Editorials

Stan Kasten Believes Dodgers Need To Avoid Getting ‘Too Old’

Stan Kasten

In the Los Angeles Dodgers organization are three elite prospects — Joc Pederson, Corey Seager, and Julio Urias — who they refused to part with at the trade deadline last season and signs point to them being intent on keeping the trio.



However, general manager Farhan Zaidi said at the Winter Meetings the Dodgers would be open to a trade if it were the ‘right deal.’ The Dodgers’ refusal thus far to part with any of the three is tied to the their focus on not only building to win now, but also the in future.

While speaking at the Winter Meetings in San Diego, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten expanded on the importance of keeping youth in the organization, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:

I always stress becoming younger,” Kasten said. “Payroll is a byproduct of youth. You don’t want to wake up one day to find out you can’t compete, you’re too old. You need to avoid that, and this week we took tangible steps to fulfill our overarching goal to become more reliant on our infrastructure and player development.”

Coincidentally, while the Dodgers were in the process of adding youth by way of prospects from the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, they simultaneously got older with respects to everyday starters next season.

At 31 years old, Howie Kendrick replaces Dee Gordon at second base, who is 26. The not-yet official trade for Jimmy Rollins replaces 30-year-old Hanley Ramirez with a 36-year-old shortstop; though the argument can certainly be made Rollins is more nimble and “youthful” than Ramirez.

Matt Kemp being dealt to the Padres landed the Dodgers Yasmani Grandal, 26, who conceivably will platoon in some capacity with A.J. Ellis behind the plate, and it opens the door for Pederson to take over in center with Yasiel Puig moving back to right field.

Though it may be in a different fashion than the last two seasons, the Dodgers remain in position to contend for a World Series next season while also gaining roster flexibility moving forward that had been largely absent.

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Lakers Shooting Guard Nick Young Is Not Pleased With The Dodgers For Trading Matt Kemp

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23 Comments

  1. So you trade for 2 guys in their 30’s, and trade Kemp who will be 31…..and Keep Crawford and Ethier, who are older than Kemp…and trade for a 39 year old reliever? You know how stupid that makes you???? give me a break

    1. length of contracts. its a process. nobody believes matt is going to be healthy and productive for the next five years. they still may trade crawford or ethier, they almost have to

      1. If he is healthy 3 of them…just 3….he is going to kill the Dodgers…….and remember he is only 36 when his deal is up…..not really old….and if SD likes they can trade him to an AL team to be DH…….

        1. I’m certain that over the next 5 years, Matt will come up with plenty of hits against the Dodgers. But you can’t minimize how much $75 MILLION will help in getting a 5th starter & hopefully keeping Zach beyond 2015. Not to mention that the Dodgers project next year to be +30 DRS just up the middle with Kendricks, Rollins & Joc. That should more than offset the loss of Matt in the lineup.

          1. Joc is not a lock……..75 mil is wrong, they already spent close to 50 million of that on McCarthy…so think 25 mil, which ain’t buying you much..thats 5 mil year. Rollins power will go down in LA…..his avg HR travels 367 FT…..and when the air is heavy in LA on those cold spring nights…the ball does not travel well there….Joc has to win the job….it is not going to be handed to him…and if he hits like he did last spring, he is on his way to Oklahoma city and Heisey and who ever will patrol CF….Kendrick only hit 7….he should match that with LA…..but I still say, they id not even come close to getting enough for Kemp, and it is going to bite them right on the ass……and IF this new bunch does not get the Dodgers to the WS,,,,you can bet the backlash will be bad..

          2. Don’t disagree strongly with any of that. Of course, I don’t think you can run a team well if you are worried about fan backlash either. To your point, assuming the net savings of $5Mil after McCarthy, that would still allow the Dodgers to go to $30Mil with Zach without an increase over their previous budget in an effort to keep him in LA. Not to mention, McCarthy constitutes a free upgrade over Haren (assuming he stays healthy) paid for entirely with Kemp savings. If Ethier gets wrapped up in another deal and half his salary goes with him, another $8Mil-$9Mil towards a 5th member of the rotation becomes available. Peavy, Shields, Scherzer, Hamel or some other reliable 2nd tier arm becomes available then at little or no cost. Plus, after 2015, B Wilson & B League come off the books too, making room on the roster for real bullpen improvement. I will miss Beast Mode for sure & wish Matt future success. Can’t help but feel that Dodgers are in better hands than when Coletti made decisions. Only time will tell.

          3. Colletti was no genius….no one ever said he was…but he still pulled off a few deals that were successful, and a few boners too…..Jason Schmidt for one. But he was also the one who kept them afloat when McCourt was ruining everything. There is no way the Dodgers go after Scherzer..he wants 200 million…..and I doubt very seriously they will pay 2 pitchers that kind of cash…that is insane….Shields will probably go somewhere he can be a #2 starter….and for that kind of money.. Hamels would take a trade and at least 1 of the top Dodger prospects….so that is not likely…Peavy, why would you even want that guy? He was lousy most of the year and his best days are clearly behind him. I agree they will get a 2nd tier arm…for a reasonable price…..But in my humble opinion…..Grandal is a huge risk….and a .225 hitting C is not all that great a return for Kemp…..

          4. Granted. Coletti had his hands tied most of his tenure. But, always was a “name” guy. Peavy is definitely on decline, but i like his will to win. Never stops competing. Still think a tier 1 arm is possible as insurance against Greinke’s option being exercised after 2015. Scherzer? You’re probably right. I hope you are. But it would make a glorious 2015 with McCarthy as our 5. Hamels may be our best shot to package away Ether tho, so I wouldn’t be shocked if that happened either. Will wait & see. Beat the Cardinals. That’s my mantra.

          5. Don’t think we’re getting Hamels or Scherzer. Hamels may very well stay in Philly for now that is. I think Scherzer will go to Boston, Miami, or maybe the Yankees.

          6. Sadly, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Dodgers really do intend to rely on McCarthy & Anderson as their 4 & 5. Can’t believe we would spend $10 Million on Anderson rather than more reliable innings eaters that area still available. Wing & a prayer doesn’t equate with “smart data guys” reputation. Still hoping something happens with Hamels that delegates Anderson to overpaid rotational depth. Frustrating to say the least. I don’t want to pay Scherzer what the market will bear or luck the Dodgers into a long term contract with a starter. Been there done that

          7. It’s definitely a gamble no doubt about it based on both pitchers track records, but if Zaidi is confident they can bounce back then I trust him and Friedman. After Lester, there really weren’t many great names out there on the FA market. And quite frankly the Dodgers weren’t going to pay $100M+ for a pitcher past 30. Phillies asking price for Hamels is just way too much (which I don’t blame them) so I guess the Dodgers just decided to overpay both Anderson and McCarthy… but then again everyone is getting paid this winter. I mean Justin Masterson got $9.5 mil and he’s not even good.

          1. Well I doubt very seriously that they are anywhere close to being done. They have a glut of OF’s and plenty of trade bait to up grade the staff. Their BP was already pretty good and the will have 5 new position players on the field. all 3 OF positions C and 3B…offense is immensely better than last year…They are going to be a force in the NL west….

          2. You gotta have outfielders that other teams want in order to make trades. (Just ask the Dodgers.) They had a horrible BA last season and may improve some this season, but most experts I’ve heard say all the trades/upgrades will result in three more victories in 2015, which will still leave them trailing much of the pack. I see a possible third-place finish for the Padres, but not much more than that. Team chemistry will certainly be interesting.

          3. Well they have already had inquiries about Maybin and Venable…and to tell you the truth, when in the last 50 years have the experts got anything right?> They sure missed the mark on KC and Cleveland…I still think they are in a position to cause problems in the west…you believe what you want…..that’s your choice…but I think they are a much better team than last year and the only one of their new OF”s who had a really down year was Myers….and that was injury induced….

  2. This youth direction is great for the minor leaguers since many teams seem to rely more on putting together teams who will get them into the World Series. Meanwhile, these younger players continue to play at the lesser levels and sharing apartments and probably part-time jobs to make it on a daily basis. So, it is good to hear that the Dodgers want to do more promoting from within the organization. However, what does this tell anyone whom they want presently who are not so young? Rollins is 36, but he probably knows that he may just have a few more years until he retires from the game. Meanwhile, he has a good shot at making it to the World Series where he can bow out with the ring, then move aside for someone now ready from the minors to take over that position. Under Lasorda, the entire Dodger infield came from the minors…Cey, Russell, Wills/Lopes, and Garvey. This infield along with a devastating outfield took them to the World Series where they also walked away with a ring. So, I reckon in the future now we will be seeing a few more minor leaguers moving on up. That is good.

  3. I’ve been doing the math and it’s not adding up. So far the Dodgers are getting older, still have too many outfielders, and now have too many catchers. No middle relief, oh, and that prize catcher from the Padres has bad knees (alledgedly) & can’t hit worth $hit either.

    If the Dodger Brass want to make fans happy, just shut the hell up and pressure Time/Warner to cut a fricken deal with the other carriers so we can watch this “young” a$$ed team they keep talking about.

    1. the bad knee is not alleged…it is a fact…and he is a lousy hitter….from what I heard they got him because he is a great pitch framer….still think they got crap back for Matt. and no amount of arguing by anyone will change my mind on that

  4. If they want to get younger….Kasten should go..he is about the oldest member of the FO

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