With the Padres, Giants and Rockies all battling for the playoffs and the Diamondbacks knee-deep in a GM search, don't forget about that fifth team in the NL West. Here are some news items from Dodger Stadium…
- GM Ned Colletti tells Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com that the Dodgers will be more active this winter than they were during their relatively quiet 2009-10 offseason.
- According to CSNNE.com's Sean McAdam (Twitter link), Andre Ethier "has told some [he] would love to come to Boston." McAdam doesn't elaborate on whether or not Ethier really wants out of L.A. or that the Dodgers would consider moving him, but in another tweet McAdam writes that he has "a feeling, that given the mess the franchise is in, nothing [is] off table."
- Since the Dodgers are in the market for a third outfielder next season, Jon Weisman of ESPNLosAngeles.com suggests they could acquire a center fielder and move Matt Kemp to right. Kemp has delivered a -17.7 UZR/150 in center this season after being an above-average fielder in 2009.
- Weisman also writes that Rod Barajas and Jay Gibbons have performed well enough to be brought back by the club in 2011. Gibbons, for his part, is on board with that idea. He tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) that playing for the Dodgers is a "dream job."
- Hernandez also tweets that Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson will interview for the vacant Arizona general manager's job tomorrow, while Logan White interviewed for the job today.
- Jim Peltz of the L.A. Times has the story of the Dodgers' John Lindsey, who is finally a major leaguer after spending 16 years in the minors.
- As we wait to find out if Joe Torre will leave the Dodgers after this season, the L.A. Times' Steve Dilbeck simply asks, "why would Joe Torre stay?"
wouldnt it make more sense to keep ethier in right and move kemp to left?
Yeah, but this is the Dodgers. No sense shall be made.
Exactly. Weisman didn’t even mention moving Ethier to LF. But I say this, maybe someone like Jose Bautista, Bobby Abreu, or Josh Willingham…and keep Kemp in CF. He’s had a bad season, yes…But it doesn’t mean his career in CF is finished. Plus, if they acquire Bautista, they can give Casey Blake some days off at 3B and if Theriot isn’t NT’d, they can play Bautista at 2B as well. This is all assuming that the Jays would listen in on Bautista offers, but I expect that if the Dodgers offered something involving Trayvon Robinson and Aaron Miller. Maybe those two for Bautista and cash. We’ll see.
Thought Casey Blake was traded to the Cubs in that Lilly deal?
I wish that were the case. It was Blake DeWitt.
That would be Blake DeWitt. Not Casey Blake.
since when is jose bats available? and since when can he play 2nd? even if he is available(more than likely not considering her is the new face of that franchise, cheap and one of the more consistent power threats the Bj’s have) Do the dodgers have what it would take to pry him away from the blue jays? It would be a tall order.
Again, Trayvon Robinson and Aaron Miller. Might as well trade him when his value is high.
I bet you 20 bucks Kemp has a fantastic season next year since he will be in a contract year.
And I think he can still play CF. His heart just might not be into playing with the Dodgers. Or is there any possibility he is hiding an injury?
FYI, Kemp’s contract expires after 2011, but he’s still under team control for one more season after that.
Um, not at all. Ethier is a horrible RF who only has the arm for the position. He is a LF who is playing there. Kemp came up as a RF but has played CF because he has the athleticism to play there. He proved last year he can handle the position, so we will see if the Dodgers give him another shot next year before Trayvon is ready.
actually ethier is a pretty good RF’er. i dont know how you are saying hes not.
Every defensive metric says he is horrible. He has a career UZR in RF of -27.4, and a UZR/150 of -9.7. He is very bad
Is Trayvon Robinson a possibility in left or center?
Yes, either or. But he isn’t quite Major League Ready.
I’ve seen the kid play several times and love his upside, but yeah, simply handing him the LF job is essentially punting the season before it starts. Let him simmer in Triple-A and earn his way up.
Amen, but yeah he is really, really impresive and he is Kevin Goldstein’s favorite prospect along with Tim Collins.
How about allowing Blake and Gibbons to platoon in left, and attempt to sign Beltre to play third?
Ugh…last thing I want to see if Blake playing the outfield. Guy can’t even stay healthy at an infield corner. If you’re going to keep his subpar bat around another year, at least leave him at a position where he’s still solid defensively.
Really can’t see LA shelling out the money needed to reel in Beltre. Seeking $12M annual, and the organization doesn’t seem to be in the shape to be a reassuring destination for prospective free agents.
If the Dodgers had the money to sign Beltre, it’d make more sense to platoon Casey Blake and James Loney at 1B. Loney sucks against LHP, Blake sucks against RHP. Would work out well.Then play Gibbons or a FA in LF…
would it be a terrible idea to let blake and gibbons platoon in left, and attempt to sign beltre to play 3rd?
would it be a terrible idea not to double post?
if mcadam isn’t lying, then ethier just needs to shut up and play! its not necessary for him to be saying anything. and if he were to go to boston i would want a lot in return. im sure mcadam is lying and he just wants ethier to go to boston because hes from boston. and the question steve stilbeck should be asking is, “why would L.A. want torre back?”
Right,because he couldn’t POSSIBLY want to play in Boston.
I’m pretty sure the situation in LA has been a big problem with McCourt’s divorce and other factors. Boston is in need of a LF/CF and the guy is just putting himself on their radar. Don’t get all offended because what a player wants doesn’t gibe with your fandom.
Actually trading ethier to Boston would benifit both teams. And also ethier and pedroia are best friends and workout together in the offseason. So I could see ths trade happening.
Dodgers trade: ethier
sox trade: elsbury, bowden, reddick, weiland, Anderson, maybe dice-k(money included)
no one wants Ellsbury. He is an injury prone Juan Pierre…
He is not injury prone, he broke his ribs and then was rushed back too soon, he will not be a health liability next year granted he stays away from lethal knees Beltre.
also half of this appears to be constructed by Boras
He has played in 18 games this year… He has also had two separate relapses, including a possible new injury in Aug against Tx…
I didn’t know one season of getting injured labels a person as injury prone. He broke several ribs and was rushed back to soon. He will be fine next year.
One season of supposedly coming back multiple times and then re injuring the exact same area, except worse than the first time, in an area that doesnt heal easily, will lead you to the title of injury prone… especially in trade talk
oh sure why don’t you just throw in kalish,Kelly,Iglesias and Rizzo too.
Thats a bit much for ethier IMHO…6 guys for him??? NOT..
I highy doubt they would trade elsbury the guy has huge upside, they made a huge mistake moving him from CF to LF and putting old man river mike cameron in center. He us no injury prone like lakers said, yes he broke his ribs, that tends to take time to fully recover from considering all the movement in the rib area during swings…He was rushed back because the team was struggling…I would say they trade prospects for either….possibly diceK and a high level prospect and one more mid level guy would help both teams…the the redsox either DFA cameron or keep him on the bench as a back up OR move JD drew and have cameron in left, elsbury in center and either in right
Dude, what is with the man crush on Ellsbury? Just because ESPN was up his @$$ about how great at everything he is, doesn’t mean it is true. He is one of the worst CFs in the game, and is not a very good baseball player… he has never been above average in a full season since being called up.
And it Ethier, not either. If you are proposing a trade, you should probably spell the player’s name correct… And you spelled Ellsbury name wrong too lol
“he has never been above average in a full season since being called up.” While I agree that ESPN was on Ellbury’s nuts for a while, that statement just isn’t true. ’08: .280/.336/.394, 50 steals, and 3.9 WAR’09: .301/.355/.415, 70 steals, and 2.7 WAR Offensive slash line shows improvement from ’08 to ’09 and the WAR difference is due to drastic changes in his UZR ratings. Overall, those are solid numbers from a young CF and had it not been for injury this season, his value would be pretty high.
Two things. One, my point is he is not a CF. Everyone in the Sox org knows this, but Sox fans don’t wanna accept it. Also, I was basing that statement on OPS+. While he isn’t a slugger, being a leadoff guy, he should use OPB to make up for slugging
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Ellsbury, bowden, reddick and Anderson have taken sever hits in their value. If they moved either they would be looking more for Kelly+.
I wouldn’t even trade Kelly straight up for Ethier, and neither would Epstein. If he wouldn’t trade Buchholz straight up for Cliff Lee then there’s no way he would trade Kelly for Ethier. I know Ethier is good but the way he played at the beginning of the season was a little over his head. This would be the package I would offer the Dodgers for him and if they didn’t want it then maybe a little tweaking if not so be it. I would offer Ellsbury, Weiland, and Bowden (or Britton). That’s two top 20 prospects in the Sox organization and a player when healthy is a huge difference maker with his speed and defense.
Ethier is a bad fielder according to fangraphs, isn’t under control for much longer (1 year after this season I think), and he’s a player that when he hits for average his power numbers go down and when he hits for power his average drops. And I know he does face some good pitching but it remains to be seen if he could hit the dominant lefty pitchers in the AL East like Sabathia, Pettitte, Price, Romero, Lester (if Eithier wasn’t on the Sox), and maybe even Matusz if he lives up to his potential. So he’s not worth a Kelly to me.
Look at Kelly’s stats, he has sucked this year.
You should note that Andre came up as a linedrive hitter and has evolved into a power hitter. And with a broken pinky, he is still hitting 286 on the season, along with 21 HRs in a pitchers division against guys like Cain, Lincecum, Sanchez, Zito, Latos and the rest of SD, Haren to start the year, Ubaldo, etc, in parks like Dodger Stadium, AT&T, Petco, Chase Field and Coors…
Please tell me that you realize that Kelly was at a very advanced level for his age. I saw an article that said he was the 3rd youngest in AA this year. Most players who are that young tend to not perform as well at such an advanced level. There is a reason that Kelly hasn’t slipped at all or hardly at all in prospect rankings. He has great stuff and once his age catches up to where he is pitching he will most likely be very good. If Jesus Montero plays next year in AAA and has a bad year would you lessen his value by a lot? No, because that would be stupid. Kelly’s potential is through the roof which is why the Sox wouldn’t settle for Ethier if they decided to trade Kelly. They would try to get one of the game’s elite. If you completely or even very much devalue a prospect from one not so good season at a very advanced level for his age then you are ignorant. I do agree that Ethier would do very well in the AL East but with his contract coming up soon and not being one of the game’s elite, he isn’t worth a Kelly.
I understand that Ethier is a good hitter and puts up power and hits for a good average. The Al East overall has better pitching (imo) because of the stats these pitchers put up in the very hitter friendly AL East parks. All those pitchers you mention pitch in pitcher friendly parks (minus Jimenez). If they pitched in a hitter friendly park then their stats would not be as good. The NL West is a pitchers division mostly because of the parks. If the pitchers of the AL East pitched in the NL West parks their numbers more than likely would be even more insane then they already are.
Yes, obviously Kelly is still advanced for his age. He is in AA at age 21. However, if you don’t think his stock has dropped, you are lieing to yourself. Look at Chris Withrow. He is YOUNGER than Kelly. He was a top 50 prospect last year. However, his stock has dropped a fair amount, and many people who follow MiLB closer than most don’t even have him on their top 100 anymore. Am I down on Kelly or Withrow? Hell no. However, one of the great things Kelly had, control, was completley lost last year, where he more than doubled his walk rate.
Regarding your sentence that Andre isnt worth Kelly… well, it depends on who you ask. If a team wants an OF who, without any protection, hits 300 with 20 HRs when having to go against all the pitchers listed below, and is able to play RF(although he is a LF), then yes, he could be worth Kelly. Face it, all of Kelly’s pluses have come into question with the bad year.
Your second paragraph, simply, pissed me off. The NL West is a pitchers division because of parks? Tell that to Cain, Lincecum, Kershaw, Billingsley, Ubaldo, Haren(when in West), Latos, Sanchez, Kuroda, Lilly, Chacin. Look at that list, the 4th place team has the front four listed, and their #5 has a 4.07 ERA. The Dodger’s ERA in the second half… 1.91. So stop. This is the best collection of pitchers in baseball.
yeah sure its been a problem but you don’t see anyone else doing that do you? not even kemp after he was criticized by the gm did that. and yeah, i said he wouldnt possibly want to play for boston right? i never said that, all i said was that mcadam could be lying because he might want ethier with boston. you know writers do that sometimes, lie. thanks for your time buddy.
Neither did Andre. Andre did not go to the media and say he wanted out. Someone is reporting that “someone said something like that.” It goes through so many different places, supposedly, it is very unbelievable.
McAdam may not be “lying”, but he’s still a tool.
Either is an Arizona native with family in the area and a young family. Automatically thinking he wants to move cross-countr is ludicrous.
I’d welcome ethier with open arms if he came to Boston. We need and OF, get it down theo! Ethier for dice-k(money), reddick, Anderson, elsbury.
No one wants Dice K or Ellsbury… your offers get worse and worse lol
again why does not one ant elsbury? a .300 hitting super fast(50+ steals a season type) young out fielder who is a very good fielder, yes his arm is so/so but he is already a good player and still has huge upside…so why does no one want him?
The Dodgers will take any of your scrubs as long as you pay a Seasons salary for the players you would trade for Eithier. Frank loves to sell off his assets it gives him a wood@e. LOL
Yippy, a Juan Pierre/Scott Podsednik type. They clearly have tons of value.
hey man juan pierre is doing great adjusting to a new league and scotty pods does what he always does hits gets on and steal bases….yes the term “true lead off hitter” is a dead term and does not really work the way it used to but a guy that can hit .300 ish and get on base at close to a .370+ clip that has the ability to steal 50-70 bases a season while playing gold glove caliber defence has a tone of value….im sorry he does not hit 30 home runs but that does not mean he does not have value
Pods with the Dodgers:
262/313/336/648, 5 steals, 3 CS, 79 OPS+, more than doubles his walks with Ks(26/11) in 160 ABs. Pods sucks, as does Pierre. We don’t need part 3… especially if we are giving you one of the best young LH OFs in the game
His career average is in the low 290s. He has not had an above average season according to OPS+ since his first season, where he played 33 games. In the last 3 years, he has posted OPS of 87, 97 and 30. Average is 100.
He is Juan Pierre, and Juan Pierre is not good. Ellsbury is a LF, which is one of the least valuable defensive positions in baseball. He is not that good of a player…
You need to expand your horizons on Sox prospects haha. If anything they would not be trading Lars (no one will want him) or Dice-K (NTC). It would be more like Ellsbury (assuming his relationship with the sox is now tainted), or Kalish, Kelly, etc.
Kalish is going nowhere..maybe Reddick
They may need an OF, but someone capable of playing OF and not a defensive liability like Eithier. He also is LH and doubt the Sox would be willing to give up as much for one with power when the OF prospects they have all swing from the same side and he also only has 2 years of team control left, something Epstein has not been known to pay a premium for like Martinez previously and he played a premium position to boot.
Fantasy to think the LAD could get more than the same package that they gave up for him of Hagedone, Masterson and Price out of Epstein.
Fantasy to think the Dodgers will trade Andre. Even bigger fantasy that the Red Sox care what Theo wants to give up for him… They either get their deal or dont deal him. No need to trade him
Way off topic, but I need to say this.
WHAT A HELL OF AN F’ING GAME THE YANKS AND RAYS GAME WAS.
What does this have to do with Kershaw shutting out the Giants?
kershaw was superb, the kid is good. one of the very few bright spots on our 2010 club.
I could see the Red Sox trading Papelbon, McDonald or Nava, and some other up and comming prospects for Ethier..Dodgers need a closer Mcdonald plays a good outfied as does Nava and Ethier would do great on the Red Sox.. no Dice BB or Ellsbury or lol Lars Anderson who just can never escape horrid trade posts from Red Sox fans.
Broxton had a bad year but will hopefully bounce back. If not the Dogers have Kuo, Jansen and Belisario. They don’t really need a closer.
If the Dodgers do trade Ethier, they would want prospects not replacement level players. Ethier’s defense is pretty horrible.
Andre needs to go to LF and he will be above average. We play him in RF because of Manny’s presence, and that Pods couldnt handle RF.
Nava is a prospect, so is Reddick, but seriously i was just trying to make some sense out of something that isnt going to happen, a trade usually has people fill holes and needs, a lot of people believe that other teams should give away their superstars and be happy with what they get in return, even if its crap and not their organizations “top Prospect” because heaven forbid he flourishes on ANOTHER team, its bogus, i was merely pointing that Papelbon has startted to wear out his welcome and i think hes doing it on purpose I.E. Randy Johnson’s last year in Seattle and he would murder in the N.L. and probably come close to breaking Gange’s old saves record.
Think of something for a second. You dont want to pay Papelbon probably 10M+. However, you want the Dodgers to pay him 10M+ when they have salary problems AND have a closer who is better than him in Jon Broxton, who’s making less money… On top of all of that, you want Papelbon to be included in a deal for one of our best hitters, who is a power hitting lefty…
there is no way the dodgers who are in money dumping mode make a trade for pap he is set up to make 9+ million…and assuming broxton bounces back there is no GM in his right mind would pay 9+ mill for a set up/ back up closer…not even jim hendry or omar myna(sp?) would do that….isnt mcdonald really old for a prospect too? If either is traded it probably is for a similar player that also just needs a change of scenery…OR….it is a sign of 100% rebuild mode which means either for a bunch of prospects some high level and some mid level guys…
Again, why would the dodgers want any of those guys?
Why the hell do Sox fans think other teams want your crap!? God, this is why so many people get pissed with you guys. Think of the trade from both sides, not your homeristic one
Don’t make it sound like it’s all the Red Sox fans, it just some like with every other team in baseball. Every team has there fans who would propose completely stupid trades that no GM would do. Now that proposed trade was ignorant but just live with it, obviously that guy will never be a GM. I read completely ignorant trade offers on here almost every day from fans of every team.
Yes so have I. I have posted here for about two years and the reason I have posted less and less is because of dumb fans who still insist Lars is the best 1B prospect in baseball, or that Kelly is still held in the same regard as last year. He is still held highly by most, but his stock has fallen. However, like Withrow, he is young enough and were both held in such high regard that a good year gets them back to their pre 09 level
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If I was Ethier I’d want out too. I should hope Coletti would be more active this year seeing as his big move last year was to bring in Carroll.
How about Carl Crawford in Left, Kemp in Center and Ethier in Right! In the infield, Beltre at third, Furcal at short, Theriot at second and Dunn at first, behind the plate, Barajas and/or Martin. It doesn’t look like there’s much in the way of pitching via free agency, Lee is overrated and going to Yankees. Resign Lilly and Padilla, along with Kershaw and Billingsley, and they’ll be alright.
Sooooooooo…. Youre wanting the Dodgers… Whos owner is dealing with marriage issues and barely has money to handle the team.. You want him to sign Lilly, Padilla, Crawford, Beltre, AND Dunn?
…… hold on….. (hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha) OMG DREAM ON! Like they can afford that. Keep on wishing buddy.
hahahah wow so the dodgers suddenly have yankee money right? Cuz thats exactly what it would take to get all those guys. The dodgers who have had money issues since last year and didnt fix it, the dodgers who really have no clue how much money they have due to the mccourts spending the teams money, and not just selling the team and getting the side show over with….oh man….if the dodgers suddenly spend that kind of money and get those guys you can 100% bet the IRS and MLB will be all over the team and the mccourts..
I think the IRS is just about to ring the doorbell at Dodger Stadium. The McCourts are digging themselves a deep hole, and the IRS is going to bury them in it.
Unrealistic, but I agree the Dodgers should focus on their lineup more than pitching. I think the pitching can be resolved with mid-range free agents in the De La Rosa, Garland, Vazquez, Harang, Arroyo, Padilla mold in the $4-7m range. I wouldn’t overspend for Lee or Kuroda, but do have an hopes that Lilly might be flexible with his salary demands, wanting to play for his home team.Dunn, Beltre, AND Crawford is absolutely unrealistic. And I’m probably fantasizing to think the Dodgers could even get two of them, but…Sign Beltre for 3B. Have Loney and Blake platoon at 1B (Loney vs. RHP, Blake vs. LHP), and sign Dunn, Crawford, or Werth for LF. Our outfield defense would be terrible with Dunn, but whatever… Manny wasn’t any better.
Dodgers need 2 starters right? Add to it Beltre’s ~11MM/year demands, while Dunn/Werth/Crawford would get 11-17MM/year (depending on which one you get) you’re looking at a low end of ~30MM in FA signings. Doubt that that is realistic. And by the way, if the Dodgers signed Werth, Either would be moved to LF, since Werth has excellent defense in RF.
your VERY HIGH !
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Sorry man but I gotta agree with the people who have replied to your comment. It would take approximately 50 to 60 million, maybe even more, to get all those guys signed which is something that the Dodgers don’t have close to to spend especially with the divorce going on. Oh and that money figure would be just the first year, it would go up by a lot every year.
If Bill Gates and the King of Arabia buy the Dodgers, they can buy the Dominican Republic and make that their farm team too. And I have some nice beach front property in Kansas to sell you.
If the Dodgers still exist as we know them after this year, perhaps they can put the pieces back together. They are a 4th place team, and it aint lookin too good from here. Let’s just hope the McF-ups don’t ruin everything.
Not that is will be read but ow and wow, or woa should i say… call ME a homer? forget all you “experts” all i did was say he would be a good closer, i went for guys the dodgers could afford, when does Ethier hit FA? huh any experts out there, the package i listed out there had a 4 for 1 ohhhh he is gonna make 9 million, how about the prospects rounding out league minimum? compare to Ethier and what hes going to make and it makes just a little sense had i even been serious in the first place as i stated how awful trade proposals are on here in the first place and you guys put me in the exact same posaition, how about you read ALL my posts before my joke post before blasting me you jerks.