Dodgers, Will Ohman Agree To Terms

I bet he wishes he accepted the Braves offer so many months ago.

All I know is, as a Dodgers fan, I'm happy with this move. Makes the 'pen more solid now and he's a relative bargain at that price.

Broxton, Kuo, Wade, Mota, Ohman, Weaver and (TBD) is a pretty solid 'pen where to start the off-season I was a bit worried. (And with Lindstrom, Elbert and Troncoso waiting in the wings for depth.)

As a Braves fan, im kinda ticked at Wren for not going out and signing him. But he did the right thing by trading Anderson for a pretty good reliever so im not too upset.

GO BRAVES.

This is what that bastard gets!

WOW I cant believe its not even a Major League deal

Wow, if I was a Braves fan I'd be furious.

Too bad for Ohman. I bet he was expecting much more.

I had the opportunity to meet him and he's a really nice guy.

Best assumption is its a minor league deal so he can play in Triple-A in April if he isn't ready. The option is probably of the major league variety.

1.35m plus incentives, 2.2m club option with 200k buyout. If they don't call him up by Apr. 14th, he can opt out.

Wow, this is pretty interesting. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the incentives he gets are tax free or not?

Good deal for the Dodgers. Basically, they get Ohman for around $1.5 mill this year and can either excercise an option for $2.2 mill next year or just buy him out for $200K. Not bad.

The minor league deal was just a way for the Dodgers to be able to send him to the minors and not have to clear him through waivers.

That way he can get extra work in the minors and then get called up by April 14.

The Dodgers probably feel he needs the exra week of consistent work in the minors to get ready.

I imagine Ohman is going to get as much work in Spring Training as he can and then stay for extended Spring Training and rejoin the team a week after the season starts.

this a good signing and for very cheap. the bullpen gets a bit better.
they should trade for an ace already.
dewitt, hu, paul, sturtze for an ace.
peavy!!

trade for an ace and pick up lee later?
to expensive?

LA has Kuroda, Billingsley, and Kershaw already in their rotation. They don't need a true Ace but would be better served building a complete team around the core they've already established (Martin, Loney, etc.).

However, while I don't think they need an Ace it wouldn't hurt to acquire one if they truly want to win now. Roy Oswalt would be a good fit. He's had success in the NL. He's pitched in big games. The Astros need to rebuild in a big way and the Dodgers could spare 2-3 spare parts that'll fit into Houston's plans for the short term (maybe a Dewitt, McDonald, and a lower/mid level prospect?).

Halladay would be too costly. Peavy won't be traded within the division. If the Angels can't work out an extension with Lackey I still can't see them making him available. And beyond that, there really aren't any Aces available.

I agree completely. I wasn't trying to say that the Dodgers don't have solid pitching or that they need pitching.

I was just trying to expand on a previous commenter's argument about acquiring an Ace now that there seems to be extra arms for the bullpen with the acquisition of Ohman.

LA has Kuroda, Billingsley, and Kershaw already in their rotation. They don't need a true Ace but would be better served building a complete team around the core they've already established (Martin, Loney, etc.). '

I feel that an ace isnt a neccesity to start the season, but could be. The only part I disagree about with your statement above is that Loney is a long term core player. I feel that if they sign Manny to a 3yr deal at yrs end(if he opts out) or sign Holliday to be that big, middle order of the bat(if manny opts out and doesnt resign) then Lambo would be the 1B of the future(his natural postition) and Loney trade bait for a pitcher.

Im a little furious at Ohman for choosing a minor league deal over a major league deal. Why be mad at frank wren he had major league contract ready and waiting for ohman for over a month and didn't bite. He was one of the top left-handed relievers last year. This signing makes no sense to me.'

the only reason its a minor league contract is because he may not be ready for the season, so he can go to the minors and get ready.

Why in the world would he take a minor league deal?

Wren, you couldn't have offered him more that $1.35MM? They must have split on negative terms. Wow, all the Braves fans I know are pretty pist.

Braves fans bitter at Wren for not signing this guy to more than what he got, or in the form of a major league deal, are angry at the wrong guy. Blame Ohman for holding out on the Braves then getting burned. Don't be mad at Wren for filling his needs elsewhere.

"So let me get this straight... we can give lumps of garbage like Villone, Fossum, and Martin minor league deals, but we can't give one to Ohman?? Omar, you did a good job overall this offseason, but sometimes, you act like a complete f--king idiot."

WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....... how original.

i like Colletti is getting a little crafty with the roster decisions. Ohman will get most if not all his major league money in the deal. He go to the minors to have his actual spring training; 8-9 into the regular season. This is similar to the shrewdness of starting the season w. Delwyn Young on the 15 day DL, essentially giving castro and Mientkewicz(sp?) 2 weeks to prove that can hit outside of spring training situations, or at least give ol ned a bit more time to find a team in the american to deal him to.

Ohman should make a more than serviceable LOOGY.

The pen is starting to round out with probably 5/7 of the pen being very good pitchers and the other 2 spots, well, maybe not so much:

Mystery guy (mid-relief)
RHP Weaver (long man)
LHP Ohman (lefty specialist)
RHP Mota
LHP Kuo
RHP Wade
RHP Broxton

IMO, Lindblom would make the perfect guy to put in the last spot but the Dodgers don't want to derail his long-term development and want to have him continue to stretch his arm out as a starter in the minors.

I would not be shocked to see Linblom eventually get called up as a reliever at some point in the season.

To the guy saying Mota stinks, well, he's actually been pitching really well this spring (2.45 ERA, 15 K's in 11 IP).

And even last year, Mota still had his 95 mph fastball and nasty mid 80's slider. He just did not locate very well last year with the Mets.

He actually pitched well for the Brewers down the stretch and I think will pitch well for the Dodgers. He should make a very good mid-reliever.

The Dodgers top 10 pitchers are set so that's not bad but I would feel more comfortable if Weaver can pitch like Chan Ho Park did for the Dodgers last year and if we can find a decent reliever for that 12th spot eventually (ie. Lindblom).

I'm not saying Dewitt and Mcdonald get an Oswalt deal done, but it sure isn't a bad starting point. 6 years of McDonald, a very good young starting pitcher, and 5 years of Blake Dewitt, a guy who can play 3B, 2B, or SS for you, both of these guys major league ready? Dewitt and McDonald is a good starting point for any trade, especially in this economy, cost controlled talent is so important. McDonald and Dewitt are pretty nice assets to have right now.