Manny Is Dodgers' First Choice

The Dodgers have Ethier, Kemp and Jones in the outfield. James Loney's at first, so you can't switch an outfielder to the most obvious position change.
Blake's at third, young Hu is a wiz defensively, and the Dewitt and Loretta combo covers second and all the other infield positions if someone gets hurt. Martin's one of baseball's best at his position. Manny isn't needed when you look at the depth chart, and he isn't needed when you look at how he was a negative so often in the press and clubhouse in Boston. If David Ortiz isn't around to keep the idiot halfway in check, jeez...I'd really have to think he'd go off the deep end. Let 'em try the Yanks so he can get a shave and a haircut!

I wonder what Boras is waiting for. Does he think some team is going to come in & offer up some multi year deal?

The two year deal the Dodgers offered up originally is looking pretty good now.

Manny makes NO sense for any AL team except the Yankees because NO other AL team can afford $20+ mill a year.

The Dodgers will give him $20+ mill a year but only for 3 yrs guaranteed.

The disturbing part of this story is that it appears as if Boras has too much pride to slink back to the Dodgers and do whats best for his client, Manny.

If I were Manny, I would be telling Boras to come back to the table and negotiate with the Dodgers before the Dodgers truly do turn the page.

I mean if too much times passes, maybe Colleti starts to figure that $20 mill is better spent by giving $10 mill to Sheets and $10 mill to Dunn on 2 and 3 yr deals, respectively.

That's not a bad way to spend $20 mill too.

dodgers1994,

I do agree is some sense, despite repeated comments about Haliday, that it is imminent that he is traded. I believe those talks do not happen until June this season with the mid-season trade deadline and if the Jays even have a shot, you never know, even I'll say my own team can't guarantee anything with their great signings. There comes a time when a pitcher lets go of pride for winning.

You dodgers however would have to sell the farm no? I wouldn't even know where to start.

Maybe the dodgers take both Holiday and Vernon Wells? You know, and part with Kemp, and a host of other players to the Jay's. No need for Manny then as you have an athletic fielder with decent numbers for 4 or 5.

They could afford both.

Sorry having some internet problems....

1994 - can you please learn to spell players' names. You spelled Roy Halladay's name wrong two different ways in the same post.

It is almost insane how little demand there is for one of the best hitters in this era.. The current problems are Manny's fault. He SHOULD be learning a lesson from all of this.. but somehow I doubt that he is and we'll see Manny being Manny in '09.

A note to Mr. Manny Ramirez, from federalbaseball.com:

I promise, (if the DC franchise will provide all financial backing)...DC will give you 2-Years/$50M? That's a serious offer, and $5M more than the Dodgers offered...Whatta ya think, Manny? Then the Nationals can trade Willingham and Kearns to some other team as a corner outfield package....and you, Dukes and Milledge can play left to right in Nationals Park...with Willie Harris as the fourth outfielder?

http://www.federalbaseball.com/2008/12/29/704602/washington-d-c-s-nationals

I can see Manny in LA or the Yankees. If Manny signs with the NYY then the Yanks will trade an outfielder for a starting pitcher & say C YA to Petite who waited too long to sign..

I am a huge cynic about McCourt and believe his interest in the Dodgers has always been as a chess piece in a bigger business deal. He was very lucky to have bought the team right when the division dropped in quality, so a few minor moves have kept the team competitive. If he were in a division like the AL East, his motives would have been exposed very quickly.

McCourt is not an owner who loves the game or his team. He is a businessman who came and saw the location of the land and the almost unprecendented opportunity it promised. If you understand LA real estate, you realize that chunk of the city has been ripe for exploitation for a long time. McCourt has had dollars in his eyes since Day One. Not rings, dollars. And not the city's glory, his own.

"The point is that the current payroll for the 2009 Dodgers is only about $70M. "

Not quite. You're not factoring in large increases for the kids, particular those eligible for arbitration like Martin and Ethier.

I do not quite understand why the Dodgers would include Matt Kemp in a deal for Vernon Wells. Wells is grossly overpaid and Matt Kemp had a better year at his very young age in 2008...

Kemp is player who is maturing and improving while being paid $500,000 a year, while Wells is declining and way overpaid...

Halladay is an option at a fair price, but not at the cost of gutting the team to get him. It is much easier to just spend the cash on a free agent...

Why give up talent and pay a high salary on Halladay?

Now if you deal for a young starting pitcher like Greinke of the Royals that is a different story as you get a great talent and a great salary...

lol @ trading Billingsly, what an idiotic suggestion.

I am so glad to finally hear this. For the last week or so I've been supremely worried that the Dodgers' front office had become disinterested in Manny. I'd much rather see Manny in left-field than Dunn or Abreu (both of whom would be secondary choices of mine to Manny).

To be quite frank, I'd rather hold on trading for Halladay. He is a terrific pitcher, but I feel the sentiment of quite a few Dodger fans on here when we say he isn't quite worth gutting the farm for. We are a free agent pitcher away (one who eats innings) from stabilizing the rotation. As it stands four spots are taken care of: Billingsley, Kuroda, Kershaw, and Stults/McDonald/Elbert. The former two have shown they can pitch at the major league level and would be competent #4 or #5 rotation guys. Elbert has always been a top prospect but his progressed was hindered in 2007 with that shoulder injury but was still rated a top 50 prospect the following year despite missing the 2007 season. That shows you how good he is, and how highly he is thought of.

Here are Elbert's career minor league stats:
66 starts, 366IP, 3.12ERA, 25-19, 1.25WHIP, 202BB (5.0BB/9IP), 416K (10.2K/9IP), 216 hits (6.3hits/9IP).

While his walk numbers are a little high, that can always be helped. All his other peripherals indicate he is a strikeout pitcher that gives up few hits and has managed to keep his WHIP low despite higher walk numbers. It'll be interesting to see what role he fills this next season.

"why not just kemp and a butt load of prospects"

Considering Halladay's amazing stuff, durability and the fact that he is under a club-friendly contract for two more years.. If the Jays decided to part with him, you would have to assume that they would get at least major league ready players (and one of those not being Juan Pierre, who has negative trade value). Ethier/Kemp would definitely be one of the guys, and then Billingsley/Kershaw and possibly Kuo would have to be involved.

If that scenerio were to shake out, I wouldn't do it if I were the Dodgers.. but you couldn't blame the Jays for having a high pricetag.

"Considering Halladay's amazing stuff, durability and the fact that he is under a club-friendly contract for two more years.. If the Jays decided to part with him, you would have to assume that they would get at least major league ready players (and one of those not being Juan Pierre, who has negative trade value). Ethier/Kemp would definitely be one of the guys, and then Billingsley/Kershaw and possibly Kuo would have to be involved.

If that scenerio were to shake out, I wouldn't do it if I were the Dodgers.. but you couldn't blame the Jays for having a high pricetag."

You may correct in who the Blue Jays might request, but you are crazy to think even a GM like Colletti would not give up Kershaw, Billingsley, or Kemp in a one for one swap for Halladay...

The deal is unlikely to happen, but to say Halladay's contract is some sort of huge bargain is far from the truth..

Two years $30 million is slightly below the going rate for a number one starting pitcher.

Teams will pay $15 plus million a year for number one starting pitchers on the free agent market, but they are not going to pay in dollars and great young players.

Kemp and Billingsley are already above average Major Leaguers who are only going to get better. As soon as 2009, but certainly by 2011 Billingsley will be considered a more valuable pitcher than Halladay and Kershaw is likely going to be right there as well.

Kemp is already one of the top five offensive Centerfielders in baseball... In fact there are probably not three CFs more valuable them him going into 2009...

"can anyone tell me who they think the dodgers should get this off season for pitching besides sheets because they are not oing after sheets"

For better or worse I'd have to fathom a guess a 4 or 5 type (seems to be the slots they need)----Wolf prolly fits the bill, and not at 10MM per year either.

Dodgers 1994,

My ideal signing for the Dodgers is Andy Pettitte. Reasons why:
1) He is an innings eater - which is what we need in the rotation. We don't need another injury-risk and uncertainty like Sheets, however great his upside is.
2) He is a lefty and would compliment our rotation nicely like that giving us at least two lefties.
3) He will cost just about as much as a Garland or Sheets, but will give us more certain statistics and innings, and would be more willing to take a deal with fewer years than the other two.
4) He is familiar with the Dodgers coaching staff: Torre and Mattingley, so joining the Dodgers would offer familiar faces.
5) With Pettitte we'd be asking, at most, for #3 stats, which he could give us. Whereas with Sheets we'd be expecting/wanting more ace-like stats, which we have no idea if he will give us or not.
6) Pettitte could be a mentor to young Kershaw and help him become confident with his "stuff". If anything was a problem with Kershaw last year, it was that he was not confident with throwing his pitches. Pettitte, a guy who has never had overpowering stuff, could help Kershaw realize that his stuff is good enough to go after almost every major league hitter.

That is why I'd like Pettitte over Wolf, over Garland, and over Sheets.

To all my Dodger fans, Garland is not who we want. He will cost more than we will want to pay, and won't take anything less than a three-year deal. Wolf is injury prone, and for the same reasons I said Sheets won't get signed, Wolf won't get signed.

Again, Pettitte is by far our best option for the rotation. He fits all the needs we have in the rotation: a veteran lefty, an innings eater, and a good clubhouse guy.

And one thing to consider for the Dodgers. In the off chance that Schmidt can come back (supposedly will be ready to pitch by spring training AGAIN), then that is another candidate for a spot in the rotation. Stults is another guy. So its not like the Dodgers are completely out of options for a SP.

Not saying they don't need another vet arm (I'm 100% sure they will sign one), just saying they aren't totally without possible internal options if a signing fizzles.

In terms of Oliver Perez, his problem is that he is a type A free agent and the Dodgers hold the highest unprotected pick (I believe its No. 17) in the first round. So signing Perez would mean giving away their 17th overall pick to the Mets.

I highly doubt they want to do that.

I am sure the compensation pick issue came into the decision to give Furcal the guaranteed 3rd yr versus signing Orlando Cabrera and having to give their 1st rd pick to the White Sox.

And yes, Oliver Perez isn't worth the contract he is asking and the compensation pick we'd have to give up for him.

Yeah Billingsley will be ready by the start of the season. He'll be a slight bit rusty because he'll jump into spring training later than most players, but he is on schedule to be ready for the start of the season.

Keep hearing Elbert's name out there, but the general consensus has been he's more suited for relief work, moreover with the departure of Beimel, he's the lock to replace him, as Kuo is going to resume 8th inning (not specialty LH) work, if not closing by committee.

Yeah, pretty close to 'zactly what I'm saying... :D

Ivdown, couldn't agree more. Matt Kemp right now is one of the most exciting young players to watch. Especially since he's been playing competitive baseball (really baseball as a whole) for about five years. Considering he is already batting around .300 consistently, stealing 30+ bases, and is starting to learn to the strike zone and how to pick up pitches, plus his developing power, he is SUPER exciting to watch and that's why so many teams inquire about him, or Kershaw, FIRST when discussing a trade.

And Kershaw. The kid is stinking 20 (going to be 21 at the start of the 2009 season)! He spent more than two full seasons in the minor leagues and he put up a hardy 4.26ERA. Granted he needs to control his pitches better, but what is there not to like about a big (6'3" 220lbs) hard throwing (93-98MPH) lefty with one of the best hooks in the league? Lefties like that are RARE (Kofax anyone), and his ceiling is as high as some of the great lefties with that fastball-curveball combo of his.

I just realized i wrote my last sentence wrong. Take out either "though" or "but", haha.

We need pitching badly. I can live with Billingsley, Kuroda, and Kershaw in the rotation but they should not be #1-3. Billingsley is more like a 2-3 right now, Kershaw and Kuroda a 3-4. Please do not overpay for Pettite. Thanks to our clueless GM, we have wasted contracts on Schmidt, Jones, and Pierre. We overpaid for Furcal the first time (and perhaps) the second time. How does Colleti still have a job? Not trading the kids is the best thing he has done, but a monkey could have made that decision.

its this simple people, if someone does not move on manny soon the yankees will free up some money. he will not go unsigned and will end up a yankee if you dont get on the ball soon.