The Dodgers announced (on Twitter) that they designated Xavier Paul for assignment to create roster space for Jerry Sands.
Paul, 26, appeared in seven games as a corner outfielder and pinch hitter his year, picking up three hits in his 11 trips to the plate. Last year, the 2003 fourth round selection hit .231/.277/.314 in 133 plate appearances and played left and right field.
Sands, 23, has five home runs and a .400/.422/.875 line in the early going at Triple-A. Albuquerque is a good place to hit, but Sands' power should translate to other parks. He hit 35 homers in Double-A and Class A last year, posting a .981 OPS in 590 total plate appearances. He placed sixth on Baseball America's preseason list of top Dodgers prospects because of his "plus power to all fields." He profiles as a solid everyday left fielder or first baseman, according to BA.
I’m happy that Jerry Sands is now a call away.
Xavier Paul was never given a true chance. Jay Gibbons or Gwynn should of been cut first.
Paul got a chance and made not much of it. He put up good but not spectacular numbers in the minors, and never quite figured out major league pitching over parts of three seasons. This happens to an awful lot of what look like bullet-proof prospects. The same people who say now that he “never got a chance” would be all over him like a cheap suit if he hit .233 over 600 ABs instead of 160. Don’t tell me it isn’t true when you know it is.
It isn’t true.
Gibbons isn’t with the team and Gwynn can at least offer good defense. Paul was never anything special.
I don’t mind Gwynn as a 8th inning replacement, but if he has to start….don’t get me started.
Disagree about Paul over Gibbons or Gwynn, but don’t we still have Hoffmann with the team? And DeJesus? As far as I know, they both have options and are pretty much useless.
Running towards Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness right now. It won’t be pretty.
Why? He loves Sands.
Yeah, but he also likes XPaul, who was never given a real chance to succeed.
Paul was treated similarly to Delwyn Young several years back. Neither really got a chance to play consistently. I’m excited to see Sands play though. Hopefully he does well.
Again, the Dodgers are showing they don’t know how to manage their farm system. He will join Cody Ross, D. Young, etc to succeed elsewhere.
Except that well, he won’t be going elsewhere. And to compare Young and Ross to Sands is a joke. Pretty sure neither one had a 35-homer season or a .981 OPS.
He’s comparing them to Paul…
I like Paul but he is not as good as those guys. And btw (as one who also rooted for Delwyn Young) he’s not exactly lit it up in the big leagues elsewhere. Paul was wholly expendable. And I don’t get the comment at top suggesting Gwynn should’ve been cut first. As someone who again has rooted for Paul to show something, Gwynn is a far, far superior defensive outfielder. And for someone who is often going to be a late inning fill in that is kind of what you want, you know? And Gwynn has also been hitting well so far this season. Gibbons, on the other hand… they could lose. Sands makes Gibbons even more expendable imho. (Can play OF or first, but unlike Gibbons can actually see the ball. 😉 )
XPaul was never given the chance to succeed, in my opinion – he had some useful tools; he just wasn’t used usefully. I agree that Gibbons could/should have gone away long ago. I agree that the dude up top should not mention dropping Gwynn – he’s been successful so far this season, and he’s worth a spot at the moment. Young was never much of anything in my book – lots of people were in love with him, but I just didn’t see it, and to this day, I still don’t (like you said, “he’s not exactly lit it up in the big leagues elsewhere”). I wish Sands luck, and hope he somehow either (A) gets Uribe & Loney hitting, or (B) gets lots of time at 1B until Loney is hitting, thus giving Gwynn ample time in LF to continue his “hot hand” (I use the term loosely).
He was useful, but that’s about it. Paul didn’t have near the power needed from a corner outfielder and probably profiled best as a 4th OF…
Oh, don’t get me wrong – he wasn’t the answer to our offensive woes, but he would have served as a decent 4th OF, like you said, stepping in during a late inning double-switch. IMO, he had a cannon for an arm. Then again, after watching Pierre for 3 years, who didn’t?
There was literally no room available for those guys; DYoung was tried at second and it wasn’t going to happen. Ross came to the Dodgers already out of options (from Detroit) and the Dodgers were unfortunately still trying to justify Repko’s first round selection.
pedro martinez, paul konerko, jayson werth also weren’t given true chances to succeed
now what?
dodgers will be dodgers
jayson werth – how many teams was he on before the Dodgers?
Pedro – yeah there is more to that than you know.
Paul Konerko – Karros was here and they needed a closer.
Jayson Werth’s wrist injury, not Dodger mgmt., was the culprit there. He missed a load of games.
Sands officially up & in the lineup batting seventh.
Nice…
Wow…I don’t think anyone would have guessed that Sands would be brought up this early…
Where has Delwyn Young succeeded?
Triple-A Las Vegas.
Well played Mauer
I actually lol’d at that
Lol!
This made my day. Not the part about Paul, but I’m excited to see Sands in action at the major league level
The 29,000 fans that weren’t at Dodger Stadium spoke LOUDLY.
I was doubtful about Gwynn, but he’s been one of the more consistent hitters in the Dodgers lineup and he is supposedly the best defensive outfielder in baseball. Cutting him would have been a very bad move. It’s a shame about Paul, I liked him and I got the sense he had a positive attitude, but does he REALLY top out as anything beyond a 4th outfielder? I’m thinking not.
From what I’ve read, X-Paul didn’t put the work in to get his game to the next level. He doesn’t have the talent of a Kemp, who could play while he found himself (and that’s working out pretty well right about now). Maybe this trip to the minors will light a fire.
I thought paul was out of options?
He is. Now he’ll have to pass through waivers before the Dodger’s can send him down to AAA.
Thanks, I think he might be picked up but I hope sands is the LF answer for us.
I hope Sands is the 1B answer for us
Good for Sands…if he can do what he did in the minors…imagine a outfield line up with sands, kemp, and either…that would be nice for years to come…hopefully!!!
and a horribly defensive one
Nice to see Sands come up. Will be interesting to see what he can do. Will be curious to see who else gets the call in the next month.
I’m also kind of surprised that Sands beat Robinson to the Bigs.
Power and OBP is needed greatly. Trayvon, if he keeps up this nice pace, will be up to man CF, Kemp to RF, Ethier to LF, and Sands to 1B if Loney keeps failing.
As Christopher Jackson of the Albuquerque Baseball Examiner writes, “Trayvon isn’t ready yet, but he’s not far away. Just has to quit chasing breaking balls out of the zone (which PCL pitchers throw at a crazy rate).”
Sands….double in first AB….Nice!!!!!
The team that has produced the largest number of Rookies of the Year winners, is the same team that lost some great prospects that developed elsewhere. It appears that the Dodgers do a great job with recruiting, and a fair job with evaluating in the long term. I hope for the best for Paul, but with that said, the struggling Dodgers do not have the time to wait for him to develop. The revolving door of baseball as we know it. Sands needs to impress right away to stay up in the majors, and if he struggles, we’ll probably see Gwynn/Thames for a while.