Bobby Abreu deal official, Dodgers option Sellers

The Dodgers officially signed Bobby Abreu to a 1-year contract on Friday. He'll play the role of left-handed bat off the bench and part-time starter in left field (as he's done so in his first couple games).

He came up in two key situations yesterday. Once he struck out and the other time, in the top of the ninth inning, he hit a ball right on the nose, but the Cubs' defense allowed the right fielder to cut the ball of before it could get down.

I'm not particularly a fan of the signing, but hopefully it means less Adam Kennedy. However, with the Dodgers optioning Justin Sellers to Triple-A (and Ivan De Jesus back), the Isotopes' roster is getting pretty packed (Luis Cruz, Elian Herrera, Josh Fields and Alex Castellanos, when he gets off the disabled list). Not that guys like Cruz and Herrera should get top billing over Sellers, De Jesus and Castellanos, but it's going to happen sometimes.

So now, the Dodgers are relying on Jerry Hairston, who's been magnificent at third base and second base, to be Dee Gordon's primary backup at shortstop. That didn't work out too well in Spring Training, but we'll see how it works now.

I know Sellers wasn't hitting much, but he should have remained to be a quality defensive backup to Gordon. Instead, Kennedy and his 3-for-22 line is still employed.

Photo credit: farmerbuzz, Flickr

Did the Dodgers do the right thing in letting MacDougal go?

MacDougal

To answer the headline: hell yes! He was awful this season and, unsurprisingly, Ned Colletti was fooled by Mike MacDougal's sparkly 2011 ERA.

MacDougal signed a 1-year contract this winter and got a guaranteed $1 million ($650,000 base salary, $350,000 buyout). And what did the Dodgers get out of it? Not much: 7.94 ERA, 2.65 WHIP, 14.3 H/9, 9.5 BB/9.

But giving Ronald Belisario, a guy who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2010 (and did so poorly), the roster spot was the wrong move.

Belisario, who's been through a lot in the last year, had trouble throwing well in his minor-league rehab appearances: 4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 6 R (four earned), 2 BB, 1 K.

Those numbers don't exactly instill a lot of confidence. However, Belisario is out of options and, as Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. notes (in the link above), since he has already been outrighted once in his career, Belisario would have to approve any minor-league assignment.

Belisario 29, is known for his low-to-mid-90s sinker and could be a big boost to the Dodgers' bullpen -- if he can somehow regain his 2009 form (2.04 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 3.51 FIP). But I'm not holding my breath.

In this scenario, I'd have rather the Dodgers promoted Shawn Tolleson, who has been flat-out dominant in the minors ever since being drafted in the 30th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. This season is no exception: 0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 5.4 H/9, 2.7 BB/9, 16.2 K/9, 6.00 K/BB. He has a career 1.00 ERA in the minors (that isn't a typo).

We know the Dodgers are hesitant send legitimate pitching prospects to Triple-A, so the next logical step for Tolleson is the majors.

He's not on the 40-man roster and with just one spot open (and the likely signing of Bobby Abreu), the Dodgers would have to make a move. In this case, I would have just 86'd Belisario and gone straight to Tolleson.

The Dodgers' desire to give Belisario another shot is understandable. Despite a turbulent year-plus, he arrived at camp a month early and was committed to getting back on the mound.

We'll see what happens. I'm not optimistic, but the Dodgers do need another legitimate pitcher to back up Josh Lindblom, Kenley Jansen and Javy Guerra. If it's Belisario, that'd be great. If not, hopefully someone else steps up.

At least we don't have to see MacDougal struggle to throw strikes for the Dodgers anymore.

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Speaking of Abreu, there's no official word of his signing yet. Those must me some really "serious" talks he and the Dodgers are having.

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Here's an excerpt of my latest post over at Chad Moriyama:

"Tony Delmonico, 2008 sixth-round pick, was released. The 25-year-old was hitting just .188 with the Quakes in 21 games.

He was drafted out of Florida State, converted to catcher, and had a great debut season in the Pioneer League: .340/.443/.716. The catching experiment didn’t work, despite a decent caught stealing percentage for a guy who never caught before (28 percent). However, 33 passed balls in 102 games is where the experiment ended."

and

"Jonathan Garcia, last year’s April monster with Great Lakes, now finds himself on the Ogden Raptors roster. There’s no word on whether he’s injured or not, but his performance with Rancho was definitely sub-par.

In 15 games, Garcia posted a .228/.250/.263 line with 22 strikeouts in 57 at-bats, and that simply isn’t going to get it done for the 20-year-old. After hitting 19 home runs in the Midwest League as a 19-year-old last season, he had just two extra-base hits for the Quakes (two doubles)."

Photo credit: terren in Virginia, Flickr

Dodgers in 'serious talks' with Bobby Abreu, which makes little sense

Bobby Abreu about to be a Dodger?

The Dodgers are seriously considering signing a two-time All-Star, a Gold Glove winner and a guy with a career .877 OPS.

What's so bad about that?

It's Bobby Abreu.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted the Dodgers are in "serious talks" to sign Abreu after he was released by the Anaheim Angels last week.

Update (6:12 p.m.): Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also confirms the interest with a little more information.

"Source confirms that #Dodgers have had talks with Abreu about being bat off bench and playing some outfield. First reported, @JonHeymanCBS"

Abreu, 38, is 5-for-24 this season with three doubles. He was unhappy about his playing time being cut, which begs the question: Why do the Dodgers want to sign him?

Granted, he'd be a much better option off the bench than say, Adam Kennedy, but so would my grandmother. If Abreu couldn't even get playing time in the American League, what makes him think he'll get playing time in the National League?

He's no longer an even halfway decent defender, so he'd be a Manny Ramirez-esque liability in left field. And he's played exactly zero games at first base in his career.

Abreu had a miserable 2011 with Anaheim, posting a .253/.353/.365 line. He has almost no power left, which is something the Dodgers sorely need. He also hasn't fared well at Dodger Stadium in his career: .227/.346/.367.

The dude can draw a walk -- ranks No. 24 in the history of baseball (1,421), but that's about all he's good for.

This reeks of Juan Rivera last season, and Ned Colletti ended up giving Rivera a $4.5 million contract after half a season with the Dodgers.

If he's content with being a pinch-hitter and maybe playing once or twice a week in left field, a minimum-salary deal might not be the worst thing in the world. However, it remains to be seen if that's the case.

This is not the big bat the Dodgers need.

Photo credit: farmerbuzz, Flickr

Andre Ethier and a contract extension with new Dodgers' ownership

Andre Ethier: $15 million man?

On this glorious day when the sale of the Dodgers is official, there is scuttlebutt the ownership is looking to hash out a contract extension with Andre Ethier.

Bill Shaikin, L.A. Times:

"Colletti met w Ethier's agent Fri at Dodger Stadium. No deal imminent, but that could be first order of business for new #Dodgers owners."

Jon Heyman, CBS Sports:

"doesnt sound like anythings close with ethier. but with new group in place, chances for deal improve drastically. #dodgers"

I wrote in June the Dodgers needed to trade Ethier, but I am coming around on the Dodgers giving him an extension. BUT, it needs to be under ideal terms and after more than just a month of good ball.

This is Ethier's stat line through 23 games: .276/.330/.540, five home runs, 24 RBI, six doubles. Those are pretty solid numbers, even if the batting average and on-base percentage are lower than his career averages (.291/.363).

At this time last year, Ethier was absolutely tearing the cover off the ball: .382/.450/.539, two home runs, 13 RBI and eight doubles. We all know what happened the rest of the way (.271/.350/.394 in 112 games).

I'm not saying Ethier is going to regress like that, but I want to see him play at a high level for more than a month before the Dodgers think about extending him. Even though the free agent market is thin in terms of hitters this winter, it wouldn't make any sense to overpay for Ethier.

His power appears to be back and he is hitting left-handed pitching better (.273/.351/.485), which is fantastic. But we have to remember this is a small sample size. Let's see where he is in another month.

So, what kind of deal should he get? That remains to be seen.

He's never been an elite player and he likely never will, so don't worry about Matt Holliday or Jayson Werth money (I recognize they aren't elite players -- although Holliday is good -- but they're getting paid as such).

Ethier is making $10.95 million this season, which is his last under team control. Some Similar Batter scores (according to Baseball-Reference) include Hunter Pence, Brad Hawpe and Corey Hart. Pence and Hart are pretty good comparisons. Hawpe made his living off Coors Field, so I'm not counting him.

Pence, still under team control for one more season, is making $10.4 million this year. There's not telling what he'd get on the open market at this point.

Hart signed a 3-year extension with the Brewers in August 2010. He's making $9 million this season and $10 million the next.

So, where does Ethier fall in here? Well, we have to factor in the fact he just turned 30 and is coming off knee surgery. So far, the knee looks great. But the Dodgers shouldn't give him an extension longer than four guaranteed years.

Here's what I'm thinking (and this is as much as I'd be willing to go, personally):

4 years, $60 million with two options years
2013: $12M, 2014: $13M, 2015: $15M, 2016: $16M, 2017: $16M (option with $2M buyout), 2018: $16M (option with $2M buyout)

The Dodgers would also have to include the usual bonuses for All-Star appearances, Silver Slugger awards and other postseason hardware.

Stan Kasten, the Dodgers' new president, has never been one to dole out huge amounts of money for free agents or his team's own pending free agents, so I'm confident a deal such as this could be worked out between the two.

Contrary to popular (my?) belief, maybe Ethier actually wants to stay in Los Angeles. At this point it could be mutually beneficial.

Matt Kemp wants Ethier to be extended. If Matt Kemp wants it, the Dodgers should make it happen -- on their terms.

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As mentioned above, the new ownership group is officially in and Frank McCourt is official out. Mark Walter, Kasten and Magic Johhnson take over. It's a great day for Dodger fans.

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Here's my latest piece at Chad Moriyama with an excerpt. It's about the resurgence of Ethan Martin and if he can keep it up.

"There has been no harsher critic of Ethan Martin than myself.

While I once rated him as the Dodgers second-best prospect, he has since fallen flat on his face and my rankings have reflected that. This season, however, he’s showing signs of putting it all together for the first time as a professional baseball player."