Official: LA Dodgers Sign Vicente Padilla

Update 5:09pm: It's a done deal Padilla has signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers. The Dodgers signed him for slightly less than $100K, and he will make at least one start in the minors before being assigned to the major league roster. Padilla has not pitched in over two weeks, so the minors assignment is necessary for him to get back in the groove. There is also a roster space issue, and this could spell a trip to the disabled list for Kuroda. This is a great signing by Ned Colletti, as we get a decent pitcher that can burn some innings and the only risk is small amount of cash. Padilla should make a nice contribution to this team, and the change of scenery will be and added bonus for him. Hopefully a rejuvenated Padilla can slide into the fifth rotation spot successfully. I mentioned before that Padilla's stats were somewhat inflated and I wanted to take a moment and clarify. Take a look at Padilla's road stats in 8 games 51 innings pitched. Padilla has posted the following stats, 3.88 ERA, with a 1.25 WHIP, and he has given up 23 walks with only 25 strikeouts. However the best stat of all is that hitters are hitting just .227 against him. The Rangers Arlington Park is definitely a tough park to pitch in, so the road numbers should provide a little bit of more relative stats to base your opinions on. The move to Dodger Stadium, on a winning team, plus the change of scenery with a coach like Joe Torre on your side should rejuvenate Padilla. He will provide some much needed depth, and if he can pitch anywhere near his road stats this move will be another solid signing by Ned Colletti.

Update 2:21pm: The Dodgers are now "very" close to a deal with Padilla. His agent Paul Kinzer has been trying to get his client in Dodger Blue for about a week now. Looks like Kinzer will get his wish as Padilla will likely be a Dodger by the end of the evening.

The Dodgers are reportedly close to an agreement with Vicente Padilla according to Jon Paul Morosi at Foxsports.com. With no official word yet let's recap and dive into the Padilla facts we know so far.

Padilla was labeled as a huge distraction for the Rangers, and was also said to be a terrible clubhouse teammate.

Joe Torre had been recently quoted to saying "he doesn't think a player with Padilla's reputation would cause problems in the Dodgers' clubhouse." Torre managed a Yankee team with it's definite share of personality problems and egos. He also managed to turn Manny Ramirez around seemingly overnight from his nasty divorce with the Red Sox management.

There has been almost no interest so far in Padilla's services even with the high demand for pitching. There are not any better pitching options available to my knowledge. Arroyo and Harang could be argued as slightly better, however you have to factor in the millions of dollars they cost compared to the 100K that Padilla would cost.

You can see a recent post on why Padilla is a good fit for the Dodgers here.