Dodgers add Blanton while missing on Lee

A few days after acquiring Shane Victorino, the Dodgers raid of the Phillies continues.

Both teams agreed to a trade that sends Joe Blanton to the Dodgers for a minor league player to be named later.  Blanton will immediately fill a role in the rotation, which became more of an urgent matter after Ted Lilly was recently shut down while rehabbing.

Even more interesting was the Dodgers' waiver claim on Cliff Lee and his massive contract.  And that's massive as in $100 million still owed to him.  But these are the new Dodgers, and had the Phillies agreed on which players to acquire, the deal would have gone through.  Alas, it was not meant to be.

As for Blanton, he hasn't exactly had a great season, but has turned things around of late.  Overall, he's 8-9 with a 4.59 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 115 strikeouts in 133 1/3 innings.  Most impressive is that he has issued a microscopic 15 walks all season long, hence his strong WHIP. 

His splits show that he actually just went through his best month in July, where he was only 1-3, but with a 3.82 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and .241 BAA.  He's been victimized by the long ball, as he's given up 22 on the season.  The silver lining is that 14 of those have been in the hitter's park known as Citizens Bank Park, so a change of scenery to Dodger Stadium must feel like heaven to him.

Obviously, an acquisition of Lee would have been huge, as he would have immediately made a ridiculous 1-2 punch with Clayton Kershaw.  Blanton is not as sexy of a trade, but what it does do is strengthen the back end of the rotation.  He also has plenty of postseason experience, winning a ring in 2008 with the Phillies.

Blanton's arrival is a solid addition.  It's certainly not spectacular, but I'm pretty sure Ned Colletti and Don Mattingly know that anyway.  It will be good to give him the ball instead of patching together starts from guys who aren't ready yet.

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.

Will Cliff Lee become a Dodger?

The hottest rumor of the day has been a proposed deal that would send Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez to the Dodgers for James Loney, prospects, and either Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote about this earlier today, calling it "serious discussions" between the two.

As time went on throughout the day, it's been pretty much all but shot down as false.

The major reason seems to be the part about giving up Billingsley or Kershaw. It seems to me that the Indians would be more than willing to get one of them to replace Lee, who will be a free agent after the 2010 season. That would be good for the Dodgers, but he's 30, and Billingsley and Kershaw are 25 and 21, respectively.

Would the Dodgers actually be willing to part with one of their young, stud pitchers? I would highly doubt it, even if it was Lee coming in return. Billingsley was an All-Star this year, and Kershaw isn't far behind. They can easily become a top 1-2 combination in the majors in no time. Trading away one of those parts would be pretty big.

About the only part of this deal I would like is Victor Martinez for James Loney. Don't get me wrong, I like Loney. His defense is excellent, he's young, and for the most part hits for a good average. But, he has little power, and hits into too many double plays. Good player, but can be expendable for the right price.

Martinez, on the other hand, can hit for 20-25 homers, and has a higher on-base percentage. He was an All-Star this season as a catcher, but has played almost as many games at first. He'd be a good power threat no matter where he'd be in the lineup.

Who knows how serious this deal ever was, or will be, so this could all be a giant waste of time. What does seem certain is the Dodgers have interest in Lee. Will they put together any sort of deal? With the trade deadline approaching, we will soon find out.