The new Dodger management said they would be willing to take on big contracts to improve their club.
Adding Hanley Ramirez and his $40 million shows they mean business.
Hanley Ramirez will be heading to the Dodgers in a four-player trade with the Marlins announced on Wednesday. In the deal, the Dodgers also get lefty reliever Randy Choate, and will move Nathan Eovaldi and minor league pitcher Scott McGough to South Florida.
It's a bold move for the Dodgers in adding Ramirez, who was one of the best players in baseball just a couple years ago, but has mysteriously fallen off the radar ever since. But make no mistake about it - if he turns things around, this is exactly the type of bat the Dodgers need for their playoff push.
Let's take a look at all of the players involved, starting with Ramirez. His career stats in seven full seasons are great: .300 AVG, .374 OBP, 232 2B, 148 HR, 482 RBI, 230 SB. This season? Not so much: .246 AVG, .322 OBP, 18 2B, 14 HR, 48 RBI, 14 SB. It's not like those numbers are bad, but for a player of his caliber, they certainly could be better.
Because of that past success, because he's only 28 and in his prime, and because the Dodgers have had success in the past with a guy with the last name Ramirez who turned out to be pretty good in LA, the Dodgers are all in. Ideally, he'll play third base when Dee Gordon comes back and plays short. The nice thing is that Ramirez can easily play short as well, and will now put some pressure on Gordon to up his game in all phases, or he won't be on the field as much.
On offense, Ramirez will hopefully be the #5 hitter, right behind Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. But, he can also hit leadoff, as he's a career .309 hitter in that spot in 1,643 at-bats. Again, this goes back to Gordon and how well he performs... or underperforms. Things would be much better if the top five of the order is Gordon, Mark Ellis, Kemp, Ethier, and Ramirez. We shall see.
What is somewhat lost in this deal is that the Dodgers made a solid addition to their 'pen by adding Choate. The bullpen has definitely been a sore spot lately, so any new blood is welcome. He's appeared in 44 games this year covering 25 1/3 innings, and has a 2.49 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. It's good to know that Don Mattingly will now have another option from the left side along with Scott Elbert. I really like this move.
As much as I like the additions of Ramirez and Choate, I will miss Eovaldi. He's a solid, young pitcher who can only get better. His two-year career numbers are just OK (2-8, 3.96 ERA, 1.44 WHIP). But, and this is just a feeling from watching nearly all of his starts, I really do like his stuff and think he'll end up being a good pitcher.
The flip side is that I don't think Eovaldi will be a great pitcher, but a good one. And that's what made him expendable. No disrespect to him, but with Ted Lilly hopefully back soon, and with continued rumors of Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza, I think he can easily be replaced. Hopefully he can find a groove in Miami, as they are clearly in rebuilding mode.
McGough was a fifth-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2011. He was at High-A Rancho Cucamonga, and is 4-10 on his career with a 3.56 ERA and 1.41 WHIP.
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