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Rumor Mill Starting Up

If Kent can't get along with Milton or Kemp, does anyone think he would be able to deal with Miggy's entourage of gluttony and complacency? This Latest Rumor makes little sense but it does confirm that Miggy is available and that the Dodgers are one of a handful of teams that have what it would take to pry Miggy away from the Marlins. I don't buy the Glaus rumor, everyone knows that he can barely play 3rd base anymore, and Ned is not going to bring in another injury case. Not when 1st base is occupied and the DH is not an option in our league. Glaus has always been one of my favorite players, back when he was the only Angel who knew what a walk was. I always thought of him as the RH Adam Dunn but with more value since he used to play a solid 3rd. Those days are long ago and even if winter surgery cures what ailed him this summer, something else will crop up.

Anyway back to the Miggy rumor mill. Hard to argue that Miggy is not one of the top 5 best young hitters in baseball. You could even take "young" out of the sentence and it would still work. However since 2003 when he burst on the scene much like Andruw Jones and played RF on a world championship team, his Adonis like build has deteriorated into Mo Vaughn territory. I've watched baseball for 40 years and I can't remember a player who weighed 185 at 20 turning into the Michelin Man by the time he was 23. Has he really ballooned as much as everyone says? This picture was taken on April 1st, 2007. That doesn't look so bad, but this  says he now weighs 250 lbs. It has to give you pause. How this man handles his weight issues will determine if he becomes the next 200Million man or just a great hitting DH.

Here is what Will Carrol had on BP regarding Miggy

"He’s at the end of his time at 3B," the baseball source told me, "but he’s still good enough to play 1B. They won’t get quite as much as [Jon Daniels] did for Mark Teixeira, but they’re looking for a different payoff." The rumored asking price is three players - one pitcher and position player that are under three years of service time and "solid ink-’em-in guys." The other would be a "plus prospect, not the best guy on the team, but useful. The Marlins will probably look for a slugger."

Quick breakdown of the Marlin needs:
1st - Jacobs - 26 years old with decent power, low batting average, low OB skills, gets hurt a lot - They could upgrade here

2nd - Uggla - ROY in 2006, and his sophomore year showed the same power but with an expected decrease in BA. However he took more walks and with his power this is nice player for 2nd base.

SS - Hanley Ramirez - One of the great young offensive talents in baseball. Also one of the worse fielding SS in baseball. A position change is in order. 3rd or CF?

C - Olivo - Young, but not very good, they could surely use an upgrade here

LF - Josh Willingham - solid offensive contributor, converted catcher, to bad he couldn't cut it defensively

CF - Yikes

RF - Hermida - been slowed by injuries but his 2nd half line of 340/401/555/956 showed why he was so highly rated. I expect him to have a better career then Matt Kemp.

What they do with Hanley changes where they need to upgrade. If Hanley remains at SS, they will need a CF and a 3rd baseman to replace Miggy. If Hanley moves to CF they will need a SS and a 3rd baseman. If Hanley moves to 3rd base they will need a CF and SS.

Where do we match up.
CF - Kemp or Etheir
SS - Chin-Lung Hu or Tony Abreu
3rd - Andy LaRoche

Florida did have a lot of good young pitchers but they fell on hard times in 2007. Anibal Sanchez underwent surgery and Scott Olsen became a lousy pitcher and a threat to the good people of Miami. They would probably not be adverse to getting a pitcher back in the deal.

So here are some deals I would offer for Miggy with the idea that he would play LF or 3rd base for us.

  1. Matt Kemp, Chin-Lung Hu, and either of (Meloan, Elbert, McDonald)
  2. Andy LaRoche, Chin-Lung Hu, Kershaw
  3. Matt Kemp, LaRoche, Meloan
Okay, now how about we trade for him and plan to move him to 1st base.
  1. Loney and Kemp - to much or the perfect time to trade Loney as he may never replicate what he did this summer?
  2. Loney, Hu, Kershaw
  3. Loney, LaRoche, (Meloan, Elbert, McDonald)
Those are all steep prices but  I think that is what it would take to get him. If Miggy had shown a little more commitment to playing baseball then to the supper table I'd be jumping at him and would probably do what it takes to meet the Marlin price but I'm inclined to pass.

I could easily be persuaded that I'm nuts.

0 recs  |  Comment 16 comments

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So
no worries about the fact he's only 2 years away from FA, his weight, his position?

by Phil Gurnee on Nov 7, 2007 10:56 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Oops, I meant
those packages for Miggy are nuts. No way I would do any of those. You're getting fatter, more expensive, and even crappier defensively no matter what. Sign Caberera after 09 and put him in LF if you must have him. Plus trading offense for Miggy makes no sense. We need someone like Miggy on top of playing guys like Loney, Kemp, etc. And I would really hate to lose Kershaw. It just seems like a no brainer to hold on to someone so highly regarded.

by westside23 on Nov 7, 2007 11:32 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If it makes you feel any better
I'd do any of those deals. Getting the second best hitter in baseball is a nice reward.

by Andrew on Nov 7, 2007 12:25 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Way better than Arod
For the money, Miggy is much better than ARod.  His $7.4 million salary is obviously better than whatever-the-hell Scott Boras is wanting for ARod.  He had a better batting average than number 13 and still had a solid 34 home runs.  Not to mention Cabrera is only 24 years old and will have lots of time to mature.  Combine the guidance of Mattingly and Torre and hitting near Kemp and Loney and I see Miggy getting 45 homers or more as a Dodger.

by DerekM on Nov 7, 2007 3:20 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Except
we'd probabably have to trade either Kemp or Loney or both to get your man.

by Phil Gurnee on Nov 7, 2007 4:34 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I like this trade
Andy LaRoche, Chin-Lung Hu, Kershaw.

I hear Kershaw is great but how long is it gonna take him to develop into the pitcher we need?  The Dodgers are built to win this season, not 2010.  Someone give me reasons not to trade him.

by DerekM on Nov 7, 2007 6:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Dodgers built to win now & later
Regardless of a Cabrera move, The Dodgers are in a good position to win both in 2008 & 2010.

They have an abundance of young talent, many under contract for cheap through 2011-2012.

I would also do LaRoche, Hu & Kershaw, as well as most of the trades listed above.

-Eric

by Eric Stephen on Nov 7, 2007 11:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Reasons not to trade Kershaw
He's a nineteen year old with a 12.28 K/9 over his career including 29 K in 24.2 innings in AA last year and who is generally regarded as the best lefty pitching prospect (if not the best pitching prospect period) in baseball.  For starters.  Though there is a price for anyone.  

by dan310 on Nov 7, 2007 11:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Reason to trade Kershaw
is that Greg Miller was just about as good at the same age. Can Ned take the chance that Kershaw passes the injury nexus unscathed and can help the team now? Not with his nuts in a McCourt win now vice, he can't.

by Phil Gurnee on Nov 7, 2007 11:54 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

nuts in a McCourt win now vice
That sounds unpleasant.  

You might be right, both in what Ned will do for his job and what's a good offer. And I do love me some Miggy. Check out BR's most similar batters by age:

21 Hank Aaron
22 Hank Aaron
23 Hank Aaron
24 Hank Aaron

That's a nice list.  

On the other hand, it's hard to come out ahead in a trade when you're giving up a potential of 18 cost controlled player years (six each for three different players) for only two.  And I don't relish the idea of the Marlins picking through our farm.  They seem pretty good at that.

by dan310 on Nov 8, 2007 12:58 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If
we were able to negotiate with Miggy and come up with a 4 year deal that would buy out his 1st two years of FA would that change your thinking?
4 years/60 Million would keep him a Dodger for 4 years and give Miggy a safety net while making him quite wealthy at the same time. He would then hit FA right smack in the middle of his prime.

I could not see Ned giving up 3 Prime A players without some kind of contract extension that buys out at least two FA years. That would be nuts.

by Phil Gurnee on Nov 8, 2007 7:20 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

flip flopping
I'm just making points for their own sake.  I'm on the fence about all of your proposed trades.  You know the prospects better than me, so you're probably right.

We've certainly seen players take a discount for certainty.  But if I was Cabrera I'd think "I got 7 mil this year, I'll get 10 next year, even if I have an unlikely career ending injury the first week of 08, I'll take the risk and be pretty well set anyway."  Which is why I'd like to lock up Martin before he gets a taste of the big money.

by dan310 on Nov 8, 2007 1:02 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I like the idea
of trading for him and putting him at first.  All of those deals look acceptable to me, with #6 being the most attractive from the Dodger's perspective.

by Paul Scott on Nov 7, 2007 3:41 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Trade away Kershaw...
and it will be Pete Martinez all over again. This never works for us. Miggy will pull a Delino on us.

by ladogger on Nov 7, 2007 6:34 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Cabrera
I think it's going to take a lot of talent to pry Cabrera away from the Marlins.  It'd just be easier to sign A-Rod, as I think money's always an easier commodity to give up in baseball than highly regarded prospects.  Plus, Cabrera's gained 65 pounds in 4 years, so it looks like he doesn't condition or exercise whatsoever.  More importantly, we only have Cabrera for a guaranteed 2 years, and the Dodgers have all of our prospects for the next 5-6 years, and I personally think we have a better chance of winning the World Series in those 5-6 years than we would in our 2 with Cabrera.

by Rich on Nov 7, 2007 8:03 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

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