Dodgers trying for Belisario II?

We made a major league Rule 5 pick!!! First since DJ Houlton!!!

Dodgers “lost” James Tomlin, a 27-year old OF in AA (2009 was age 26 year) to Rangers

I did some digging and it turns out that he has ONE option remaining.

2005: The Dodgers optioned him on 05/25 but re-called him on 06/03, therefore he didn’t spend the requisite 20 days in the minors.
2006: No option; hurt most of the year
2007: No option; hurt in the Furcal Incident
2008: Optioned
2009: Optioned

Wow.

but it’s hard to get too upset I guess.

RT @dylanohernandez: Dodgers sent cash to Tampa Bay for its pick in the Rule 5 draft, LHP Armando Zerpa.

What are the odds both pitchers stick on the 25-man all season?

It’s RULE 5 MANIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So you can sign fucking Noah Lowry to a NRI and hope he makes it? Durrrrr

Every year since I left LA (that was 9 years ago) I make it back each summer to see a Dodgers game. Last summer I was back during interleague and ended up going to see an Angels/Dodgers game. At the time, Manny was suspended and for some reason Ethier had the day off.

I was excited to see Xavier Paul play, but what do you know – Hoffman got the bid to start at RF. I complained – my wife gave me shit, and then boom he hits his first career HR. I felt like an ass – now I have somewhat of an attachment to him. Oh well. Between Swisher, Granderson, Gardner, Cabrera, and most likely Damon, he won’t see much at the major league level as a Yankee.

Hoffman has major league experience and tools, and at 25, he’s still got room to improve. He hit .291/.390/.466 between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Albuquerque, and went 4-for-22 with a homer in 14 big league games. He’s a career .285/.357/.407 hitter in 2,428 at-bats since singing as a nondrafted free agent in August, 2003.

“He’s a big, physical outfielder with big league experience,” said Yankees pro scouting director Billy Eppler. “Our scouts saw some good things in him, including good defensive ability and a good arm. He runs well for his size, we’ve got him as a 55 runner at 6-foot-3, 235. Kevin Long, our hitting coordinator, looked at him on video and thinks there’s a foundation there hitting-wise.”

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/news/2009/269257.html

INDIANAPOLIS – The Yankees took outfielder Jamie Hoffmann with the first overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft, but that did not exactly shake up his old team, the Dodgers.

One Dodger executive said, "I’m glad it is them because we thought we would lose him to a bad team." Translation: The Dodgers do not think a team as good as the Yankees will be able to keep Hoffmann on their 25-man roster all year, and he will have to be offered back to Los Angeles at some point. So, yes, the Dodgers do want to put Hoffmann back in their system.

A second Dodger executive said, "Unless they can fix his swing, he will not be able to stick (with the Yankees)."

of ESPN:

The Royals, in the market for a CF, talked to the Dodgers about Juan Pierre. But LA would have to eat too much $$ for it to work

jcrasnick
  
No short-term make-good contract for Rick Ankiel. One club exec says Scott Boras wants 3 years and "big money’’ for Ankiel.

The Rays had to reach a contract agreement with Soriano before the completion of the deal. Per Rosenthal:

TB will sign Soriano for one year at 7M or slightly above. Deal will be official after usual exchange of medical records, etc.

Sure, they have a lot of arbitration-eligible players, and they have to prepare for the inevitable pay increases that Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier and others will receive. But they clearly need starting pitching, because since the playoffs, they have lost Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland and, most notably, Randy Wolf, who wasn’t even offered arbitration. The Dodgers were given a chance to sign Randy Wolf — I heard he would have returned to L.A. for a two-year deal, for something in the range of $14 million to $16 million — but Ned Colletti says this was too expensive for the team, Dylan Hernandez writes within this piece.

they have to stay on the 25-man or we have to give them back?

I’d be willing to bet that Hoffman will not last the full year on a 25 roster of a team vying to repeat as world champions. He probably won’t even last past spring training. The real question is, will the Dodgers pony up the 25,000 to buy him back or let the Yankee’s stash him back in AAA?

When you look at the starting center fielders in baseball Juan Pierre can certainly start for somebody.

Monasterious probably has a better chance of sticking with the Dodgers then Steve Johnson does with the Giants. How many AA starters stick it as rule 5 guys compared to relief pitchers? Not many, Steve Johnson needs to be pitching every fifth day not rotting as the 25th man in the Giant bullpen, he’s got plenty of work to do on his game and isn’t close to being major league ready.

Zerpa’s walk rate jumped in 2009 from 2.8 in A ball to 6.4 in Advanced A.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=zerpa-001arm
Snazzy WHIP in A ball but he was 22. Tweek here, tweek there, who knows but it is interesting the Dodgers were willing to invest 50,000 in him. One thing the Dodgers seem to do well is recognize pitching talent.

Better to do nothing then to do something rash. How many moves happened at the winter meeting that anyone wishes the Dodgers had been a part of? For me:
1. I’d have signed Harden at that price
2. I would not have traded for E Jackson at that price
3. I would loved to have had Zaun as a backup at that price
4. Might have taken a flyer on Boof Bonser considering the price
5. Would have liked to add Millwood with the Rangers throwing in 3 million
6.

But not doing any of the above is okay with me. I like what Ned is saying, let us see if he follows through or if it is just rhetoric.

I haven’t heard any mention of the Dodgers having any interest in Uggla. I know he would be expensive (how much?), but he would add some needed power to the lineup.

http://www.memoriesofkevinmalone.com/2009/12/jamie-hoffmann-likely-to-be-chosen-in.html

Why can major league teams trade a Rule 5 draft pick (as in before the pick is made and therefore its like a trade in football for a draft pick) but not trade the pick in the amateur draft?

and then the fucking quote of colletti.REPKO

ugh at least we have x paul

Someone named Mike Rizzi on Twitter sent me this tweet about the Rule 5 draft:

what’s the chances ethier player gets returned because the $50k check bounces?

Hilarious!

Well, if nothing else, the Dodgers pick up another excellent name, in Monasterios. I’ve heard he’s a quiet guy, likes to hit himself in the face with his playbook while he walks onto the field.

New Post Up Top
http://www.truebluela.com/2009/12/10/1194678/jason-repko-versus-xavier-paul

with the lack of resources given back to the team. I think the local A’s team has been given more flexibility to compete than the Dodgers this year.