know, depending on, if Pahas on the team, and against a lefty put Pahas in center and Edmund, the switch hitter at second. The other thing they had outside of versatility, they love their platoon splits too. And they like, they're going to have a lot of options in a lot of different areas.

areas. And you know, and Miguel Rojas, another right-handed hitter. You're going to want to get him in the lineup against some lefties too. So once again, good problem to have if everybody stays healthy. But I think almost a bigger determinant for Kim is going to be how he hits, how we adjust to the higher velocity, the nasty or breaking pitches. It's way too early to make a determination just from some of the early at bats I've seen. You know, he is a contact hitter. It's just hard to tell this early how his, you know, offensive skills are going to translate. The one tool he does seem to have in great supply is speed, and that's always going to help. So that to me will probably determine how much he plays as opposed to, you know, whether he can play short, a third or center field. I tell you, the speed will certainly help him in the outfield if that's where he is. But I have a two-part question for you, DG. At what point are there too many utility, super utility players? And if you're going to have the opportunity

to have perhaps a gold glover, platinum glover at second base, why not just leave them there? I agree with you, honestly. You know, they pay me a lot of money to make those big decisions for them. I wish. Well, the other point you bring up is there's a, as much depth as they have, there's some redundancy.

You know, Chris Taylor and Kike Hernandez are right-hand utility players. Tommy Edmonds is a switch hitting utility player. I mean, you don't need four utility players on your team. The way the roster is configured, I think because Otani is not a pitcher, not considered a pitcher, you know, towards 13, knowing the Dodgers, once again, they're probably going to go, you know, conservative and still carry 13 pitchers plus show hey.

You're only going to have room for one, maybe two, you know, bench players who play the field. So I, you know, Chris Taylor's had some interesting, he's been an interesting player for this team. He's done some amazingly great things, some clutch hits, and he's gone through some of the longest, you know, most brutal slumps I've ever seen. You're going to have to make a decision, you know, is it going to be him or Kiki on your roster? Is it going to be, you know, obviously Tommy Edmunds on the roster? And, you know, one option they have is they're not really super comfortable or confident in Kim. offensively, they could start him out at AAA and 2. And that way you can retain some of your depth at least before you have to start DFA

and guys to get him on the roster. So it's, Andrew Friedman, he yearns us to keep. He earns his pay, man. That's a tough job. Yeah, this whole front office, they're bringing in more dudes that they probably, there's an excess of utility front office dudes with Farhan Zayti rejoining the team as well. They're even loading up in the front office. talent for days for this organization, including one name they brought in everybody talking about this kid in the offseason.

Roki Sasaki. I know you spoke with Mark Pryor yesterday before the game about they kind of stashed Roki away in the pitching lab they have there at Camelback Ranch. And we're maybe getting some eyes on him this week, but not necessarily on the big field. What can you tell us about Roki in the pitching lab and kind of how this team is viewing Sasaki here in his first spring training. Well, believe it or not, they don't let members of the media into the pitching lab. So I can't tell you much about that. But it would be, I'd love them to, you know, put all those sensors on me and see what I'm like when I'm writing on deadline.

I mean, geez, the kids, we've seen him physically, he's just long and lean. He's got that perfect pitcher's body. His mechanics seem really smooth. And I don't know. I mean, once again, I mean, the, embarrassment of riches from a pitching standpoint is something to behold. You know, they're going to, he's going to pitch, as of now, he's going to pitch one of those games in Japan.

So they don't seem to want to put any limitations on him to start the season. You know, showy's not going to be ready. They're going to slow play a few guys like they always do. And because of days off in April, they're only going to need a five-man rotation for a while. And then I think their hope is that when showy's ready to return to the mound, He'll go to the six-man. So, you know, Rokey's thing, his Velo did the little last year. I'm sure that's something the Dodgers are digging in on,

whether it was a mechanical thing, an injury thing or whatever. But his splitter, I mean, it's, you know, you talk to the catchers in camp, and these guys have seen it all, you know, Austin Barnes, Will Smith, and they're, you know, raving about his split finger. There's something about it. It reacts a little differently. I don't know exactly. Some people have compared it to Hideo Nomos, and if you remember that,

I think a lot of Hideo's success came from that crazy tornado windup and deception. But if you remember, his splitter would break to the right sometimes. Sometimes it would stay straight and sink. And there were times where it was almost like a little knuckleball. That's almost like three different pitches if you can make it do those, if it has those kinds of characteristics. And I think for him developing a third pitch, you know, The slider is going to be that for him is going to be important when it comes to success in the major leagues long term.

Yeah, perhaps Hideo Nomo 2.0, another Japanese born player that people absolutely love anything that he does, especially when he can't parallel park, apparently is Shohei, a show hey, he. And you have covered him at length, DG, obviously in his time with the Angels. It seems like it's a different show hey, different personality, more approachable, just a different guy, very comfortable, doesn't have to be the man. considering that roster. What have you noticed in terms of his development and just overall change from one team to the other? Well, from a development standpoint, I just think what he did last year on the field

wasn't anything we hadn't seen in Anaheim. It was just to another level. A lot of that was because, I mean, let's be honest, a lot of his numbers came because he was hitting in a tremendous lineup, at least until he hit leadoff. A lot of guys in front of them, a lot of RBI opportunities.

The fact that he wasn't pitching allowed him to be more aggressive on the bases, hence 59 stolen bases. I just think being on a winning team has everything to do with Shohei and, you know, let's face it, it had to be a huge relief for him to clear that whole, you know, Ipe, the whole controversy was an interpreter and the gambling scandal before the season started. That was huge for him. Yeah, I mean, he's never been. been a guy that were just going to go up to his locker and shoot debris with him, but I actually I visited Tokyo for a couple of days in January and I ran into, you know, advertisements and pictures of show a like all the time. So I just went out to him the other day and showed him

a picture of me just leaning against the show hey, big show hey kind of thing. I was that, man, I went to Tokyo and I couldn't get rid of it. Sini laugh. Little little things like that. He's just, he is very much more comfortable. I think having Yamamoto here helped last year and now he has two Japanese teammates. And winning a World Series. I mean, there's no, there's no replacement. There's no, there's no way to top that. But he does seem more comfortable.

I think the Dodgers have done a really good job of making him feel more comfortable. You know, you see some of the stunts. He's already pulled with Dave Roberts and the toy cars. He's just, you can tell he's just having a lot of fun. Meanwhile, working his tail off. I mean, it's still, you know, you can't forget what this guy is doing. I mean, I was in the press box from one of the playoff games last year, and Bill Plash, he was sitting next to me.

And you don't want to add up a number of years, both of us have been working and covering playing baseball. But it's a lot. And I turned him, I said, Plash, you know, I don't know. how much how many more years we got left doing this but we're going to be able to go out of this business saying we covered the greatest player in baseball history at this point i don't know how you argue that you know i yeah plash he might have covered babe ruth i did not um but you know babe was a great two-way player for like what two years and then he pretty much gave it up i mean there's no there's no other comp for show hey maybe there will be in the future but in our in my lifetime

he's the best player i've ever seen yeah you've seen a lot lot, DG. We appreciate your time. Safe drive back to California. I know that you're in Arizona right now. We appreciate you taking a few minutes before you hit the road and we'll see you soon at a park. All right. Hope to see you soon, Alana. Take care. All right. Take care. Mike De Giovanna with the LA Times. We appreciate him very much. Clint and I are back in a moment. First, a word from our friends at Fowl Territory on Green Chef. It's at you fast. Make life easier and healthier with Green Chef. Stay on track. Even on your busiest days with options like salads, ready in five minutes or us and ready to blend smoothies. You'll get pre-made sauces, pre-portioned ingredients to enjoy

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F-R-E and use that code territory free. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpbright became the victim of a random crime. He pulls the gun. Tells me to lie down on the ground. He identified Tremaine Hudson as the perpetrator. Termaine was sentenced to 99 years. I'm like, Lord, this can't be real.

I thought it was a mistaken identity. The best lie is partial truth. For 22 years, only two people knew the truth until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Appreciate Green Chef being a part of the show, and I agree with them. It is owned by... The folks at the Hello Fresh, right?

Hello, fresh, and it is fire. It is so good, all the stuff that they have in their boxes. All right. Time now for last licks. Louis is in need of an adopter. This little guy was found living, you guys, under a car, completely matted, filthy, just awful. And he is in a foster home now. Unfortunately, he was ravaged by fleas when he was left abandoned on the streets. But he is on medication. He's getting the appropriate treatment. He's 18 months old. He is so lovable. Great with other dogs. great with all people. We are in need of an adopter for him. He will be available in five to six weeks after his skin is healed and he is neutered. And we could really use some help with the vet care in terms of the costs of that. So if you'd like to learn more about Louie or help us with his vet cost, please do so. Gidreysgarden.org right now, he's being fostered in La Havra, California.

But we will adopt him out to anyone in the California area as long as they pass a home and yard check and all of those things. So, appreciate you guys for letting us talk about pups and need here on dodgers territory clint what is coming up on all dodgers with clint poseis uh later on tonight we'll be live six o'clock pacific time that is a p m pacific time but we'll be talking about the latest with your dodgers i got a lot more i want to say on the dust and may situation so i'll be talking about that because i do think the dodgers may have tipped their hand when it comes to him opening the season either on the i l or an extended spring training. So I'll dive into that more later. Guys, I'll tell you, just subscribe

to the channel to know when I'm going live every time. We'll have content all week. When things happen, I will be live. So like, share, subscribe, tell your grandma, tell the mailman, all that kind of stuff. It really helps out the channel there and here. Yes, don't forget to like and subscribe to us as well. We're almost, almost to 10,000 subscribers. We appreciate you guys very much. Before we say goodbye, though, I want to let everybody know that Amelia May, the wife of Dustin May, is going to be on our show on Thursday talking all things about the comeback route for her husband and how emotional it's been for him and the scary situation with the esophagus, almost dying because of salad. We'll get a little bit deeper into that.

And also, before we let you go, we wanted to give you a thought for the road about how Americans and those from Japan announce things very differently. Roki Sasaki, by the way, is married. and this is how he announced it and it's adorable. I mean, Americans talk about everything that they do from inception to conception. Japanese folks, a little different. A little bit different. Yeah, yeah.

I don't have the clip here. I don't know if I was giving it. That's my bad. It was a new time. It was a new time. So, you know, things happen. Things are a little bit different when we're multiple hours earlier. But just two hats.

Roki posting a picture with two hats. And that's his way of saying there's a Mrs. Roki in the picture. Mrs. Sasaki, Clint. I like saying, you know, Mrs. Roki. Yeah, let's go with the name. I mean, Shohei did it quietly, and then they announced that they were having a baby pretty quietly. I think the baby's already here, which is insane.

I love what Doc said, too. He's like, I didn't even know he had a girlfriend, but like a gift is in the mail. No, a gift is not in the mail yet because you just barely found out when a reporter told you. So anyway, I think that was. But again, very, very different cultures. It's adorable. It's adorable. It's adorable.

All right. So everybody, thanks for watching. appreciate you guys being here, listening, watching, subscribing, all of the things. Clint and I will be back again. 10 a.m. Pacific on Thursday, a brand new show. Thanks for being with us. We will see you next time.

Go Dodgers. Bye. Ready for a different take on Formula One? Look no further than No Grip, a new podcast tackling the culture of motor racing's most coveted series. Join me, Lily Herman, as we dive into the under-explored pockets of F1, including the story of the woman who last participated, in a Formula One race weekend, the recent uptick in F-1 romance novels,

and plenty of mishap scandals and sagas that have made Formula One a delightful, decadent dumpster fire for more than 75 years. Listen to No Grip on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one-night stand would end in a courtroom.

The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love Trapped on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 2 podcast.

This is a story about a horrendous lie that destroyed two families. Late one night, Bobby Gumpbred became the victim of a random crime. The perpetrator was sentenced to 99 years until a confession changed everything. I was a monster. Listen to Burden of Guilt Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.