Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Paco and Olivo get called to the big club

A couple of roster moves these last two days, as the Dodgers have patiently waited since Sunday just to play a game.

On Tuesday, Paco Rodriguez made his rightful return to LA, as infielder Carlos Truinfel's short stay expired.  At Triple-A Albuquerque, Paco only pitched three innings without giving up a run and picking up a save in the process.  Truinfel never got into a game.

It was a shock at the time when Paco got sent down, as someone needed to go to make room for Brian Wilson back on April 16.  Well, the Wilson thing sure hasn't worked out, but he's not going anywhere for now.  The Dodgers definitely needed another lefty to go with J.P. Howell, so I'm hoping Paco is here to stay.

Today, the Dodgers decided to end the Tim Federowicz experiment and ship him off to Triple-A.  In his place will be veteran Miguel Olivo.  If that name sounds somewhat familiar, it's because he's played 10 seasons in the Majors.

Without a doubt, this is the right call to make.  Federowicz is just horrendous at the plate, hitting .109 in 13 games.  What does that average look like?  Try 5-for-46.  Yes, five hits in 46 tries.  That is absolutely abysmal.  Since he's a career .203 hitter, the Dodgers had no reason to believe he'd turn things around anytime soon.

Olivo has been fantastic in Triple-A, hitting .390 with 4 homers and 18 RBIs in 13 games.  He's pretty much an all-or-nothing type of hitter, as he has a 19/3 K/BB ratio.  But at this point, the Dodgers will roll with it, as Fed and Drew Butera (who's hitting .190) have proven to be liabilities at the plate.  Olivo is there to provide a spark, so let's see what he can do.

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