By Ken Gurnick
Download 245.97 Kb.
|
OC REGISTERColletti again ready to play 'Let's make a deal'By Pedro MouraOn the morning of July 31, 2012, at some long-since-forgotten hotel in Huntsville, Ala., Chris Withrow woke up to the sound of incessant knocking on his door. He snapped out of bed in a frenzy, at first expecting to see then-manager Carlos Subero telling him he had been traded. But when the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander opened the door, he found then-Double-A teammate Ethan Martin there with two words for him. POTENTIAL TARGETS Here are some of the top possibilities for a trade-deadline acquisition by the Dodgers: White Sox starter Jake Peavy Key stats: 32 years old, 13 starts in 2013, 3.37 ERA in 2012 Will the White Sox deal the veteran starter, or won't they? If they do, the Dodgers are a prime candidate. Padres reliever Luke Gregerson Key stats: 2.93 career ERA, 9.1 career SO per 9 innings A proven set-up man, Gregerson will cost quite a bit, but there aren't many better options for the eighth inning – available or unavailable. Brewers reliever John Axford Key stats: 106 career saves, 11 career SO per 9 innings The big Canadian right-hander makes a lot of sense because his cost is lower than other bullpen options. Phillies starter Cliff Lee Key stats: 34 years old, 3.05 ERA in 20 starts in 2013 There aren't many more dependable starters in baseball than Lee, but he will cost a ton -- to unearth from the Phillies and to pay over the next two to three seasons. "I'm gone," Martin told Withrow, minutes after finding out he had been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in a package for impact outfielder Shane Victorino. His flight east was leaving in three hours. "We were all expecting something to go down," Withrow says now. "But we didn't know who, where or when." Such has been midsummer life for Dodgers prospects under General Manager Ned Colletti's regime. Since Frank McCourt hired him in November 2005, Colletti has shown a willingness to make a deal at this time of year. On Colletti's watch, the Dodgers have never stood still on July 31 — the day of the nonwaiver trade deadline. In seven previous seasons, he has traded 30 players, most of them prospects, in the week leading to the deadline. But if ever there was a year to stand pat, this would be it. Colletti said Sunday he sees this as the worst trade market since he took over the Dodgers' job. "Most of the time we've been active in July, and usually we're on the buying and not the selling end," he said. "When your team plays well and you have a chance to win, you owe it to your club to do that." Among the players Colletti has bought — or traded prospects for — at the deadline are Greg Maddux, Manny Ramirez, Ted Lilly, Octavio Dotel and Hanley Ramirez. (He also has acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Jim Thome and others before the waiver trade deadline on Aug. 31.) The list of players he has sold — or traded for prospects — at the trade deadline is a lot shorter. It numbers just one, actually: shortstop Rafael Furcal, dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 for outfield prospect Alex Castellanos. The difference is mostly a product of the Dodgers' continued competitiveness under Colletti. But not many general managers are willing to make a blockbuster deal with a .500 record at the deadline, and that's what Colletti did when he acquired Manny Ramirez in 2008. "You have to be aggressive, but you have to be aggressive without being foolish," Colletti said. "You also have to understand that you have to give up some players who are going to play in the big leagues for other teams. You're not just going to get big leaguers for guys who are never going to see the light of day." Martin, Withrow's wake-up call provider, is nearing a big-league call-up as an 11-game winner in Triple-A and a top-five prospect in the Phillies' system. "Guys that get traded for established major-leaguers, they gain status in their new organization," Withrow said. "You witness guys go over to a new organization and make a pretty immediate impact there. It's been fun to watch, but it's also been weird to watch." To Withrow's point, one of the prospects the Dodgers traded to Miami for right-hander Ricky Nolasco earlier this month — right-hander Steven Ames — has already made it up to the majors. Other ex-teammates of Withrow's in the Dodgers' minor league chain to make their professional debuts after recent trades include right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, sent to Miami for Hanley Ramirez, and Boston right-hander Allen Webster, traded for Gonzalez and Co. Colletti said he does not fret over his ex-prospects' progress, even with the likes of Cleveland Indians catcher Carlos Santana and Chicago Cubs pitcher Edwin Jackson having gone on to success elsewhere. "You can't be afraid of what the player you're trading away might become," he said. "You can worry a little bit about the level of talent you're giving up, but if you think what you're getting back is equitable, you have to do it." Now, the Dodgers' biggest deadline need seems to be a right-handed reliever. Luckily for them, that appears be the one piece prevalent in the current market, with San Diego's Luke Gregerson or Milwaukee's John Axford two possibilities. A deal for a starting pitcher is also possible, with the fifth spot in the rotation still in flux. The impact starters available — namely Jake Peavy of the Chicago White Sox and Cliff Lee of the Phillies — would cost a considerable amount of minor league talent. All Colletti will say is he does not foresee a blockbuster trade going down, but he does want to get a "little bit better." "We don't know what's going to happen," Colletti said. "We know we're not close to anything right now, and we know that if we see a way to improve our club with the talent going back in the right price range, we'll look at it." His history suggests the Dodgers will do more than just look at it. Directory: documents documents -> Concept stage documents -> Concept stage documents -> The great global switch-off documents -> Nonprofit grant application documents -> The Truth about the Rwandan Genocide documents -> Annual InStructional unit plan documents -> Chaos equipment included Download 245.97 Kb. Share with your friends:
|