Dodgers right-hander Todd Coffey will miss the rest of the season and undergo his second Tommy John surgery according to multiple reports. Los Angeles figures to be in the hunt for a bat at the deadline, but relief help could also be a priority with Coffey, Javy Guerra, and Matt Guerrier all hurt. Here are some links from baseball's two West divisions…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says it's time for the Giants to explore the trade market for a starting pitcher given Tim Lincecum's continued struggles. He allowed eight runs in 3 1/3 innings to Nationals last night and now owns a 6.08 ERA.
- Jeremy Guthrie will return to the Rockies' rotation tonight and Troy Renck of The Denver Post says he has a chance to reignite trade interest. Guthrie has pitched to a 6.56 ERA in 11 starts and four relief appearances for Colorado this season.
- MLB.com's Tyler Emerick writes that both the Angels and Padres are benefitting from last month's Ernesto Frieri trade. Frieri has yet to allow an earned run in 24 appearances with his new team while Alexi Amarista is hitting .290/.320/.527 for San Diego.
For once i agree with Hank Schulman that the notion of the Giants trading for a SP is ridiculous. The organization that drafts and grooms nearly all pitchers has no reason to give away any more Wheeler types for another P. They will undoubtedly have to trade for a bat eventually but trading for P is a waste. Just look at what Travis Blackley has done for the A’s in a starting role the Giants wouldn’t give him. They have a number of starters on par with Blackley but much younger, Eric Hacker, Shane Loux, Yosmero Petit and the vet Penny. All could spot start. But you can’t even think about replacing Lincecum in the rotation, that’s preposterous.
Agree that Lincecum should stick in the rotation.
Signed,
The other 4 teams in the NL West
yeah, lincecum being in the rotation for the giants is just the catalyst that the rockies need to get back in the pennant hunt.
Petit is 27, Hacker is 29 and Loux is 32 – none of them was drafted by the Giants, so they’re probably bad examples of the type of pitcher that the Giants draft and groom. Penny was having arm issues in Japan and probably isn’t suited to start again. And they didn’t give Wheeler away for a pitcher, of course. I agree that the thought of taking Lincecum out of the rotation is appalling, but so is losing 9 out of every 10 starts he makes. My prediction is that they’ll stay put, continue to roll him out every 5 starts, and lose more than they win (although probably not 9 games out of 10 like it’s been lately). Sadly he’s become this year’s Barry Zito. A bout on the DL probably wouldn’t hurt him if, for no other reason, than to give him a rest and let him work it out in the bullpen for a bit.
The starters i mentioned are just potential spot starters. The younger guys like Heston and Fitzgerald will be ready by the time a rotation spot opens up and that will likely be Zito. Those are the guys with the grooming.
Lincecum skipping a start only works if he’s found something to work out- as of right now it’s simply arm strength/stamina that’s failing him. When he can’t hold the velocity he has in the first he’s having his worst outings. I saw him against the dodgers, he held 92 through the whole game and had good command. This kind of heat is never going to work for Lincecum- that’s the sum total of his start in DC. If anything it means that he’ll be very much inclined to stay where he is in SF, and maybe that 5/100 deal will be cut in half. All the more reason why replacing him in the rotation is not realistic.
Javy Guerra is rehabbing right now. Rubby De La Rosa and Hawksworth shouldn’t be too far from rehab either. With a minor league system full of arms and the anemic offense a much, much more pressing concern why would the Dodgers be in the market for a reliever?
Hawksworth is likely done for the year and De La Rosa is probably looking at an August return, but I wouldn’t expect him to be a big contributor this year. Agree of course that the focus should be on a bat, but I wouldn’t be opposed to adding a reliever.
Lincecum is the distressed asset AA loves to pick up in Toronto. I don’t know that the giants will give up on him already though and even if they did would be asking a steep price
Too risky for AA and Sabean. Lincecum making 20m next year and Sabean would have to sell at 50c on the dollar prospect wise.
I can’t see Lincecum getting moved..Period.. for that reason with him struggling.
I’m just waiting for Amarista to turn back into a pumpkin. Or in his case, an acorn squash.
Amarista rocks. I was glad when they finally let him start playing pretty much FT and his size? No chance he stands 5’7. He just ignites the team with his all out hustle. he goes out and gives 100% all the time and that is what a team, like SD needs when they are in the situation they are in.. Something/someone to bring excitement and motivate the team on the field, or at least try to.
I love Amarista. He’s the sparkplug we’ve needed all year. For his stature, he sure does have a big swing. Love it. Now with him and Grandal in the lineup, we actually have some production.
Unless Headly gets traded, Forsythe could be the odd man out this year, being more of a super utility guy. I
mcdonalds did nothing for the dodgers, he couldnt get passed the 5th inning, he would fall apart. yeah they sold low but dont act like he was the pitcher back then that he is this season.
James McDonald’s numbers out of the bullpen in 2009:
2.72 ERA, 8.7 SO/9, 1.369 WHIP
Octavio Dotel’s numbers in the 2010 season, when the Dodgers acquired him:
4.28 ERA, 10.8 SO/9, 1.300 WHIP
Taking into consideration that James McDonald had 4 1/2 years of team control remaining, while Octavio Dotel pitched in 19 games for the Dodgers, it was a terrible trade. The Dodgers were realistically out of playoff contention at that point, anyway. Dotel was pointless. McDonald had a ton of potential, which he has been demonstrating in Pittsburgh.