The Dodgers are considering signing free agent Michael Young and installing him as the club's everyday third baseman, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. MVP Sports Group represents the 37-year-old.
After spending much of his time in 2011-12 as a designated hitter, Young served last year as the Phillies' regular third bagger before finishing the year as a utilityman for the Dodgers. Young's return to a daily role in the field came with mixed results. On the one hand, he proved that he is still capable of keeping up with the grind. On the other, Young's hot corner work graded out at or below replacement level in the aggregate.
Young hit at a slightly above average rate in 2013, posting a .279/.335/.395 triple-slash in 565 plate appearances. On the other hand, UBR pegged Young as costing his clubs 4.6 runs through baserunning. And advanced fielding metrics were not fans of his work on the hot corner. UZR, for instance, graded Young as the second-worst regular third baseman in the league.
While we heard recently that the Dodgers were eyeing Young, it would seem a surprise for Los Angeles to plug him into its everyday lineup to start the year. The club could also ink him as a utility player and use his presence to regain some leverage in a seller's market. Juan Uribe, who delivered a big year for the Dodgers in 2013, remains available. But the club is reportedly prepared to move on after not hearing back on an offer to the free agent, with Olney tweeting that L.A. increasingly believes he'll find a new home. Otherwise, the Dodgers will presumably need to test the trade market, where pickings are slim and prices could be high.
As a Rangers fan, this brings back haunting memories of PADMY.
Past a Dodger Michael Young
If the Dodgers signing Michael Young makes you feel better about the Giants chances…….that is just sad.
I hope they sign him. Then there’d be no chance of him going to the Cards.
Good luck with all that.
I’m not seeing the sense behind this rumor. I can see the sense behind an AL team signing Young to bounce around the diamond as a backup and let him serve as DH if he gets on a hot streak, but I think his days as an everyday starter in the field are a thing of the past.
Sounds like you are describing the Yankees. They could use him in that role or even platoon with Kelly Johnson.
Yes and no. Too much of a chance he’s left to man 3B full-time depending on the outcome of the Rodriguez affair.
They already have too many people needing time in that DH spot: Jeter, Beltran, McCann, Soriano, A-Rod (if he’s not suspended).
Kind of surprised that the Dodgers would consider Young as their full time 3rd baseman if they signed him. His defense at 3rd is suspicious at best and he doesn’t provide much power any more.
Best case scenario is that he’s the worst defensive 3b in the league.
Uribe has two really bad years and looks great in the final contract year. A little suspicious? His next employer might want to only give him a one year contract.
So he had a good year … Happens. To me wh at is a little suspicious is the fact that the Dodgers obviously don’t want him back.
Considering his slugging percentage was below .300 for two years before this past season, I’m not surprised the Dodgers don’t want to spin the Wheel of Uribe and see how he hits.
The Dodgers want him back, but Uribe is insisting on a 3 year deal. There is no way we are giving that to a player who only shows up on his last year of his contract. The Michael Young talks are coming up because we plan on moving forward without Uribe.
The thought of Michael Young playing third on a regular basis for the Dodgers is enough to make me physically sick. I think this is a maneuver by Ned to make the two year deal that Uribe signs with the Blue look really good compared to the other choices.
Or to get Uribe off the dime. Probably more that than anything.
Getting him on a one year deal is just completely unrealistic, given what he did last year and the market (especially for third basemen). Even if he doesn’t hit at all he’s valuable in that market. You only do that, by my way of thinking, if you either don’t really want him, or you suspect his production is about to fall off the table.
Uribe was injured for most of his first two seasons with the Dodgers. He played unhurt for all of 2013 and performed somewhat above his career numbers. I’d be more “suspicious” if he didn’t bounce back to career-level production playing unhurt. The Dodgers obviously do want him back, just not for another three years.
Young is a good player… but I’d take a shot at Youkalis
No, he really isn’t.
was*
Young will at least play 3B. Youk would play the 60 Day DL. He was one of my favorite players on the Sox, but he needs to go back to 1B.
Young can’t play third to save his life.
I think it is obvious that the 3base market has nearly dried up.
i wonder how much below replacement level he’ll get to this year, this is going to be awful
This would be an awesome signing!
Michael Young seems like a nice fellow, but the Dodgers must have noticed he really can’t play third. Or second. Or first….are anywhere adequately on defense.
mrsjohnmiltonrocks
If Uribe is really playing hardball, Young might be an option that can get them through until they can make a trade. It won’t be pretty, but he can go out there and try to stop balls from rolling past him.
Yes! Do It please!! I love MY
Why go for Young? I would much rather have Ellis at 2B, Rameriez at 3B and Guerrero at SS. Sign Ellis!
because that would be a terrible defensive infield
Not as bad as anything including MY.
oh but young at 3b and hanley at ss wouldn’t?
both would be horrible, no one is projecting Guerrero to be a decent fielder at SS, that plus an awful Hanley Ramirez there would be terrible as well
best case scenario they sign Uribe and live with mediocre offense and decent defense
How is MEllis – Guerrero – Ramirez worse than Guerrero – Ramirez – Uribe?
They’re arguably equal. In the former, you get elite defense at 2B and mediocre defense at SS and 3B. In the latter, you get elite defense at 3B and mediocre defense at 2B and SS.
Young, Guerrero and Hanley is mediocre defense all around, though.
There’s nothing mediocre about Young’s defense.
You’re right. Mediocre only means “not very good”. He’s much closer to awful.
Trade for Will Middlebrooks. In that lineup he would be a real threat. The Sox need to sign Drew and move Xander to 3 B.
I think that Middlebrooks will be traded, but the lack of suitable 3B options will make his price tag higher than it should be.
I’d prefer to just put CC, Kemp, Dre, and Puig out there, shift Hanley deep in the hole, and have Guerrero play directly atop the bag at 2nd.
Huh?
So if UBR pegged Young as costing his clubs 4.6 runs through baserunning, how many runs have Miggy or the fat prince cost? Wouldn’t want them either I guess?
Are you seriously comparing MY to Miggy?
No, just curious about this UBR stat…
Could have sworn I’d also mentioned his offensive and defensive contributions … ?
So what’s the net?
just below replacement, per Fangraphs; -1 WAR, per B-Ref
So Michael Young should pay the Dodgers roughly $6m to play for them.
So a team with all that talent & all that payroll may have to start Young at 3B? Yikes. He’s a decent backup at this point of his career but should not be starting any longer. They’d be better off moving HanRam to 3B & signing Drew on a 2yr deal to play SS.
They don’t want to give up the draft pick for a player like Drew.
LA’s window is right now. I hate to see that stop them from getting a player that makes them better right now instead of maybe a few years from now.
I would argue that LA’s window will be continuously open. At least, that’s what Kasten and team are trying to accomplish with their current strategies. Giving up a first-round pick for a non-impact player like Drew might be quite unwise when you could trade a couple low-impact prospects for a possible solution.
If the 3b market is really that dried up, it makes me wonder what the Mets can get for Murphy.
Or David Wright. Too soon?
The best third baseman still available as a free agent, certainly if Uribe is taken off the table, is Eric Chavez. Chavez, however is 36 and hasn’t been a full-time player (400 or more at bats) since 2006. Possibly Young and Chavez in some combination would work as Chavez can’t play everyday and Young shouldn’t.
That could make a decent platoon arrangement, but I wonder if the Dodgers are into platoon solutions.
Why not give Dee Gordon the chance?
Because he’s Dee Gordon.
they have multiple times. he was terrible every time
He’s still young though. I feel he can progress. Maybe I’m wrong
I’m not ready to throw in the towel on Gordon just yet, but given his age and lack of progress I think his best chance of sticking is to learn to play the outfield.
@ 3rd? He’s proven time & time again he’s not an infielder, that’s why he’s playing the outfield now.
Wouldn’t they be better by trading for Daniel Murphy?
On paper, probably, but they won’t want to give up much.
Pederson for Murphy straight up?
Not likely. They would not want to give up much, let alone their top position prospect.
I’m sure every fan overevaluates their prospects, but it seems that Dodgers fans REALLY overevaluate. The only prospects that I recall losing under Colletti that actually hurt was Santana, Edwin Jackson, and James McDonald. All were traded way under their value, but I’m a Dodger fan, so …
The attrition rate on prospects is really high. Jackson didn’t become an even serviceable pitcher for years after he was traded, and neither he or McDonald have ever been more than journeymen. But you’re right, to hear many fans say it, you’d think nearly every minor leaguer had future superstar on the back of his jersey.
See above!
What exactly is the plan for Pederson? There would seem to be a log jam in your OF.
The plan is get younger and controllable — but since Pederson is still in double-A, the decision is probably a year off. If he advances I can see the Dodgers trading one of their outfielders to make room for him. Ownership has said that they won’t trade top-level prospects for short term fixes.
Yeah like trading Carlos Santana for Casey Blake? Still bummed about that…
I’d be shocked if we saw a move like that under current ownership. They’d rather spend the money. Ironically the Blake trade was to plug the hole at third that the Dodgers haven’t been able to fill since they let Beltre go.
No I agree current ownership wouldn’t do that. I am still just bummed about that trade. Colletti gets me every time!
EDIT: Weren’t we using like Robin Ventura or something at 3B at the time before we traded for Blake? The Dodgers definitely needed the upgrade.
Probably Blake DeWitt. But every time? Did Colletti ever give up any prospect aside from Santana who amounted to much of anything?
Yeah that was a blunder
I wouldn’t expect the current owners to do a deal like that. They’d rather spend the money.
Murphy for Ethier (with the Dodgers eating a good portion of his salary) would be the most obvious trade. Pederson might be able to work if the Mets included a prospect as well.
No…but you could have Zach Lee.
As a Rangers fan, I will always love Michael Young, But at this stage, the Dodgers would be better off with a corpse at third base.
Please no… The Dodgers would have one of the worst left side of the infields in history with Ramirez at SS and Young at 3B. Bring back Uribe!
Kershaw and Greinke might offer to pay Uribe’s salary if Michael Young is the alternative.
If they are rolling the dice on someone, how about Youkilis?
Maybe Juan has some inside info on how to babysit Puig and he’s keeping Coletti hostage with it. 3 years! If Uribe outkicks his coverage here (he did back in 2009-10 offseason and ended back with the Giants for a sweet 3MM 1 year contract) I would love for the Giants to swoop back in. Chances are slim though. Is Coletti regretting letting all of his utility infielders go? Schumacher, Punto and… Ellis?
Hahahahaha, I hope they do so they’ll realize the mistake they’ve made. Young is not a good baseball player anymore.
I originally thought the Dodgers might go for Infante then sign Eric Chavez.
Oh geezzz I hope not.
He’s good enough to be a UT but starting? Really? You can do better LA.
I think to be considered a utility player you have to play average defense in at least two positions at a minimum. Michael Young can’t play average defense in any position.
You mean like Skip Schumaker?
eh. Skip Schumaker is slightly below average defensively at 2B and the OF, but I guess his ability to pitch scoreless innings in relief makes up for it.
That’s what I like about baseball. Still has a place for the generalist.
I wonder if the Dodgers would have interest in Daniel Murphy. 3B is his natural position, and he’s improved to the point where he’s passable at 2B as well. Joc Pederson would certainly look good as a Met.
I think Pederson is too much for Murphy alone, but perhaps if the Mets included a prospect as well, or a reliever. It really depends how high the Dodgers front office is on Pederson, though. They may insist on trading one of the veteran outfielders (with salary relief) instead.
Yeah Pederson would be a no-go but what about Andre Either? Or Zach Lee?
Nobody in the outfield will be traded at this point, and ownership has been clear, no top prospects for temporary fixes. So forget Lee.
Why would they sign adh who can’t hit to play third base?
Got to think this is just a ploy to push for a resolution with Uribe. I’d be very surprised if they saw Young as an everyday option.
Pretty sure the Dodgers will get Cano next year from the Mariners. The mariners will eat like 60mil off the contract.
No. Plus he has a no trade clause
Uribe had good D but other than that hr he hit in the NLDS he didn’t do much before that.