Dodgers Acquire Blake From Indians

Man I hate the Dodgers. Please move Andy LaRoche. Give him a chance somewhere. Go to the Twins and offer him for Anthony Swarzak or something.

The Village Idiot strikes again!

If a mediocre veteran is available, Neddy Colletti is in, two good propects or not!

Wow!

I wonder if Colletti can destroy the entire organization before he is fired!

This makes as much sense as signing Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones.

The Dodgers had already officially put the kibosh on trading LaRoche for Street (see previous thread). Though of course denial doesn't always prove it won't happen!

I don't thnk adding Blake is a bad move, it gives them more depth on offense which they're sorely lacking. I think giving up Meloan is totally fine. However if it is Santana I think they'll regret that move , at least in a couple of years they will. The guy is a great young hitter.

Young hitters come along pretty often. I like this deal. Blake is a solid player. I do think LaRoche will be the centerpiece for another move.

I don't see why the Dodgers would need Blake. I guess they could use him at 3rd and replace DeWitt, but when are they finally going to use LaRoche?

They already have good 1st baseman and right fielder in Loney and Either.

I hope Blake ends up playing right field in Tampa, because they could really use a right handed bat.

Blake's an outfielder ? Man this site has really gone downhill this year, must have made too much money and become complacent.

the deal is official via jon heyman. Way to update the site timmy

Blake has been playing RF some this year. He has a good arm and adequate range. He is, in fact, competent at all four corners.

Blake is batting .289 with 11 HR and 58 RBI......

That seems pretty solid to me...

And they got him for cheap too....

The Indians may not have the most solid set for next year, but you have to think that LaPorta will be in left, Grady will be in center and Ben Francisco. The Indians need to try out the young talent they have...not waste it on a 6 million dollar utility guy. I like Blake, but I am not sad to see him go.

The only thing that could make this deal worse is if Blake was an outfielder. Yes, he can arguably still play it competently but it ends there and last time I checked the Dodgers had a few outfielders. I think anyone who read that sentence about Blake and the outfield and did not cringe a little is lying.

Blake is an absolutely solid addition, especially because the Dodgers will be without Delwyn Young for at least 2 weeks. His numbers hjave skyrocketed since his slow start and he is absolutely deadly with RISP, something the Dodgers need desperately. He isn't really a power upgrade, but is the rock solid utility man the Dodgers need. Meloan was getting a bit long in the tooth and Santana had no chance sitting behind Martin.

"The only thing that could make this deal worse is if Blake was an outfielder. Yes, he can arguably still play it competently but it ends there and last time I checked the Dodgers had a few outfielders. I think anyone who read that sentence about Blake and the outfield and did not cringe a little is lying."

Now that Blake is going to the Dodgers, the outfield talk is silenced because they already have outfielders.

But if he would have went to a team like the Mets or the Rays, i'm pretty sure they would make him play in right field.

and i'm not saying casey blake is the answer..but geeze,do something...quit just always being "in the mix" for players!

Do you really think it would be that tough for Blake to move back to the outfield? Hell, Greg Norton had played a grand total of about 300 innings in the OF in his career before this season, but he's been adequate out their defensively in the 120+ innings he's played their this year. As long as you have some experience reading fly balls, you'll generally be fine.

Blake is a solid addition to a World Series contending team. He's the kind of peace a contender needs to get over the hump.

He is not the kind of player that will boost a sub 500 team competing for a play off spot into serious contention. Luckily it didn't cost much, except maybe Ned's job next year.

Hopefully this means that it will be easier for the Orioles to get Laroche and some friends for Sherrill.

I'm guessing a lot of people who are saying this isn't a big deal don't know who exactly is involved.

Santana's performance probably would have earned him Top 5 billing in the Dodgers' farm system for 2009, and Meloan will probably be converted back to the bullpen where he projected as a setup man.

And for what? So the Dodgers can maybe make the playoffs and probably get swept in the first round? What's the point? Ugh.

"Santana's performance probably would have earned him Top 5 billing in the Dodgers' farm system for 2009, and Meloan will probably be converted back to the bullpen where he projected as a setup man."

Meanwhile, the Dodgers already have one of, if not the best catcher in baseball and Meloan just doesn't have the value he once did. Further, Blake is the kind of player they have needed all year. A guy who can hit in the clutch and move around the field, and not get injured.

Personally, I think it would have been better to do the Sabathia/Blake/Carroll deal, but this still makes sense in the context of this team.

I don't think the Dodgers gave up much in Meloan. Kershaw, Elbert and McDonald are all more likely to becoming reliable big league pitchers. I really like Santana, but with Martin and Lucas May, they aren't in need of a young catcher. If they traded Santana next year, they night have received more, but it's impossible to say.

Casey Blake is a decent 3B with a solid OPS. LaRoche and DeWitt have been struggling at the plate. The Dodgers MIGHT have openings at 2B, 3B and SS next year so both of them, along with Tony Abreu, Chin-Lung Hu and Ivan DeJesus Jr will have a shot at starting in 2009.

They will also get some draft picks if they don't re-sign Blake, Lowe, Furcal and Garciaparra. So I think the Dodgers have a bright future.

A solid, practical move by Colletti... I like it.

We get a modestly solid, veteran bat at third, who also has a little pop, without giving up very much at all. Perfect.

I think it's great that his contract is up at the end of the year, it gives the Dodgers options. It allows DeWitt to develop for another year at AAA (I think he needs it, he's really young), and a year for the Dodgers to observe Blake and see if he gels in the lineup. At the end of the year, they could either re-sign Blake and have an improved prospect chip in DeWitt, or they can bring DeWitt up, with another year of minor league development under his belt.

It's my intuition that this move means that the Dodgers intend to trade Laroche.

"Then again, hey, who cares about keeping the young guys and maybe dealing them away for good value, right? Deal them all away for above average aging veterans with expiring contracts.

Sounds like a good operating plan to me. The same one that has led the Dodgers to their outstanding record in the past 20 years."

FireNed, I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. They haven't gotten rid of any of their young nucleus core. And while I agree with the philosophy of letting the young core develop and play, I wouldn't expect a major league franchise to keep ALL of their prospects.

The blue desperately needed another solid bat in the lineup, and DeWitt needs more time learning how to hit a major league breaking ball. AND in addition to this, Blake is versatile. If Garciaparra goes down, he could very well play a little SS to keep a little pop in the order, without needing to play a weak-hitting Berroa or Maza every day.

DodgersLBC-I didn't even expect the Dodgers to keep Santana. The point is, you don't trade your top prospects away for rubbish. Matt LaPorta was blocked in Milwaukee, so they traded him away. Okay fine, but who did they get? C.C. Sabathia. Who did the Dodgers get? Casey Blake?!

No, Santana isn't at LaPorta's level as a prospect yet, but he could have been within the next year, that's my point. You don't just dump guys because you have better players entrenched at the major league level.

Why do the Dodgers need Blake's versatility? Loney is at first, and they already have 4 outfielders for 3 spots. So he's a 3rd baseman that might take even more playing time away from Loney/Kemp/Ethier, which makes me sick.

dodgerblue8787-Yes, I realize that he's in a hitter's league. However, his plate discipline was there from before, and you don't just magically learn that skill because it's a hitter's league. Also, comparing Santana to his peers is one of the key things for league normalization, right? Well, Santana was at the top of most of the league's leaderboards...as a catcher. So even in a hitting friendly league, he was the class of it.

http://minors.baseball-reference.com/bat_leaders.cgi?yid=2008&lvl=A%2B&lid=&sort=OPS

And that Matt Wieters guy that's above him? By far the #1 catching prospect in the majors. He's untouchable from the O's and is the same age as Santana. Imagine trading him for Casey Blake, doubtful.

I wasn't old enough to remember 1988 either, but I do remember winning only 1 playoff game since then. Casey Blake isn't going to make this team from mediocre to World Series contender, so why do you think this changes anything?

I'll be glad to eat my words if Casey Blake hits 25 HR in the next two months and leads the Dodgers to a World Series win. I'm just not holding my breath.