Dodgers as a trade partner

[gunnarthor]

Based on the other thread ...

 

Dodgers could be a partner for Span (or Willingham). Currently they are using Bobby Abreau in left but could move him to first (which is also a problem for them). Worse, for them, their main lead-off hitter, Gordon, has an OBP around .285. The Dodgers are going to be printing money with their new ownership and TV deals and will be among the likely bidders on Hamels next year (Hamels, Billingsly and Kershaw, yikes). They won't be as dependent on their farm system as they used to be so could trade some of their surplus pitching.

 

Span makes sense for them - lead off hitter, able to spell Kemp in center when needed, already used to hitting in a pitchers park. Ideally, the Dodgers come back to the pack a bit (they're 5 games up but overplaying their pyth by a few games) where they realize they can't let Gordon lead off anymore. With their expanding payroll, they'll be able to cover any future prospect losses.

 

The Twins could target several of their pitching prospects. Baseball America had 3 of their pitching prospects in the top 100 last year the lowest of whom has made four starts in the majors this year. The top two, Zach Lee and Allen Webster, have struggled a bit this year but have good peripheral numbers. Lee, especially, doesn't walk many. John Sickels wrote: "They have good strength in right-handed starting pitching: Lee, Eovaldi, Webster, Gould, Sanchez, and Withrow could all develop into workhorse starters and perhaps more. Lee has the best projection and gets the highest grade, but all of these guys have the stuff to succeed, if they stay healthy, of course." They also have a few other enticing Twin type guys in toolsy OFers like Joc Pederson and James Baldwin.

[nicksaviking]

Don't forget the Dodgers are also looking for an impact bat at 1B to replace the offensive black hole that is James Loney. The Twins have one of those available too.

[glunn]

This is a great post. Here is another link where you can read more about the Dodgers' prospects: http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/#list=la

 

It seems to me that Span is a proven commodity with a clear potential to stay valuable for a while. In contrast, the Dodgers' prospects each might have a 50% (or less) chance of becoming effective MLB starters. If the Twins could get two prospects with a 50% chance of becoming good starters, that would seem like a fair deal to me.

 

Looking at the Dodgers prospects, it seems to me that the Dodgers are doing a much better job at identifying and drafting (and signing) high ceiling pitching prospects than the Twins. Maybe the best move of all would be to hire some of the Dodgers' scouts.