The Rangers on Saturday completed their trade of franchise fixture Michael Young to the Phillies (it will be officially official once approved by the commissioner), and the return headed to Texas is a pair of pitchers, Josh Lindblom and Lisalverto Bonilla.
For Lindblom, it is the second time he was traded in just over four months. He was sent by the Dodgers to the Phillies on July 31 in the trade for Shane Victorino. For Lindblom the news came on the day of his annual charity game night in his hometown of Lafayette, Indiana. Too bad the giveaway bags were already packed:
But Lindblom isn't the only former Dodger in the news of late.
Notes
- Alfredo Silverio, who was picked by the Marlins on Thursday in the Rule 5 draft, talked to Ben Badler at Baseball America, and included an interesting passage about his concussion endured in his January auto accident:
The Dodgers brought Silverio in for tests and determined that he had a concussion. Only there was one problem: Silverio said the test was done in English. Silverio signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2003 and can speak English, but it's not his native language. Silverio said he understood everything the doctors were telling him, but he wanted to think about what they were saying before he responded, which may have been misinterpreted.
With Silverio's concussion, the Dodgers wanted him to stay off the field, but Silverio asked the Dodgers if he could get a second opinion. When Silverio went to the University of Pittsburgh a few weeks later for a test—this time conducted in Spanish—Silverio said they told him he did not have a concussion. Even with that, Silverio still missed the entire 2012 season, as he had Tommy John surgery that spring, which Silverio said he believes was the result of an elbow injury he sustained in the car accident. - Former Dodgers infielder Blake DeWitt has signed a minor league deal with the Braves, including an invitation to spring training. DeWitt had a rough year in 2012 with the Cubs. Not only was he designated for assignment in May and sent to Triple-A Iowa, but he was also limited by a back injury. When he did get on the field, he wasn't very productive, as he hit just .127/.246/.157 in 30 games with Iowa, and was 4-for-29 (.138) with Chicago.
- There are slightly less than 24 hours remaining before Sunday's 2 p.m. PT deadline to sign Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin. For what it's worth, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports said on Saturday that Ryu and the Dodgers were still "far apart" in negotiations.
- For those looking for a bit of good news in the pursuit of free agent Zack Greinke, Jayson Stark of ESPN said he's not sure the Dodgers are out of the Greinke sweepstakes just yet. Stark recalled a Thursday quote from general manager Ned Colletti:
"We don't have to wait on anybody. We've got more than 1 pitcher we've entertained. I think we can sign 2 (pitchers) -- if it's the right 2." Those who heard that didn't interpret it as "we're out"