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Dodgers Rumors: Andre Ethier Desired Outfielder To Be Traded

Andre Ethier

By claiming catcher Ryan Lavarnway off waivers, the Los Angeles Dodgers continued the trend of working on their roster with smaller moves. To date, the Dodgers’ biggest acquisition was in their trade for reliever Adam Peralta, with the trade for Chris Heisey the next move of any potential significance.



With winter meetings set to begin Monday, the Dodgers’ first big trade could be around the corner. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team would benefit from moving an outfielder and it’s led to Matt Kemp’s name being tied to numerous trade rumors.

While Kemp has garnered plenty of interest, one executive believes the Dodgers’ true desire is to trade Andre Ethier, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark:

Ethier is coming off what he called the most humbling season of his career, and was recently critical of the platoon the Dodgers utilized while also adding he wants to remain in Los Angeles as a starter.

After beginning the year as a regular starter and again resurfacing in center field following Kemp’s benching, Ethier eventually fell out of favor in the outfield picture. The demotion of sorts relegated Ethier to a role as a pinch-hitter and occasional starter, which he wasn’t pleased with.

Despite his unhappiness, Ethier vowed to put his feelings aside for the betterment of the team. While the Dodgers managed to get through the season with a surplus of outfielders, they undoubtedly would be better off alleviating the logjam with a trade that could address a deficiency — namely shortstop or the bullpen.

In any trade involving Crawford, Ethier or Kemp, the Dodgers presumably would need to pay a portion of the traded outfielder’s remaining salary. Ethier will turn 33 in April and is guaranteed $53.5 million over the next three years with a $17.5 million vesting option for a fourth season.

Coming off a year in which he hit .249/.322/.370 with four home runs and 42 RBIs, the Dodgers may be asked to send a significant amount of money in a trade involving the outfielder.

Staff Writer

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10 Comments

  1. I heard Ethier helped bring Pederson up when he got the call. If Pederson looks up to Ethier now as a mentor…I wonder if that has any possible affect on trading him.

  2. In fairness to Ethier, he didn’t have a full season so his numbers are skewed and it’s hard to perform when you haven’t been in the batters box but maybe once or twice a week. There is such a thing as timing and batting practice isn’t the answer

    1. He played in 130 games last year, just 12 less than his average. He had plenty of opportunity early when Crawford was hurt and Kemp was struggling. I’m not interested in how hard Ethier had it last year while he cashed an 18 million dollar check for being below league average. If he wants to start so bad he could give back some of his future earnings and LA could find someone willing to give him playing time. He doesn’t care about starting, he cares about starting while also getting paid 18 million a year.

      1. Yes, he did play in 130 games but 40 games was as a PH. In the 130 games he had 380PA less than 3 times per game.

    2. Well the stats do not support your stand, most of his at bats as the PH came after the all star break…We all know Ethier is a nice guy. BUT,,,,over the last 3 years his stats and skills have deteriorated….He cannot hit LH pitching and has not done so for 3 years…so no matter what he is not an everyday starter because of that..He hit 0 HR’s after May and was the worst OF on the team……without Kemp and CC coming alive, they do not make up 9.5 games and win the division. Kemp improved as his health improved…same with CC…..Pederson is still nothing more than a AAA OF…..give Ethier a shot on another team….but not the Dodgers……

  3. andre is the bigger man. he put his ego aside for his team. matt kemp was a whiney cry baby. he gets paid the most and worked the least amount of time. I don’t care what happens to kemp but andre is THE MAN. he deserves his place in the outfield. start him in 2015 and see what he can do. if management isn’t happy after his outing then talk trade but y hit a man when he is down and wasn’t given the opportunity to shine? he took a back seat to appease everyone else and where did it get him??

  4. andre ethier is a wonderful guy. hes also a very good baseball player. but he is not as good as puig, kemp, or crawford. he also is owed a huge amount of money. theyll trade him. and theyll eat a lot of that contract. because baseballwise, thats what makes sense

  5. To Ethier’s credit…he worked hard last winter and at the beginning of this past season he was hitting left handed pitching pretty well. Then Mattingly started platooning him again. How was he supposed to improve against leftys if he’s not able to get any at bats against them. And I think he became a little bit of a head case, going through the emotions of being demoted to a bench player. If he’s traded and gets to be an every day player again, I think he’ll excel and become an asset to his next team. For what it’s worth…

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