Check another item off the Dodgers' winter to-do list, as the team officially signed second baseman Mark Ellis to a two-year, $8.75MM deal that includes a team option for 2014. Dylan Hernandez has the contract breakdown; only $2.5MM is owed to Ellis in 2012. He can earn an additional $125K per year in plate appearance-based incentives.
With Dee Gordon penciled in at shortstop and Juan Uribe at third, second base was considered one of the Dodgers' offseason needs. Ellis, 34, hit .248/.288/.346 in 519 plate appearances for the Athletics and Rockies this year. He's best known for his strong second base defense. Assuming the current free agent compensation system remains in place for this offseason, the Rockies will receive a supplemental draft pick for losing the Type B free agent.
Ellis' deal may have been based on Omar Infante's September pact with the Marlins. Ellis is represented by TWC Sports.
It's been an active offseason for Dodgers GM Ned Colletti amid recent news of the team going up for sale. Colletti reached an agreement with Matt Kemp on an eight-year, $160MM deal yesterday, signed Juan Rivera for $4.5MM, and made an offer to Ryan Doumit.
ESPN's Buster Olney broke the story of Ellis' agreement, with Ken Rosenthal adding the total and the option info. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Meh….would much rather have seen Kelly Johnson signed.
Hopefully the Dodgers get the 2010 Ellis and 2011 Kemp, and not the other way around.
100% agree … #1 choice was Aaron Hill and #2 was Mark Ellis or else let Sellers try to win the job UGH!!
100% agree … #1 choice was Aaron Hill and #2 was Mark Ellis or else let Sellers try to win the job UGH!!
well kelly johnson isn’t all that great either..
Never said he was “great”, but he’s got pop and he’s five years younger.
well kelly johnson isn’t all that great either..
This is crack crazy
Awful… as bad as the Dodgers were in 2011, this team may set a records for worst on base percentage for a team ever.
8.75 mil?
I’d much rather give Justin Sellers or Ivan Dejesus Jr a shot at the league minimum. Ellis’ defense is strong, but the lack of bat does hurt.
ugh. ugh. gah. grr.
Seems like a little bit of an overpay.
7 million over 2 years would’ve been more appropriate, but if he builds off his resurgence with Colorado, I can stomach this contract.
7 million over 2 years would’ve been more appropriate, but if he builds off his resurgence with Colorado, I can stomach this contract.
Seems like a little bit of an overpay.
Another infielder with mediocre OBP. Just what the Dodgers needed!
he wishes his OBP was mediocre
Another infielder with mediocre OBP. Just what the Dodgers needed!
The Dodgers are overpaying, Matt Kemp included.
Because Kemp could have been had for less on the open market, right?
Yeah the way to bring fans back would have been to let Kemp test the open market.
What I’m saying is that the Dodgers paid Kemp exactly what he has been worth over the last 4 years on average, for the next 8 years. There is little or no room for the Dodgers to profit from the deal.
Profit from the deal? I thought we were talking baseball here.
I guess the dodgers aren’t making the playoffs again this season..
Um… This would hardly be a straw to break or heal a camel’s back.
While I agree with you, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a team with an infield of Uribe, Gordon, Ellis & Loney could possibly compete for a division title. I think we’ve seen the best that Kemp, Ethier & Loney have to offer and would guess we’ll probably see a at least little regression from Kemp and more than a little from Loney and the only person with probable upside over this year would be Gordon. Kemp and their starting pitching is enough to keep them around .500. I don’t see anything here to take them over that.
Don’t disagree with your general sentiment, but Loney’s OPS last year was .755 and his career OPS is .778. By definition, it isn’t even possible for Loney to regress next year.
Really? So not signing Ellis would mean that they DO make the playoffs?
Makes perfect sense! Every player not signed equals more numbers in the W column!
I guess the dodgers aren’t making the playoffs again this season..
slightly better than Carroll. similar deal. Not bad.
Not bad at all. Apparently every fan posting on here expected .300 BA and .360 OBP for the same price…
He’s legit defensively, a quality clubhouse veteran, and has a career .266 BA and .331 OBP.
Slightly overpaid, but not a mistake by any means.
really? I’m not sure he is better than Carroll at all when you consider injury history and the ability to play multiple positions if necessary.
ive always loved mark ellis, and the way this offseason has been with the contracts, whatever
People are mad about the money in the deal but it was not so much a bad move by Ned, the bar was set by other free agent 2B’s. And clearly Ned doesn’t feel Sellers or DeJesus Jr. are ready to play everyday at the MLB level.
And I can also guarantee that this move by the Dodgers is making a division rival, the Rockies, scramble to find their own second basemen as they’re really isn’t an internal option.
hey at least it wasnt another Juan Uribe deal. i was hoping to get kelly johnson first then hill but ellis isn’t that bad. would i have rather seen that money spent elsewhere sure but its not a killer contract.
I hope to see Kelly Johnson in a Rox uni if they miss out on Prado. I understand the idea of the money being spent elsewhere but the club clearly feels Sellers/DeJesus are not the answers right now.
hey at least it wasnt another Juan Uribe deal. i was hoping to get kelly johnson first then hill but ellis isn’t that bad. would i have rather seen that money spent elsewhere sure but its not a killer contract.
People are mad about the money in the deal but it was not so much a bad move by Ned, the bar was set by other free agent 2B’s. And clearly Ned doesn’t feel Sellers or DeJesus Jr. are ready to play everyday at the MLB level.
And I can also guarantee that this move by the Dodgers is making a division rival, the Rockies, scramble to find their own second basemen as they’re really isn’t an internal option.
If Ned really wanted a bad obp and no power from 2nd base, he should have called Theo and asked about Darwin Barney and his 400K salary
I mean is a 300obp/340slg really that hard to find?
darwin is young
ned only goes for vets
lol by vets you mean over the hill like casey blake? sure lets trade our best hitting prospect for a great hitter like blake. wish u could take that one back huh Ned
I couldn’t agree more. I am actually not a big hater of Ned but after looking at all the terrible deals he has made I sure hope the new owner gets a new staff in the office! That trade was ridiculous!
I couldn’t agree more. I am actually not a big hater of Ned but after looking at all the terrible deals he has made I sure hope the new owner gets a new staff in the office! That trade was ridiculous!
i wouldn’t trust the dodgers trading with epstein
oh god no, theo would screw the hell out of us.
It’s been so long since the Cubs have been the screwer instead of the screwee…
Every time Theo Epstein makes a deal, an angel gets its wings.
Is it me or does this guy always seem to land pricey contracts even with his mediocre hitting ability.
hey Ryan Doumit! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it
The Dodgers are a satire of modern American society.
Well, at least we haven’t sent scouts to Japan to watch a player pitch when he has the day off, yet…
What the heck? LOL… 2 years and >$8M??? Seems like an odd price to pay.
very simple, very obvious: McCourt getting his last screws into the Dodgers
I’m not thrilled with the amount that they payed Ellis. But, I don’t think it’s an awful deal.
true people look to much in to the money and not in the player. i dont know much about him but i think this is a good sign. we dont have much in the minors for second and i dont see us getting anyone good in a trade with out giving up something good
If this makes them play Uribe at 3B everyday, then as a Giants fan I approve of it. Uribe is a hack at 3B compared to 2B and even SS
I’m just happy we didn’t trade away any of our starting pitchers along with one of our pitching prospects for Melky Cabrera…
J. Sanchez had to go, either by trade or release, so the move was probably the best they could have done for him at the moment. They have tons of relief prospects too, so it could be a lot worse than getting back a 27 year old switch hitter in a contract year
lol. I was hoping for Aaron Hill but Ellis was my 2nd option. Kelly Johnson wouldnt fit into the plan since he’s a #2 hitter and another left hander. So late in games, opposing teams would use their left handers vs Gordon, Johnson, and possibbly Ethier and Loney. Im still hoping we land Prince.
As much as I’d like to see Prince in Dodger blue, I’m not going to hold my breath. Kemp and Prince are buddies, but money talks and I think that with Kemp’s extension it’s going to put a freeze on any other big contracts until someone buys the team.
fact is MLB told them they cant spend it on guys like prince or albert and if they were to spend major money it had to be on the guys currently in dodger blue
Perfect. Now we have two Ellis’.
Two Ellis’…
How does that happen?
A lot of you people forgot to mention that this article also noted Juan Uribe at 3rd…
i dont like Uribe bat but he wasnt that bad on defense for 3rd. so sound like Blake done with the dodgers?
trade that f*** boy either and his attitude
OH MAN, so awesome
Kelly Johnson would have been an upgrade to Carroll. All I see with Ellis is an overpriced Sellers. Would have much rather saved that money, stuck Sellers at second and used the extra cash on Fielder. Dont understand the Dodgers passing on Carrol and Barajas. We lost someone whose been bery solid for us, and someone who hit 16 HRs for us. We pick up a guy with a good glove, a shaky bat and we pay him 8 mill over 2 years? The smart thing to do would have been to either sign Carrol or start Sellers and resign Barrajas….and of course, go after Fielder.
they can’t MLB wont allow the dodgers to pursue a contract that big for a player not on the team already.
I would have rather we kept Carroll.
Would have liked to have signed Aramis to play 3rd.. Keep Juan/Miles/Sellers @2nd..
That’s a horrible infield the Dodgers have.
Actually, if Loney stays at 1B, then the right side of the infield is a very good defensive one. Dee Gordon is still erratic at SS, but Loney will help save some of his errant throws. Uribe is not great at 3B, but shouldn’t be a down grade defensively from Blake, who was an average 3B.
The issue will be offense. We would have to pray that Loney’s hot finish was more of things to come and that Ellis can produce more along the lines of what he did during his early years with the A’s.
Now if Fielder signs, the defense of the infield could really be suspect, but then you obviously get an impact bat w/Fielder.
I think you nailed it. Defensively this infield looks very good, with the possible exception of Gordon. He has the range but is still a little rough around the edges, as you’d expect for a rookie. Uribe will be fine at third, assuming he gets himself healthy. He’s certainly not a defensive liability.
It really is. If they can’t upgrade from the pathetic Loney at 1B, they should target Aramis Ramirez for 3B to make it slightly tolerable.
Mark Ellis is the epitome of a “nice” player.
One of the most boring players in recent baseball history.
After seeing what Carroll actually got from the Twins, this deal looks worse now. Should’ve tried to get in on Prado(they still can, but they won’t) if they were going to spend “Infante-type money” on a 2B. Infante is at least versatile and has some pop. Ellis can only really play 2B, and will not make any impact offensively.
Add to that the team being close to getting Treanor, and the offseason is not looking great, sans keeping Kemp. There better be a Kershaw extension coming around the bend.
After seeing what Carroll actually got from the Twins, this deal looks worse now. Should’ve tried to get in on Prado(they still can, but they won’t) if they were going to spend “Infante-type money” on a 2B. Infante is at least versatile and has some pop. Ellis can only really play 2B, and will not make any impact offensively.
Add to that the team being close to getting Treanor, and the offseason is not looking great, sans keeping Kemp. There better be a Kershaw extension coming around the bend.
This makes zero sense to me. Why would you let Carroll walk
and sign Ellis for more money when he’s half the player? Better yet play
Sellars and use this money to get a catcher instead of this broken down Mendoza
line hugging below ave Treanor. Well at least Ned is consistent. Just be a
bigger mess to clean up for the new owner and GM.
Juan Uribe at 3rd….what a joke.