Gammons' Latest: Martin, Dunn, Quentin

Moving Martin to 3b would be a terrible decision. he'd go from being an excellent-hitting catcher to a mediocre-hitting 3B, at best, and his defense at third is a big unknown. Unless they can move him to 2B, it's not a good idea to change his position unless he's liable to be hurt physically by staying behind the plate. A .375ish OBP from a catcher is a beautiful thing, regardless of how he slugs.

Plus, maybe he can steal another gold glove from yadier molina by staying at catcher (snicker).

"Ahh yes 'Winning over money'. Of course teams spend money trying to get players to help them win. So in the end he just wants to go somewhere that is already winning without him. Places like Baltimore, Washington and KC have no interest to him. Of course if this was last year Tampa Bay would be on that list. "

You're drunk aren't you.

Russell Martin is such an athletic and dynamic defender behind the plate that I don't think they should move him until they absolutely have to. Until he starts to show the signs of wear and tear, leave him back there.

Wait a minute. Adam Dunn prioritizing winning? Since when? I heard the guy doesn't even like baseball that much.

Jskohl there is only two major problems of them trading outfielders 1) they dont want to move Kemp or Either (dont blame them for that) 2) No one wants Jones or Pierre (not unless the Dodger eat the majority of the contract). If you are looking for a third baseman on the trade market, Kouz in SD (not going to happen), Lowell in BOS (might be available), Huff in BAL, Atkins in COL. Then there are a couple that are free agents.

Honestly Blake is the best option, if they can get him to resign. The trade options are not great, and the only two young with upside are in the same division. Plus there Texas is looking for a 3b, along with the Giants.

If you could get him, Aybar from TAM, could be a nice addition, .250/.323/.413 in 273 ABs. I believe he has 3+ years of team control left, not sure on that.

If Varitek is not back with the Sox in '09 because he signs a multi-year with the Dodgers I will personally do Boras' laundry until the end of Varitek's contract.

I would not rule out Varitek to LA. This is Scott Boras we are talking about. He dragged out the negotiations on Varitek's current contract for nearly six weeks, and there was no one else interested in Varitek. The way he helped Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez out of town makes me think Varitek could be no different.

If the Sox truly want Varitek, they'll keep him by overpaying. Otherwise, they'll pursue one of the Rangers' catchers.

I agree that moving Martin at this point is a mistake, but not because he would somehow be a below average third baseman. Martin is an excellent defensive catcher, both at handling his staff and blocking the plate. His throwing is off this year, but much of that is the inability of his staff to hold runners on and Kent's inability to cover the bag as well as he used to.

Defensively, he is more than capable at third base and his slugging and running numbers would probably climb with the decreased wear and tear.

All that said, if the Dodgers are really considering moving Martin out from behind the plate, they should consider him at short, especially if Furcal doesn't resign. He is well known for taking infield at the position and obviously has the athletic ability and talent skill set to play there (agility, soft hands, strong arm).

maybe not as a 1-for-1, but how about pierre for chavez??
money is close
pierre is better than anything a's have at leadoff, chavez could be revived as another bat instead of THE bat

"maybe not as a 1-for-1, but how about pierre for chavez??
money is close
pierre is better than anything a's have at leadoff, chavez could be revived as another bat instead of THE bat"

The problem with Chavez is that the Dodgers may as well resign Blake and not worry about injuries.

I think any move with Pierre will be one as salary relief, because he does still have value to some teams, especially if they have a smaller outfield where is arm is less exposed.

"Most of the Japanese veterans who come over have situations where they do not become arb-eligible. I dont know Saito's exact situation though."

Remember, the Dodgers originally signed Saito as a minor league invitee. Since he had no MLB experience, he fell into the traditional MLB contract scheme instead of being signed as an outside free agent. That is why the Dodgers have renewed him (with some negotiation) the last 2 years, as opposed to signing him to an extension. Going very technically, I believe he now falls into the Arb structure.