The Dodgers are on the verge of a two-year deal with second baseman Mark Ellis, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal is worth $8.75MM. Ellis is represented by TWC Sports.
With Dee Gordon penciled in at shortstop and Juan Uribe at third, second base was considered one of the Dodgers' offseason needs. Ellis, 34, hit .248/.288/.346 in 519 plate appearances for the Athletics and Rockies this year. He's best known for his strong second base defense. Assuming the current free agent compensation system remains in place for this offseason, the Rockies will receive a supplemental draft pick for losing the Type B free agent.
This better be for no more than 2 yrs $5-6M !!!!
Much rather offer 2 yrs $10M to a guy like Kelly Johnson since they couldnt’ get my #1 choice Aaron Hill.
Typical Ned overpaying UGH!!!!!!
LMAO 2 years for about $4.5 each year. Pathetic
I can’t see Johnson taking that kind of deal. He can likely get 6-7M in arbitration on a 1 year deal. Not sure why he’d accept 2/10
For a Kelly Johnson I think 3 yrs $15M base with incentives up to $18-20M would be doable. But this is the crap that Colletti always pulls!!
solid defender…great leader…loved watching him with the A’s…only guy i know to stay around for a press conference after being traded, to say how much he enjoyed his career with the A’s…good signing for the dodgers…if the money is right! great mentor for seller and gordon, like carroll last year!
Dude, seriously, what is it with these guys. Juan Riveria and his $9mm contract, $160mm to Kemp, Mark Ellis, Uribe at SS. WTF are they doing? Maybe I’m missing something, but none of this makes sense to me.
“With Dee Gordon penciled in at shortstop and Juan Uribe at third, second base was considered one of the Dodgers’ offseason needs.”
That’s the exact same amount they’re inexplicably also paying Juan Rivera. Did somebody trick the Dodgers into thinking $4.5 million is the league minimum?
LOL
They misplaced that decimal point
…
jeeze…way to steal kemps thunder, ellis!
I’m not sure if this or the Jamey Carroll/Twins deal is worse. These really can’t be seen as winning moves
It is for the rest of the NL west
2 years/$8MM is a coup for Ellis. This guy is the least likely go-to player but somehow he keeps getting the big contract love for a nearly non-existent bat and a good glove that, in my opinion, isn’t exactly game changing.
They just want him for his ability to get clutch hits against the Angels…
..and I just heard they offered Aaron Boone a one year contract for the 2012 three game series against the Red Sox.
no, that turned out to be false, Jon Heyman was just bored
So it’s a good contract for 3.7% of the season.
What is with all of the hate? This is a 2 year contract people, not a 10 year contract. Sure, maybe Ned spent a little more than what Ellis is worth, but not by much. Ellis is an excellent leader and a better-than-decent stopgap at second base.
Look at the Dodgers payroll, then count up all the terrible deals to terrible players.. its fun!
I’m not denying the fact that Ned has made some awful decisions, but I feel like people who are bashing this move are just looking for something to complain about. It’s a two year deal and if something better develops out of the minor leagues this year or even next year, worst case scenario is Ellis becoming a defensive sub off the bench.
Uribe and Ellis on the bench together? 12.5 million dollars on the bench? How is that okay to you?
plus Juan Rivera, hes not a starter.. add it up
Do I have to repeat myself? It’s a 2 year deal, it’s not the end of the world.
Ellis is 35 years old.
He put up a .288 OBP in 2011.
He’s got a good reputation with the glove, but he’s not nearly as good as he used to be.
And he’s played more than 124 games once since 2007.
We’re talking about an old player who can’t hit and can’t field as well as he used to. And, on top of that, he’s injury prone.
Why is it that you don’t want people to voice their frustration about this? What’s the problem here?
dont make him repeat himself
The problem is that people are crying over spilt milk. I’m not saying that Ellis is a superstar, and I’ll agree that he’s injury prone, but it’s a two year deal, he’s cheaper than Aaron Hill. and I’m sure he’ll be cheaper than Kelly Johnson.
“With Dee Gordon penciled in at shortstop and Juan Uribe at third, second base was considered one of the Dodgers’ offseason needs.”
Uribe is starting, so I don’t know where you got that idea from and it’s definitely OK with me to have him coming off the bench when it’s only for a season or two.
I’m hoping this is more of a Jamey Carroll/Aaron Miles type signing where he is expected to be more of a utility/veteran clubhouse guy (though they became much more due to injury and poor performance). But at $4.5 million per it seems more like they want him to start. I’d rather Sellers and DeJesus Jr. compete for the spot in spring training.
If I were David Eckstein I would be really mad right now.
The key is to keep Kershaw and Kemp locked up until we get new ownership. Personally, I do not think Ellis is an upgrade over Jamey Carroll.
Ohhh boy look out for the Dodgers.
i don’t see this deal as outrageous. Ellis may not be an upgrade over what Carroll gave LA last year, but Ellis does have a better track record than Carroll when it comes to being a full time starter. While not great, Ellis will be much better than Sellers or DeJesus have shown to be. Although, DeJesus hasn’t really been given a true chance, in my opinion, he was down right awful in the little time he did have. I’ve been a backer, but maybe he’s just a 4A player, who can fill a super-utility role and back up the infield. Miles and DeJesus aren’t such a bad tandem to back up the infield.
Only in this awful free agent market (combined with a bad GM) would Mark Freakin’ Ellis get a multiyear deal.