Biggest Offseason Addition as of 2/1/14
Nobody: The 2013 Dodgers finished their season with a 92-70 record and the National League Western Division title, their best finish since going 95-67 and winning the division title in 2009, but it ultimately came to an abrupt end in Game Six of the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
While the season can still be considered a great success, it’s usually in these situations that the General Manager will do what they can to fill in the missing pieces from the previous season in order to leave their competition in the dust when the playoffs come around.
Unfortunately for Dodgers fans, GM Ned Colletti didn’t get that memo. Rather than bulk up on reliable starting pitching, Colletti opted to let Chris Capuano go to free agency so he could sign Dan Haren to a one-year $10 million deal. Back in 2011 this would have been a great deal; however, Haren’s stock has fallen on harsh times while posting a 12-13 record with a 4.33 ERA in 2012 with the Los Angeles Angels and a 10-14 record with a 4.67 ERA in 2013 with the Washington Nationals.
Capuano went 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA in 2013 for $6 million and the Dodgers could have easily signed him to a one-year deal worth a bit less and still get close to the same results as Haren is projected to post. With one of the highest payrolls in the Majors, the Haren signing makes the Dodgers look more concerned with stacking their roster with names as opposed to players who will help the team win and save payroll.
The same thing could easily be said when Colletti rolled the dice on a one-year $2.3 million deal on troubled relief pitcher Chris Perez.
Perez managed to have the worst season of his career in 2013 by posting a 5-3 record with a career-worst 4.33 ERA and only 25 saves while striking out 54 batter in 54 innings pitched. Even though the Dodgers had already re-signed their 2013 late-season setup man Brian Wilson to a one-year $10 million deal, Colletti, for some reason, felt the urge to bring in Perez even though the Dodgers already had plenty of other “reliable” arms in the bullpen waiting to go (Brandon League and Paco Rodriguez). It will certainly be interesting to see how long it will take before Wilson’s and Perez’s egos start to clash.
Biggest Offseason Loss
Mark Ellis: With Colletti looking to sign so many names this offseason, he managed to do a poor job in keeping one of the most reliable on team, Ellis. Ellis arguably played his best baseball since he was a member of the Oakland Athletics back in 2010, hitting .270 with six home runs and 48 RBI in 126 games.
His postseason numbers were above par as he was one of the most consistent hitters from the Dodgers throughout the entire postseason (.254 with three doubles, a triple and five runs scored). But rather than bring him back, especially after losing Nick Punto to the Athletics, Colletti and the Dodgers ultimately moved forward with signing Cuban defector Alexander Guerrero to a four-year $32 million deal (with incentives), and are planning to stick him at second base for Opening Day.
Keep in mind, Guerrero is unproven and only played 12 games in the Dominican Winter League because of a left hamstring injury.
Luckily the Dodgers still have the option of starting Dee Gordon at second base, but even that’s a seemingly horrible plan due to the fact that Gordon is a natural shortstop and only played in 38 games in 2013 while Hanley Ramirez was on the DL. All of these issues will more-than-likely bite the Dodgers when it counts most down the stretch.
Name to Watch in Spring Training: Alexander Guerrero
Speaking of Guerrero, there really isn’t a bigger expectation for a player in 2014 than the mystery man himself. Granted, fans and the front office will be on pins and needles anytime Clayton Kershaw takes the mound in lieu of the seven-year $215 million contract extension, but the thing about Kershaw is that he’s extremely reliable.
His two NL Cy Young Awards in three years can prove that. But Guerrero, muck like Yasiel Puig and even Yoenis Cespedes was signed to a lucrative deal based on videos and word of mouth, rather than coming up through the ranks of the minor league system like most big leaguers have to do before hitting pay dirt. Guerrero is 27-years-old, and all that is really known about him, besides obviously being able to play ball, is that he displays a lot or patience and is more soft-spoken than his fellow countryman, Puig.
He will also being playing at a position that the Dodgers need him to fill, as opposed to playing the spot that comes most natural to him, shortstop. Needless to say, even with all of the other names and egos in the lineup, Guerrero is the only unproven talent on that team and will be drawing the most attention during Spring Training.
Biggest Spring Training Battle: Wild Card!!!
Most teams in the Majors only have one “battle” taking place during Spring Training, which usually consists of two players “slugging it out” for the starting job at a specific position.
However, in the case of the Dodgers, there will be a lot more going on in the dugout than on the field when it comes to Spring Training battles. As mentioned above, it’s only a matter of time before the egos of Wilson and Perez come to blows, and it will more than likely rear its ugly head shortly after Perez gets back into meltdown mode.
Guerrero versus second base will certainly be interesting, but not as much as when you add natural shortstop into the same mix. Both players will be fighting for the starting second base spot on Opening Day, but neither have much experience at the position. Some players like Jed Lowrie, Matt Carpenter or even Punto can pull it off, but all three of those guys have displayed way more discipline in the field than the two in question.
Puig versus fundamentals. This one is pretty self-explanatory, and it most certainly became an issue several times throughout the 2013 season including the playoffs.
There is no doubt that Puig is naturally-gifted ball player; however, his attitude clouds his judgment when it comes to playing fly balls in right field and when he decides to celebrate the most-pedestrian of base hits with an outlandish bat flip. As fun as it is to watch, Puig has 24 other guys plus the coaching staff who need him to get his head straight and wait to celebrate his greatness when the game is over.
So take your pick; all three scenarios will certainly be a draw in 2014.
What Went Right in 2013
Dodgers’ manager Don Mattingly is the luckiest man in baseball. In a short period of time he managed to lead his team into the abyss of the bottom of the NL West, only to right the ship and lead them into the playoffs with a 16-game lead in the divisional standings, and in turn was able to lock up a three-year extension. But let’s get real, none of that had to do with Mattingly.
Incredible pitching from Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Kershaw plus the bats of Adrian Gonzalez, Puig and Ramirez carried the Dodgers all season long. Ramirez’s bat was the most-notable as he crushed .345 with 20 home runs and 57 RBI despite having missed all by four games in the months of April and May. Without his firepower at the plate and Kershaw’s leadership on the mound,
Mattingly would be out of a job and the Dodgers most certainly would have missed the postseason, even with their 16-game lead at the end of the season. The clutch spirit that Ramirez brought upon his return was picked up by the rest of the clubhouse, and everyone ultimately played great baseball down the stretch.
Biggest Areas of Improvement in 2014
Honestly, the Dodgers didn’t improve at all. They threw away money and picked up more players who are exactly like the ones they replaced, with the exception of the defensive hole they have at second base. This also includes last week’s signing of longtime veteran Julio Lugo who hasn’t played in the Majors since 2011 as a member of the Atlanta Braves.
Overall Spring Training Preview
It sounds crazy, but the Dodgers are the one team who are on the verge of falling the hardest in 2014. Besides all of the point mentioned above, there is still one very important issue that needs to be resolved: who will be the starting three in the outfield? Prior to Puig’s arrival during the first week of June, the Dodgers’ lineup was set in stone with Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp (when he was healthy) and Andre Ethier.
When Puig came into the picture there was a bit of a shakeup in the field, but most of it worked in Mattingly’s favor because there always seemed to be somebody hurt of the other three, most notably Kemp. But this is a new season, and there is little-to-no doubt that anybody wants to give up their spot for “the benefit of the team.”
Ballplayers love to play, and the two who have the short end of the stick in this situation are Ethier and Crawford in that order. Crawford has the advantage of a massive contract that the Dodgers will want to see value out of, and if Kemp can stay healthy he will most certainly be starting every single game in centerfield.
This leaves Puig and Ethier. Even though Ethier has been a staple of the Dodger organization since 2006, his .288 career average won’t matchup to the fandom that Puig has developed in a little less than a year. If the Dodgers are smart, they’ll trade Ethier and the last four years and $69 million of his contract to a team that will provide a stable arm for the starting rotation and possibly a more-reliable second baseman option than Lugo.
In short, tempers and egos will catch up to the Dodgers, and they will either finish the season as a Wild Card team or get lapped by a hungry San Diego Padres squad.