Dodgers To Seek Pitching Via Trade

If I were the Dodgers, I would go to the Rays and offer them Loney, Greg Miller, Tony Abreu for Scott Kazmir. If the Rays were to bite on this, which they might for a top 1b like Loney, and Miller is a high-ceiling guy still, and Abreu could start at 2b for them. Then Kazmir could join Billingsly and Clay Kershaw at the top of the rotation to make the greatest young trio of starters ever. I really think that would be it. Billingsly, Kazmir and Kershaw. Who is better? Hudson, Zito, Mulder? Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine? Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy?

I think they are going to have to do alot of this by the way of trade, but that doesnt do much in terms of planning for the future. They should get Jon Garland, hes the best pitcher that cant be gotten for the cheapest, hes young and needs a fresh start on a NL team, he will still cost alot but his age and skill will help. The should see if they can get Crede involved in that trade too, the white sox have a new 3rd baseman they can use and should dump crede and garland to max prospects. for center field, they should go for Hunter, they seem like a team that needs a snazzy good gloved and good batter, juan pierre but ALOT better. Or, they could trade for Coco Crisp, i dont think we would charge to much for crisp, maybe two infielders should take care of that, sox need infield prospects

scribble, I don't think Kershaw is quite ready yet. He only pitched in High A ball last year.
As far as Colletti, does anyone think he'll make a smart move? I doubt it. But, let's just say he does something right, A.Jones seems the way to go. LaRoche isn't ready and he's fragile. I think LaRoche should be moved while there is value. How about Miguel Tejada at 3B in LA?

Hmm ... I would say Cliff Lee for Kemp, Broxton, and cash (to sign CC) sounds about even. Yep. No problems there. Let's get this deal done.

You're right Bravesfan, the Dodgers should throw in LaRoche too. I almost forgot. That would have been a rip-off otherwise.

Interesting stuff.
I don't mean to speak the obvious here...but if the Dodgers sign arod they aren't signing anybody else. The Dodgers do need to add to their staff...lowe, penny, billingsley...after that, who knows? Schmidt is a question mark, and no one else in the system is really ready. If I were Colletti, I would sign Hunter or Jones, trade a package built around LaRoche for Cabrera, and trade Delmon Young (I hate to say it, but he's become expendable with kemp and ethier) and another prospect or two for Kazmir or Garland or Capuano. Next year Furcal will be gone and Hu should start.
We shall see.

Feelinallbubbly13, I think you're talking about Delwyn Young. Yes, you are right, Delwyn Young and Andre Ethier are both expendable. One of the two needs to go.

Haha. Sorry bout the typo..

Schmidt is done!

He doesn't have the cojones to be an ace anymore. After a family member passed away he became a hypochondriac. He won't pitch with a slight injury and won't throw his hard fastball anymore

I think it's a great move by Coletti to sign Castillo and Lowell to block Abreu and LaRoche. this would be a stroke of genius.

How does Coletti continually screw stuff like this up? More contracts to mediocre veterans despite one of the best farm systems in baseball.

From Rotoworld

'Jason Schmidt had surgery Wednesday to repair a torn labrum, an inflamed bursa and a frayed biceps tendon in his right shoulder.'

He didn't have Tommy John. The odds aren't nearly as good recovering from a torn labrum as Tommy John. TJ has had an amazing success rate lately. But they expect Schmidt to be ready for Spring Training. But they don't know what to expect out of him.

Ah, yes. Loaiza.
The star that never shot. Or shined. Whatever.
Didn't wells say that he wanted to come back to L.A. For another season with torre here? I can't imagine the Dodgers doing that unless they get really desperate...

The Dodgers are in a great position now. They can continue with the youth movement and build for an 09 run or they can flip the switch, trade youth for impact players (Santana/Cabrera), sign some FA's and be competitive now.

Since both of those strategies might make some sense Colletti will probably do the third option. Trade away youth for non-impact players (like Tejada) and overpay grossly for past performance FA's (like A. Jones).

The third option is really the only one that won't lead to immediate or long-term success.

There's no way Kemp/Ethier will be platooned. Kemp is too good and Ethier is average/above average. If the Dodgers are serious about bringing in a REAL center fielder, one of them will be traded. This is a horrible time to be a Dodger fan, having to trust Colleti to NOT mess up what potential success the prospects will bring.

What I REALISTICALLY hope will happen:
Since Pierre can't/won't be traded, sign A. Jones or Hunter. I'd prefer a Kemp/Ethier/Young/Pierre outfield, but Colleti is obviously trying to make a splash, and I hope signing a big free agent name will settle down his trigger finger. Hopefully that move will be enough to satisfy Ned so doesn't trade away their bigger name prospects.

As for pitching, bring in
a smaller name FA such as Lieber or even go for Kuroda. I guess my main hope is they hold onto these prospects that have been highly touted for so long. What's the point of building up these great prospects if they aren't given playing time, or to trade them for 1 great player that will still leave them out of contention?

What will probably happen:
Colleti trades the farm for 1 year of Santana. He has a great year, but they still finish out of the playoffs. Santana signs with the Yanks for 10 years/1 gazillion dollars.

Lieberthal's option was not picked up. Gonzo is gone-zo. He'll want a ton of money cuz he's a vet. They're better off re-signing Sweeney for a lefty off the bench. Those trades will never happen. The Marlins will want Kemp and/or Billingsley as will the A's. The A's aren't giving any discounts. Blanton may be had but I'd rather have Kershaw in 2009. He'll probably break into the pen next Summer anyway. The easiest way to solve the Dodgers problems is to sign A-Rod.

If the Dodgers sign A-Rod then Kemp moves to CF. If the Dodgers sign a FA CF then LaRoche and Nomar platoon at 3B. They will not get both. I predict they sign a CF and use Ethier as trade bait for some kind of pitching.

In a Perfect world the Dodgers sign Jones or Hunter and then trade Pierre to anyone that will take him, possibly the White Sox for Garland. We pick up half of Pierre's contract and call it an off season. They did it with Shawn Green and Odalis Perez they can do it with Pierre.

Furcal
Martin
Loney
Jones
Kent
Kemp
Ethier
LaRoche

Penny
Lowe
Bills
Garland
Schmidt/Kuo/Loaiza

Saito
Broxton
Proctor
Beimel
Meloan

Repko
Young
Nomar
Abreu
Some Backup Cather

Also, I didn't mean to marginalize Nomar's role in 2008. I think he will, and should, see substantial times at 3B...and a little time at 1B.

This will give Laroche a little more time to develop and give Loney the occassional day off.

Also, I don't normally think on these terms, but the fans absolutely love Nomar and at least some verteran presence is probably preferable. The other players on the team love the guy. And when healthy he can still hit.

I'm hoping for a productive platoon situation w/ Laroche and Nomar. Also, Nomar will be a great pitch-hitting threat to come in a face relievers that often rely primarily on getting ahead with fastballs.

kbrooks2LA, you'll notice I also threw in LaRoche.

I love how some people seem born without a sense of humor.

I've been saying this for weeks - Garland will end up on LA.

My pipe dream is Garland for Kemp which I know is unlikely. Garland/Crede for Kemp?

What trade using these 5 players seems the most realistic...Garland/Crede - Kemp/Pierre/Furcal

Thoughts? Tim?

I'd pass on Miggy, not worth the farm, for a slow, poor defensive power hitter.

I could see the White Sox getting Juan Pierre. I just don't see the Dodgers giving up four years of Kemp for one of Garland or one of non-tender candidate Crede. Never know though, Colletti loves vets.

I do not see the Sox getting Furcal at all after signing Uribe unless he is included in the deal

Who said LaRoche is too crappy for the Dodgers? He's a prospect. Who knows? Maybe he will turn out to be a great player. Maybe he'll be a bust. Every Dodger fan I know has some kind of concern about him. The point is, if the Dodgers are trading for Miggy, LaRoche won't be playing. And the Marlins would need a third basemen. So why not just include him in this deal? You don't think that the Marlins would take a look at a deal at all with a package of LaRoche + Ethier/Young + Miller/McDonald + Hu? All for Cabrera?
I don't think I'm the one being ridiculous here. Then again, maybe I'm just to ignorant to realize it...

And Bluesilv, I like your analysis. It seems most Dodger fans are on the same page in thinking Pierre is holding this team back.

Posted by: nickjs21
“You're right Bravesfan, the Dodgers should throw in LaRoche too. I almost forgot. That would have been a rip-off otherwise.”

…Drop the first half of your joke and you may just see it happen. Something surrounding LaRoche for Lee is probably a good fit ~ otherwise, thanks for the smile :)

Posted by: childersb
“think you missed one trade option for a starting pitcher. He doesn't get a lot of press, but Sean Marshall could be a valuable 180 innings guy in the NL. The Cubs don't seem to really want to use him because of Lilly and Hill. I hope that the Cubs use Sean, Cedeno and Eric Patterson together to get a RH starter, like Ian Snell. But, do you think that the Cubs could get one of the Dodgers' outfielders for those three?”

…The Cubs don’t really want him because:
A) he’s old for a “prospect” with such little experience under his belt.
B) he’s off 4 straight years of injuries with the last 3 being shoulder problems
C) the fact that he falls apart after 12-15 Games ~ he just cant pitch a half season, let alone a full one...
He’s a future BP arm; maybe a good one, but not on peoples radar for rotation spots…

Posted by: kab21
“I think it's a great move by Coletti to sign Castillo and Lowell to block Abreu and LaRoche. this would be a stroke of genius.
How does Coletti continually screw stuff like this up? More contracts to mediocre veterans despite one of the best farm systems in baseball.”

…You said it man. Why the team would be looking to sign more Vets to questionable deals when they have top prospects ready to take over at each and every one of the holes on their squad is just beyond me.

I can see them heavily going after pitching ~ they need a better rotation to keep up in their division, or last year will just keep happening… If the team can get a 1-3 type and sign a stopgap for here or there they could easily compete now. More bad contracts to more aging and soon to be undesirable players is just insane though. One would think they realized that last year and from watching the Giants so closely ~ but I guess that’s the beauty of the Dodgers…

Personally, I think the Bums should stick with Either/Pierre/Kemp while looking for nothing more than a real-short-term stopgap for 2B and/or 3B. Although many fans holler about the lack of offense, it really wasn’t that bad at all and they even went with many kids for the last month+ while in the midst of the Vet-Rook standoff. Well, the kids will never get better unless they are given a shot and you have to take in the fact that the NL-W teams play in 3 of the most pitcher friendly parks there are (SF, LA & SD) while also having so many games in the vast grass-land stadiums of Arz & Col. NL-W teams should never score amazing amounts of runs and most important is to look at the OBP and RS compared to their divisional competitors. Well, they were 5th in the NL with a .337 OBP and although behind Col in RS/G (Of course) were tied for 2nd in the division. That’s great, pitching is the only thing needed now…