Gordon could go from All-Star to traded

While the Matt Kemp to San Diego rumors continue to dominate talk about the Dodgers at the Winter Meetings, here's another tidbit that could be interesting - Dee Gordon is being made available by the new management.

Who knows what the level of "available" is, as this doesn't initially strike me as something the Dodgers are hotly pursuing.  I get the feeling it's more of an "If you like him, let's talk" type of thing.

One team that perhaps would like to talk is the Marlins, who might already be showing some interest.

There are a couple of reasons to believe that Gordon really could be on his way out.  For starters, the Gordon we saw in the second half of last season did not come close to matching the All-Star reserve at second base we saw in the first.  His average was around the same (.292 before, .284 after), but his OBP went way down (.344/.300).  He also started striking out a bunch more, and while he led all of baseball in stolen bases at 64, he started getting caught more in the second half despite playing in much less games.

The other reason is that the Dodgers have Alex Guerrero and Erisbel Arruebarrena waiting in the wings, and they're not cheap.  They're pretty much opposites of each other right now, as Guerrero has the bat, and Arruebarrena has the glove.

A major factor that could keep Gordon right where he is is that Hanley Ramirez is now in Boston.  Perhaps the Dodgers would be satisfied with Arruebarrena at short and Guerrero at second, but that's a lot of inexperience up the middle on a "win now" club.

I'm not ready to give up on Gordon for slowing down in the second half, as his 148 games far outpaced his next highest career total of 87 in 2012.  I think a smaller, speedy guy like him just naturally started feeling the wear and tear of a long Major League season.  If you recall, he bulked up some before last season started, and helped the Dodgers solve their leadoff issues.

Right now the Dodgers are waiting to see if Jon Lester comes aboard, and maybe finalizing the Kemp trade to the Padres.  After that, then possibly this talk of moving Gordon begins to take on more importance.  Stay tuned.