Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has an article today discussing the Dodgers' pursuit of both C.C. Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians and Jack Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Here's how it all breaks down:
* They are looking into possible deals, but will be unable to get both men. The reason is that they will need to give up the same minor league prospects in both deals. The question is which one they value more.
* The Milwaukee Brewers are still considered the front-runners for Sabathia, but the Dodgers certainly have some say in this matter. Signing with a big market team like LA would give them a good chance of resigning him at the end of the season, avoiding free agency.
* Wilson coming aboard would mean the probable end to Rafael Furcal's tenure as Wilson is signed through 2009. GM Ned Colletti has acknowledged a willingness to acquire a shortstop.
* The prospects mentioned are AA righty James McDonald, AAA shortstop Chin-lung Hu, and current Major Leauge 3rd baseman Andy LaRoche.
Here's my thoughts on all of this. Sabathia is definitely worth acquiring because dominant lefties like him are hard to come by. Can you imagine a rotation of Sabathia, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, and Hiroki Kuroda next season? That's pretty nasty. Plus, there's still Derek Lowe and Brad Penny to consider. Talk about an outstanding rotation.
Wilson has had some injury problems the last 3 years, which is immediately a red flag. To be fair, they're not even close to what Furcal has gone through. He's a contact hitter, taking only 46 K's in 477 AB's last season. What he doesn't have a lick of is power, but I don't think the Dodgers are too concerned with that. He'd be a decent addition, just as long as Dodger fans don't expect him to work wonders offensively.
In the end, it would be hard to argue with getting Sabathia. Trading for him and then resigning him would be a huge signal that the Dodgers are ready to be major players again.
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