Three groups remain in bid to be next Dodgers' owner, plus other news

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported Friday there are three groups left in the Dodgers' ownership race: the Magic Johsnon/Stan Kasten group, the Steve Cohen/Patrick Soon-Shiong group St. Louis Rams' owner Stan Kroenke.

The Cohen group emerged as the favorite on Sunday when Soon-Shiong decided to join Cohen in his attempt to purchase the team.

The dates remain unchanged, as this should all be settled by April 6 at the latest. From Shaikin's article:

"Major League Baseball owners are expected to vote on the three remaining bidders early next week. Final negotiations then would take place with Frank McCourt and Blackstone Advisory Partners, the investment bank brokering the sale.

McCourt has agreed to identify a winning bidder by April 1, although he has until April 6 to present a sale agreement to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court."

The Dodgers are expected to sell for a record price -- somewhere north of $1.5 billion -- but the parking lots and Dodger Stadium itself remain an issue.

"McCourt was offered between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion in the most recent round of bids. However, negotiations have not taken place, and it is uncertain how the purchase price might be affected if McCourt refuses to include the Dodger Stadium parking lots in the sale. McCourt has said he intends to sell the team but keep the lots, in accordance with his rights under his settlement with MLB."

Whichever group ends up winning, let's just hope and pray McCourt gives in and sells the lots, too. He ties need to be completely severed from this great and proud organization. He's a black eye the franchise does not need.

It's going to be a fun eight-plus days. Everyone seems to think the Cohen group is going to win, but I'm still holding out hope for the Johnson/Kasten group.

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The Dodgers reassigned three players after today's games: Angel Guzman, Wilfredo Ledezma and Fernando Nieve.

Guzman threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, one walk while striking out two. He could see time in Los Angeles this year, if there are enough injuries.

Ledezma posted a nice line in 5 2/3 innings: two hits, two runs (one earned) and four strikeouts. His biggest problem was the walks, as he walked five.

Nieve threw the most innings of the trio and was, at one point, making a case to make the Dodgers' Opening Day roster. He threw 8 1/3 innings, allowing six hits, three runs (all earned) while striking out six. He didn't walk anyone. He could be an option if the Dodgers need a swingman this season.

Notes from today's game vs. Cleveland

Dee Gordon collected a couple hits to raise his spring batting average to .415. He also stole his eighth base.

Andre Ethier picked up his 11th extra base hit of the spring -- a double -- in today's win.He's hitting .419 and appears ready to have a big season.

Chris Capuano had a solid game: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

John Grabow and Jamey Wright, fighting for a bullpen spot, were both unscathed. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times tweeted contract numbers for Grabow and Wright if they both make the team:

Grabow

"John Grabow's contract will be guaranteed for $800k if he makes the big-league roster. Deal includes $200k in incentives based on GP."

Wright

"Jamey Wright's contact will be guaranteed for $900k if he makes the big-league roster. Deal includes $500k in incentives based on GP."

If we're making decisions based solely on money, Grabow's the choice. If we're making it based on need and talent, well, Grabow's still the choice.

I predicted he'd make the 25-man roster when he was signed. He's making a strong case to do just that.

Photo credits: health2con on Flickr (Soon-Shiong),
Rafael Amado Deras on Flickr (Johnson)

Wrapping up the first week of Dodgers' Spring Training

The Dodgers finished their first week of Spring Training with a 5-1-2 record, which obviously means they're going to the World Series.

Seriously, though, they had a solid week. Some players had solid weeks as well.

Hitters

Andre Ethier has five hits in eight at-bats, including three extra base hits (double, triple, home run) and only one strikeout. He missed Saturday's game against the Mariners with back tightness, but it doesn't sound too serious.

Matt Kemp hit his first home run of the spring on Friday against the Mariners. He's 4-for-12, but also has six strikeouts. But there's no need to panic.

A surprise performer so far has been Josh Fields, who is 7-for-12 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI. Fields began his career as a member of the White Sox and spent 2010 with the Royals and 2011 with the Rockies' Triple-A team and Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese League. He's battling for a bench spot, but I don't think he's a legitimate option unless there is a rash of injuries.

Former Rockie Cory Sullivan also had himself a week, going 6-for-12 with a double, a home run (a grand slam against the White Sox on Saturday) and a team-leading six RBI. Like Fields, I don't expect Sullivan to make the squad, but he's playing well so far.

Alex Castellanos and Juan Rivera are tied with the team lead in home runs with two.

Pitchers

Chris Capuano had the best debut, pitching two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out three.

Todd Coffey also appeared for two innings (in two outings) and like Capuano, struck out three hitters.

The bullpen trio of Scott Elbert, Javy Guerra and Kenley Jansen has pitched six innings, given up five hits, three walks, struck out seven and, most importantly, have yet to allow a run.

It'll be interesting to see how some guys continue to perform before the first round of cuts is made.

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The Dodgers signed Jarrad Page to a minor-league deal. If that name sounds familiar, you're probably a UCLA, Chief, Patriot, Eagle or Viking fan. He is the free safety who attended UCLA and was drafted in the seventh round by Kansas City in the 2006 NFL Draft.

He participated in the Dodgers' open tryout on March 1, a tryout that also resulted in the signing of former Dodger prospect Blake Johnson and former Blue Jay draft pick Brandon Mims.

Page was signed as an outfielder and was drafted three times before he decided to pursue football. He's 27 and getting a late start, so I wouldn't hold my breath hoping for him to be something. He's more likely to be picked up to play safety again than he is to pick up a bat in a Major League game.

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Prospective Dodger owners are touring Camelback Ranch this week prior to the new owner being selected in less than a month.

Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has the lowdown:

"(Steve) Cohen is widely considered one of three favorites to buy the team, along with St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke and a group led by Magic Johnson and veteran baseball executive Stan Kasten.

Cohen has an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion and Kroenke an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, according to Forbes.

The other candidates include Stanley Gold and the family of the late Roy Disney; a group led by New York media investor Leo Hindery and Southern California billionaire Tom Barrack; a group led by Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley and Los Angeles investor Tony Ressler; and Beverly Hills real estate developer Alan Casden."

So, it seems we're down to seven groups again. My money (and heart) is still on the Magic-Kasten group, but anything can happen right now.

I mean, Magic wouldn't have sold his minority stake in one of the most lucrative professional sports teams in the Lakers if he didn't feel he'd have a great shot of being part owner of the Dodgers, would he?

This whole saga should be determined in the next three weeks. It's been a long time coming for Dodger fans and it'll be nice to finally move on from the Frank McCourt era. Hopefully that means we'll get to move on from the Ned Colletti era, too.

Photo credits: SD Dirk, Flickr (Kemp), Rafael Amado Deras, Flickr (Johnson)

Breaking down FanGraphs' Top 15 Dodgers' prospect list

Marc Hulet of FanGraphs today published his Top 15 Dodgers' prospects list, and the first eight are pretty standard, but there are a few inclusions I don't agree with.

Here's this list:

1. Zach Lee
2. Nathan Eovaldi
3. Chris Reed
4. Allen Webster
5. Garrett Gould
6. Chris Withrow
7. Alfredo Silverio
8. Joc Pederson
9. Tim Federowicz
10. Josh Lindblom
11. Alex Santana
12. Shawn Tolleson
13. James Baldwin
14. Ivan De Jesus
15. Aaron Miller

The top two are good in my book, but I have a hard time seeing Reed ranked ahead of Webster -- but to each his own. And admittedly, I may have ranked Reed a tad low in my Top 50 (No. 19), but there's no going back on it now.

Gould, Withrow, Silverio and Pederson are all solid in the 5-8 slots, but then we get to Federowicz at No. 9.

I still don't get the appeal of this guy. Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the Dodgers' 13th-best prospect earlier this week, but Baseball America has Federowicz ranked No. 10. Everything I've read and seen doesn't lead me to believe Federowicz is a Top-15 prospect in the Dodgers' system. Yes, the system is weak (ranked No. 23 by BA and No. 27 by Top Prospect Alert), but an all-glove, no-bat catcher doesn't exactly scream "top prospect" to me.

But that's not even the most curious inclusion on this list. Santana -- toolsy and young as he may be -- is not anywhere near the Top 20, let alone the Top 10, Dodger prospects. The kid is raw and needs a couple years to get to this level.

I like DeJesus, but he's no longer a Top 20-25 prospect in this system. He's likely going to start in Triple-A and doesn't have much of a chance with the Dodgers.

Hulet wrote this, which is a head-scratcher:

"De Jesus hit .328 recently in the Puerto Rico Winter League and has nothing left to prove in the minors. He should be a solid big league starter at second base."

If that was truly the case, methinks Hulet would have ranked DeJesus ahead of guys like Santana, Lindblom and Federowicz. Unfortunately, I don't see it happening.

Miller at No. 15 is pushing it, but he's been held back by injuries. Still, I don't see him as more than a reliever at this point. His 2012 will be telling for his future.

Other news and notes:

Brandon Lennox of True Blue L.A. is down to the Top 70 Dodger prospects in his countdown. His 80-71 rankings include Matt Kirkland, Jeffrey Hunt and Greg Wilborn.

Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. writes about the possibility of former Dodger executive Derrick Hall, Diamondbacks' president and CEO, returning to the Dodgers after the team is sold.

Stephen quoted Yahoo Sports' Steve Henson's article on Hall:

"It’s why several of the groups seeking to purchase the Dodgers have contacted Hall to become the CEO should their bid win."

However, John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR-AM in Phoenix, tweeted otherwise.

"Derrick Hall would not be interested in President job of the Dodgers. Yahoo sports speculated he would be a candidate for potential owners"

Stephen points out the Dodgers haven't had an "official" team president since Dennis Mannion was relieved of his duties in October 2010.

Jim Bowden of ESPN LA speculates that Stan Kroenke is the front-runner to win the bidding for the Dodgers, citing the ability to move the Rams back to Los Angeles. However, it'd mean Frank McCourt would still be in the picture, which immediately turns me off.

Number of prospective Dodgers' owners down to eight

It isn't often that $1 billion isn't enough money, but that was exactly the case for a lot of prospective Dodger bidders on Friday.

Two of the biggest names -- Mark Cuban and Dennis Gilbert -- were informed their initial bids did not get them to the second round.

Gilbert getting ousted is not too shocking, as Frank McCourt gets to make the final decision and Gilbert is buddy-buddy with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig (not exactly McCourt's favorite person right now).

Cuban has stood firm on the amount of money he'd spend on the Dodgers -- or any baseball team, for that matter. Cuban told this to the Los Angeles Times in November:

"'I don't think the Dodgers franchise is worth twice what the Rangers are worth.'"

Besides, he's only (using this loosely) worth upward of $2.3 billion, so it would have been really surprising to see him put up more than half his net worth to buy the Dodgers. But he's a smart man and I'm sure he could have found a way to make it work.

Cuban's been weary of buying the Dodgers for too much since November, so it's not that surprising he's out after the first round.

I know when the Dodgers first went on the market, a lot of folks wanted Cuban to end up owning the team. He's proven with the Dallas Mavericks that he'll spend the money to win. But this could be a good thing for everyone involved.

The Orel Hershiser-Steve Garvey group is also out of the bidding.

The confirmed remaining bidders are:

• Steve Cohen
• Stanley Gold/Roy Disney
• Leo Hindery/Marc Utay
• Magic Johnson/Stan Kasten
• Stan Kroenke
• Josh Macciello
• Peter O'Malley
• Joe Torre/Rick Caruso

Macciello confirmed, on his Twitter account, that he's still in it -- at least, one could deduce that from this:

"love That Pearl Jam song 'I'm still alive'"

So there you have it. The Johnson-Kasten group remains my favorite and is probably the favorite overall.

Man, April 6 cannot get here soon enough.

Hiroki Kuroda wanted to stay and the possible Rams-Dodgers connection

Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times caught up with former-Dodger-turned Yankee Hiroki Kuroda and confirmed what a lot of Dodger fans suspected: he wanted to stay in Los Angeles.

"Asked whether he would have remained with the Dodgers had they made him a reasonable offer, Kuroda said, 'It's hard to talk about something hypothetical. Obviously, I was comfortable there. I liked it there. My family liked it there.'

In fact, Kuroda said his wife and two school-age daughters will remain in Los Angeles while he is in New York next season.

'Part of me is sad to leave Los Angeles,' he said. 'I loved the atmosphere of the stadium.'"

So, anyone who claims Kuroda wasn't loyal or went back on his word can shove it. The guy wanted to be a Dodger and Ned Colletti failed to make that happen.

And how the hell were the Dodgers going to fit Kuroda in after signing Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano? Kuroda is obviously better and he would have bumped one of them to the bullpen, but what the hell is Colletti thinking? Just another in the long line of missteps by the Dodgers' GM.

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Earlier this week, prospective bidders for the Dodgers' ownership placed preliminary bids. There were the usual names -- Magic Johnson, Joe Torre, Mark Cuban, et al -- but a new name entered the fray: Stan Kroenke.

Kroenke is the new owner of the St. Louis Rams and there's a lot of speculation the Rams could be on their way back to L.A. -- even moreso after Kroenke "explored" a possible bid for the Dodgers.

While the rules are not exactly straightforward, Forbes' reporter Mike Ozanian had this to say:

"NFL rules prohibit an owner from having controlling interest in a major sports team outside of the football team’s market."

...and

"Even if Kroenke doen’t get the Dodgers, the fact that he is bidding for the team implies the Rams are bolting for L.A."

As a Rams' fan, this is great news. Of course, it's a bit presumptuous at this point. The Rams cannot move before 2014 and the Dodgers' ownership situation is set to be resolved by April 6 (with the new owner taking over April 30).

Then there's this from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

"If Kroenke owns the Dodgers and another team moves to Los Angeles, how would the NFL’s cross-ownership rules apply? Currently, an owner of an NFL team can own a non-football team in another market as long as there’s no NFL team in that market. If Kroenke buys a baseball team in Los Angeles, which would be permissible, and then an NFL team other than the one owned by Kroenke moves there, the situation could get dicey, to say the least."

...and

"It may be that Kroenke would merely be required at that point to transfer the paperwork of the Dodgers to another family member. Regardless, it would be hard not to view a purchase of the Dodgers as a potential precursor to moving the Rams to the same town."

So, who the hell knows?

I doubt Kroenke -- despite being a billionaire -- is going to spread his money that thin. He dropped $450 million on the Rams (a 60-percent share) and I don't think he'll be in the rumored $1.5-plus billion bidding unless he partners up with one of the billionaire super groups.

Still, the prospect of the Dodgers getting a wealthy owner and the Rams returning to Los Angeles makes me all giddy. But it's early in the process -- I should really temper my enthusiasm until more news potentially breaks.

At least 10 billionaires submit inital bids to buy the Dodgers

Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has the first story on at least 10 billionaires who submit opening bids to buy the Dodgers today.

The names revealed include Magic Johnson (and Stan Kasten), Mark Cuban, Joe Torre (and Rick Caruso), Steven Cohen, Peter O'Malley, Stanley Gold (and Disney) and Dennis Gilbert.

Two new bidders came to the forefront today: St. Louis Rams' owner Stan Kroenke, who is decided whether to place a bid, and New York investors Leo Hindery and Marc Utay, who attempted to buy the Chicago Cubs two years ago.

Kroenke recently purchased the Rams and there is speculation he might attempt to move the team back to Los Angeles after the 2014 season.

Update (9:11 p.m., Jan. 23): Molly Knight of ESPN the Magazine confirmed the group led by Orel Hershiser and Steve Garvey also submitted a bid today.

She also wonders about a man worth more than $7 billion -- Los Angeles' Patrick Soon-Shiong. He bought Johnson's minority stake with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.

Today's deadline was a soft one and, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN LA tweeted last night, the bids can change and the bidders have no obligation to follow through on the bids.

The sale price is expected to be upward of $1.5 billion.

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Jared Massey of L.A. Dodger Report has a look at Angelo Songco, who was No. 13 on his Top 20 Dodgers' prospect list.

Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness just wants a team to sign Prince Fielder, even if it isn't the Dodgers.

Brandon Lennox of True Blue L.A. has finished the first half of his 200-prospect countdown.