Editorials

Dodgers Rumors: Trades For Howie Kendrick, Luke Hochevar Unraveled

The Dodgers weren’t very active at the trade deadline after they signed reliever Brian Wilson to help stabilize the bullpen and added catcher Drew Butera for organizational depth.

While there were rumors they were looking into a deal for Cliff Lee or another reliever, it’s possible the Dodgers could make an August waiver deal like last season. However, Peter Gammons from GammonsDaily.com reported two deals fell apart late on July 31:



As it turns out, the Dodgers went right down to the trading deadline trying to add parts for a world series run. L.A. sources say they were working on deals with the Angels and Royals for Hochevar and Howie Kendrick and were willing to trade pitchers Zach Lee, Reed and Chris Withrow. It unraveled minutes from the deadline.

At first glance, it’s interesting to see the Dodgers want to move Lee as he’s considered the top pitching prospect in the system. Reed and Withrow have been mentioned as trade bait in other deals, so it’s no surprise they were shopping them.

Kendrick is signed through 2015 and is having another solid season as he’s posting a .301 average with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs. While he was injured last night, he would’ve been quite the upgrade over Mark Ellis at second base.

Hochevar was actually drafted by the Dodgers twice, once in 2002 when he decided to go to the University of Tennessee and in 2005 when he chose to not sign.

Converted to a reliever by the Royals, Hochevar is 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and a 3.31 K/BB rate, which would’ve been a nice addition to the bullpen.

While the deals sound like they were close to completion, it sounds like the Dodgers are still looking for help and willing to deal some prospects potentially in August.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

In case you missed it, be sure to find out more about what Matt Kemp had to say about his injury.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg0AP5LACzc

Ross Gasmer

Ross Gasmer is a Social Media Producer for @TheHerd and was a contributing writer and editor for Dodger Nation. Follow him on Twitter @Ross_Gasmer12

7 Comments

  1. Not sure i buy this. Stan Kasten and Ned colletti have both said that other teams have only focuses on the dodgers big 5 prospects, and they have repeatedly turned them down. I think Howie is a great player, but when mark Ellis is on, he is great. And his defense is second to none. Obviously the long term Howie contract was a plus for the dodgers. Hochevar

  2. The dodgers made great moves at the deadline. They don’t need much. This team was well constructed in the offseason/2012 season.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button