I really don't want to trade Kemp at all, even if the package back was really good. It would take something spectacular for me to get behind a Kemp trade.
He got his ring. Now he's getting his money. Plus, he'll be out of Miami ina while with how Loria runs his team.
The first part of the plan was to significantly improve the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately, to turn them into a contender immediately, to the alter perception of them immediately. Cost be damned. These were the first broad strokes, because the Dodgers' new ownership was thinking big picture, and assumed that inefficiencies along the way would be overwhelmed by the forthcoming television contract and an overwhelming response of fans. So in the first 19 months since Frank McCourt was bought out, the Dodgers saw their attendance increase by more than 25 percent in one year, their season-ticket sales rocket upward, and they had a shot at winning their first World Series since 1988. Some of L.A.'s deal-making for expensive veteran players has confused an industry of value-counters who loathe the idea of an overpay, but the perspective of the Dodgers' ownership has been: Why worry about millions when there are billions in potential at stake? Now the Dodgers can work in earnest on the finer points, on rebuilding their farm system, on using the massive stack of chips to create a deep, well-designed roster -- a younger roster. This is part of the reason why the Dodgers have indicated a willingness to absorb some salary in order to move Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp. This is not about a salary dump, or about the discomfort of having four front-line outfielders -- Ethier, Kemp, Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig -- for three spots. This will be about dangling players who might fetch some decent prospect return, depending on how much money the Dodgers eat, and have pieces that fit together better. The Dodgers will probably have a better chance of moving Ethier than Kemp, given the injuries that Kemp has sustained in recent seasons, to his left shoulder and ankle. Kemp hasn't started running yet in the wake of his latest injury, but they believe there is a better than 50-50 shot he'll be able to do so by the start of spring training. But while Kemp was limited to 73 games last season, Ethier played in 142, posting a .783 OPS while accumulating 47 extra-base hits. Ethier has played his home games in the thick night layer that helps to turn Dodger Stadium into a really good pitcher's park, and interested teams will consider this number: Last year, Ethier hit .311 in road games, with an .885 OPS. He has been a good player, and in a market in which Jacoby Ellsbury will command $100 million (or more), and Shin-Soo Choo seeks something close to that, Ethier could be more attractive, if the Dodgers eat some of the $69 million he is owed and turn him into a $10 million-$13 million a year player. The Dodgers will seriously consider moving either Ethier or Kemp, if they can get younger and improve their roster, and a trade of Ethier or Kemp will allow them to push prospect Joc Pederson, who is a pure center fielder, something that neither Ethier nor Kemp probably is now at this stage in their respective careers.
One thing about that last paragraph, not sold Peterson is a "pure center fielder". I mean, I think he can play there now for the time being but he's more of a corner guy (which puts more pressure on the bat).
Yeah, I just don't think they pull the trigger on Matt just yet...not ready to accept that at all. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors though? They've made some jaw-dropping moves in the past-guys I never thought would go. Puig has lots of talent , sure, and Kemp's no Stephen Hawking out there himself, but as a "replacement" for Kemp doesn't sound as smart as "playing alongside Kemp". I also feel, even though it was excrucitaing to watch Kemp and his really stupid injury frenzy last season, to label him injury prone. Shit, he was the MLB "Iron Man" not too long ago. Being the ultimate pessimist, it all of a sudden feels we are in a bit of trouble in quite a few spots...and who do we want from the RS again for Matt? And if we need to trade a guy away that was a short time ago a franchise player to pay a franchise pitcher, maybe we should have thought twice about guys like Beckett and Crawford and their huge price tags....and also all of a sudden, it seems, we are penny wise and pound foolish? Strange days, indeed...
I just think there ia a huge caveat threaded in and out of all this talk. A "front line player" is one that gets out there every day and plays...not one that spends half the year on the DL, on and off, and has a history of it.
Even if/when Wilson returns, the club still needs a veteran left-handed reliever to pair with Paco Rodriguez. J.P. Howell filled that role in 2013, but he's looking for a three-year deal and the Dodgers aren't eager to hand out another one of those after giving Brandon League a three-year deal last winter. #lamesauce
Royals, Rays, Dodgers Interested In Mark Ellis By Steve Adams [December 4 at 10:15am CST] The Royals, Rays and Dodgers are all interested in second baseman Mark Ellis, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Rosenthal goes on to opine that at the moment, Ellis isn't a great fit for the Rays -- a point with which I agree. Ben Zobrist figures to play second base regularly in 2014 given the outfield of Wil Myers, Desmond Jennings, David DeJesus and Matt Joyce as well as the presence of Yunel Escobar at shortstop. The Dodgers turned down a $5.75MM club option on Ellis earlier in the offseason, but he could make sense for them as an insurance policy in the event that Cuban signee Alexander Guerrero isn't ready to take the reins as the team's everyday second baseman right out of Spring Training. The 36-year-old Ellis slashed .270/.323/.351 for the Dodgers in 2013 and played strong defense at second base, as he's done throughout his career. Ellis' slash line isn't particularly strong (it translated to a wRC+ and an OPS+ of 92), but even repeating those somewhat pedestrian numbers would be a marked improvement for the Royals. Kansas City's second basemen combined to bat just .240/.296/.306 as a collective unit in 2013. Emilio Bonifacio projects as their current starter, and while he was solid for Kansas City after coming over from Toronto, he's been an inconsistent performer throughout his career. __
Completely agree about retaining Kemp long enough to let him heal. To do otherwise is just wrong. He played 4 seasons at 150+ games and then has had two back to back injury seasons, this last one is pretty serious. Maybe he does need to become an AL DH instead "if" he can no longer run... but that day isn't here yet. Let him heal. Agreed that we have quite a few spots that could stand an upgrade in order to be considered a " + " position. 2B, 3B and C are fine starting points. I think the article explained away the penny wise pound foolish aspect but your point remains strong. They took a flyer on a package deal for immediate impact talent... and mostly to get Gonzo... that part is OK... but while Carl's bat is fine his girl arm is a huge liability. And Beckett hasn't shown himself to be worth a warm 6 pack yet.
eh, 3 yrs is too long imo as well. especially when they're assuming that Onelki is close. Onelki and Paco could be dynamite together for years to come. i'd give JP 2yrs, but only because i like the guy and he's a good locker room guy with experience. by 2015, Onelki should be our lefty/power guy, but just in case he's not...JP is pretty reliable
Thanks for the research. So I'm part black then? I wonder if I could start dating one of the Kardasians now? Is there any of 'em that like old, poor, maybe partially black guys? This reminds me of the "SeeCillLIAN" scene with Dennis Hopper talking to Christopher Walken in the film when he played Christian Slater's father. Quite honestly, I grew up in a city right across the river (in NJ)from Manhattan. Next to Hoboken. And going back, the biggest gang in town was the "Golden Guineas"...then it was Irish/Italian wars... and everybody said "guinea". Who knew?
Sources: Dodgers amongst possible destinations for Rays' David Price By Jeff Passan | Yahoo Sports -- 14 hours agoThe David Price sweepstakes is expected to heat up later this week, multiple executives with interest in the left-handed ace told Yahoo Sports, as the Tampa Bay Rays begin to survey the market for the former Cy Young winner and consider whether to trade him. The Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays are among the teams that not only have an interest in Price but believe they can put together the sort of package to pry Price from the Rays, sources said. The 28-year-old Price immediately would be the most sought-after name on the trade market, and teams expect him to net a far bigger package than the Wil Myers-headlined deal Tampa Bay received from Kansas City last season. Despite the potential for $30 million in salary over the next two seasons before he hits free agency after 2015, Price is a rare commodity – an available ace – that is drawing interest accordingly. A number of baseball officials believe the Mariners are a strong candidate to acquire Price, especially if they land free-agent second baseman Robinson Cano. The Mariners have considered including 21-year-old right-hander Taijuan Walker as part of a deal for Price, sources told Yahoo Sports, knowing he represents the sort of frontline player the Rays would seek in such a trade. Packaging him along with a young middle infielder (Nick Franklin or Brad Miller) and other prospects would constitute a difficult-to-top offer – and give the Mariners a rotation of Price, Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, the best 1-2-3 in the major leagues. On Wednesday, as speculation about the Mariners' interest in Cano grew, general manager Jack Zduriencik told Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune: "Always have felt there would be a time where we have to augment this club. I think we're at that time." Rival officials told Yahoo Sports the Rays aren't necessarily inclined to go strictly for a package of young players, either. Were a team to offer an established major league player with a team-friendly contract as the headliner, the Rays have indicated they would consider that sort of a deal as well. Executives concede Tampa Bay is dealing from a strong position with Price. The Rays certainly don't need to trade him – they're coming off their fourth playoff appearance in six years and have room in their budget for him this season – but also understand they're likelier to extract more value by dealing him with two full years. Should they compete as expected, trading him in July would be difficult to fathom even for the Rays, one of the most creative teams in the game. Because they have few apparent weaknesses, Tampa Bay is expected to enter negotiations without targeting a specific position, though officials believe they'll want at least one major league-ready pitcher to join a rotation with Alex Cobb, Matt Moore, Chris Archer and Jeremy Hellickson. In six seasons, Price is 71-39 with a 3.19 ERA in 973 innings. He has struck out 876, walked 286, led the American League in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 5.59 last season and won the 2012 AL Cy Young. __
I know I'm not alone here when I think trading Kemp is lunacy. When healthy, which is the big caveat, he's the best hitting CF in the game. I'd say better than McCutchen who is an absolute stud. Why on earth would we be looking to trade him unless they know something we don't. Maybe his injuries are worse than we know, maybe he really fucked something up and they've hidden it. He's a fan favorite and the premiere CF in baseball when 100%, or am I way off base?
don't necessarily disagree with you wasn't all that long ago he was an mvp (candidate), threatening 40-40 and a triple crown hate to trade that type of talent away like you alluded -- unless there's something we're not privy to -- you almost have to give him a chance to come back strong, right? __
