A lot has been made about the huge acquisitions the Dodgers just received from the Red Sox in the last few days. Right now I want to take a look at the flip side, as in the players the Dodgers gave away.
James Loney - It's safe to say the Dodgers tried and tried again when it came to Loney. Yet, he was never able to find his offensive groove. And when it came apparent that his days driving in 90 runs were already behind him, they made the right call in letting him go.
Let's not take anything away from him on defense - he can definitely "glove it" over at first. In fact, I believe that's a big reason why he was held onto for so long in the first place. You hoped you would get more run production from him, but you knew he could play D. But eventually that gets old, and that's precisely what happened here.
He saved his job at the end of last year by hitting .320 after the All-Star break, including .367 in August and .348 in September. After failing to land the big dog in Prince Fielder in the offseason, the hope was that he'd continue to build on those numbers. Well, that obviously never happened. Instead, it seemed like he would either groundout to second or into a double play. It was time for him to move.
Jerry Sands - He's appeared off and on in the majors since last season with mostly mediocre results. Right now he's labeled as a guy who's too good to be in the minors, yet constantly finds himself back there because he can't do enough to stay in the majors. In 70 career games, he's hitting only .244 with 4 homers and 27 RBIs.
It's best for Sands to move on, especially since Carl Crawford was brought over and still has many years left on his contract. It's hard to imagine Sands getting much of any playing team over Crawford, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier. That's a lot of production and bucks for those guys. Sands has dabbled a bit at first base, so perhaps he can find some time there. He's got the tools, so there is a good chance he can be a good big league player.
Ivan De Jesus - There's not a whole lot to say about him since he's only played in 40 games the past two seasons. He hit .231 with only one extra-base hit and one steal. He'll fill some sort of a utility role, as he can play both middle infield positions. But he's easily replaceable, so it's no big loss at all for the Dodgers.
Rubby De La Rosa - When it's all said and done, this could be the one player the Red Sox will cherish the most from this trade. He definitely has the makeup of an elite starter, as he can touch triple digits on the gun, and has already had some great starts in his young career.
In July of last season, he made five starts and went 1-2 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He also struck out 29 batters in 28 innings, a great indication of his power stuff. Unfortunately for him, he then went down for Tommy John surgery, and has only recently come back. As is the case with any pitcher, there's always a risk that he won't be the same type of pitcher after major surgery. I think in today's baseball world, this surgery is practically a common thing, and the results have shown that it definitely works.
I'm sure the Dodgers didn't want to give him up, as he would've competed for a starting spot next season. If you're a Red Sox fan, you have to like the move in that it's the first step towards improving their horrific pitching. I'll miss him, but as the old adage goes, you have to give up something in order to get something.
Allen Webster - I'll admit that I don't know as much about him since he has yet to appear in LA. From all I've read about him, though, he looks to be the real deal. In five minor league seasons, he's 34-24 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, along with 456 K's in 485 innings.
Much like De La Rosa, I know the Red Sox definitely wanted pitching in this deal, and with two young arms who have good numbers coming to them, they have to like it. For the Dodgers, it's always tricky to project just how good "prospects" are ultimately going to be, so I can see them being willing to let one of them go. I do know that Zach Lee is probably their top prospect, so I'm happy he isn't going anywhere.
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