Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dodgers Rumors

Poll: How Will The Dodgers Finish?

By | at

The Dodgers’ new ownership group has made it clear that they are committed to winning once again in Los Angeles and they spared no expense prior to the trade deadline to try and make that happen.  Inside of a week, General Manager Ned Colletti was given the greenlight to acquire shortstop Hanley Ramirez, outfielder Shane Victorino, and right-hander Brandon League.  The Dodgers’ deadline potentially could have been even more wallet-busting had the Phillies agreed to part with Cliff Lee and the roughly $95MM owed to him through the rest of his contract.

Since acquiring Ramirez in late July and putting him into action on the 25th, the Dodgers are 7-7 in 14 games.  The enigmatic star is now making his homecoming tonight in Miami as the Dodgers sport a 60-52 record.  Los Angeles sits just one game behind the Giants for first place in the NL West and 3.5 games back of the Pirates for the second wild card slot.

Will their recent offensive infusion help them get over the hump and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009?  For the Dodgers to wind up below the .500 mark, they’d have to finish 20-30 or worse.  To win 90 games, they’d have to go 30-20.  There are 50 games remaining, how do you see it playing out?

How Will The Dodgers' Season Unfold?
Playoff berth 63.18% (7,206 votes)
Above .500 30.73% (3,505 votes)
Below .500 6.09% (694 votes)
Total Votes: 11,405

Outrighted To Triple-A: Conrad, Kelly, Gwynn

By | at

The latest outright assignments…

Bobby Abreu Clears Waivers

By | at

2:45pm: Abreu has accepted the Triple-A assignment, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).

10:36am: Bobby Abreu has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). The outfielder must decide by this afternoon whether to accept the minor league assignment, and he is leaning toward accepting it, Crasnick writes.

Though Abreu's power has disappeared, he continues to get on base at an above-average rate. The 38-year-old has posted a .246/.347/.340 batting line in 236 total plate appearances for the Angels and Dodgers this year. The 17-year MLB veteran earns a $9MM salary, but any team could sign him for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum if he elects free agency instead of accepting the minor league assignment.

Quick Hits: Oswalt, Bourn, Hendry, Bay Area

By | at

The Indians snapped an 11-game losing streak today with a 6-2 victory over the Twins.  The 11-game skid matched a franchise record, set four times previously in Tribe history.  Avoiding a new futility record is of small consolation to the Indians, who were in wild card contention before their streak and now can only look ahead to 2013.

Here's the latest from around the majors….

  • The Red Sox scouted Roy Oswalt and expressed interest in him earlier this season but they never made an offer, the veteran right-hander tells Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.  Oswalt also said that he didn't insist to pitch for a team close to his home in Mississippi, noting that he was "pretty close" to signing with the Dodgers before finally settling on a contract with the Rangers.
  • Michael Bourn "strikes out a lot and doesn't have a great on-base percentage.  He's going to be 30 years old, and guys his age do not get faster. I'd be careful," a scout tells Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The Phillies have been rumored to be interested in signing Bourn as a free agent this winter, with the Nationals and Braves also in the mix for the center fielder.
  • Former Cubs GM Jim Hendry has embraced being a special-assignment scout for the Yankees, writes Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal.  Brian Cashman said that Hendry played key roles in the signing of first-round draft pick Ty Hensley and in the team's recent trade for Casey McGehee.
  • The dispute between the Athletics and the Giants over San Jose territorial rights "might be the most difficult decision in baseball history because of the circumstances," an MLB executive tells Yahoo Sports' Steve Henson.  The executive says there is some belief that the Giants could break protocol and sue the league if the A's are allowed to move.
  • Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres thinks the Padres made a good move in extending Carlos Quentin and Huston Street, though wonders if either player can "stay healthy in a heated pennant race."

NL West Links: Uribe, Melky, Fowler, Padres

By | at

Here's the latest from the NL West…

  • Juan Uribe's time with the Dodgers could be nearing an end, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, as the team will need to open a roster spot with Adam Kennedy due back from the DL this week.  Uribe has just a .553 OPS in 459 plate appearances since signing a three-year, $21MM free agent contract before the 2011 season.  The Dodgers would have to eat the approximately $10.3MM left on Uribe's deal but Hernandez notes this would hardly be a burden to the club's free-spending new owners.
  • Melky Cabrera told reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he hadn't heard anything from his agent Sam Levinson about tabling extension talks with the Giants until after the season.  Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area tweets that the two sides "had conceptual talks" about a new contract, so as Schulman speculated, it's possible the discussions never got serious enough for Levinson to bring anything solid to his client.
  • Dexter Fowler has played well enough to earn a contract extension, though Troy Renck of the Denver Post thinks the Rockies should wait until midway through next season to explore such a deal just to ensure that Fowler is for real.  Fowler is still under team control through the 2015 season and eligible for arbitration three more times as a Super Two player.  Fowler is earning $2.35MM this season.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune outlines a few ways that the Padres' prospective new owners can quickly win the favor of San Diego fans.

Heyman On Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox

By | at

Ned Colletti says the Dodgers’ new ownership group has encouraged bold midseason deals, even if the moves require cash, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Though the Dodgers have no intention of being reckless, they won’t hesitate to make moves that improve their roster, as evidenced by their flurry of midseason additions and waiver claim on well-compensated left-hander Cliff Lee. Here are some highlights from Heyman’s article:

  • Though player salaries matter to any GM, they are not the most important variable in Los Angeles. "We're back to thinking about players in a baseball context," Colletti said. "Salary is part of the checklist. But it's not necessarily an obstacle."
  • The Dodgers attempted to trade for Lee after claiming him, making the Phillies multiple offers before being shut down quickly. The Phillies would only have considered trades if they got significant MLB players in return, plus complete salary relief.
  • Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says he intends to build around Lee, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. "We feel like we have a better chance of being a championship club with those three guys at the top of the rotation," Amaro said.
  • The Dodgers inquired on Adrian Gonzalez, but "it takes two to make a deal," one Red Sox person told Heyman.

West Notes: Oswalt, Giants, Overbay, Dodgers

By | at

Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt was reportedly unhappy about being relegated to the Texas bullpen, leading Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and others to suggest that the veteran put his concerns aside for the sake of the team.  Morosi stopped short of saying that the Rangers should part ways with the veteran, but that notion has undoubtedly crossed the minds of fans who have watched Oswalt struggle this far with his new club.  Here’s more out on Oswalt and some items out of the NL West as well..

  • Oswalt and Rangers manager Ron Washington met Tuesday and both seemed satisfied that the right-hander is ready to help the bullpen in any way possible, writes Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com.  The soon-to-be 35-year-old has also said that he never requested a trade from the club during any point of their disagreement.
  • The Giants have looked into signing first baseman Lyle Overbay, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).  However, the Giants would like the first baseman to get some work at Triple-A Fresno first and so far he is not eager to do that.  Overbay was released by the D’Backs yesterday and Reds GM Walt Jocketty says that he isn’t interested in his services.
  • The new Dodgers ownership has made it clear that they are willing to spend big in order to win, and this may just be the tip of the iceberg, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Heyman adds that the Dodgers were not only willing to eat the remainder of Cliff Lee’s sizable contract but offered players in exchange for him as well.

Pitching Notes: Blue Jays, Lee, Garza, Oswalt

By | at

The Blue Jays announced that right-handers Drew Hutchison (Tommy John surgery) and Dustin McGowan (arthroscopic shoulder surgery) will undergo operations on Thursday. Hutchison is expected to return within a year or so, but no timetable is listed for McGowan, who had previous shoulder surgeries in 2008 and 2010. Here are some more notes pertaining to MLB pitchers…

Dodgers Designate Tony Gwynn Jr. For Assignment

By | at

The Dodgers announced that they designated outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. for assignment. Los Angeles recalled outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands from Triple-A in a related move.

Gwynn, 29, hit .232/.276/.293 in 277 plate appearances this season while missing some time with a shoulder contusion. He saw lots of action in center field while Matt Kemp was on the DL and is considered to be a strong defender in all three outfield spots by the various advanced metrics. Gwynn is in the first year of a two-year, $2MM contract.

NL West Notes: Lee, Dodgers, Rockies

By | at

Cliff Lee will remain a Phillie as the window on the Dodgers' waiver claim closed today. Lee responded by allowing three home runs in a no-decision against the Diamondbacks this afternoon. When asked by Zach Links yesterday, 68% of MLBTR readers thought the Phillies should have let Lee go. But, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com outlines two scenarios explaining why the Phillies held onto Lee. In other news involving teams from the NL West:

  • The Dodgers have been busy wheeling and dealing the past week turning over 20% of their roster with their recent trade acquisitions. Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times writes about how the Dodgers are being forced to mesh and develop its own chemistry in the season’s final two months while battling for a playoff spot.
  • The Rockies rearranged the duties of General Manager Dan O'Dowd and Assistant GM Bill Geivett this past week, but the Denver Post's Troy Renck believes the switch seems convoluted unless it leads to a major overhaul in personnel, especially in the drafting and development of better starting pitching.
  • The Rockies placed struggling left-hander Jonathan Sanchez on the 15-day disabled list with left bicep tendinitis. Sanchez was acquired from the Royals for Jeremy Guthrie last month, but Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area tweets the real get for Colorado was salary relief to the tune of $1.1MM. 
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top