Dodgers at the Deadline

AP Photo

As I watched the MLB trade deadline show on MLB Network, I noticed a funny comment by one of the analysts.  When asked who his “winner” was for the day, he mentioned the Dodgers due to their ability to be so active despite their financial hardships.  He said nothing else.  The Dodgers were winners simply because they were active, and to me, that makes no sense.  These moves weren’t terrible, but it was exactly what Ned Colletti is known for: overpaying.  Great.

The first move the Dodgers made today was fine by me.  The Dodgers began the day by sending Blake DeWitt and their 17th and 34th best prospects to Chicago for Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot.  While many were up in arms over the departure of DeWitt, he was never going to be a franchise player, and the Dodgers could do well to simply sign a new second baseman every year for the next ten, and they would never do significantly worse than DeWitt, so no big loss there.  Other than that, Theriot adds more speed to a lineup of Furcal, Podsednik, and Kemp, adding just another player capable of stealing bases at any moment.  Lilly was a much needed inning-eater at the back of the rotation, so this trade didn’t bother me.

The second trade, however, reeks of Ned Colletti’s biggest weakness: forcing a trade.  The Dodgers parted with James McDonald and Andrew Lambo (12th best prospect) for some much needed help in the bullpen with Octavio Dotel.  Dotel is a great pickup, but at far too large a price.  McDonald has Edwin Jackson part two written all over him (Dodgers dealt Jackson a few years back for Danny Baez, another relief pitcher), and the last thing the Dodgers need is for another prospect to develop in someone else’s’ system (ala Carlos Santana).  So while the future will tell how much this helps the Dodgers, if they don’t make the playoffs this season, these moves will come back to haunt them.

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