The hottest rumor of the day has been a proposed deal that would send Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez to the Dodgers for James Loney, prospects, and either Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote about this earlier today, calling it "serious discussions" between the two.
As time went on throughout the day, it's been pretty much all but shot down as false.
The major reason seems to be the part about giving up Billingsley or Kershaw. It seems to me that the Indians would be more than willing to get one of them to replace Lee, who will be a free agent after the 2010 season. That would be good for the Dodgers, but he's 30, and Billingsley and Kershaw are 25 and 21, respectively.
Would the Dodgers actually be willing to part with one of their young, stud pitchers? I would highly doubt it, even if it was Lee coming in return. Billingsley was an All-Star this year, and Kershaw isn't far behind. They can easily become a top 1-2 combination in the majors in no time. Trading away one of those parts would be pretty big.
About the only part of this deal I would like is Victor Martinez for James Loney. Don't get me wrong, I like Loney. His defense is excellent, he's young, and for the most part hits for a good average. But, he has little power, and hits into too many double plays. Good player, but can be expendable for the right price.
Martinez, on the other hand, can hit for 20-25 homers, and has a higher on-base percentage. He was an All-Star this season as a catcher, but has played almost as many games at first. He'd be a good power threat no matter where he'd be in the lineup.
Who knows how serious this deal ever was, or will be, so this could all be a giant waste of time. What does seem certain is the Dodgers have interest in Lee. Will they put together any sort of deal? With the trade deadline approaching, we will soon find out.
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