Dodgers mailbag: Will Scott Kazmir opt for free agency after 2016?

The Dodgers are 69-55. That translates to a 90-win pace, which may well be enough to win the National League West. As we predicted in this space a couple of weeks ago, the Dodgers are in first place heading into a three-game series with San Francisco this week at Dodger Stadium.

But, as always, there is plenty to discuss. You can send me questions on Twitter @McCulloughTimes. Let’s do this. 

1. The Dodgers will not say how many innings Julio Urias can throw in 2017, but a number like 150 sounds reasonable. With that in mind, it would probably make sense for him to start the season in extended spring training, waiting to be let loose later in the summer. He is expected to be a significant contributor next season, in whatever way the club decides to deploy him.
2. I would be pretty surprised if Scott Kazmir opted out, which seemed like a pretty likely outcome when Kazmir signed his three-year, $48-million deal over the winter. The market for 2017 is so weak, and Kazmir had been quite effective for a few years. It seemed like a slam dunk. He would play out one year as a Dodger and head back into free agency. But given his struggles this season, unable to throw strikes and last deep into games, it’s hard to see him turning down the $35.3 million owed to him in 2017 and 2018.
3. Hyun-Jin Ryu is not retiring. But given the trouble he experienced recovering from arm surgery in 2016, it’s hard to project him as a reliable part of the Dodgers’ plans in the future.

This question may not be relevant by next week, considering Scott Kazmir’s upcoming examination with the Dodgers medical staff. The Dodgers could call up Jose De Leon as early as this weekend, to start against the Cubs. But the one reason he has not been called up yet is he is not on the 40-man roster. Given the sizable number of players on the Dodgers’ 60-day disabled list, the team has something of a 40-man crunch, which makes adding De Leon to the roster tougher than usual.

It is worthwhile to remember that De Leon has thrown only 78 ⅔ innings above double-A, and 155 ⅓ above class-A. He’s a good prospect, for sure, but his level of inexperience is worrisome for a team in a pennant race. Fans loathe Brett Anderson right now, but Anderson has a proven track record of success in the majors (when he is healthy). De Leon is not. Teams tend to be conservative, especially when in contention.

Baseball teams do not evaluate prospects in the same way that their fans do. Fans see De Leon strike out 10 guys in Tacoma on July 20 and wonder, “Why isn’t this guy in the majors???” Teams understand that development takes time, and it is often more beneficial to the prospect to wait and allow him to continue to experience success. De Leon is starting to hit that stride right now.

Rich Hill threw a 78-pitch simulated game last week at Camelback Ranch. That, in the eyes of the Dodgers, classified as a type of rehab outing. Hill said he experienced no issues with the blister that day.

Yasiel Puig may have done some silly things in his career, but he does not belong in even the same conversation as Ryan Lochte. Lochte is an all-time rockhead. 

I don’t think Justin Turner will care if I share this: Inside the clubhouse the other day, he kept asking, “Who is Harambe?” I explained who it was. He was confused why people still talked about him. I could not explain that one.

Probably.

With the 2016 Dodgers, nothing can be considered official. Norris could still start on Thursday against the Giants, though I would expect it will be Ross Stripling. Moving Norris to the bullpen would probably be a good idea. He has a 2.66 earned-run average in relief this season, and a 5.18 ERA as a starter.

The standard scouting comparison, given Corey Seager’s size, is Cal Ripken Jr. That is a good comp.

The crucial date here is Sept. 1. When the rosters expand, the Dodgers can recall Yasiel Puig without pulling another player from the 25-man roster. I would be surprised if Puig rejoins the team. He has been hitting in triple-A and he hasn’t been publicly flagged for bad behavior since SnapchatGate, and yet the team called up Andrew Toles instead. So my guess is Clayton Kershaw returns first, at some point in the middle of September. But who knows? It’s hard to predict what will happen with Puig.

These are the only real “hot takes” I have about sports. They are probably wrong.

1. I think the concept of “being clutch” is real, and any study disproving the “hot-hand theory” is bunk.
2. The 2001 Philadelphia 76ers were better with Theo Ratliff than they were with Dikembe Mutombo.
3. Warren Sapp does not belong in the NFL Hall of Fame.
4. People who root for USMNT during the World Cup really annoy me. 
5. Kevin Brown belongs in the baseball Hall of Fame.

I have heard exists, but I’m not in a hurry to find it.

I have not, but I plan to visit in the near-future. It might be easier in the offseason, when my schedule clears up. Or I might go on Saturday. I only live a few minutes away.

I am doing great, Brandon. Thank you for asking.

I enjoy The Menzingers, and Will Yip has produced some of my favorite records in the past few years. But “Fake I.D.” just crushes everything in its path. I become a bigger and bigger Joyce Manor fan every year.

That’s a good question. I think the company shifted gears with the arrival of Samoa Joe. WWE had been bringing indie stars into NXT for years, but forcing them to undergo a transformation into a “superstar” character. So Tyler Black became Seth Rollins, Kenta Kobayashi became Hideo Itami, Kevin Steen became Kevin Owens and El Generico became Sami Zayn. With the exception of Generico – whose gimmick really was totally ludicrous, as delightful as it was – most of those changes felt unnecessary, like WWE felt compelled to put their stamp on everyone.

Joe changed things. As he has recalled it in interviews, he told the WWE brass, essentially, do you want to sell my merchandise three months after I debut, or three hours? Money talks. He stayed Joe. A.J. Styles got the same treatment, albeit on a larger scale. By allowing them to retain their original names, the WWE capitalized on their longstanding history – which forced the company to acknowledge the existence of wrestling outside their own bubble.

That was a crucial step. Plus, look at how various WWE-trained NXT stars have fared upon their call-ups. Both Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews have effectively flopped. Owens has not. Zayn has not. Even Neville, despite some problems with injuries, is still pretty over. You would think WWE notices the difference.

The WWE machine has never been about putting on five-star matches to impress the smart fans. It has been about creating stars. The buildup to Summerslam with Finn Balor (another non-developmental NXT star) showed the company still knows how to do that. It’s just a matter of finding the right stars for this generation of fans.

Take Shinsuke Nakamura. His physique is not particularly impressive. The language barrier prevents him from cutting great promos. Yet he is so over, to a degree I honestly cannot remember ever before, with the NXT crowd. A decade ago, I doubt WWE would have tried to do much with him. In 2016, I think the company understands it cannot ignore the obvious.

So, to answer your question: Sure, at some point, a 100% WWE product will win the NXT title again. But the indie guys will still continue to rule. They are the future.