No rush
More from the GM meetings. Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports reports that since Scott Boras has made it very clear that Manny Ramirez isn't signing anywhere anytime soon, Ned Colletti and Co. will go about the business of filling other holes first:
"Boras considers Ramirez a rare 'iconic' player, like Alex Rodriguez or Barry Bonds, someone whose ability to produce revenue transcends his playing ability. But since Boras will be delivering that spiel to every team with a decent-sized payroll, the Dodgers know there is no hurry.
"So, they can re-sign Furcal, as it appears Colletti will do early on. Sign a reliever. Exercise the option on malcontent Brad Penny’s contract for 2009, then trade him for a third baseman, enabling Blake DeWitt to make a permanent move to second. Or decline Penny’s option and try to re-sign Derek Lowe or bring in Ben Sheets for two years.
"The Dodgers could even make a play for Jake Peavy, who the San Diego Padres are shopping to a handful of NL teams, including the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers would be long shots because the Padres are loathe to help their intra-divisional neighbors to the north. It would take Clayton Kershaw or Jonathan Broxton, plus DeWitt and Ethier, just to pique the Padres’ interest.
"Trading within their division is difficult, Colletti said, because 'You are going to see that player play a lot, so you want to be sure you win the deal, so to speak, in order to do something.'
"That wouldn’t be the case with Ramirez. As Boras is apt to say, it’s win-win. The Dodgers can address their other needs, then take a breath and refocus on Ramirez at the winter meetings in December. He’ll probably still be available.
" 'You can’t let one player stand in the way of other things you want to do,' Colletti said. 'One guy can’t hold up other needs unless it’s a very unique situation.' "
BK
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"Exercise the option on malcontent Brad Penny’s contract for 2009, then trade him for a third baseman"
That would be a very expensive mistake. Penny has nearly no trade value right now, in my opinion.
Posted by: DBrim | November 04, 2008 at 03:28 PM
I agree -- they're not going to get much in return for Penny. Also, I'd be leery of taking any sort of chance on Ben Sheets.
Posted by: Eric B. | November 04, 2008 at 03:56 PM
"Trade for a third baseman???"
Hmmmmmm...I wonder what it would take to get Dallas McPherson away from the Marlins and back into SoCal?
http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/teams/players/bio/?id=3211&hubname=mlb-marlins
Posted by: DodgerBlueBalls | November 04, 2008 at 06:50 PM
1. Dodgers should fire Conte for his share of the Schmidt fiasco. He was his trainer, he had to know the arm was bad.
2. Keep Penny. Cheap at 9 mil since you would have to pay 2 mil to get rid of him. If he is unhappy, he will not block a trade. If not, we keep him around for a closer with a 97 MPH fastball. Saito is probably done or close to it. He isn't going to handle the pounding a closer takes.
3. More than 4 years for Manny? Scary, very scary. With AL teams in the bidding, it might be a lost cause.
4. Sign CC. Lock that sucker in to the best rotation in the game. Pads will want too much out of the Dodgers for Peavy unless Ned does a sneaky 3 team deal.
5. Keep DeWitt (or Hu) at 2B and get a power hitter at 3B. Blake is NOT a power hitter but that guy playing 3B for the Angels is. Sign him.
6. Don't give away any kids unless we get a Tex or Holiday level player in return. Martin would be the best bait for the least impact to the team. The others have more power potential than he does. Sign Varitek and a backup for below market money.
Posted by: Jack in DC | November 05, 2008 at 07:03 AM
1. Dodgers should fire Conte for his share of the Schmidt fiasco. He was his trainer, he had to know the arm was bad.
2. Keep Penny. Cheap at 9 mil since you would have to pay 2 mil to get rid of him. If he is unhappy, he will not block a trade. If not, we keep him around for a closer with a 97 MPH fastball. Saito is probably done or close to it. He isn't going to handle the pounding a closer takes.
3. More than 4 years for Manny? Scary, very scary. With AL teams in the bidding, it might be a lost cause.
4. Sign CC. Lock that sucker in to the best rotation in the game. Pads will want too much out of the Dodgers for Peavy unless Ned does a sneaky 3 team deal.
5. Keep DeWitt (or Hu) at 2B and get a power hitter at 3B. Blake is NOT a power hitter but that guy playing 3B for the Angels is. Sign him.
6. Don't give away any kids unless we get a Tex or Holiday level player in return. Martin would be the best bait for the least impact to the team. The others have more power potential than he does. Sign Varitek and a backup for below market money.
Posted by: Jack in DC | November 05, 2008 at 07:03 AM
Did any of you guys hear the rumor about Martin being available and the dodgers looking at Varitek? I think that is a dumb move, move Martin to 3B and then bring up some of our young C's from AAA. There is nobody out there in the infield that can really be a good FA signing this year. Martin would play more often and have less of a toll on his body. The other optioni is to finally let TIFFEE get a shot at the bigs...
My suggested lineup:
1B Loney
2B DeWitt
SS Fural
3B Martin or TIFFEE
LF ManRam
CF Kemp
RF Ethier
4th OF REPKO
C Ardoin with Martin backing up
Posted by: poppinfresh | November 05, 2008 at 07:43 AM
Colletti "claims" the Martin rumors are untrue, however I remember a few months back the question of Martin wanting to stay in LA had not been resolved. I knew it was only a matter of time before it crept up again.
I hope he does stay, he is a much younger version of Tek, why pay for the older model when you have the new and improved version...besides Russell gets along better with Manny.
I still say you have to push hard to get Peavy and Manny...if not CC and Holliday (while keeping the core of Bills, Kemp, Loney, Martin, Kershaw intact) It's not impossible,or wishful thinking... it can be done. I just hope Ned has the guts to get it done.
Doesn't Frank see that all we need is a winner, construct the championship team and we will show up and support the team. Hell, some of us are even crazy enough to hit spring training again...!
Posted by: Jesse from SC | November 05, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Rafael Furcal's agent is high on crack if he thinks any team is going to give him four years at any price. The guy hasn't been healthy for an entire season since 2005. I love him when he's right, but he's never right.
If Furcal won't take a 1 or 2-year deal laden with incentives, then the Dodgers need to look elsewhere. My first choice would be Edgar Renteria. He had a down year with the Tigers last year, but he's a career .290 hitter who gives you 10 homers and 70 RBIs and a .347 OBP. He's not a leadoff hitter, but he's decent glove. And he's only 33. And he loves hitting in the NL. His two lowest hitting years in the last seven have been with Boston and Detroit. Take those numbers out and he's more like a .300 avg/.370 obp guy.
Posted by: SaMo | November 05, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Any idea on Dodgers interest in Beimel? i see him as someone that must come back. could be closer? or kept as an awesome option for relief. I haven't heard much about his or the Dodgers interest in returning. i also think that Penny for 9 million is a good deal, and i believe he still has trade value if they tried to trade him. after reading the article i fear the idea of Sheets, an oft injured player, sounds like the Dodgers kinda guy. hopefully they go for the other Brewers Pitcher, CC.
Posted by: gillbert | November 05, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Gillbert,
Were I a betting man (well, I actually am, but to use a popular phrase), I'd put down money on Beimel coming back. From the impression I get, he'd like to return back and I'm guessing the Dodgers would prefer to keep him, unless the money is absurd (which I doubt it will be).
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | November 05, 2008 at 10:57 AM
I expect the Dodgers will get more out of James McDonald, at a lower price, than anyone will get out of Brad Penny.
Posted by: WBB | November 05, 2008 at 04:56 PM
trading any young pitcher for Peavy would be a mistake. Also trading Either or even Dewitt, you would need to replace him(them) with a bat in the farm system, most of which we traded away. I wouldn't mind Peavy on the squad, but think his price is too high, and worry about him away from PetCo.
I like the idea of giving Adroin/AJ Ellis more at bats and playing Martin at 3B, but Martin would have to endorse that(and give up a lot of control he has in the game) and we would have to have another 3B that would be effective with long days rest. Tiffee would be interesting, but at the same time. How many players really do well not starting every day.
Posted by: SteelMohawk | November 06, 2008 at 06:53 AM
I think in the back of my mind that the decision to let Penny go signals that they are going to go hard at CC. Right now their rotation is basically Bills, Kershaw, Kuroda, Schmidt (hopefully) and McDonald. Hardly the pitching staff you want to try to compete with Webb/Haren, Lincecum/Cain or Peavy/Young (if the Padres keep Peavy). Even with Manny, their pitching isn't where they need it to be. They need to go hard for Sabathia, and then pick up another veteran, like Randy Johnson. That would give them two left handers and they aren't relying on Schmidt to be healthy and productive.
As for Boras and his iconic statements about Manny, my guess is if he can get the Dodgers to 3 years guaranteed, there's a solid chance Manny stays. I don't see anybody giving Manny a 6 year deal. As for comparing his situation, A-Rod is younger and Bonds was an established icon in SF, pursuing a huge record. Manny is neither an icon in LA nor poised to pass Bonds record.
But remember, Boras' job is to put his best foot forward. If he's intelligent then he clearly can't believe the great things he's saying about Oliver Perez or think that Varitek is really worth $13 million per year.
Posted by: neoncactus | November 06, 2008 at 07:18 AM