The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t have much going on this offseason in terms of signing any high priced free agents, however that might change next offseason when they will most likely have a new ownership team in place. According to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, there are at least eight potential buyers still in the game for the Dodgers.

While the team in 2013 might look different with new ownership on board, let’s take a look at the potential 2012 Opening Day lineup they might be inheriting.

Ethier needs to be healthy for the Dodgers in 2012

1. Dee Gordon, SS

2. Mark Ellis, 2B

3. Andre Ethier, RF

4. Matt Kemp, CF

5. Juan Uribe, 3B

6. James Loney, 1B

7. Jerry Sands, LF

8. A.J. Ellis, C

Believe it or not, the Dodgers’ offense finished 12th in baseball with a 24.1 WAR in 2011 and that was without Either being healthy in the second half, Uribe playing in only 77 games, and being towards the bottom o the pacfk in HR’s (117). There is some potential for the Dodger offense to be better in 2012, but not by much.

The issue with this lineup is that it is very top heavy. In my opinion, there are really only two guys in this lineup that scare me as a pitcher — Ethier and Kemp. Other than that, there is little power in this lineup and if Kemp and Either say go 0-for-8 in a game, I am not sure how the Dodgers are going to score enough runs on a consistent basis.

Having Gordon at the top of the lineup should help. He did hit .304 in 233 plate appearances and did chip in 24 SB’s. Having him turn singles into doubles and triples will make it easier for the Dodgers to manufacture runs.

However, if Gordon is going to develop into a legit leadoff hitter, then he is going to need to get on base more often. A three percent BB Percentage is not going to cut it from the leadoff spot nor any other spot in the lineup for that matter.

If Gordon can get on base, then Kemp will have no problem knocking him and luckily for the Dodgers, Kemp had his head on straight in 2011. Kemp finished second in the National League MVP voting as he finished the year with a .324/.399/.586 slash line with 39 HR’s and 40 SB’s. As long as he is healthy and has his head on straight, Kemp should come close to repeating those numbers in 2012.

Some other things to look for in this lineup are: If Ellis struggles out the gate, look for Adam Kennedy to get some playing time at second base. Ellis’ seven HR’s in 2011 were more than all of the Dodger second basemen combined in 2011, but Ellis also had a .288 OBP. He will need to do better than that to keep his job.

Also keep an eye on Sands in left field. He showed a good eye at the plate in 227 PA’s for the Dodgers in 2011 (BB Percentage of 11 percent), but it will be interesting to see if his power develops at the Major League level in 2012. The Dodgers need more than a .136 ISO from Sands this season.

Overall, as I mentioned above, I think the Dodgers will have a hard time scoring runs on a consistent basis in 2012. Outside of Ethier and Kemp, there isn’t much fire power and if you don’t have fire power, then you need speed. Outside of Gordon and Kemp, the Dodgers don’t have that either.

This is a .500 offense and that’s right around where the Dodgers will be in 2012.

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According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Toronto Blue Jays have signed former Cincinnati Reds closer Francisco Cordero to a one-year, $4.5 million contract today. Cordero posted a 2.45 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and a 50 percent Ground Ball Percentage in 69.2 innings in 2011. His 5.4 K/9 represented the fourth consecutive year his K/9 has declined.

$4.5 million for Cordero is not a bad deal at all, but I have my doubts as to how successful Cordero will be pitching in the American League East. Cordero’s numbers were declining facing the likes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, and Chicago Cubs the majority of his games. How is he going to fare facing the likes of the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays.

If Cordero can’t regain his past form, the good news is that Cordero won’t be closing for the Blue Jays in 2012. That job will remain with Sergio Santos. If Cordero struggles, the Blue Jays can just demote and they won’t be scrambling for a closer.

The Blue Jays will roll out a Santos-Cordero-Jason Frasor threesome in the seventh, eighth, and ninth inning of games. That’s not great, but it sure isn’t bad either. The Blue Jays should have one of the more improved bullpens in 2012.

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By The Baseball Index 4 Comments »

When the news broke that Detroit Tigers’ C/DH Victor Martinez was out for the year with a knee injury, we speculated that the Tigers would pursue a veteran DH on a one-year deal. Names like Carlos Pena, Johnny Damon, and Raul Ibanez came up.

Big Prince is headed to Motown

However, Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski wasn’t having any of that veteran DH Tom Foolery. Reminiscent of when Aaron Boone blew out his knee playing a pick-up basketball game and the New York Yankees going out and getting Alex Rodriguez, the Tigers reeled in a star of their own to replace a player who is lost for the year with a knee injury.

The Tigers today signed 1B Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract. That’s an average annual salary of $23.78 million for those of you scoring at home.

This is a shocker. I don’t think anyone saw this coming, especially since the Tigers already have Miguel Cabrera at first base. However, Cabrera told a Venezuelan newspaper Lider en Deportes that he will move to third base to accommodate Fielder at first.

The Tigers will have one crappy defensive infield, but man, that lineup with Cabrera and Fielder in the three and four hole is going to be down-right scary. Fielder hit .299/.415/.566 with 38 HR’s in 162 games in 2011. You take those numbers and combine them with Cabrera’s .344/.448/.586 and 30 HR’s and the happiest person in the world might be Alex Avila. Avila is projected to hit fifth in the Tigers’ lineup in 2012 and he will have plenty runners on base when he comes to the plate.

The only negative to the actual contract itself is that it seemed like the Tigers bid against themselves. Nine years for Fielder is a lot of years to give a guy considering that there weren’t any other serious players for his services. The Tigers could have probably gotten away with giving Fielder a five or seven-year deal.

While the Tigers’ D might be really bad in 2012, their offense should make up for their defensive deficiencies. With a down American League Central, this move makes the Tigers the clear favorites in this division.

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By The Baseball Index 2 Comments »

Update: According to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, Yankee DH/C Jorge Posada will formally announce his retirement this week. The announcement is most likely expected to come on Tuesday.

Original Post. 1/9/12: As first reported by WFAN’s Sweeney Murdy, New York Yankees’ DH/C Jorge Posada will announce his retirement in the upcoming weeks. Posada was part of the “Core Four” in Yankee land along with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte.

I always thought Posada was the least important of the “Core Four,” much like Ray Jackson was the least important of the Michigan “Fab Five.” However, that shouldn’t diminish the fact that Posada had a tremendous career in the Bronx.

Posada will finish his career with a .273/.374/.474 slash line with 275 HR’s, five All Star Game selections, five Silver Slugger awards, and two, top-10 MVP finishes (2003 and 2007) in 17 seasons. And of course, he won four World Series titles with the Yankees.

Last year, Posada showed major decline as he had career-lows in OBP (.315), SLG (.398), and wOBA (.309). I am kind of glad Posada retired. There is nothing worse than seeing a guy hold on for one more season and has very little left. If Posada would have signed on with a team like the Tampa Bay Rays or Miami Marlins, it would have been like Keith Hernandez playing with the Cleveland Indians in his last season in the Major Leagues.

Now the question becomes, is Posada a Hall of Fame catcher? Here is how Posada stacks up against the last three catchers to be inducted into the HOF:

Source: FanGraphs — Jorge Posada, Johnny Bench, Gary Carter

Posada will go down as a very good catcher, but not a Hall of Fame catcher. He will be in the same class as Ted Simmons and Lance Parrish. These guys were very good catchers and some of the best in their era, but not quite HOF worthy.

I would imagine Posada will have a press conference when he is officially ready to announce his retirement.

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By The Baseball Index 2 Comments »

In the NBA, we see sign-and-trades happen all the time during the offseason. In Major League Baseball, we hardly see it at all. I think the reason being there is no salary cap for a GM to try to manipulate.

Scutaro will be the new Rockies' second baseman

However, I think we saw a pseudo sign-and-trade happen this offseason in the world of MLB.

Earlier in the offseason, the Boston Red Sox picked up Scutaro’s $6 million option for 2012. This was a move that I agreed with at the time because it was Boston’s best option at the short stop position.

However, with the Red Sox adding Nick Punto and with Mike Aviles in the fold, Boston felt they had enough depth to trade away Scutaro.

The Red Sox traded Scutaro and his $6 million salary to the Colorado Rockies for RHP Clayton Mortensen. The move is expected to clear the way for the Red Sox to pursue a starting pitcher, most notably Roy Oswalt.

While Punto and Aviles in a short stop platoon is the baseball equivalent of the bottom of my shoe, the Red Sox can win with those two at the six-spot. What they can’t win with is having Alfredo Aceves and Daniel Bard as their fourth and fifth starters. In the American League East, that’s just not going to cut the mustard.

The Red Sox need another starting pitcher and Oswalt would be a perfect fit behind Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Clay Buchholz. If trading Scutaro means freeing up enough money to sign Oswalt or another starting pitcher, then I am all for it.

In return for Scutaro, the Red Sox get Mortensen, who has been a disappointment since being taken in the first round (37th overall) in the 2007 Draft. Mortensen has a 5.12 ERA in 95 innings at the Major League level. At 27, Boston is hoping he can find his way in a Red Sox uniform.

Scutaro is expected to play second base for the Rockies

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By The Baseball Index 2 Comments »

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have completely revamped the Depth Charts section here at The Baseball Index. Before we had them by division and not in the best format for reading.

Now we have them sortable by division and by individual teams. If you want to take a look at the depth chart for the Miami Marlins, just scroll over the NL East and then click on Miami Marlins. As you will see, the depth chart for each team is now in an easy to read grid.

We will update each team’s depth chart on a frequent basis.

A special thanks to our developer Bryan, who worked really hard on getting this done. Hope you enjoy the update to that section.

Adam

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