Dodgers' news - Silverio, Ryu, rotation, Sanchez, Shields, Lohse, prospects

It's been a busy week without it having been a busy week. Sounds weird, I know. But the Dodgers have been involved in tons of rumors, but there haven't been a lot of transactions.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the Dodger-related news this week.

Silverio wasn't concussed?

Ben Badler of Baseball America was able to interview Alfredo Silverio, the former Dodger prospect who was selected by the Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday.

There were a couple of interesting notes from the piece.

"The Dodgers brought Silverio in for tests and determined that he had a concussion. Only there was one problem: Silverio said the test was done in English. Silverio signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2003 and can speak English, but it's not his native language. Silverio said he understood everything the doctors were telling him, but he wanted to think about what they were saying before he responded, which may have been misinterpreted.

With Silverio's concussion, the Dodgers wanted him to stay off the field, but Silverio asked the Dodgers if he could get a second opinion. When Silverio went to the University of Pittsburgh a few weeks later for a test -- this time conducted in Spanish -- Silverio said they told him he did not have a concussion. Even with that, Silverio still missed the entire 2012 season, as he had Tommy John surgery that spring, which Silverio said he believes was the result of an elbow injury he sustained in the car accident."

The most interesting part of this is the fact Silverio's concussion might have been misdiagnosed. While it didn't matter in terms of playing time because of the elbow injury, it raises some concerns for me.

It's always better to be on the safe side, but in a situation like this, the Dodgers should have done a little more to make sure Silverio didn't actually have a concussion. It shows a lack of diligence on their part. Knowing the his first language isn't English, they should have conducted the examination in Spanish in the first place. And slow answers aren't the be-all, end-all when it comes to diagnosing a person with a concussion, but it is a significant part.

It obviously didn't scare the Marlins away, as they took Silverio early and likely expect him to contribute significantly in 2013.

There wasn't a spot for Silverio on the Dodgers' this season, so losing him doesn't hurt as much as it would have, say, last year. However, the Dodgers medical staff needs to do a better job in situations such as these in the future. While I haven't heard anything like this, it'd be in its best interest to make sure somethign like this doesn't happen again.

Ryu deadline Sunday

The Dodgers have until Sunday at 2 p.m. to sign Hyun-Jin Ryu to a contract. Mike Petriello reported Ryu has already passed his physical, which is the first step to getting the deal done.

Yes, the Dodgers and Ryu's agent Scott Boras have gone back and forth already, but that was just the opening salvo. Expect the negotiations to heat up Saturday with a deal being struck just prior to the deadline. It's the Scott Boras way.

And with the Dodgers less and less likely to land Zack Greinke, Ryu's signing could be that much more important.

Speaking of potentially no Greinke...

With the team contemplating a move to the next-best free agent starter -- Anibal Sanchez -- it could and should also explore the trade market even further.

The Dodgers have been linked to R.A. Dickey and James Shields. While it'd be easier to land Dickey, I still want the Dodgers to go after Shields. He provides more value, despite Dickey coming off a 2012 Cy Young season.

But whatever happens, the Dodgers need to steer way clear of Kyle Lohse. He isn't that good a pitcher and he'd cost the Dodgers their first-round draft pick. If the Dodgers were going to give up a draft pick to sign a pitcher, they should have just signed Hiroki Kuroda.

First prospect list of 2013

It's prospect season and True Blue L.A. is the first site to check in with a prospect list. Its fan voting concluded on Friday with not a lot of surprises.

Its Top 10 is as follows:

1. Yasiel Puig
2. Zach Lee
3. Corey Seager
4. Joc Pederson
5. Chris Reed
6. Matt Magill
7. Paco Rodriguez
8. Chris Withrow
9. Garrett Gould
10.  Onelki Garcia

Check out the full Top 20.

I'm shooting for the end of the month to release my Top 50. Right now, it's going to take some doing. If it doesn't go live this year, it in early January.

Photo credit: Cbl62, Wikimedia Commons