Done Deals for the 2010 Season

Mike Scioscias tragic illness:

And another one:

dylanohernandez Dodgers sent cash to Tampa Bay for its pick in the Rule 5 draft, LHP Armando Zerpa.

See? We do have money to spend.

grabarkewitz:

Found some numbers on Zerpa. Short (5'11" lefty who pitched well in the SALLY, but struggled with his control in the Carolina League. Good strikeout numbers and it appears he keeps the ball on the ground as he only gave up two homers last year.

MLB.com had the following notes on Zerpa

Armando Zerpa, LHP, Red Sox: He's only 22 and he's left-handed. On top of that, he held hitters to a .172 average and struck out 78 in 74 2/3 innings across two levels of A-ball. He was even stingier against lefties, holding them to a .097 batting average (7-for-72). Command (35 walks) might be a bit of an issue.

So it looks like he might compete in ST for a chance at the LOOGY spot in the bullpen. No word on what his "stuff" is like.

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The Dodgers also acquired (cash considerations) RH Carlos Monasterios from the Mets (via Philly) in the Major League Phase and
RH Raul Burgos from the Giants in the AA Phase, while losing OF Jamie Hoffman (#1 overall) to the Yankees in the Major League Phase and OF James Tomlin to the Rangers in the AAA Phase.

BluePastorKyle:

Don't be knockin' the golden arches. I took a prom date there one time. Limo and all... did the drive thru. Very long story.

You are one smooth operator, Kyle.

Lars:

Notice how he didn't specify if he got any at the end of the evening.

I am betting he did. He did spring for the limo - that was all it took for me in 1973, when I was a sophomore.

I honestly can't remember. That was prom #5 that year. Don't ask.

But yeah, considering the fact that the limo came with a full bar (but no glasses, since we were obviously underage, so we used the plastic trays from the corsages), I have no memory whatsoever of the events of the evening.

And even if I did...

BluePastorKyle:

I honestly can't remember. That was prom #5 that year. Don't ask.

But yeah, considering the fact that the limo came with a full bar (but no glasses, since we were obviously underage, so we used the plastic trays from the corsages), I have no memory whatsoever of the events of the evening.

And even if I did...

Well played, Kyle. Never know who is reading over your shoulder. Five proms? Wow! The best I did in any year was two. So, did you get a frequent flyer rate on the limo?

BluePastorKyle:

The beauty of it was that I was invited to 3 of them, and the girls insisted on paying. Same limo for the two I payed for, though, yeah. And the McD's thing was indeed one of the times the girl was paying. We had reservations at a very nice Santa Cruz restaurant, but one of the girls (8 people in the limo) was late getting ready, and we ended up being an hour late for the reservation time. The restaurant gave our table away, and made us wait another hour, promising us seats "in 10 minutes" every 10 minutes. Of course, the prom was already starting back in Monterey, so we finally baled, hoping to find an Outback or something on the way. Got into Monterey with no such luck and were starving, so we headed for a big mac and fries...

Amazing, I had to pay for just about everything on every prom I attended. I mean, I had to outlay over a hundred dollars for both shindigs in '73 when a $100 meant something. Had to save up a month's worth of paychecks from my weekend job to have a good time. Of course, the tux rental was $12.50 and the dinner only set me back $18 (at a quality Italian restaurant, both times). Shoot, if I had another $6 I could've sprung for a hotel room. Even the corsage was not that bad, something like $4. But, when added together, I could've had a better time on one of the proms. First prom, all I got was a hug at the door and a thank you for being a gentleman - that blew. Second prom, different girl, a fun evening had by all. Good times, good times.

Two of the players rumored to be on the Dodgers radar signed with their previous clubs. Kevin Correia back with the Pads for a reported $3.6M and Dioner Navarro stays with the Rays for one more year at his 2009 rate of $2.1M.

So, we still are in the market for starting pitching and a backup catcher. Correia had a career year in his first real opportunity to pitch in rotation for a full season. He looked very good in one start against the Blue. Navarro would have been a good switch hitting backup to Martin, but he was not going to be paid over two million by us in that role.

Nationals sign Scott Olsen to a 1 year, $1m deal with incentives that could bring it up to $4m. I'd thought maybe he'd be worth a look for us after he was non-tendered.

BluePastorKyle:

Unless I'm mistaken, Olsen is not the best clubhouse guy.

Yep, he is a pleasant cuss. If I remember correctly, he has gotten into several fights with his teammates. Seeing as how he is coming off of labrum surgery, I figure he still is a long way from being ML ready.

Mike Scioscias tragic illness:

He's a jerk, no doubt. He is supposed to be ready for the spring, though. He's had mixed results in the bigs, but he is still a 25 year old lefty with more than 100 mlb starts, so I wouldn't have minded taking a shot.

That is what they said about Shawn Green and his labrum surgery. I know, apples and oranges, but Olsen strikes me as a bigger risk than Wang. Of course, Wang is a bigger risk than Bedard, but I would be shocked if we even made a bid on Bedard, at this point.

Craig Counsell resigned with the Brewers. Good, I was worried that Ned was serious in going after him. Right now I would prefer Jamey Carroll over what is out there for MI types. I just wish that Ned would make a move on Callaspo. He makes more sense than the backup infielder du jour. Just not really excited about Kelly Johnson, Carroll, Belliard or any of the other stiffs out there looking for contracts.

grabarkewitz:

Sounds like a done deal according to the Midge - Lackey is taking his physical for the Red Sox as I type. No mention of money, but it appears that the Sox are going with an outfield of Hermida, Ellsbury and Nancy, next year. Pretty much takes them out of the Holliday bidding unless they pull a move similar to the Yankees, last winter. Bay to the Mets now looks realistic as a Lackey signing seemed to be the only thing holding that one up. Holliday is running out of suitors - gotta think the Yankees will save some money on Damon and the only other teams with money to spend are the Mariners and Angels. Holliday in an Angel uni seems to be doable now that the Angels will get the Red Sox first pick. Take the big three off of the market and some things might get done.

The speculation on Rotoworld is that this is a set-up for the Red Sox to trade Buchholz + to the Madres for A Gonz. Theo wont be able to get him too cheaply since the SD GM knows the BoSox system inside out.

I continue to be surprised by some of the rumored deals for 1B stiffs... Max Ramirez, huh? Did Theo forget that he has my boy Lars Andersen lurking just below the surface in Boston...?

My point, if they don't want the kid; or, if they are placing priority elsewhere, I WOULD LOVE to acquire LARS... He would give the Blue the BIG corner LH bat they covet (arbeit one that may take several years to fully mature!), for a McCheap-friendly contract price...! The only question that remains; what exactly would we
have to give up...?

Thoughts...?

arbfuldodger:

Godzilla to the Angels, Buster Olney reports a 1 year deal for 6.5 million

That fits.

Godzilla's only chance for a huge payday was to stay with the Yanks, if they were still willing to toss bags of $ his way. However, the Yanks seem to have finally fugured out that they are foolish to offer huge $ to other than star players, and that they can get secondary players for about what everybody else pays. So, they made a move for Granderson, which took away much of the negotiating leverage from Godzilla and Damon. Then they played Damon off vs. Godzilla.

With no chance of getting huge $ from the Yanks, Godzilla's reps probably performed the prefunctory phone call to the BoSox before focusing on a Left Coast team located closer to Japan. His value is probably in the $6-8M range given his VG 08 stats but his limitation to DH duty. There are several available players who fit that criteria, which only fits an AL team, and the Yanks are likely to get one for about what the Halos are paying Godzilla.

Look for Damon to sign a similarly sized deal, although he can still play a passable LF. He could still end up with the Yanks, but not for the good ol' Yanks premium he got previously.