The Dodgers have been long rumored to be seeking upgrades to their starting pitching behind co-aces Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and Dodgers President Andrew Friedman said in May he’d be willing to deal from his surplus of infielders in order to acquire such an arm.
“From where we sit right now, if we can add an arm, that would certainly be helpful,” Friedman said in May.
Even though Los Angeles has already moved Juan Uribe to the Braves, they still have an abundance of infielders on he left side.
The Dodgers still have extra infielders. Currently, Justin Turner, and Alex Guerrero are splitting time at third base, with Turner seeing the bulk of the playing time thanks to his breakout season at the plate. While they have combined to be very productive, it’s not ideal to spend eight percent of the active roster on one position, particularly with the team needing more starting pitching.
In addition, they’ve signed infielder Hector Olivera, and top prospect Corey Seager is getting closer to the big leagues as well.
The most appealing of Friedman’s surplus (among realistic targets) is Guerrero. He’s not particularly young, but he played for a long time in Cuba before defecting and joining the Dodgers as a free agent in 2013. He has shown good power so far this season although he hasn’t walked very much.
His glove seems to be that of a utility infielder: he can play second, shortstop or third, although has yet to play short in the big leagues. He did play a little bit there last season and has experience playing there in Cuba. He’s probably best suited at second base – he’s relatively raw at third and hasn’t played more than seven games at shortstop since 2010. But the nice part about Guerrero is he can be moved around the infield, so the Mets would have no problem finding a regular playing time for him.
He is owed about $12 million through 2017 and can opt out of his deal if traded, but if he stays he will only be arbitration eligible when that contract expires and can be controlled through 2021. Guerrero’s opt-out could be viewed as a hinderance for any interested party. However, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles says Guerrero has become so frustrated with his lack of playing time that he’d be willing to waive his opt-out clause in exchange for more playing time with another club.
Guerrero has just 54 at-bats in 28 games since June 5, during which he has hit .167 with no walks and no extra-base hits. Saxon says he has expressed his frustrations with manager Don Mattingly over his lack of playing time.
It’s worth noting Guerrero is represented by Scott Boras, so such a proposition by Guerrero might not be as simple as he says it would be. Perhaps additional compensation would be required for Guerrero to fully guarantee he won’t exercise the opt-out clause, or some other incentive for the 28-year-old infielder.
There’s also the problem the Mets have in the type of starting pitching they’d be willing to deal. For now, the Mets are saying they’d only consider moving pitching prospects, such as Michael Fulmer, this summer. That’s not to say if the right deal doesn’t present itself, they wouldn’t or shouldn’t consider moving Jon Niese, although that would leave their rotation thin on the back-end while they wait and hope Steven Matz returns.
Presumably, the Dodgers will be aiming higher than what the Mets can or would offer the Dodgers for Guerrero. With arms like Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, and maybe David Price being available over the next ten days, the Mets may not be a match with the Dodgers until those options dwindle.
Just Mets 