A bunch of trade chatter

The trade deadline is tomorrow at 4 P.M. Eastern, and there's a whole lot of talk involving the Dodgers.  Let's break it down player by player.

(Note: all of the below rumors are courtesy of MLBTradeRumors.com, an excellent baseball site, especially this time of year.)

Ryan Dempster - I guess we all should have known not to declare a deal is done before all parties involved make it official.  Hence the case with Dempster last week when he nixed a trade to the Braves, mostly because he wants to be a Dodger.  So for that I say... good for him!  Ha!

Anyway, the latest reports say that the Cubs and Dodgers are trying very hard to make a deal happen.  The Dodgers did not want to offer pitching prospect Allen Webster in the deal before, which held everything up.  There's also talk of Alfonso Soriano being involved, which makes sense considering his massive contract.

As great as Chad Billingsley and Stephen Fife have looked the last couple of starts, there's no denying that Dempster would be a big upgrade in the rotation.  A playoff rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Chris Capuano, Dempster, and Harang would be sweet. 

Justin Morneau - There was some interest here, but the Twins no longer appeared interested.  The Dodgers moved Nathan Eovaldi in the Hanley Ramirez deal, and since the Twins want a starting pitcher, there's really no match anymore. 

Morneau has gone from budding superstar and AL MVP in 2006 to an injury-plagued question mark, all thanks to the dreaded concussion.  He combined to play only 150 games in 2010-2011.  This season he's played in 78 games, which shows that maybe he's finally OK, hitting .260 with 13 homers and 46 RBIs. 

No disrespect to Morneau, but I don't think the Dodgers should mess with him.  Even though he's been healthier this year, I think the Dodgers could do better.

Shane Victorino - Jayson Stark of ESPN stated that the Dodgers appear the favorite to land the Ex-Dodger Victorino.  Many teams have been attached to him, but with the Dodgers' willingness to take on money, they suddenly are the frontrunners.

This season hasn't been as kind to Victorino, who's hitting .261 with 9 homers, 40 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases.  It's not like he's been bad; he just hasn't been on base as much.  But as you see with the steals, he can still fly.  Plus, he has plenty of big game experience.

I'll state upfront that I'm just not a Victorino fan.  It probably goes back to the playoffs a few years back when he got upset when Hong-Chih Kuo threw at him, despite the Phillies throwing at Manny Ramirez before.  The dude has just always bugged me.  But with Bobby Abreu really slowing down and Tony Gywnn never getting a hit, he would be a clear upgrade in left.  So, reluctantly, I would take him.

Speaking of Gwynn, it looks like either he or Josh Lindblom are names that could go to Philly in return.  Fine with me.

Brandon League - The forgotten League has many teams calling up the Mariners for his services.  The Dodgers really need bullpen help, especially with Ronald Belisario bumbling in the setup role of late.

After going 37-42 in save situations last year, League lost his closer's role after blowing his fourth save in late May.  He actually was figuring things out quite nicely before getting hit around by the Royals on Sunday.  Still, since being demoted, he's lowered his ERA from 4.43 to 3.63.  Throw out Sunday's game, and his ERA was at 3.05.  So there has been clear improvement.

I think League has a lot to offer, so I would jump on a deal.  At this point, I'm willing to see anyone pitch in the eighth inning, and he would be the guy.  The Dodgers have already added Randy Choate on the left side, and if they get League on the right, that would be another good addition in front of Kenley Jansen.

With Dempster gone, Dodgers eye Garza

Ryan Dempster looks to have been traded, just not to the Dodgers.  He will be moved to the Braves today for starter Randall Delgado.  With Dempster and the emergence out of nowhere of Ben Sheets, the Braves have definitely upgraded their rotation.

Now the Dodgers have shifted their focus to another Cubs' starting pitcher, Matt Garza.  The difference between the two is that Garza can be retained next season as an arbitration-eligible player.  Dempster is a free agent after this season.  If the Dodgers do let go of Zach Lee, and it looks like they'd have to if they want Garza, then it's easier to pull the trigger knowing he'll be in the starting rotation next year, too.

This season, Garza is 5-7 with a 3.91 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 93 K's in 103 2/3 innings.  In seven big league seasons, he's 57-61 with a 3.84 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.

I'll wait and see if this deal does go down before diving deeper into what it means for the Dodgers going forward.

Dodgers want Dempster, but will they part with Lee?

With the trade deadline approaching, the Dodgers appear to have made the first move to improve their starting pitching.  Reports have surfaced that they have reached out to the Cubs to acquire Ryan Dempster.  With Cole Hamels quite possibly extending with the Phillies, Dempster is arguably the top dog on the pitching market.

A couple of factors are unknown about this deal.  First, we don't even know which players the Dodgers have offered.  We do know that the Cubs value young pitching in return for any deal, which is understandable considering they are in the full rebuilding mode. 

The second question, and most important one, is if the Dodgers are willing to include Zach Lee in the deal.  You have to think that if that answer is yes, the Cubs would pull the trigger on this in an instant.

To start with, let's take a look at Dempster.  To say that he is putting it all together this year would be an understatement.  And guess what?  He currently has a scoreless inning steak of 33.  Talk about perfect timing!  On the year, he's 5-3 with a minuscule 1.86 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.  Teams are hitting only .204 against him.  Simply put, he's one of the very few bright spots in another dark season for the Cubs.  It's not hard to see why teams value him so highly.

For those of you unacquainted with Lee, he was the first pick by the Dodgers in the 2010 draft.  After last season, he already was rated the top-ranked prospect in the farm system, and #62 overall by Baseball America.  Not bad for a guy who was pitching in high school two years ago.

Lee started this season at High-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he went 4-3 with a 4.55 ERA in 12 starts.  He's since made four starts in Double-A Chattanooga, and he's 0-2 with a 8.82 ERA.  Not exactly the greatest numbers, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still a highly sought after young prospect that a team like the Cubs would covet.

The Dodgers have already let it be known that they are willing to take on high salaries if it will improve their club.  Dempster in the final year of his four-year deal, making $14 million this season.  It's not like we can expect him to pitch to an ERA of sub-2 the whole season, but he's still a huge improvement over Chad Billingsley.  A rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Chris Capuano, and Dempster would be great to start a playoff series with.

However, I'm not at all a fan of moving Lee in this deal.  Some people may look at Lee's numbers this year and wonder what the big deal is, but you have to understand that's he's still only 20, and already has been lauded for his control.  In other words, the guy appears to know how to pitch, and not just try to blow everyone away.  That's a guy you want in your system.

As much as I'd like to see Dempster replace Billingsley in the rotation, I think the Dodgers need a power bat even more.  I'll give you two reasons why: Juan Uribe and James Loney.  Enough said.  If the Cubs insist on Lee as part of the deal, then I would move on from it.  Give Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier somebody else who can consistently drive in runs to help protect them.  That's their biggest need.