Editorials

Andre Ethier Considered Most Likely To Be Traded By Dodgers

[new_royalslider id=”2″] It’s been over six weeks since the Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated from the postseason and they have been busy overhauling their front office.

With a new face at almost every position, they are now in place to begin making moves for the team on the field. Their biggest and likely toughest task comes in the outfield, where the Dodgers have five capable starters and a top prospect for only three available spots. New president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has already said that making a move would be best for the club. While Yasiel Puig is safe, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are all available for the right price.



According to Buster Olney of ESPN, there’s one outfielder that stands out to be traded more than the others:

Ethier’s name has been thrown around as the likeliest candidate for a while now, even before a season in which he hit just .249 with four home runs. As the year progressed, the left-handed hitting Ethier became nothing more than a bench player that made an occasional start. He was essentially the fifth outfielder as Scott Van Slyke made starts against left-handed pitching.

Since 2006, Ethier has been a mainstay in the Dodgers’ outfield, but his numbers have significantly dropped in the past three years. He no longer shows the power at the plate he once had, and although he has become more versatile in the outfield, he no longer would be a starter in Los Angeles. While they may decide to trade him, it’s easier said than done. The Dodgers would have to eat a significant amount of the approximately $17 million he’s owed or take on another bad contract from the other team.

In the coming months, a deal will be made and hearing Ethier’s name wouldn’t be a surprise.

Vincent Samperio

Vince is currently the Associate Editor and Social Media Manager for Dodgers Nation. Hailing from San Pedro, CA and a student at Cal State Long Beach, Vince has previously written for the Daily 49er and LASF Magazine.

21 Comments

  1. Trade Ethier and Crawford for maybe some bullpen help or a veteran shortstop to fill the hole til Seager is ready. Throw Dan Haren in a trade with one of those outfielders just to get him out of our rotation. Sign one legit free agent pitcher and trade for another starting pitcher ( David Price ). Sign Russell Martin. Starting outfield: Kemp RF, Pederson CF, Puig LF. Get this accomplished we are definitely World Champions.

    1. No team would take on both of those contracts……CC is more valuable than Ethier. Haren did a good job and had a bad stretch, but he pitched well the last few weeks….and if you trade him, who is your number 4 starter? Price is over rated and was lousy after his trade to Detroit. Besides, they would not trade him right after getting him…..Martin is gone,

  2. Puig is gonna hafta work like mad in the off-season and we know he won’t. If he does not work in the off-season he will not even hit anywhere near his weight…anybody remember his playoff performance? O fer what? With how many K’s? Maybe we should keep Ethier and play him? No wonder his timing is off…remember he won a batting title a few years ago…trade Crawford, ouch, and I think Puig for bullpen help and a 5th starter. I’m used to old school Dodgers baseball we win all games 2-1, 1-0, 3-2 like this cuz we have pitching.

    1. You are wrong for so many reasons. Even if he doesn’t work hard he’s still better than Ethier in every way and has a great contract. We need right handed bats more so than lefties. Give the kid a chance.

      1. I will give him a chance when he’s ready…I thought he was and then he got badtouched by good pitching and you know what that means right? The entirety of MLB knows how to to pitch to him…and since when do we need right handed bats? Ummmmmm not never

        1. Hanley is gone and Kemp is on the market too… I hope they don’t trade Kemp, but it could happen. Everybody gets figured out by big league pitching and then you make adjustments. If he doesn’t he’ll only be a really good big league player, if he does he will be great.

          1. I’m glad Hanley and his lazy no defense playin my boo boo hurts ass is gone but they had better not trade Kemp because the MvP Matt Kemp was coming along after the all star break last year.

          2. Agreed about Puig but I’m just afraid he’ll turn in another Franklin Stubbs ya know?

          3. Jeremiah…you should really shut up because your ignorance is really showing.. and your lack of baseball knowledge or the stats.

          4. Oh a personal attack now? Your opinion means nothing to me anyway, Michael.

      2. Damn, I had a great post and the page crashed. Oh well, looking at Ethier’s career stats I don’t see that he won a batting title. The closest he came was in 2008 when he finished 9th with a .305 average.

        I believe Ethier’s decline mostly this year was due to not playing everyday. Prior to the 2014 season his career average in three key categories were BA – .288, HR’s – 17, RBI’s – 73. I may be wrong but I like Ethier and feel if given the chance can improve on this season. I’d hate to see him traded to a team and he comes back to haunt the Dodgers. Trade Crawfish………….uh…er…. Crawford!

        1. AE was benched because he was not providing power or hits. His BA was well below his normal numbers. His power has declined the last 3 years, He was playing pretty regularly through May. most fans forget that, they were looking for a spark, and when CC got healthy, he helped provide that,…..AE is not the player he once was…..

    2. Ethier has NEVER won a batting title….He has never had a year where he hit over .308..His power has gone down each of the last 3 years, and even the year he hit 31 homers he only hit.272. Puig hit .297 last year, which is well above his weight. He is also only a kid…23 years old….he has played well in Japan the last few days, and in the NLDS, He had a pretty good first game, then St Louis shut him down. so give a little credit to their pitching staff.

      1. I stand corrected he won a silver slugger in 2009. And Puig struck out in like 8 consecutive at bats in the playoffs. And Ethier’s stats have gone down since he stopped starting and became a bench player only.

  3. Maybe not relevant to this thread, but my take on the decisions the management is making. The first thing the new head person should have done was to replace the manager. He consistently makes bad decisions on the field and this costs the team too many games. I have been an avid fan for 70 years (yes, since 1944) and never before saw this kind of problem. Many, many examples, but one right at the end–letting Ellis make the last out of the season after the Cardinal flamethrower had easily dispatched two righthanded hitters while two who hit from the left managed singles, leaving Ethier on the bench with the tying run on second. Typical for him–he almost never uses pinchhitters except for the pitcher.

    1. You obviously forget watching Grady Little, or Davey Johnson. They were terrible. I have even seen Lasorda making some dumb moves…like pitching to Jack Clark….And almost as soon as he became the president…Friedman said DM was staying..now you say , and I know you have been watching the game and this team longer than me, that he has cost the team too many games. My contention is that twice, 2013 and 14…he managed to win his division and do it with a team rife with injuries, and far out of contention by May. Twice they have overcome huge leads of more than 9 games. Getting to the playoffs is not that easy. Winning is harder. And when players are put in the game it is up to them to perform. A lot of them do not, that is why there is so much roster turn over during a season. I lay the blame on the people who play the game, not the manger. Walter Alston was no frippin genius either, He single handedly gave the 1962 playoffs to the Giants by your way of thinking. When he opted for Stan Williams to pitch the 9th instead of Don Drysdale. He thought he had the game won……..Dressen did the same thing in 51……bringing in Branca to face Thompson……players produce or do not….

  4. Eithier to Rangers and a minor league P for Elvis thats what I would do and I bet the Rangers would listen they have a boat load of SS. Then we have a young team the following year and the rebbuilding begins with Seager at 3rd, Elvis SS, Gorden 2b, Puig, Pederson 2 out of 3 OF, thats a young team. We definately need RP help so they cant keep blaming Kershaw for bad playoffs I laugh at that look at his stats thru 6 and 7 innings if we had relief help he would have lost only one of all those games

  5. Okay I know now that Russell Martin is gone. Maybe we make a trade for a catcher named Matt Wieters that has one year left on his contract with the Orioles. They need a left hand hitting outfielder (Andre Ethier or Carl Crawford). Mark my words though, the Dodgers will trade Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford, and Dan Haren this off season. We will have two new starting pitchers in our rotation next year and one will be a high priced free agent pitcher with Zack Grienke almost certainly opting out of his contract after this season.

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