It’s official, the Dodgers have traded Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Shane Victorino. The news was first broke by Tim Brown on Twitter. Eric Stephen of True Blue LA says that either a PTBNL or cash will also be sent to Philadelphia.
Victorino, 31, was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 1999 amateur draft. Victorino was later selected as a Rule 5 draft pick in 2002 by the San Diego Padres, playing in 36 games for the Friars, but he was eventually returned to the Dodgers. Victorino was again selected in the 2005 Rule 5 Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He again failed to stay with the major league club, and was offered back to the Dodgers. The Dodgers declined, so the Phillies retained his contract and assigned him to the minors.
Two years later, at the age of 26, Victorino broke out for a monster season. Since then he’s been one of the most consistent players in the league atop a very potent offensive lineup. He’s a two-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, and was a huge factor in the Phillies winning the 2008 World Series.
Victorino figures to take over as the Dodgers starting left fielder, despite Matt Kemp telling the Dodgers he would move to left field if it meant acquiring a player like Victorino.The Dodgers needed a leadoff hitter with some speed at the top of their lineup, so this definitely fills that void. Victorino also is one of the best defenders in baseball. Three Gold Glove winners in the outfield is very much a luxury the Dodgers will enjoy. Victorino also owns a lifetime batting average of .357 with 3 home runs, in 16 games at Dodger Stadium.
All in all, I’m scratching my head a little here. I really feel like Lindblom was a pretty big price to pay for two months of the “Flyin’ Hawaiian.” The Dodgers are definitely aggressive this summer, so I would rather see that, and hey it could’ve been worse. If McCourt was still around we would’ve shipped Zach Lee to Philly so that the Dodgers wouldn’t have to take on any of the money owed to Victorino. Yeah, that’s my glass half full for the day. Okay, I sign off with my seal of approval. Back to the rumors I go.
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