Editorials

Dodgers Rumors: L.A. Casts Wide Net Searching for Second Baseman

The Dodgers and Minnesota Twins have been haggling over Brian Dozier for the past month. Those talks are reportedly at an “impasse,” leaving Los Angeles a large void at second base.

L.A. could re-visit trade talks for Ian Kinsler or Logan Forsythe, or perhaps opt for a lower profile free agent, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.



Rosenthal said the current stalemate with Minnesota doesn’t end the possibility of a future agreement. The Dodgers could go for a stop-gap at second base and see how it plays out. If it’s failing and Willie Calhoun still isn’t ready for the bigs, perhaps the teams can renew conversations toward the deadline. That would also open the possibility of the Dodgers trading for an All-Star outfielder before spring training.

Stephen Drew, Luis Valbuena, Dustin Ackley and a reunion with Chase Utley could be on the table, Rosenthal speculates. If L.A. goes one of those routes, a trade for Andrew McCutchen (which we broke down here) or Ryan Braun (discussed here) makes more sense. The downside is all the aforementioned second basemen are left-handed, and the Dodgers’ preference is for a righty.

That preference could push them toward a trade with Detroit or Tampa Bay. Initial rumors of those organizations trading their respective players have died down. It’s fair to wonder how much longer they’d be willing to part with either (if at all) as spring break grows closer. Both teams are in the “middle-tier” mindset and may want to wait it out and see how their team performs early – in which case extinguishes the Dodgers’ second base trade targets.

[graphiq id=”dqB74BCZwGx” title=”Logan Forsythe vs Ian Kinsler” width=”600″ height=”603″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/dqB74BCZwGx” link=”http://baseball-players.pointafter.com” link_text=”PointAfter | Graphiq” ]

Behind the free agent door is a more conservative approach. The stop-gap player could obviously exceed expectations or disappoint, but the lineup imbalance remains. Ideally the player is at least league average with Calhoun impressing enough to earn the job for the foreseeable future. The free agent approach doesn’t guarantee a trade for one of the outfielders, so ultimately the move may just be a slight upgrade from Kike Hernandez.

Los Angeles will acquire a second basemen. The question is how and if there will be another move tied to it.

You might be able to go for a drive on Vin Scully Highway

Gabe Burns

Gabe Burns is an award-winning journalist. He serves as a reporter and editor at the DodgersNation news desk. He additionally works as editor-in-chief of The Spectator, Valdosta State University's student paper. Gabe's work has been featured on a number of platforms, including Draft Breakdown and Pro Football Spot. His byline has been cited in media such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. Aside from covering Dodgers baseball, Gabe enjoys watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Orlando Magic and Tampa Bay Lightning. He can be followed on Twitter at @GabeBurns_DN.

11 Comments

  1. I think the Dodger FO is still reluctant to trading Puig which has be rurmored to be the asking price, plus prospects, for Braun or McCutchen. It’s no secret that the Dodgers are losing patience with Puig. Still his patential is great. My guess is the the FO will go with Puig and revaluate what the team needs come allstar break.

  2. Arodc03 I totally agree. The FO has sounded very positive of Puig and all indications show that he should improve. If you think about it, Puig is the type of player and contract the Dodgers would trade for.

  3. You know who would be a perfect fit at 2nd base?  Jose Peraza.  Oh well.  Dee Gordon wouldn’t be too bad either.

  4. JacksonEbner Don’t forget Daniel Murphy or Ben Zobrist… all who were either signed or could have been signed easily.  I’m so confused by this FO’s ability (or inability) to scout talent at skilled positions.

  5. What about Jurickson Profar of Texas? He can play 2b and Texas needs pitching which we have a bit of a surplus. Sounds too logical( but so did Dozier).

  6. It is hard not to want Ryan Braun in the lineup.  It has been well chronicled how dismal LA was
    against LHP in 2016.  Compare Braun’s
    with Puig’s slash line for the past two years. 
    Braun .344/.411/.598/1.010 (2016) and .317/.407/.550/.957 (2015) vs.
    Puig .261/.313/.471/.784 (2016) and .279/.380/.544/.924 (2015).  Braun kills LHP, while Puig has been good,
    but certainly not at the level of Braun. 
    In addition wRISP Braun was .336/.440/.6448/1.088 (2016) and
    .354/.429/.628/1.057 while Puig was .301/.344/.494/.838 (2016) and
    .217/.275/.434/.708 (2015).  The Dodgers
    would be much improved with Braun over Puig in the lineup.  But if Puig does go off, he can be that
    lethal RH bat in the middle of the lineup that they need.  Puig big if vs. Braun more likely.

    However, with that premise, the number of PA against RHP vs
    LHP is very much skewed to RHP for all hitters. 
    The number of lefties the Dodgers will face are not that many.  There are only three teams that the Dodgers
    will face in 2017 with more than two LH starters; Giants (MadBum, Moore, and
    Blach – maybe), Marlins with 4 potential, and ChiSox with 3 (Quintana, Rodon, D.
    Holland).  D’Backs have 1 (Robbie Ray),
    Rockies 2 (Tyler Anderson and Chris Rusin), Padres 2 (Clayton Richard and
    Christian Friedrich).  NL Central Cubs
    (if Montgomery is a starter) and Reds will have 2 LH starters.  The remaining 3 arguably do not have a LH
    starter who figures to be a mainstay in the rotation.  The Cards, Pirates, and Brewers each have 1 (6-8
    in rotation) that could possibly face LAD. 
    In the NL East other than the 4 potential Marlins, the Nats, Mets,
    Phillies, and Braves have 1 LH starter potential.  For 2017 LA faces AL Central plus Angels.  The ChiSox have three definite LH starters,
    but the Indians have 1, Tigers and Royals have 1 (maybe 2), Twins 1, and Angels
    1 plus Heaney when he comes back. 

    While it did not work out for the Dodgers, there was a
    reason that the FO trade with the A’s included Reddick.  The Dodgers were going to face more RHP down
    the stretch, plus other than the Giants, all of the other potential playoff
    teams were RH dominant (Cubs, Nats, Mets, Cards, and Pirates).  None of those teams had more than 1 LH
    starting pitcher.  It was obvious that
    Ethier was not going to fully come back, and nobody knew what to expect from
    Toles.  They needed a LH OF, thus
    Reddick.  The thought behind the trade
    was well reasoned, it just did not pan out, although it can be argued that Reddick was one of the better offensive players for the Dodgers in the Post-Season.

    I am okay with Puig, but would not be upset with Braun.  If Puig stays, let’s all hope that he
    replicates June 2013 through June 2014 for all of 2017, and that he can put up
    Braun-like numbers against LHP. 

    Dozier/Kinsler/Forsythe/Harrison/Solarte/Phillips/Profar are
    all offensive upgrades over Kike’ and Taylor. 
    But I would be okay with a platoon of Utley and Taylor in lieu of
    trading valuable ML ready arms or Bellinger/Verdugo/Diaz to get two year
    rentals.  Then see if Calhoun can play 2B
    at AAA.  If yes, LAD has a long term
    2B.  If no, look again at the deadline or
    next winter.  If the FO upgrades their RH
    bullpen with Neftali Perez or Greg Holland or Sergio Romo or Joe Blanton as
    setup for Jansen, they will once again have the best bullpen in ML.  I also would like to sign Tolleson to a minor
    league contract with an invite to ML camp. 
    And see what it would take to get Boxberger out of Tampa.

  7. AlwaysCompete No to Sergio Romo.  He’s done! Agree on Perez, Holland and even settle for Blanton.

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