Results tagged ‘ Jerry Sands ’
The Red Sox and Dodgers Blockbuster Deal
Courtesy: USA Today
According the various outlets, the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers will announce the completion of a gigantic nine-player deal on Saturday with cash and millions upon millions of dollars of future salaries heading west, as the Dodgers look to solidify their roster for the playoffs with new ownership letting the world know that they will do whatever it takes, and spend whatever they have to, to bring a championship to Los Angeles.
According to the reports, this is the deal:
Dodgers receive: (with remaining contracts after the 2012 season)
Adrian Gonzalez: six-years, $127 million
Carl Crawford: five-years, $102.5 million
Josh Beckett: two-years, $31.5 million
Nick Punto: one-year, $1.5 million
$12 million in cash for salary assistance
Red Sox receive:
Rubby De La Rosa
Allen Webster
Jerry Sands
Ivan DeJesus
James Loney
So, who is the winner here? I have to say that both teams are winners, and this is why:
Boston just rid themselves of financially crippling contracts. Adrian Gonzalez was a bargain when compared to the Joey Votto and Albert Pujols contracts in the last 12 months; however, the ability to get rid of Carl Crawford’s terrible contract makes dealing Gonzalez a success. Crawford has made over $34 million since arriving in Boston in 2011, playing in 161-games and hitting .260/.292/.419, hardly the player that he was in Tampa. Josh Beckett had an excellent season in 2011, posting a 2.89 ERA over 30 starts, while compiling a 13-7 record. Since September 21, 2011, however, Beckett is 5-13 with a 5.50 ERA over 23 starts, and he was a part of the chicken and beer collapse of the Red Sox clubhouse. His conditioning, attitude and performance are all questionable parts of his existence, so to rid this contract is huge for Boston. The ability to change the clubhouse by eliminating attitude problems and opening up the future financial abilities of the franchise for new free agent talents, like Josh Hamilton. The thing to remember here, though, is that the Red Sox are getting some excellent talent here. Webster and De La Rosa are excellent pitching prospects, and Jerry Sands has proven himself in the minors while struggling in his auditions in the bigs. Loney will be a free agent after the 2012 season, so he is just a body for the time being.
Los Angeles gets the contracts, but they also get the talent. Adrian Gonzalez in the middle of the order with Matt Kemp is absolutely scary. Carl Crawford, while he won’t play in 2012 and he has been injured for most of the last two seasons, has still posted 39 doubles, nine triples, 14 home runs, 75 RBI and 23 steals in 161 games for the Red Sox, which is one season worth of at bats. Josh Beckett had a 3.46 ERA in his 106 games with the Marlins, and now he returns to the National League, in a weaker division, where pitching parks like Dodger Stadium, PETCO and AT&T Park will be his everyday environments. While the Dodgers take on a couple of bad contracts, they also have talent and abilities which may have just needed a change of scenery.
This trade could be the biggest blockbuster in the history of baseball. The names and money that is being dealt by Boston to Los Angeles is absolutely unfathomable. If this deal was done in your fantasy baseball league right now, it would be vetoed. This is a win for both teams because of the salary dump and the talent involved for both teams.
GM for the Day: Los Angeles Dodgers
Ownership issues have truly limited the Dodgers from taking the next step or competing in the NL West. Ned Colletti has done well considering his inability to spend, even in a “lucrative” market in L.A., hell, they just reached the NLCS in 2009. That seems like decades ago now! The Dodgers continue to develop talent within the organization, seeing the arrival of young stallions like Rubby De La Rosa (who had Tommy John surgery in August) and Nate Eovaldi. A lot of their offensive talent isn’t the Matt Kemp variety, as they feature “toolsy” guys like Alfredo Silverio and Joc Pederson, rather than Grade A guys like Brett Lawrie or Bryce Harper. With ownership issues still up in the air, this is another patchwork type of offseason for Dodger fans to look forward to. Here is their current 25-man roster:
2 Catchers: A.J. Ellis and Josh Bard
1B: James Loney
2B: Mark Ellis
3B: Juan Uribe
SS: Dee Gordon
LF: Juan Rivera
CF: Matt Kemp
RF: Andre Ethier
Bench: Jerry Sands (1B/OF), Jerry Hairston, Jr. (INF/OF), Tony Gwynn, Jr. (OF) and Justin Sellers (INF)
Starting Pitchers: Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano and Nate Eovaldi
Relief Pitchers: Javy Guerra, Matt Guerrier, Kenley Jensen, Scott Elbert, Blake Hawksworth, Josh Lindblom and John Grabow
The Dodgers are set right now in their rotation. They will lose Hiroki Kuroda in Free Agency, but they’ll replace him with Chris Capuano, who needs to stay healthy (doubtful after 2 TJ surgeries), and Nate Eovaldi. Eovaldi is an interesting pitcher. He should do well pitching in Dodger Stadium, but he doesn’t have a great strikeout rate. He could probably use more seasoning, but the 40-man roster doesn’t have a whole lot to offer and the Dodgers aren’t going to be in on Edwin Jackson or in deals for Matt Garza anytime soon. Allen Webster is the next closest prospect arm and he made just 17 starts in Double-A in 2011. They could use some depth but it would have to be a journeyman or two. They don’t have to have someone taking away starts from Eovaldi, but they need one decent guy to be there if he struggles or Capuano blows out his arm again. Zach Duke, Rodrigo Lopez, Ramon Ortiz or a Brad Penny reunion could work for the Dodgers on a small one-year or Minor League deal. The bullpen is loaded with hard throwing young arms. Lindblom and Guerra could be a solid 8th and 9th duo for the next several years, once Lindblom gets moved up to the 8th inning role, which could happen in 2012.
The offense starts with Kemp and gets frustrating after that. I can’t understand the contract being tendered to James Loney. He is all over the place, posting a .914 OPS after the All Star break but just a .653 OPS in the first half. Who is he? 2012 is his age 28 season, meaning he is in his prime, but he was last year when he hit just 12 homers and finished with a .755 OPS. In fact, Loney has a career .778 OPS and 67 career homers in 3,018 plate appearances. Loney has a .632 vs. LHP since the 2009 season started and his lack of power and consistency is reason enough to not give him a raise over the $4.88 million he made in 2011. Speaking of guys who can’t hit lefties, remember when Andre Ethier was just as valuable as Matt Kemp? Ethier turns 30 in April and hasn’t come close to his 2009 breakout (42 2B, 31 HR, 106 RBI and .869 OPS) the last two seasons. His OPS fell all the way to .789 last season thanks to his Loney-like 11 homers. Even counting his 2009 season, Ethier is hitting just .215/.279/.329 in the last three seasons, good…or is it bad…for a .608 OPS. Juan Rivera’s signing could allow the Dodgers to put Sands in LF/RF and leave Rivera at first when the Dodgers face lefties. The struggles that Ethier and Loney have had since the start of 2010 could be the reason why the Dodgers haven’t made it back to the playoffs since then. Dee Gordon showed the speed that could make him a great table-setter in the long run, but it will be full of slap hitting…like a Juan Pierre at shortstop…in his prime…without the walks. It isn’t all terrible, but they have some stopgaps in place if a 2B or 3B wants to ruin the fading careers of Mark Ellis and Juan Uribe.
Overall, there isn’t much the Dodgers can do. They’ve stuck with what they have without making many changes because they can’t really add payroll during the sale of the team. Due to that handcuffing, the Dodgers will hang tight and hope that a prospect or two come up to make a difference. Nate Eovaldi, Jerry Sands and Tim Federowicz, a solid catching prospect, should carve out significant roles this year. Since A.J. Ellis is 30 and not very good at baseball, they could go with Josh Bard at catcher and let Federowicz get a taste of the bigs early and often. I would also like to get Eovaldi a few more starts in the Minors, though Albuquerque isn’t the best environment for that, at the Triple-A level. Sign Brad Penny and see if he can bring his attractive wife to games and pitch well every five days on the cheap as insurance due to the loss of Kuroda and Capuano’s health record. If he is inconsistent or crap like he was last year, cut him loose and bring Eovaldi up. Platoon Rivera and Sands at 1B and RF with Loney and Ethier against lefties, put Hairston in LF those days, and watch the offense click.
Final 25-man Roster:
2 Catchers: Tim Federowicz and Josh Bard
1B: James Loney
2B: Mark Ellis
3B: Juan Uribe
SS: Dee Gordon
LF: Juan Rivera
CF: Matt Kemp
RF: Andre Ethier
Bench: Jerry Sands (1B/OF), Jerry Hairston, Jr. (INF/OF), Tony Gwynn, Jr. (OF) and Justin Sellers (INF)
Starting Pitchers: Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano and Brad Penny
Relief Pitchers: Javy Guerra, Matt Guerrier, Kenley Jensen, Scott Elbert, Blake Hawksworth, Josh Lindblom and John Grabow
