The Dodgers made their second trade deadline move today, nabbing Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot from the Cubs for Blake DeWitt and a couple of minor leaguers. This trade has been rumored for a few days.
Let's take a look at the new Dodgers. Lilly is the centerpiece, as he is in the final year of his contract, hence the Cubs moving him. You'd think he's been having an awful year with a 3-8 record, but the Cubs give him practically no run support. His 3.69 ERA and 1.14 WHIP are good numbers.
Lilly's arrival means the Dodgers have finally found a reliable fifth starter, as they've gone through pitchers like John Ely, Carlos Monasterios, and Charlie Haeger, with mostly negative results. Lilly may only be a rental for this year, but I think he'll be solid for them.
Theriot is hitting .284 this year with one homer and 14 RBIs. He does have 16 stolen bases, so like Scott Podsednik, if anything the Dodgers get faster on the bases. Of course, that also means they actually have to be on base for that to happen, but I digress. Anyway, he's played shortstop for most of his career, but went to second when Starlin Castro came aboard in Chicago.
I wouldn't look at Theriot's acquisition as being a big deal. I can see him splitting time with Jamey Carroll at second. If the Dodgers get lucky, they can find lightning in a bottle again like Ronnie Belliard last year and ride Theriot's hot bat to the playoffs. I can hope anyway.
As for DeWitt, I honestly can't say I'll miss him much. Don't get me wrong, he plays hard all the time. But I don't look at him as anything more than a decent major league player. He's hitting .270 this year with a good OPS of .352, but has very little power.
Overall, I think the Dodgers got good value for this trade. I like Lilly, and Theriot and DeWitt are pretty much interchangeable. I think the Dodgers have to be realistic at some point and set their sites on the wild card, so maybe Lilly can help them get there.
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