Dodgers add Harang and move Eveland

The Dodgers made a couple of moves today that officially rounded out their starting rotation... and brought an end to Hiroki Kuroda's tenure in LA.

Aaron Harang was signed to a two-year, $12 million deal with an option for 2014. He will join Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, and Chris Capuano in the rotation of proven arms. Ned Colletti did not want to see young Nathan Eovaldi handle the #5 role this soon, so getting Capuano and Harang turned out to be of high priority.

The other move, albiet a minor one, was to trade Dana Eveland to the Orioles for minor league starter Jarret Martin and outfielder Tyler Henson. Martin pitched in Single-A, while Henson appeared in Triple-A last season.

For awhile, it looked like Colletti would add either Capuano or Harang. After Caps signed last week, I didn't think they would even want Harang still. Fortunately, I was wrong, as I valued Harang as the better pitcher all along. Neither one of them is as good as Kuroda, but that ship has sailed regardless of who signed.

Last season was a good one for Harang, who bounced back from a horrible 2010 campaign with the Reds. After going to the Padres, he went 14-7 with a 3.64 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. He was obviously a much better pitcher at home (3.05 home vs. 4.70 road), but geez, who the heck wouldn't pitch better at PETCO Park? I think my ERA would be under four there.

Why else were the Dodgers impressed with Harang? Well, in three starts against them, he went 2-0 with an 0.45 ERA. That's one earned run in 20 innings. I'd say that's pretty good. Granted, the Dodgers didn't exactly set the world on fire at the plate (minus Matt Kemp), but those are still dominating numbers.

With the rotation now locked in, what the Dodgers really need to hope for is that Billingsley and Lilly pitch more consistently than they did last year. More so Bills than Lilly, as he has yet to match his so-called "mega-talent" to any sort of steady success. Lilly was awesome in the final two months, but pretty awful in the first four.

Kershaw will be Kershaw, as he's a legit ace now. The Dodgers know they'll have a great chance to win each of his 30+ starts he gets.

Since scoring runs should still be hard on plenty of nights, the rest of the rotation will be counted on even more to pitch solidly and give the Dodgers a chance to win in the late innings. Capuano and Harang will be at the back end, and it's good to know that while they're not dominating by any means, they are good matchups against most other team's 4-5 pitchers.