Terms Of Ohman Deal Discussed

Diamond Leung has the terms of the minor league deal. Ohman makes at least $1.35MM if he's on the team and he could add $200K to that total based on incentives. The Dodgers have the option of paying him $2MM next year or buying him out for $200K.

Man did I call that one or what? This is a win-win deal for both parties.

Apparently Ohman can also opt out of the deal if he's not called up by April 14th. This is insurance for both parties. Torre has expressed some concern on his readiness for the season. Ohman wants to be guaranteed a major league spot in 2009. This solves both problems quite nicely. Welcome aboard Ohman, now lets get this guy a jersey and on the field already.

Will Ohman, Dodgers Agree To Terms

According to Ken Rosenthal a deal has been finalized. It's a one year minor league deal with a 2nd year option. Terms of the deal were not discussed. Pure speculation I am going with 1 year 1MM with incentives. Similar on the option year if it is exercised.

Well that moved along faster than I predicted. With Spring Training winding down to the 1 week mark today both parties must have realized there was no time to waste. This is another huge free agent bargain in my opinion. Ohman was originally seeking 5MM at a bargain price mid way through, more recently 2MM. If we were to wind the clocks back one year he could have gotten a 3 year 18MM deal without even trying. This is a huge move for the Dodgers as once again they didn't cave and give in. They add stability to a very young bullpen and Ohman is about as reliable as you can get in a southpaw. Now comparing Beimel to Ohman and the Dodgers actually upgrade over Beimel and saved some cash, and it's a minor league deal adding extra flexibility with the roster if Ohman isn't baseball ready.

Ohman has missed all of Spring Training so I won't be surprised if he spends a couple weeks in the minors. All in all a strong move by Colletti and company.

Dodgers make offer to Ohman

Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has an update on the Will Ohman story from yesterday. The Dodgers have made an offer to Ohman for 1MM, half of his asking price. As you will recall Joe Beimel just signed with the Nationals recently for 2MM. There is no doubt that Ohman needs the Dodgers just as much as the Dodgers need Ohman.

Click here to see the whole story.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-fyi30-2009mar30,0,3388366.story?track=rss

Dodgers Offseason In Review

Key free agent departures, the loss of two all time greats, and plenty of Manny being Manny only begins to summarize what the offseason looked like for the Dodgers front office. To say Mccourt and Colletti had their hands full would be a major understatement.

First let us say goodbye to two of the greatest players in MLB history. Jeff Kent decided to hang 'em up after putting on one of the most dominant displays by a second baseman that baseball has ever seen. The best second baseman ever? Well a case can certainly be made. Either way his presence will be missed on several different levels in the Dodger organization. This leads us to Greg Maddux, one of the most brilliant players to ever set foot on a mound. His leadership, pitching ability, and his ability to be a difference maker is what makes him a guarantee for the hall of fame.

Key Departures:

Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito, Joe Beimel, Chan Ho Park, Nomar Garciaparra, Scott Proctor, Jeff Kent, Greg Maddux, Andruw Jones.

You look at this list and to most it's obvious to see big names, big money and a lot of key holes to fill. The Andruw Jones experiment came to an end in early 2009. This was an unique situation and ultimately the Dodgers were losing big either way. They ultimately deciced to restructure the contract and release him. This was by far the best solution, and to most it's clear Andruw Jones will never be the same again. The Texas Rangers are finding this out and the speculation will grow. I have never seen such a dramatic decline in performance of any professional sports player like this. The rest of the list carries some big names that made a huge impact on this ballclub. Lowe the workhorse and ace of the staff has departed for what ultimately will be the beginning of the end for Lowe. There are some big names but aging veterans are just not the direction this ballclub is going. Every player will be missed and some are leaving a legacy behind, while every player is leaving a big hole to fill.

Key Free Agent Resignings and Arrivals

Manny Ramirez, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Randy Wolf, Orlando Hudson, Mark Loretta, Doug Mientkiewicz, Guillermo Mota.

The Dodgers didn't make the splash in free agency that most thought would take place. As a matter of fact they didn't seem "in" on any major pitcher. They seemed to target Wolf and that was seemingly it. They kept the solid veterans and clubhouse leaders in Furcal and Blake in Dodger blue. Manny is returning in 2009 after one of the most painful free agent negotiations I have ever seen. Colletti and McCourt played the hand that was dealt to them perfectly. They didn't budge for a moment and read the market flawlessly. Colletti and Torre are looking to Manny, Furcal, and Blake to anchor the lineup and carry this young team to a World Series. The youth movement will continue in every aspect.

Martin, Loney, Ethier, Kemp these guys are the core of the offensive youth movement. They have chemistry and some experience and finally looking to have the break out seasons in 2009. They all four can have career years especially with a guy like Manny in the lineup. Colletti did a great job building around the core of his young players this offseason. He quickly gave his team the best defensive ballclub in the NL. Furcal and Hudson is quite the dynamic duo and should be a lot of fun to watch. Martin the former gold glover is just about a solid of a catcher you can get. Loney and Kemp are both capable of having gold glove caliber seasons.

Wolf and Kuroda the veterans are about it when it comes to experience. Guys like Kershaw, Billingsley, Wade, McDonald, and Broxton are expected to have big seasons. The sky is the limit for this pitching staff if this young pitching staff progresses and stays healthy. Don't sell this young pitching staff short, these guys are studs and are out to prove the skeptics wrong. There is also a wild card in Jason Schmidt, you know the former all-star pitcher. He is currently having a decent spring after missing the last two seasons. If this guy is even half the pitcher he was, look out. If May or June comes around and he is still throwing the ball well, he can make a impact in 2009. One last name to look out for in 2009 is Josh Lindblom. This guy is tearing it up on the mound in spring training so far. Don't be shocked to see this 21 year old on the opening day roster.

With Opening Day just about 1 week away lets take a look at the projected lineups. With some players that just don't fit anymore, and some players being out of options I can see a couple trades possibly on the horizon.

Starting Lineup
SS Rafael Furcal
2B Orlando Hudson
LF Manny Ramirez
1B James Loney
C Russell Martin
RF Andre Ethier
CF Matt Kemp
3B Casey Blake

Bench
Juan Pierre
Doug Mientkiewicz
Mark Loretta
Blake Dewitt
Delwyn Young

Starting Pitchers
Chad Billingsley
Hiroki Kuroda
Randy Wolf
Clayton Kershaw
James McDonald

Bullpen
Jeff Weaver
Hong Chih-Kuo
Cory Wade
Josh Lindblom
Guillermo Mota
Claudio Vargas

Closer
Jonathon Broxton

Projected Finish in NL standings with win/loss records

92-70 Dodgers
88-74 Diamondbacks
87-75 Giants
73-89 Rockies
70-92 Padres

Ohman in Dodger Blue?

The veteran lefty still looking for work held a private workout for Joe Torre and the majority of the Dodgers' front office.

With Beimel recently signing with the Nationals on a 2M dollar deal, Ohman hopes to capitalize. The void left by Beimel is not easily replaced as he was a key contributor from the Dodgers 2008 bullpen. The Dodgers are in desperate need of bullpen help after a rough spring winding to completion. Ohman fits the veteran mold the Dodgers front office is searching for. He has the experience and ability to be a very dynamic contributor for any ball club in 2009. Hopefully he will be thinking blue, Dodger blue that is.

Billingsley Progressing

Chad Billingsley's strained right groin has improved over the last several days enough that he extended in a bullpen session on Friday. The session was originally scheduled to be brief as reported earlier in the week by Joe Torre. Once the projected ace got started he turned a brief session into a normal session. Obviously this is great news out of the Dodgers camp, and Billingsley will throw a simulated game Sunday.

Billingsley reported Friday he will be ready for the Dodgers opening day start at Chavez Ravine. Billingsley continues to downplay the injury, while manager Joe Torre continues to exercise caution.

"I'm still concerned," Torre said before Billingsley's bullpen session. "You don't really know until they get into a game."

Billingsley led the Dodgers last season in virtually every pitching category minus IP even though he surpassed the 200 mark, and was quietly the ace of the rotation. He continues to show that he can be the true ace the dodgers have been searching for over a decade. He proved that he can be dominant after the stat line in 2008.

Billingsley is looking to improve on his 2008 stat line and cast himself as an elite pitcher in the NL. If he can duplicate or improve on his 2008 stats he will have solidified himself as the anchor the Dodgers organization and fans have been searching for. I myself don't see a strained groin getting in the way.