As we enter a new era for Dodger baseball, one filled with hope and promises from the soon to be owners, we cannot forget that this team is currently chained into mediocrity for the next two years. As shocking as this may seem, especially given Magic, and Kastan's statement that they bought the Dodgers with the intention of winning now, if you look at the current state of the Dodger contracts, things do not look pretty, and the man who set all of this up is Ned Colletti.
Looking towards the 2013 season there are some interesting free agents available, however, the focus of the market is in pitching and not offense. For starting pitching the likes of Matt Cain, Cole Hamels, and Zack Grinke are available. For the offense the biggest names would be Miguel Montero (C), Mike Napoli (C), Brandon Philips (2B), Josh Hamilton (OF)and our favorite Andre Either (RF).
First let's look at starting pitching. Currently the Dodgers rotation is set as Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsly, Ted Lilly, Aaron Harng, Chris Capuano. Of these Lilly, Harang, and Capuano are all signed through the 2013 season and to make matters worse, all three contracts are end loaded. In 2013, Lilly will earn 12 million, Harang, 7 million, and Capuano 6 million. Now in order to sign any new starting pitching the Dodgers will need to release or trade a pitcher, and considering how much is owed to these pitchers the Dodgers will also need to pick up some of their tab in order to trade them. My guess is that Harang, or Capuano can be traded, however 4 million of Harang's, and 3 million of Capuano's contract would need to be picked up in order to make a move. Basically it comes down to the question of is Kastan willing to pay a couple million to open up a rotation spot and get a low level prospect.
Now onto position players, and possibly the more depressing part of this post. For next season the open positions (assuming Rivera's option isn't picked up) are 1st base, left field and right field. Catcher can also be considered a place for upgrade as AJ Ellis (despite how much I like the guy) profiles out as a strong backup catcher. This mean that even if David Wright's $16 million option is not picked up by the Mets (making him the best 3rd baseman available), the Dodgers would have no room for him, unless they can unload Uribe and the 8 million he's owed, or relegate his 8 million dollar butt to the bench. This same situation can be seen at 2nd base as well, where Brandon Philips is available, however in order to make space for him, Mark Ellis and the 5 million owed to him would need to be traded, and I just can't see there being a lot of interest in a 35 year old glove first second baseman. As for filling the openings available, picking up Montero and Napoli could be a wise and solid investment. Since Napoli can play both catcher and 1st, his signing in addition to Napoli, would allow for Napoli to catch on Montero's days off. Adding the two would bring two solid bats on each side of the plate, Napoli having a career line of 264/259/514 (Avg/OBP/Slg), and Montero's career is 271/338/451. Together they would also provide at least 35 home runs, nearly 20 more than Loney, and AJ Ellis combined. As for the outfield, with the lack of impact free agents available, it would perhaps be in the Dodger's best interest to lock up Andre Eithier. The only other outfield impact bat would be Hamilton, and while his numbers are great, a career 308/366/543, I am cautious as to how his bat will perform outside of the friendly confines of Ranger's Ballpark, and how his off the field issues will effect his on field play.
In conclusion, though I'm excited about the new owners, I'm just not sure how they can turn the Dodgers into a championship team in the next two years, with barely any open positions in which to sign free agents.
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