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Dodgers And Giants Could Find Common Ground On Andre Ethier Trade

Andre Ethier

Andrew Friedman and the new front office have enjoyed making trades, and plenty of them.



In fact, they’ve already made a mind-boggling 13 trades this offseason, including three with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (first time since 1976) and three with other NL West rivals. The only NL West team the Dodgers have yet to make a deal with is San Francisco, but one Giants columnist hopes that changes soon.

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle believes the Giants should take a chance on Ethier after missing out on Ben Zobrist, and here is his reasoning:

Ethier is 32, a year younger than Zobrist, but is coming off his worst season, hitting .249 with four homers. That was as a part-timer as the Dodgers tried to squeeze four or five outfielders into three spots. If the Dodgers deal Ethier, they might need to pick up most of his remaining contract, which averages $18 million per year over three years.

Ethier has stated numerous times that he wants to be a starter, but it’s clear he won’t have that opportunity with the Dodgers. His best chance of getting some playing time in Los Angeles would be a platoon role with Scott Van Slyke, and that’s only if an injury or trade occurs with Carl Crawford.

With Michael Morse signing in Miami, the Giants have a definite need for an everyday left fielder, and they conceivably could take a chance on Ethier. Earlier this offseason, the Seattle Mariners were rumored to be a possible destination for Ethier, but they ended up adding Seth Smith and Justin Ruggiano instead. The Baltimore Orioles still have a need for another outfielder, but all signs point to them eventually signing Colby Rasmus.

There was also the failed attempt to ship Ethier back to his home state of Arizona in a deal that would’ve sent Miguel Montero to the Dodgers.

As Shea stated, the Dodgers would have to pick up a large chunk of Ethier’s remaining contract. It’s unknown what the Giants would give up for him, but based on pure speculation, it would probably be a “lottery ticket” prospect, rather than a top prospect such as Kyle Crick or Tyler Beede.

It is worth noting that the Dodgers and Giants have only traded with each other three times since 1958, but that is certainly irrelevant now as Friedman has shown a willingness to trade with anyone.

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38 Comments

    1. For what? The guy was worthless last year…he is dead weight, but don’t trade him to SF

      1. Which is it, Mike? Is he “dead weight” or does he carry enough to come back to beat us?

        1. Time to shed more weight. We need to get what we can for him. We should have a deep enough bench to make up for it.

      2. He’s a career .285 hitter with a .359 obp who can play all three outfield positions. He had a lousy 2014, partly because he was jerked around, so it would be a sell low move to trade him now. With Crawford’s brittle bones and Pederson’s lack of experience, I think his value as a Dodger would be greater than the value the Dodgers could receive for him. It wasn’t too long ago he and Kemp were the middle of the Dodgers order.

        1. Which means nothing…his production has decreased every year for the last 3 years, and he was not jerked around….he was on in the starting lineup most of the first 50 games and did not produce. Kemp found his stroke, Van Slyke was playing better than anyone except Puig. And he has had a drastic power fall off…..

          1. Couldn’t agree more! Can’t expect him to be the guy from 08′ through 11′ but he’s a platoon guy at best now and just makes too much to have around. Trade em’ to the Giants or Orioles or some team on the moon! Just trade em’!

        2. Bad 2013 as well and was not being Jerked around. He played in 149 games and, had 618 plate apperances.

  1. Now that makes sense…….pay Matt Kemp and Ethier to beat you…..I would not put it past them

  2. I wouldn’t put anything past friedman. I can’t wai t until he trades Kershaw for level A prospect with a 22.00 era and a mcdonalds gift card

    1. Lame. This guy has proven he’s not a idiot. I’m not saying he’ll never trade Kershaw, but it won’t be for a bag of balls.

      I hate losing Kemp, but I’m excited with the moves overall. Finally making decisions that aren’t based on money.

      1. Might be….but he has not made a single move that is excitable, Grandal? please the guy is a slug……Kendrick is probably the only move that has made any sense….2 young pitchers, for a guy who is 40? This team is in no way better than last years team. McCarthy is not a lock, and neither is Anderson/..

        1. This team is MUCH, MUCH better defensively than they were last year. The offense is questionable, I’ll give you that. But if you can’t see the gains made on defense, then I can’t help ya.

          1. Defense is better…..but that is if you get 140 plus games out of Uribe, (asking a lot there) Pedersen wins the CF job, asking a lot there too, and J Roll hasn’t lost too much range…..2nd will be better because Kendrick is superior to Gordon defensively and offensively, But there are a lot of IF’s on this team….Uribe on DL for any length of time, and the defense is what it was last year…..

          2. Oh come on, you are telling me Uribe is the key to our defense?? I like his glove, but how is our defense the same if he doesn’t play? The entire middle of our defense has been upgraded like you mentioned, including Grandal at catcher. If Uribe misses time, Turner will fill in. He’s a downgrade, but that doesn’t make the rest of our defense any worse. It is still very much of an upgrade.

            If Pedersen doesn’t win the job, Puig is back in center and either Van Slyke or Ethier is in right, both of which are better defenders than Kemp. So I don’t see where your argument makes much sense.

          3. I didn’t say that and you did not read what I wrote….I said 3 things have to click, Uribe, Rollins and Pedersen….and if you think Van Slyke is an upgrade over Kemp, you are sadly mistaken….Kemp lost some speed, but he still only made 7 errors in 144 games and only 3 after he moved to right…Ethier is not that great a CF…He played there, but I saw him not get to a lot of balls., Putting Puig in CF is moronic because his arm is much more valuable in right…Turner was ok, but he is not the kind of guy to play everyday…never has in his entire career….Rollins is going to be 37…his backup will be Turner and Darwin Barney…and how come it is everybody forgets they have Heisey? Who is a far superior CF to Puig, Ethier, and SVS…you are also assuming Ethier will still be a Dodger….Grandal is lousy at blocking pitches in the dirt, and I am not sure he has that great an arm….The defense on PAPER looks better….but until all these things come together in an actual game….they are all question marks……My argument makes as much sense as assuming all these parts are going to jell…talk to me after spring training..when we see what the starting lineup is going to look like and who if anyone is dealt or cut by then…How about Guererro who has to be kept on the 25 man, or released? He is a guy with no position…..and a lousy glove,…there are more questions in my mind than answers at this point……

          4. I fail to understand how Turner is a downgrade with the way he played last year. Can someone please explain to me why most think he is a downgrade? I honestly want to know. To me he did great things every time he got the opportunity to play a position from what I was able to watch. Thanks for nothing TWC and Dodgers owners.

          5. Every team has “if’s”, Giantkiller000 hit the nail on the head, the D is remarkably better, that’ll save runs, the pen is deeper also. This team may just have the chemistry and grit to not just settle for the play-offs. And come on, your calling Grandal a slug? He’s 26,27. AJ is 33. Barring injury, he’ll out perform AJ hands down.

          6. Grandal is younger has more power and according to what I have read is a great pitch framer……ok that’s the plus side. and his OBP is good…..He is terrible at blocking pitches in the dirt, his BA was a robust .227, he pops out a lot, is not that great at throwing runners out, and he was suspended for using PED’s…. And I have read nothing quoting his great game calling skills…..Look, I understand that he will probably get 5 starts to 2 for AJ. That’s fine, AJ is older, and had injury issues last year….but Grandal is going to have to hit a lot more than .227 and hit 15 HR’s to be worth Matt Kemp…

          7. Good sir, we’ve had this conversation before. It’s obvious you’d take AJ over Grandal. I happen to think Grandal will surprise you with what he can offer. Pitch framing/slugging/OBP/youth. Also moving Kemp was about clearing salary, taking a resource and turning it into acquiring a need. And honestly we needed a new starting catcher.

    2. That was a good one!
      I was especially upset not only the Matt Kemp trade, but we traded Dee Gordon away which was a terrible move in my opinion

      1. I loved Matt too! But he’s making too much $$$ and his body is already braking down. The Pads will be wise to move him to an AL club in 2yrs. Can’t expect a big dude like that to run all over Petco for too long before he breaks. Big fan of Dee also but is was smart to sell high on him. Kendrick is better all around, expect for speed. Besides, Dee doesn’t get on base quite enough to truly utilize that speed. Good dude though, I’ll miss em’

        1. Hey Sam
          I guess I am too sentimental. I always liked Matt as a player and I guess he is breaking down a bit. That bone head play injuring himself by not hustling didn’t help matters much in the grand scheme of things.
          Actually I was more “shocked” by the Dee Gordon move than anything else as I thought he was a great player that caused a lot of havoc on the base paths when he got on.
          I’m just nervous about all of these moves and after our starting 1-3 pitchers, I am REALLY concerned with our 3 and 4 rotation spots. I thought Dan Haren did a pretty darn good job overall.
          I guess we will just have to wait and see.
          Aloha
          Dave

          1. Good morning David
            Love to chat, especially Dodgers of course. I totally understand being sentimentally attached to Kemp & Gordon and I too hate to see them go and let’s be honest, that’s what baseball is all about. With this new front office, obviously they didn’t draft them, so I imagine it’s easier to ship em’ out. That being said, come opening day when Kemp comes to the plate to step in against Kershaw, I hope the fans applaud Kemp like they never have before, same goes for Gordon. I have to admit, I’m a fan of change, especially if what we got isn’t getting us in the WS yr after yr. I feel the team has lacked chemistry & grit & desire. Not to say the 2015 team will have all those things but I feel it was time to shake things up everywhere. When it comes to the rotation, 1-3 we’re as good as anyone. 4-5, I’m on the fence a bit. Like Mccarthy but he’s got injury history. Same goes for Anderson. We’ll just have to wait and see I suppose. Good chatting with you. “Aloha”? You Hawaiian or living there or something?

          2. I grew up in Hawaii Sam, currently living in D’backs land. last year my wife and I went to all of the Dodgers at D’backs games, and had a great time at Chase field.
            This year we will do the same when Dodgers come to Chase 9 times.
            I guess I am emotionally attached to Kemp and Ethier as we watched them as young players when we lived in Las Vegas and they played for the 51’s.
            I am a bit bewildered as to the choice of McCarthy as the number 4, as I watched him pitch here in Arizona and I was NOT impressed at all. Not sure about Anderson, but I checked his stats out on baseballreference.com and they seemed not that great as well.
            So we shall see Sam. I think your right that changes needed to be made as we just could not seem to get over the hump so to speak, but I just wish we got back a bit more for the players that we gave up.
            I know someone said that our former Dodger players are playing for the other team with our Dodger house money, which made me laugh!
            I am still a bit upset with the D Gordon move as that seems to be a bone head move, but I guess others know better than I. I know that Grandal will probably be a better hitter than AJ, but I saw him play against the Dodgers and I wasn’t that impressed except he seems to have a strong arm to throw out the base stealers.
            Well spring training will be around pretty darn quick and we will see how our new Dodger team will shape up.
            Take care Sam
            Aloha
            Dave

          3. Morning Dave. I like to think Hawaii would be a great place to grow up. Only connection w/ Hawaii that I have is that my wife’s half hawaiian. Guess I should take her there one day. Anywho, I can’t even imagine how attached I would be to Kemp and the other homegrown guys if I were you watching them so much. It’s gotta feel like losing a family member. Hang in there buddy. No doubt, too was a little perplexed by adding Mccarthy/Anderson. Both have quite a bit of injury history and less than impressive #’s on the whole. Hopefully the new front office knows something we don’t, they are some of the smartest minds in the game, so for myself, I have to trust that. When it comes to Grandal, I believe he’s the starting catcher we’ve needed since Martin,R. was cut loose. I’d love to have that dude back, just not at the price the Blue Jays paid though. Grandal should out hit Ellis in SLG, one of the best pitch-framers but he’s not Y.Molina and he’s certainly younger than Ellis also. Would have been bummed if they let him walk. Just watched his homer off Wainwright in GM1 of division series last yr. It was awesome! All right partner, have a good one, let’s hope for the best. Take care Dave.

          4. Hey Sam
            Small world right? You should take her to Hawaii. Great place to go. I enjoy going back for about a week or so at a time.
            And it was hard to see all my boys go, including James Loney years earlier.
            I always regretted Sam when they let Russell Martin go a few years back. Nothing against AJ who I love to death but it just seems that Russell was “real good.” That’s all I can say about that.
            I hope Grandal can come through this year.
            Oh, I’m not sure which of our two new players either Rollins or Howie only have one year left on their current contract?
            Now that is the kind of trades that make me upset as they don’t seem to make much sense to me. Do you agree or maybe there are certain times that they make sense?
            Have a good one Sam!
            Aloha
            Dave

    3. I know right? Some of these trades are bewildering to me as to what we got back…

  3. Yes that would be crazy. I would like to see Ethier traded but not to a NL team or at least not to a west div team. If they believe that Peterson and Puig are starters then let them start. Play Crawford and when he breaks down play Heisey and Van Slyke. Use Van Slyke in a rotation to spell guys and have Heisey on the bench as an extra back up. Cheap Cheap Cheap…Except of course you are paying Kemp and Ethier to play somewhere else on House money..

  4. Well if we’re going to trade him to SF, i want to at least get someone like Hunter Strickland back. He’s a enormous hot head, and has a lot of growing up to do; but his fastball is consistently in the 100s, and i’m sure Honeycutt could whip his ass into shape, and turn him into a phenomenal pitcher, maybe even a closer someday.

  5. Don’t trade Ethier, to the hated GIANTS . Andre is a proven MLB talent, this will be a come back year for him. Ship him to the AL or not at all!

  6. bad idea to trade ethier, what happens if jock doesn’t pan out he did good in the minors that doesn’t mean hell do good up here.he didn’t do anything last year because he was jerked a round by dumb ass mattingly.ethier given the chance to play every day would make a smart man out of who ever gets him if hes traded.if you want to get rid of dead weight get rid of mattingly.he sucks no hit and run no bunting what happened to fundamental baseball?

  7. Let Ethier stay on the Dodgers! He is pretty good in the outfield and sometimes he has his good hits! I love Ethier! He has been on the Dodgers for a while and he has been my favorite player for a long time. I think Ethier should stay on the Dodgers and he should have chances to play more and even try to play better and try not to get hurt either. PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANDRE ETHIER TO THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS!!!!!!! My family and I hate the Giants!!!!!! I think Ethier would be better of staying on the Dodgers for a while longer and we could see how he does. I love you Andre Ethier!!!!! GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE LA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Come on young lady, you only like Either because he’s easy on the eyes. All my Dodger friends who are girls think he’s dreamy and he is but the dudes got to go! He’s not anywhere close to being the same guy from 08′, 09. Much love, GO BLUE!!!!!

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