At the Winter Meetings back in December, the new-look Dodger front office headed by Andrew Friedman went crazy with trades parting with Kemp and Gordon among others; and now they are at it again. According to multiple sources the Dodgers have agreed to a three-way trade with the Marlins and Braves that will send starters Mat Latos (Miami) and Alex Wood (Braves) to the Dodgers along with braves reliever Jim Johnson plus Miami 1B Michael Morse. The boys in LA will be giving up three right-handed pitching prospects. With the Giants on their heels, and holes in the rotation with Ryu and McCarthy out for the year, the Dodgers have finally listened to the concerning fans, and have completed a deal that betters their chances of winning the Fall Classic.
After Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke atop the rotation, it’s a blur. Brett Anderson has been somewhat decent, and Mike Bolsinger has been a great surprise from the minors, but with Kershaw’s lack of success in the postseason, the Dodgers know they needed help in the rotation. Matt Latos is the key piece in this deal for LA; as he has been extremely hot his last 7 starts after returning from the DL. He has been struggling with arm injuries the last few seasons, but when healthy he is a lethal middle of the rotation power pitcher (career K/9 is 8.1). Latos may not be a Hamels or Price, but he is a big hole plugger that will now patch up the Dodger’s rotation. Likely newly acquired Alex Wood will come right in behind him for the 4th spot as the second left-hander. The new-look Dodger rotation does not exactly spell championship, but it gives the team a whole lot better chance at acquiring a ring in 2015.
The Dodgers also will receive former back-to-back 50 save man Jim Johnson, who will likely serve as a setup man for Kenley Jansen, creating one of the most dominant 8-9 inning punches in the game; and as the past few seasons has told, a lethal combination, like that, significantly increases a team’s chances at a ring. Acquiring a star reliever and two rotation guys, the Dodgers checked off two things on their shopping list. Michael Morse may not be the great bench player they were hoping for (only batting .214 this year), but he still ads value as he can play the outfield, which is a spot the Dodgers need help with considering that Crawford is injury-prone and Puig has been disappointing, so that’s another checkmark for the front office. Better yet, Morse has played mostly in left field during his career, and that is where the Dodgers have an ever-evolving door. When healthy, Morse can provide 20+ homer power, so with that said, this may not be a block-buster deal, but it certainly places the odds higher for the Dodgers winning it all in 2015.
