Wednesday, November 17, 2010

James Loney On The Move?


I've seen a few trade rumors swirling around about Dodgers' 1B James Loney. The Dodgers need some power in their line-up, someone to protect Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Generally, you'd like to see some power out of the corner infielders, but the Dodgers aren't getting that from Loney or 3B Casey Blake.

From SI.com's Tom Verducci:
Loney represents a good example of the chance to buy low on a player. His batting average, slugging and OPS have dropped three straight years. Teams generally like to see more power out of first base; Loney never has hit more than 15 home runs in a season. But Loney will be just 26 on Opening Day this year and is a veteran of almost 2,500 major league plate appearances.

Here's what so encouraging about the thought of getting Loney out of Dodger Stadium and experiencing a breakout season: He hit 41 doubles last year and has been a much better hitter in his career on the road (.307 with a .854 OPS) than at home (.268 with a .711 OPS). He should interest the Rays, Jays, Nationals and Diamondbacks.
Will the Dodgers move Loney? Ned Colletti's got the starting rotation nearly complete, can he find some players to score runs for them? Loney seems like the guy with the most trade value besides Kemp, Ethier, Kerhsaw, or Billingsley, four guys who probably aren't going anywhere.

So, is there a good James Loney trade out there for Ned to make without creating another hole?

9 comments:

  1. The Dodgers desperately need another player with power, and I just don't see how they're going to get someone worthwhile without trading Loney, and I'm not crazy about trading Loney.

    That rumored deal a couple of years ago of Loney and some others for Adrian Gonzalez looks pretty good now.

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  2. Wouldnt mind seeing big Adam Dunn at first base for the Dodgers

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  3. Adam Dunn, let's see. Put him behind Matt Kemp so we can have those two combine for close to 400 strike outs. Put Casey Blake behind Dunn and we have well over 500 strike outs between those 3 starters. You cannot field a line up with that many whiffs. Those are all totally unproductive outs. I would rather have Loney with his limited power put the ball in play than watching Dunn strike out 200 times in hopes for a 2 run dinger. The Dodgers ranked 10th in the N.L. in batting. Dunn is not the right guy for the Dodgers at this point for the reasons stated.

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  4. I don't want to see the Dodgers trade Loney unless they get a viable replacement. A journeyman replacement would be unacceptable in my book.

    Left field looks to be the position the Dodgers could upgrade power wise now that Dan Uggla is off the market.

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  5. Night Owl - I've read that the Pads may want to reduce payroll again. Gonzalez is due to make $5.7 million in '11. That's a bargain for a player of his caliber. I can't see them trading him, especially within the division, unless they were blow away. They'd probably require Kershaw or Billingsley.

    Anon, Are No - I wouldn't mind Adam Dunn, but like the other Anon said, he strikes out a lot. We'd be complaining about all the strike outs between him Kemp and Ethier by May 1.

    Dustin - Uggla would've been perfect. I think Beltre at 3B could work too.

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  6. Anon#2 - Great point on Dunn. The man hit's a ton of homeruns, but he strike out too much.

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  7. Beltre would be great, but I don't think the Dodgers will be players. Oakland reportedly offered him $64M over five years.

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  8. Dustin - Wow! I haven't seen that yet. $64 million? Crazy.

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