Yes, it's only April 28th and the Dodgers are only four games out in the NL West. But say they continue playing .400-type ball for the next two months…who might we see on the trading block?
Manny Ramirez is owed $20MM this year, though $15MM of it is deferred without interest. Manny has a full no-trade clause. Given the huge salary, any team thinking about acquiring Ramirez would probably not make further concessions to convince him to waive the clause. He'll be 38 next month, but Ramirez still has a game-changing bat. Imagine the White Sox, Mariners, or Athletics renting him for a few months.
You wouldn't expect the Dodgers to have a ton of pitching to offer, as their 4.92 rotation ERA is part of the reason they're in last place. However, Hiroki Kuroda is pitching quite well and is owed a hefty $13MM this year (plus he has no-trade protection). He can become a free agent after the season. Vicente Padilla could also become available, but he's currently on the shelf with a forearm injury. The most intriguing name is Chad Billingsley, the 25-year-old enigma with a 5.40 ERA and two-plus years of team control remaining. He'd potentially have a dozen suitors.
George Sherrill will earn more than $4.5MM in 2011, but teams searching for relief help might not mind. The 33-year-old southpaw will need to put a lid on the free passes before interest picks up, though. The Dodgers probably would not want to create too many holes for the 2011 club, but Ramon Ortiz, Brad Ausmus, Ronnie Belliard, Reed Johnson, Jeff Weaver, and Garret Anderson are on one-year deals and would be expendable.
slow your roll timmy. its a little too early count us out already. the only selling that should be happening with the dodgers is the team being sold to new owners who care about the team.
Hence Tim’s first sentence…
“Yes, it’s only April 28th and the Dodgers are only four games out in the NL West.”
Dodgers WILL NOT be sellers. Big market teams rarely sell, they just suck it up, try and sell as many tickets as possible and give it a shot the following year.
Manny won’t be traded because that would be 70ish games where McCourt can’t cash in on “Mannywood” tickets, shirts, wigs, etc. That’s too much money to trade away.
Kuroda brings in a fair amount of revenue from overseas. Bills won’t go anywhere because he’s a cheap rotation spot filler, with some possible upside. If Bills is traded it means McCourt has to go buy another starter and we know he won’t spend money.
The only thing the Dodgers will be selling this year is tickets to a team owned by a broke, tax-cheat, sad excuse of an owner.
SELL THE TEAM FRANK…and before you leave L.A. don’t forget to pay your taxes. If you love L.A. and the community that much, PAY YOUR TAXES
I remember the Cubs and Sox as sellers plenty of times in the last 10-15 years.
Should a team coming off the last 2 NLCS’s really be sellers? I understand why you wrote the article, they are playing like sh*t right now, so it could make sense in some ways. It’s just not going to happen. This team will play to it’s ability sooner or later, and once Manny comes back the offense should be able to put up 5 runs a game again (though sadly not the 15,635 it was average before he went down).
Since the Padres are leading the division (last I checked), there’s no reason for anyone in the NL West to freak out right now. Give it time, the Dodgers will improve, they are too good not to.
I’m quite certain this “if they become sellers” series is not intended to be a “these teams are destined for a lousy season” insult (which, unfortunately, they seem to be received as by defensive fans).
It’s simple. Tim is looking at teams that are performing poorly in the standings, and considering what parts might be up for sale IF (that’s a big “if”) the team does not turn things around and become competitive around July.
It’s speculative on what names could be on the trade market mid-season; it’s not speculative on which teams are good or bad.
I know exactly what you are saying, and I agree. It’s just hard not to be defensive right now (I mean literally right now, the Dodgers are going to be swept by the Mets with no problem) with how bad the Dodgers have been playing 🙁
Any talk of selling of key players just makes me sad, lol.
How’s your ace Billingsley treating you? Should have traded him 2 years ago. Dodgers pitching is rancid….they are going nowhere. Manny coming back is not going to save this team.
you sir, are dumb
What took you so long?? 😛
Sorry, I wasnt home till then 🙂
We’ll see how dumb I am in September. Believe me I hope I have to come on this board and say your right but I just don’t think it’s going to be a good year.
Nonsense.
There’s dozens of examples of big-market clubs moving players, particularly those pending free agency anyways.
There’s a difference between being a “seller” and having a “firesale” or “rebuilding”. Moving parts that aren’t returning next season anyways, for pieces that may actually help next season, is just being a responsible front office.
…and how many of those clubs had pieces to replace the ones they traded?
Last I check the Dodgers can’t afford to trade away any starting pitching. They still have to look like they’re attempting to field a team in order to sell tickets. If they trade Kuroda and Padilla, what does our rotation look like? Kershaw, Bills, Haeger, Towers, and Ely? That won’t put people in the seats and money in McCourt’s pocket.
Like I said, I can’t see Manny going either regardless of him being a FA. There’s too much money to be made off of him.
…and since when did Frank start caring about our farm system enough to want to restock it? He’s spent the least amount of money on draft picks the last two years than any other team, refused to offer Wolfy arbitration and get 1st round draft picks in return. The whole “build from the farm” “win with homegrown players” is just a lucky coincidence that it coincides with his refusal to spend money.
If you’re 15 GB in July, it doesn’t matter if you still have Kuroda for another 3 months or not; people aren’t going to be turning out in droves to fill the stands either way.
That’s the philosophy behind “selling”. Very few players are going to get people to come and watch a losing ballclub anyways, so why not get something in return for them? (note: Manny may be one of those few players who people will go specifically to see, even if the team isn’t competitive)
I know being a Twins fan you probably don’t follow every little news leak and every little statement from our owner. Therefore, you have no idea how greedy he is and how much he loves money. He sold a solid #5 starter in Stults to Japan for a little less than $500,000. Stults proved he could pitch in the majors, gave us a lot of quality starts the last 2 seasons. The only 2 complete games our club has had the last two years…and he sold him.
Kuroda brings in cross-sea revenue, similar to what Matsui has done for the Angels(of course not to the degree). McCourt won’t trade Kuroda because he’s a revenue stream; similar to Manny.
Sherrill is the only player I see as possibly being traded away, not because he’ll bring any prospects in return, but because of his salary. If McCourt can get a team to take Sherill and his salary he’ll trade him for a bag peanuts in a heartbeat.
Billingsley has possible upside? What about a 3.53 career ERA? Or a MiLB track record to boot? He has ace upside, not possible upside…
Do you not remember where Manny came from, via trade? It wasn’t that long ago. I’ll give you a hint; from a team with the one of the top payrolls in baseball. If Boston can trade him while still in the hunt; you better believe LA would trade him if they’re not.
Frank McCourt is expendable, and can be sent with cash to the Clippers for Donald Sterling, as unattractive as that sounds it may be an upgrade.
I know your just bringing up names, but who in ther right mind would trade for Ramon Ortiz.
As an A’s fan i laugh then cry when you talk about us renting out manny for a bit… never would happen 🙁
As an A’s fan, don’t be so sure of yourself. Remember all the “good” players we had last year? Where are they now? I don’t put anything past Billy and Leo anymore.
The bigger question for the Dodgers is “Why the heck is Ramon Ortiz still on the roster?”
Next up: The Braves have become sellers. ETA-Next Monday
Carey: “Dodgers WILL NOT be sellers. Big market teams rarely sell…”
As long as McDivorceCourt owns the team, the Dodgers are not a big market team.
The 92 million dollar payroll says a tad differently (for now), but we will really see how bad it will be this offseason. With Manny, Kuroda, Padilla, and a few other smaller names leaving, I’m interested to see how they will be replaced.
If the team goes into full operation cheap-skate mode, we could see Xavier Paul taking over in LF, Scott Elbert and James Mcdonald taking over in the rotation (which, honestly, wouldn’t be a bad thing, but I do believe a pitcher as good as Kuroda would need to be signed still).
I’m fearful of what we may see.
They can get a 500 pound gorilla to replace Padilla! Big deal is he leaves. Beyond Kershaw they have nothing of value anyway. The whole division made moves in the offseason to get better and they have. The Dodgers did nothing……sad.
They can get a 500 pound gorilla to replace Padilla! Big deal if he leaves. Beyond Kershaw they have nothing of value anyway. The whole division made moves in the offseason to get better and they have. The Dodgers did nothing……sad.
haha, the division did nothing. The Giants picked up 2 below average bats. The Padres did nothing. The Dbacks are most likely already regretting the Scherzer deal. And the Rockies did what the Dodgers did, rely on the kids. Stop writing stuff you know nothing about
Ok…first of all the Giants have way better starting pitching than the Dodgers anyway. They picked up 2 bats I will agree are average but were good moves and are poroducing. That’s not my point. My point is the Dodgers were great the last 2 years and were close to a world series but lacked pitching in the playoffs. For God sakes they couldn’t even use Billingsley in the playoffs last year and he wasn’t even hurt. I love it how everyone defends this stiff. he killed us last year. If we bolstered up the rotation in the off season we wouldn’t be in the situation were are in now. I have no idea how we are going to string 5,6,7 wins in a row with this staff? Don’t tell me to stop writing stuff I don’t know about either. Be a little more mature. People can have different opinions that doesn’t make them stupid. Lets go Dodgers!
Does anyone think the Dodgers pitching equals the Giants? I dont think so… no one is that blind.
And we should have used Billingsley, he should have been our #3 starter in the postseason. But Torre didnt trust him(or knew something we didnt more about his hammy). Billingsley had offseason surgery on his leg, which lead to a change in his training program. In the 2nd half, you could see the difference. To try to get him to throw longer into games, he changed his mechanics, the worst thing a pitcher can do. It lead to a horrible in the 2nd half. After his first, I believe, 3 starts on the year, the Dodgers looked at his mechanics. What was happening was he was not straightening his leg throughout his windup, pitch and follow through. Again, a change in mechanics. They realized this and had him fix it. He went out and threw 1 run ball.
How do we win 5 games in a row? We let the kids play. Let Kershaw continue growing. Let Billingsley reestablish himself. Let Kuroda continue his dominace. Let Padilla get back. Let Manny get back. This team is more talented than last years and two years ago. I dont know why everyone is freaking out after 20 games…
Who should we have added to the rotation? Lackey at 82M? The Lackey who’s ERA is higher than Billz? Wolf, at 30M and 3 years? Then youd be complaining about how they wasted money on washed up vets…
And the reason I told you to stop is simple. You are freaking out about one half of a season, plus 3 starts. Didnt realize you should toss away 3 1/2 years of MLB success or his MiLB record as well. I guarantee you, every team would take Billz off our hands and be ecstatic…
You make some great points…Although I’m not just freaking out because of how they are playing now. I know it’s April and they have a few injuries but I had a feeling something like this was going to happen back in the offseason. I don’t see how they are a better team than last year. They lost Wolf who was very good for them and Hudson who did a great job most of the year. I’m all for playing DeWitt but I wouldn’t say he’s an upgrade at the position. At least not at this point in his career. Not to mention Pierre who could get on base and force the action or come off the bench. I think the bench was a lot deeper as well last year and the defense was way better. Again, I know it’s early and maybe everything will turn around soon but I just don’t have a good feeling about this season. I’m all for playing the kids but I think everyone’s perspective has to change. You’re not going to make it to many world series with just kids. Don’t you agree that we have been so close the last 2 years and a solid move or two in the offseason to bolster up the rotation would have kept us on pace? Good talking to you….
92 million puts the Dodgers around 13th or 14th in payroll (depending on whose numbers you go by), pretty much middle of the pack, not “big market”. The Dodgers should be spending on par with the Mets and Cubs, around $130-$140m, given their market.
I know what you’re saying, but regardless of team salary and sh*tty ownership, the Dodgers will be a big market team because of the market they play in…2nd biggest in the US.
“The 92 million dollar payroll says a tad differently ”
LA is the second largest market as was mentioned, and the Dodgers sit squarely in the middle of the pack (#12) in payroll. Sorry to disagree, but the Dodgers are NOT big market. Shoot, even the Angels have a $105 million payroll.
You’re fearful of what we may see? How about being afraid of what we’ve already seen. O. Hudson and Wolf (inexcusable!) let go without even offering arbitration due to the raises they may have received. No real effort to get Halladay. Sending Carlos Santana to Cleveland in the Casey Blake trade because McCheap is too stingy to pay even the pro-rated portion of Blake’s contract. Pennies spent on the Amateur Draft.
You’re fearful of the future? It’s already here. Be afraid… Be very afraid.
The Dodgers would love to dump Ramirez contract, but it is doubtful they could find a taker. Maybe the dodgers could pay his remaining salary in exchange for a better prospect.The pitching is exactly what it is. Career minor leaguers, washed up veterans, Potential high end talent being rushed to soon in the majors. Whatever scrubs the dodgers could find for league minimum.In the end it may look like the Padre divorce as The Fighting McCourts will rip and shread each other until there is nothing left of this team.
I don’t see how Manny is that big of an item either. He’s a great hitter still, when healthy. But his health is starting to be an issue and he comes at a huge price tag AND he brings more fans to the Dodgers than he would another team. With guys like Dye still lounging around as free agents, I’d definitely explore those options before throwing 10 million for half a season of Manny.
This may sound crazy, but what about a manny for ibanez swap? I think both are owed similar money, but mannys contract ends after this year, so the phillies could then reup werth. plus manny knows chuck. and both manny and ibanez suck in the field but mannys righty bat would be nice this year. am i reaching?
How does that help the Dodgers in any way? Getting a worse player who is owed MORE for more years. The Phillies would sure as hell love to do that, if that’s where you’re coming from.
If Manny is going for anything I’d guess it would be for a couple prospects, probly not even very good. The smart money is on Manny staying a Dodger till free agency.
Why would we help the team we have played in back to back NLCS’s. Not only help this year, but next year as well… no way in hell that happens
It does sound crazy, but with a significant amount of salary relief thrown in the Dodgers could come out with a cheap year out of Ibanez. Still don’t see it happening though. The Phillies would probably balk at shelling out so much extra money or the Dodgers would rather just sign somebody else in the offseason to fill the void.
Ned Coletti must be fired.
Ned is the least of the Dodgers problems right now. McCourt controls the funds and quite clearly Ned had very little money to work with this off-season.
McCourt is the main problem. He is the reason for lack of investment into the team this off-season, and almost certainly the reason arbitration was not offered to Wolf. Kershaw and Billingsley should not be expected to carry the team, they should be behind a pair of veterans like Lackey, Wolf, etc. Especially in the 2nd biggest market in MLB. Ideally they’d be your #4 and #5 starters.
Of course a lot blame has to fall on the players. Matt Kemp’s bat has been OK, but he’s looked absolutely terrible in the field and on the basepaths. Loney is still looking like nothing more than a singles hitter, Furcal, Blake and Martin are all making too many fielding errors, and the pitching… my god. Pathetic from top to bottom. Aside from Broxton (who can never get into a game anymore with Torre’s managerial style), Kershaw and Kuroda, they’ve been awful.
The coaching staff has got to shoulder some blame, too.
You want Billz, a career 3.53 ERA, and Kershaw, posted a 2.79 ERA last year and led the league in H/9, should be our 4 and 5 starters? Haha, no… They should be expected to be the core of the pitching staff.
The veteran in front of them is Kuroda. He has been very good when healthy, and he looks great this year. No way you pay Lackey 82.5M or Wolf 30M.
I agree that McCourt is the problem, but so is Ned. Im sorry, but he built this team and then is blaming the players that are the only reason he still has a job(the young, homegrown guys) for the bad start, instead of the vets that are struggling, but he brought in. He wouldnt want to look bad.
Now, if the world was a perfect place, we could fire Ned and get rid of Frank.. guess we have to wait out the divorce..
Okay? Kemp’s got 7 homers and 20 ribees. That’s pretty damn good for a month into the season! Martin and Furcal have both revived their careers. Ethier’s one of the league leaders in average (tied for 7th in NL). There are plenty of bright spots this season, especially in the lineup.
The Dodgers have spent less money in the last 3 years on draft picks than any other team in the majors. Their farm system has few real prospects, especially position players. If the Dodgers are out of it at the trade deadline, they should trade Manny, eat the money owed him, and take a few good prospects. Unfortunately, given McCheap, they’ll probably trade Manny and force whoever takes him to take on his salary, which would mean they’d get no good prospects in return.