Dodgers 2010 Free Agency

Earlier in May of 2009 I covered the possible Dodgers 2010 free agency period. As most of you are aware the Dodgers roster has changed dramatically, and with the Dodgers season being officially over it's time to get down to business. The following is a fresh look at what's to come in the upcoming off-season. First let's take a look at the list of Dodgers free agents on the current 40 man roster.

Type A Free Agents: Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf.

Type B Free Agents: Vicente Padilla, Ronnie Belliard, Guillermo Mota.

Non-projected Type A or Type B: Jason Schmidt, Brad Ausmus, Jeff Weaver, Eric Milton, Juan Castro, Jim Thome, Doug Mientkiewicz, Mark Loretta.

True Blue LA gives a great example of the risk of offering arbitration. There is always the risk that a player will accept arbitration (like Darren Oliver did with the Angels last season). If he does, the maximum salary cut a player can take is 20%, so for Guillermo Mota, for instance, the least he would make in arbitration in 2010 would be $1.88 million, (80% of his $2.35 million 2009 salary) so you see here is an example where we can save some cash and replace Mota with a guy like Belisario.

The only name I am surprised to see on the non-projected list is Jim Thome. This seasons performance may have altered the rankings quite a bit. I am quite certain at the beginning of the season he was a Type A, of course I can find any data on that now. No matter we wouldn't have offered arbitration or resigned him anyway. Also take notice Will Ohman is not listed anywhere and that is because he is no longer on the 40 man roster. His 2010 option was bought out last week, however he currently ranks as a Type B. Jason Schmidt's career is likely over, and his $47MM comes off the books. Hopefully we can all start to try and forget this signing ever happened. This will free up some payroll to hopefully allow us to reel in a front-line starter. This would similar to the idea Colletti had with Schmidt except this time it actually works.

I like John Lackey on the free agent market, we know he likes Southern California. My next choice would be Roy Halladay on the trade market now that Ricciardi is out of Toronto as GM. Don't look for any of our core players being involved in trade talks, Colletti has held true to his word on this subject so do look for him to change his stance. Mike Axisa over at MLBTR throws out a suggestion - what about a package deal for Dan Uggla and Josh Johnson? While I think the idea of Johnson in a Dodgers uni' would be intriguing, a deal will never get done.

The Break Down: Offer arbitration to Hudson, Wolf, and Belliard. An argument could be made for Padilla, but after weighing the pros and cons it's just too risky. Let Ausmus, Castro, Milton, Mientkiewicz, and Thome walk. Try to bring back Weaver and Loretta if the money and terms make sense. Hudson won't be back as he will take a multi-year deal with the Mets, Cubs, or Nationals. Count your draft picks as a blessing and move on, hopefully Belliard over Loretta will be back to help round out the bench.

Arbitration Eligible Players: Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, George Sherrill, Russell Martin, Hong-Chih Kuo, James Loney, Jason Repko.

The Break Down: This is going to get expensive very quickly. Ethier, Kemp, Broxton, Billingsley, Sherrill, Martin, Kuo, and Loney are all due large raises. Ned you are going to have to convince the McCourts to open up the checkbook. I would like to see some long term deals worked out with some of our youngsters, mainly Ethier, Kemp, and Broxton. Repko likely will be non-tendered and try and catch a job in the majors with a team like Cincinnati, Kansas City, or Oakland somewhere along those lines.

Players With Options: Manny Ramirez, Jon Garland.

Manny has a $20 million player option for 2010. He has until November 10 to accept or decline this option.

Garland has a $10 million mutual option for 2010. If the Dodgers decline, his buyout is $2.5 million; if Garland declines, his buyout is $1 million. As a condition of Garland's acquisition, the D'backs pay either buyout if the option is not exercised. Even if either side opts out, Garland is a Type B free agent, and the Dodgers could still offer him arbitration.

I don't see Manny going anywhere otherwise he wouldn't have signed with Dodgers last off-season. Unless Scott Boras pulls a JD Drew on us and negotiates Manny out of town I see his option being exercised for 2010. I haven't seen this scenario brought up, but what if a team like the Rays or Mets persuades Boras to have Manny to opt-out? Not a likely scenario, but a scenario nonetheless.

If the season were to end today and all the scenarios above played out exactly, and we don't spent big dollars on free agents our 2010 team would look like this.

Starting Lineup

SS-Rafael Furcal
1B-James Loney
RF-Andre Ethier
LF-Manny Ramirez
CF-Matt Kemp
3B-Casey Blake
C- Russell Martin
2B-Blake DeWitt

Bench

Juan Pierre
Ronnie Belliard
Mark Loretta
A.J. Ellis

Starting Rotation

Clayton Kershaw
Chad Billingsley
Hiroki Kuroda
Randy Wolf
Eric Stults/James McDonald

Bullpen

Ramon Troncoso
Ronald Belisario
Scott Elbert
Jeff Weaver
Hong-Chih Kuo
Cory Wade
George Sherrill
Jonathan Broxton

2010 Free Agents With Possible Fits

Chone Figgins- He would slide into second base on defense on a multi-year deal. He has exceptional speed and defense. Perfect for our lead-off spot left absent by Furcal's decline and Hudson's departure. The market for Figgins will be strong so don't put too much thought into it.

John Lackey- Great front of the rotation starter that is about as consistent as you can get. Plus he pitches deep into games.

Mark DeRosa- Utility guy with great versatility and a great leader, would fit in nicely.

Jason Bay- I see him being a Yankee or Red Sox, however if Manny departs this is our guy.

Rich Harden- He may be the guy we go after to solidify the back end of our rotation. He will come cheap due to the fact he has been unable to prove he can stay healthy.

Plus figure we will bring in a couple veterans on a cheap one year deal.

In closing it is great to see this over achieving young team progress. Kemp, Loney, Ethier and Martin have established themselves as the young core of players that Colletti is building a franchise around. I would like to see Colletti get aggressive at getting these guys under long term deals. The core of our team is established and defined for the first time in over a decade. Colletti simply needs to add a few pieces each season to fill out the roster. Our rotation is headed by Kershaw and Billingsley and both will continue to get more dominant as they mature. We have some depth at a few positions in the minors to possibly pull off a trade for a guy like Roy Halladay.

Dodgers, Ned Colletti Agree To Long Term Deal

The Dodgers front office has agreed to resign Ned Colletti to a multi-year extension. It's been made official in this latest team press release. It looks like you poll voters agree with the franchise and will get your wish. The final votes are in and 58% of the voters voted that that they would resign Ned Colletti to a long term deal. It's tough to argue when you put a team on the field in the playoffs three out of the four years, and make back to back appearances in the NLCS.

Here are some quick highlights of what we know so far.

Colletti and the club intentionally refused to define what "long term" means. When he was originally signed, both sides announced a four-year deal.

"It's a long-term deal and I'll be here for a long time and maybe here for longer than that," said Colletti.

Colletti spoke of his mission to bring stability and continuity to the organization, and in keeping with that, said his signing was a symbolic statement that the club will continue in the direction he set in spite of the recent confirmation by owner Frank McCourt and CEO Jamie McCourt of their separation.

Colletti resisted the temptation to trade away Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw, Jonathan Broxton, James Loney, Russell Martin and Chad Billingsley in recent years for quick fixes and kept intact the nucleus of a club that had the best record in the National League.

He said signing those core players to long-term contracts would be considered "in a case-by-case situation."

"It's got to be right for them and for us, too," he said. "We're not losing any of those players to free agency for a few years. It will be based on how hard they play and how hard they'll continue to play if they get a long-term deal."

Ned Colletti reiterated that priority one is to bring a World Series Championship back to Los Angeles.

Broxton Blows Critical Game 4: Now You Can Panic

Yep headline says it all. I don't even want to go into the details. It was unbelievable and that's all I can say. Unless fate and destiny have a sick and twisted sense of humor, the Dodgers will not make it past the Phillies.

Outlook= Clean out your lockers.

Probably going to take a brief break from the site and the Dodgers. See you in a few days or so. Plenty of hot stove, rumors, and all that jazz coming up to hopefully make us forget this ridiculous mess of a NLCS.

Dodgers Unable To Solve Cliff Lee: Don't Panic Yet

The Dodgers didn't even put up a fight last night. As game three of the NLCS opened up in Philadelphia we all knew Cliff Lee was going to be tough. Well he was, and the Phillies are now up 2-1 in the series. Let's not dive in to the details because it was so brutal, well enough said. It's one game, a game most Dodger fans knew we had little chance of winning to begin with. As you all know in baseball a win is a win, whether you lose by one or ten runs it's all the same. It's just one game guys, and it's a long series. We knew this was going to be a grueling series, and with the next matchup of Joe Blanton of the Phills taking on Randy Wolf this series could and should be tied 2-2 after the outcome of tonight's game. Everybody just relax, and don't panic yet. Don't hit the panic button until after tonight's game. If the Dodgers pull out a win tonight, then we get a three game series with the Phillies with two home games remaining. Don't stop believing this year has been full of moments like this, and there have been plenty of magical moments preparing for the battle in October.

One last thing I want to clear up immediately. The Dodgers did not whiff, balk, back down, or anything of that sort in the Cliff Lee deal. LA offered a fair package to Cleveland and they liked what Philadelphia had offered better, period that's all it was. Though we don't know what the offer by the Dodgers was, we do know both offers from the Dodgers and Phillies were fair offers, so don't go spinning this as if only the Dodgers had gotten Cliff Lee. The Dodgers offered a package of four players, and a better talent package according to Ned Colletti. Losing yesterdays game had nothing to do with us not trading for Cliff Lee. However it has a lot to do with Kuroda and the Dodgers offense. Cliff Lee is getting too much credit for the win yesterday and that's that. Sure Lee was great, but the Dodgers could have imploded just as easily against any of the Phillie's starters last night.

Check out my favorite post of the day by one of my favorite blogs Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness. Yeah he let's Bill have it, and it's well deserved after his most recent post about the Dodgers paying again for whiffing on Cliff Lee.

Jon Garland Deal Completed: Tony Abreu Sent To Arizona

Update 10/11: The Dodgers completed the August 31st trade that brought Jon Garland to Los Angeles. Tony Abreu was officially announced as the player to be named later. Abreu figures to benefit immediately, as he could find his way in the starting lineup for Arizona next season.

Update 9/1: MLB.com's Steve Gilbert is tweeting that the PTBNL may be Tony Abreu. Due to the fact that Abreu would have to clear waivers in order to be traded, the two teams agree on the player and use the PTBNL rule as a loophole. Losing Abreu would be somewhat of a disappointment but it's not like he has a shot of making it as a Dodgers regular anyway.

Jon Heyman is also reporting this evening that the Dodgers have just acquired Arizona starter Jon Garland. Garland one of the most durable starters in all of baseball, will add some much needed depth and innings to the Dodgers rotation. The D'backs will receive a player to be named in the deal. Colletti is getting done and he must have heard my cry for help after acquiring Belliard yesterday. Colletti has made a huge impact at the 9pm PST trade deadline this August, and has put three solid moves to help add some key pieces to the puzzle.

Dodgers Are Headed To NLCS

In what most to believed a longshot the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three game sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers will draw the Philadelphia Phillies or Colorado Rockies next depending how the rest of that series goes over the next several days. Either way the Dodgers will take some time to rest up after making quick work of the Cardinals. The NLCS is scheduled to kickoff Thursday at Chavez Ravine, schedule and matchups will be posted following the completion of the NLDS.

Vicente Padilla was brillant and this game was never close as the Dodgers dominated in the 5-1 victory. Andre Ethier came through once again as he fell just a single short of hitting for the cycle. Manny's bat came to life with three hits and 2 RBI's in the game, including a momentum building double that gave the Dodgers the early lead in the first.

Dodgers Don't Stop Believing: Win Game 2

For the many who thought the Cardinals were going to sweep the Dodgers out of the playoffs, you were largely mistaken. You must have forgotten that the Dodgers are the "comeback kings" of baseball. You also must have forgotten Matt Holliday is the newest member of the Dodgers. This would be just as good as an excuse as the claims by Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright.

"He lost the ball in the 50,000 white towels shaking in front of his face," starting pitcher and would-be hero Adam Wainwright said. "It doesn't seem really fair that an opposing team should be allowed to shake white towels when there's a white baseball flying through the air. Dodger blue towels — how about that?"

Oh that's it! Blame it on the white rally towels, ridiculous.

Just to clear the air on this ridiculous claim. Matt Holliday said himself he lost the ball in the lights. Second of all I checked the replay and the towels weren't even being waved until after Holliday dropped the ball.

I know Holliday is not the best fielder, and that sinking line drive was a tough play to make especially with the glare from the lights, but I still can't believe he dropped that ball.

I know Ronnie Belliard was hot in September, but it almost seemed he would need some magic to bring home the tying run after Casey Blake walked. Yet somewhere deep inside I knew we would make them pay for that dreadful error. Then came the line drive heard all over Dodgertown, and Juan Pierre blazing around 3rd base to score. An amazing gem of a performance by Adam Wainwright wasted, and all I could do was laugh.

The game is now tied and you know mentally Ryan Franklin is fried. However I knew if we didn't win this thing right now the Cardinals would make us pay and erase the 9th inning disaster. Then Ryan Franklin threw a wild pitch and walked Russell Martin to load the bases.

The bases are loaded and Mark Loretta steps up to the plate. The resilient Dodgers never gave up, and moments later the Dodgers are celebrating another magical walk-off win. The Dodgers take a 2-0 series lead and put the Cardinals in danger of being swept out of the playoffs, very similar to what the Dodgers did to the Cubs this time just one year ago. The pressure is all on Joel Piniero as he and the rest of the Cardinals head back to St. Louis with their backs against the wall.

This of course was all made possible because Joe Torre had Broxton pitch in the eight inning to Pujols, Holliday, and Ludwick. Broxton of course shut them down with ease. Who should we credit the most, an argument should be made Manny is the reason for the 9th inning happening the way it did. Manny's eight pitch at bat was just enough to force La Russa's hand, and take out Wainwright before the ninth inning. A decision La Russa will be second guessing all the way back to St. Louis.

Around The Bases: Playing Catch Up

A quick apology to all my readers I have been very ill over the past couple weeks. I am sorry as I have not had the opportunity to keep up with all the news and rumors. The good news I am doing much better, and finally getting back in the swing of things.

While the news and rumors will be very quiet until the December Winter Meetings in Indianapolis. I will be working on upgrades for the website, some exclusive articles and some other goodies to keep you occupied during the next couple of months.

Alright now it's time to play catch up. First and foremost congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers on winning the NL West Divison. Back to back seasons, not to mention holding the best record in the National League. Much credit can go to Ned Colletti, and he is likely to get a extension soon.

Ken Gurnick has confirmed that Ronnie Belliard will start over Orlando Hudson when playoffs kickoff tonight. Tough break for Hudson as this will definitely hurt his free agent value. This is also a strong indicator that Hudson will not be brought back next season. Vicente Padilla has been named the game three starter, placing Chad Billingsley into the game 4 (if necessary) slot. As far as Billingsley goes, I am really disappointed with his results over the last couple months, especially after the very strong first half. It was a tough call to make, but Torre made the right call.

For those looking to catch up on the Tony Abreu trade rumors. He is still a member of the Dodgers after being rumored as a PTBNL in the deal that brought Jon Garland to Los Angeles. It appears to be unlikely that Abreu will go to Arizona now. If anything is even whispered on the deal being finalized I will be sure to update you.

I am going to close this one out with some thoughts on Manny. I hear a lot of boo's in the crowd when Manny walks to the plate, strikes out, yeah you get the point. A lot of hate on Manny lately and so it's time to bust out some stats and settle the score.

Post All-Star Game Manny is batting a dreadful .255 average. However he makes it up with 40 walks and a decent .379 on base percentage. He has 10 homeruns, 13 doubles, 2 triples, and a .459 slugging percentage. This is not a second half MVP performance, however I don't think anyone posting these type of numbers should be booed. On the season Manny is batting a .290 average, he has 19 homeruns, 24 doubles, 2 triples, and 63 RBI's. Look for Manny to put on his Manny "Mr. October" Ramirez jersey tonight. This guy lives for the playoffs and will be looking to make up for the recent 0 for 4 nights against the Cardinals.