Dodgers acquire Ricky Nolasco and int'l money from Marlins for Steve Ames, Angel Sanchez and Josh Wall

In what shouldn't be surprising news to anyone at this rate, the Dodgers acquired Ricky Nolasco on Saturday from the Marlins for Steve Ames, Angel Sanchez and Josh Wall.

Ken Rosenthal first reported this afternoon the trade was "close," and that was obviously true.

The Dodgers are paying all of the approximately $5.5 million remaining on Nolasco's contract.

Nolasco is a free agent after the season and a Southern California native, so it's conceivable he could be retained (probably on a 3-year deal, per Ned Colletti's norm).

I wrote for Yahoo! Sports the Dodgers should stay away from him, as there are better options available. Since that time, I've lightened up a bit to the idea of acquiring him, but he'd still not be first on my list.

Also since that time, Nolasco has increased his strikeout rate by nearly one full strikeout per nine innings (from 6.3 to 7.2). That's encouraging. His hits per nine rate isn't great (9.0), but he doesn't walk a lot of hitters (2.0 BB/9).

Nolasco is a rare pitcher these days, boasting a split-finger fastball that he throws 12.7 percent of the time this season. But FanGraphs values it as a negative pitch (-1.2). His best pitch, according to the data, is his slider (8.3). He throws it 24.3 percent of the time.

His fastball sits in the 88-92 MPH range and averages 90.1 MPH this season. He also has a curveball that he relies on.

He's much more of a junk-baller than previously expected.Once a Cubs' top prospect, Nolasco was traded to Florida in December 2005 with Sergio Mitre and Renyel Pinto for old friend Juan Pierre.

The best part of this deal isn't acquiring a decent No. 4 or 5 starter the rest of the season, it's acquiring the international spending money from the Marlins. The Dodgers did this with the Cubs in the Carlos Marmol deal and, since they've already spent $1.4 million of their $2,322,600 limit, this will help immensely. The amount added to the cap is unknown at this time.

Update (6:31 p.m.): The Dodgers acquired the No. 96 slot value, which is $197,000, raising their international spending limit to $2,519,600.

The Dodgers actually did really well with this trade.

Ames was added to the 40-man roster this winter and is strictly a reliever. He has a fastball that sits in the 88-92 MPH range that can touch 94-95 at times. He also has a slider that's allowed him to compile an 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings rate in 207 career minor-league innings. That number is down to 7.6 this season and he's spent some time on the disabled list.

Sanchez

Sanchez was a Top 10 prospect in the system before a disastrous 2012 campaign with the Quakes. He began 2013 with the Great Lakes Loons and was recently promoted to High-A Rancho. Sanchez has a low-90s fastball, a potentially average to solid-average changeup and a slider. He probably won't last in the rotation long.

Wall is a flamethrowing reliever who was drafted as a starter in 2005. He's touched triple-digits in the minors, but his average velocity in the majors is 92.4 MPH. His slider sits in the low-80s and helps him to get strikeouts.

All in all, this is a really good deal for the Dodgers, even if the international spending money is unknown. The Dodgers traded three relievers for a quality back-of-the-rotation starter and some lottery money. Really hard to complain about that.

Photo credit: ScottRAnselmo, Wikimedia Commons

Dodgers' MLB Draft and international signing update: Harris, Tirado, Padilla

The Dodgers made another over-slot signing by inking 17th-round pick Greg Harris on Wednesday to a $175,000 bonus. That $75,000 extra counts against the Dodgers' draft spending limit.

Harris was committed to the University of Oregon, so the Dodgers had to kick in the extra $75,000 to get him to forego his commitment.

To date, the team is $6,285 under the team's allotted $5,472,285, which includes the 5 percent overage. Contrary to my last update, fifth-round pick J.D. Underwood signed for $306,200, not $360,000.

Round	Player	Slot	Bonus	Savings
1	Chris Anderson	$2,109,900	$2,109,900	$0
2	Tom Windle	$986,500	$986,500	$0
3	Brandon Dixon	$566,500	$566,500	$0
4	Cody Bellinger	$409,000	$700,000	($291,000)
5	J.D. Underwood	$306,200	$306,200	$0
6	Jacob Rhame	$229,300	$300,000	($70,700)
7	Brandon Trinkwon	$171,900	$171,900	$0
8	Kyle Farmer	$153,600	$40,000	$113,600
9	Henry Yates	$143,500	$5,000	$138,500
10	Nick Keener	$135,300	$5,000	$130,300
11	Spencer Navin	$0	$200,000	($200,000)
17	Greg Harris	$0	$75,000	($75,000)
Total		$5,211,700	$5,466,000	($254,300)

The Dodgers -- provided they don't sign any other guys to over-slot bonuses (because $6,285 is chump change in baseball) -- won't lose their 2014 first-round pick.

Scott

The Dodgers also signed 30th-rounder catcher Ryan Scott (Notre Dame High School, Ariz.). However, 31st-rounder third baseman Andrew McWilliam (Westlake HS, Calif.) decided to attend the University of New Mexico and 13th-rounder left-handed pitcher Ty Damron is all but assured of going to Texas Tech University.

Scott was a nice get for the Dodgers. I didn't think they were going to get him out of his commitment to Arizona Western College -- a junior college that would allow him to re-enter the draft next year. He was also considering UCLA, UNLV, Oregon and the University of San Diego.

Losing out on McWilliam and likely Damron hurt the potential for the Dodgers' 2013 draft. McWilliam was a tall, thin third baseman with big power potential who should provide Chris Jackson (Albuquerque Examiner) with some good content for the next three seasons. Damron has potential as a lefty high schooler who already sits in the upper-80s and should be a low-90s pitcher after some instruction and growth in college.

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The Dodgers also signed three players on the first day of the international signing period (July 2) and one the following day.

July 2
Daniel Padilla
Alvaro Trillo
Sven Schuller

July 3
Lucas Tirado

Padilla and Trillo signed for $200,000 each, while Schuller's signing bonus is unknown. As only the fifth European player the Dodgers have ever had (four international signees, one Rule 4 draftee -- hat tip to 7_marko, via Twitter), the bonus won't be too much. Tirado signed for a cool million bucks, as expected.

Baseball America had this to say about the signees:

Padilla: "Padilla, 16, is 6-foot-3, 185 pounds with good athleticism, excellent speed and a strong arm from center field. With his size and wheels, he offers an intriguing combination of speed and power potential from the right side of the plate. Padilla trained with Dennys Suarez."

Tirado: "Tirado, 16, is 6-foot-2, 180 pounds and shows a short swing from the left side during batting practice, although his game performance has been uneven. He’s a below-average runner and doesn’t have a standout tool, which means a position change is likely in his future."

Trillo: "Trillo, 16, is 6-foot-1, 175 pounds with a loose arm and a fastball up to 91 mph. His curveball already gets up to the high-70s with good break, so he could have two above-average pitches between his fastball and his curveball. He has shown some feel for changeup as well with good pitchability for his age. Trillo trains with Rafael Betancourt."

The Dodgers have spent at least $1.4 million of their $2,322,600 international spending budget. I look forward to seeing who else the Dodgers sign between now and mid-June 2014 on the international market.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Perfect Game

Podcast: 'Dugout Blues' episode 46 - Dodgers, Marmol, Ramirez, Pederson

On this episode of "Dugout Blues," Jared Massey (Dodger Diamond) talk about the Dodgers and their new winning ways. It's much more fun to talk and write about this team when things are going well.

The Dodgers swung a trade with the Cubs for Carlos Marmol (using Matt Guerrier), which doesn't sound great on the surface. However, the Dodgers got international spending money in the deal, which does sound great.

Jose Dominguez, despite a rough outing on Wednesday, made an impressive MLB debut on Sunday.

Hanley Ramirez is on fire and is carrying the team as much as Yasiel Puig is. Maybe it's time to start a campaign for him to go to New York for the All-Star Game.

Luis Cruz is now an ex-Dodger and, somehow, landed a 25-man roster spot with the Yankees.

Joc Pederson will represent the Dodgers at the Futures Game. He'll also go to the Southern League All-Star Game along with Yimi Garcia, Zach Lee, Hector Nelo, Ross Stripling, Luis Vazquez and Rafael Ynoa. Rob Rasmussen also got the nod, but he won't play in the game because he's in Triple-A.

Blake Smith is now a pitcher. I'm trying to get an interview with him to give us his reaction. He's struggled at the plate this season.

Plus, there's a draft and international signing update.

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Look for new episodes of "Dugout Blues" every Wednesday. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we're always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you'd like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us (ladugout@gmail.com or feelinkindablue@gmail.com) or send us messages on Twitter (@Dodger_Diamond or @FeelinKindaBlue). You can also "Like" the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

Image credit: Joe Martin

Dodgers eye SS Lucas Tirado early in 2013-14 international signing period

The new international signing period begins Tuesday (July 2) and the Dodgers have been tied to one player who could garner a bonus of more than a million bucks.

Lucas Tirado, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic, is the guy the Dodgers reportedly have an eye on. Kiley McDaniel of Scouting Baseball projects the Dodgers to ink Tirado to a $1.2 million bonus. He also ranks Tirado as the 14th-best prospect available.

Tirado, 16, is a shortstop for now, but Matt Garrioch of Minor League Ball thinks he might have to move off the position eventually. He lists second base and left field as possibilities. I’d be perfectly fine if Tirado ended up as a second baseman.

Garrioch also had this to say about Tirado: 

“Interesting hitter. Polished. Not sure he can stick at SS. Might be a LF/2B.”

Tirado’s a lefty swinger with decent bat speed. He isn’t the fleetest of foot, which could lead to a position change. Tirado’s hit tool is his best, with everything else grading out as average in the future (at best).

Tirado won’t be 17 until Dec. 13. At 6’2, 175 pounds, he’ll fill out physically, which could also determine his long-term position.

For what it's worth: Ben Badler of Baseball America doesn't have Tirado ranked in his Top 30 international prospects list. Badler is one of the foremost authorities when it comes to international players, but he isn't the be-all, end-all, either. Also, he didn't have Julio Urias ranked in his Top 20 last year (hat tip to Jared Massey).

I don’t think Tirado is a future star, but, if his development goes according to plan, could be an everyday player in the majors in a handful of years.

Here's some video of the youngster.

The Dodgers have $2,112,900 to spend on international talent this year. That’s down from the $2.9 million they had last year. Badler reported on Wednesday the Dodgers are among a handful of teams looking to trade for more international cap space (trading for cap space explained here by Badler).

The fact the Dodgers could commit more than half of their available pool to one guy -- who isn’t even regarded as the top two or three guys available -- says one of two things:

1. The Dodgers are really high on this guy
2. They will acquire more cap space

I won’t question the Dodgers’ methods, as they’ve gotten back into the international market by signing roughly 46 players since the new ownership group took over in May 2012.

The team made waves last year by signing Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu -- neither of whom counted toward the cap spending limit. The Dodgers are interested in a couple other guys who fall into this category this year: right-handed pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez (26 years old) and outfielder Dariel Alvarez (23) -- both of whom are Cuban defectors.

I wrote about Gonzalez for Yahoo! Sports last week. The Dodgers should go all out for this guy. He could pitch in the majors this season and profiles as a middle-of-the-rotation guy long-term.

“Gonzalez has fastball that sits in the low-90s and routinely touches 94-95 MPH. He also has a changeup, curveball, cut-fastball and the rare forkball. Dodger fans remember a great forkball thrown by Hideo Nomo oh so many years ago.

Many believe Gonzalez is near-MLB ready. He might need a month or so in the minors to get back into the rhythm, but he should pitch in the majors this season. He profiles as a middle-of-the-rotation starter with No.2 upside.”

Alvarez would be a nice get for nothing other than depth, because the last thing the Dodgers need is more MLB-ready outfielders. But I’d rather the Dodgers focus efforts elsewhere.

It should be an interesting signing year. I want the Dodgers to acquire more cap space after a lackluster draft. Chris Anderson is the only player with impact potential from the Dodgers’ 2013 draft.

These international prospects -- save Gonzalez and Alvarez (to a certain extent) -- are lottery tickets. If the Dodgers hit on just one per year, the investment will have been well worth it.

If the Dodgers come out of the signing period early on with Gonzalez and Tirado, I'd call that a win.