Loney gets a raise

James Loney's batting average, OBP, runs scored, homers, and RBIs in 2010 all dropped from the '09 season.

The result? A raise in salary.

After earning $3.1 million last season, Loney and the Dodgers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.875 million deal. The Dodgers have now signed all three of their arbitration-eligible players (Chad Billingsley, Hong-Chi Kuo, and Loney) without a hearing.

Loney was seeking $5.35 million, despite the fact that his numbers crashed and burned after hitting a horrible .211 in the second half of the season. The Dodgers initially offered $4.7, but soon settled on $4.875.

No disrespect to Loney, who is a very talented defensive player, but he should be very thankful for getting a pretty good increase in salary. He really has something to prove, as first basemen who hit 10 home runs aren't exactly too sought after these days.

In addition to his slick glove, he's capable of collecting 90 RBIs, which isn't too shabby. But he really needs to show that he can be a productive bat in the middle of the lineup. A .267 average, .329 OBP, and 10 homers just isn't going to cut it. A .395 slugging %? Um, yuck.

Look, I actually do like Loney, even if it appears I don't. He has a career .994 fielding % and had only four errors in 161 games last year, obviously fantastic numbers. But the Dodgers can't afford to watch him not produce at the plate much longer. Great glove aside, if he doesn't pick up the slack at the plate, it may be time to move on.

Especially if that guy in St. Louis doesn't resign...