Dodgers trade for Thome, Garland [Forum Archive]

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Dodgers trade for Thome, Garland

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Posted by: min0 lee

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers completed a last-minute roster makeover before Monday night's deadline, acquiring Chicago White Sox slugger Jim Thome and Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jon Garland. Both players will be eligible for postseason play. In return, the White Sox will receive Minor League infielder Justin Fuller. The D-backs will receive a player to be named, who, according to several Dodgers, will be Tony Abreu, but Abreu needs to first clear waivers. Abreu once was considered a top infield prospect, but his progress was stalled by three years of injuries.
The right-handed Garland, 29, moves into a rotation that has struggled to find a fifth starter all season and has been further weakened by the loss of Hiroki Kuroda, who was hit on the head by a line drive. Garland is expected to take the place of knuckleball specialist Charlie Haeger, with Vicente Padilla holding the spot for Kuroda, who could return to the rotation as soon as Sunday.
"Jon Garland is going to get the ball every five days, and if we have six starters, so be it," said manager Joe Torre.
The durable Garland, a World Series winner with the Angels, already had been named Arizona's starter for Thursday night against Haeger, so he probably will still pitch Thursday night, only against the D-backs and not for them.
"The hardest thing is keeping those emotions in check," said Garland, who heard rumblings of a deal before Monday night's game but was officially informed of the trade in the sixth inning. "I've gone to war with those guys the past five months, so it's going to be different."
Garland said goodbye to his former teammates after the game, grabbed his equipment and walked down the hall to the Dodgers clubhouse.
"That might be the strangest part about it," he said. "Finding out in the sixth or seventh inning, packing up and showering up, walking right across, it's a little weird.
"For me, born and raised in L.A., the chance to come back and play for the Dodgers, be right in the thick of a pennant race, it's exciting."
General manager Ned Colletti said he tried to sign Garland as a free agent last winter (signing Randy Wolf instead) and considered adding him at the July 31 Trade Deadline.
"I wasn't sure Arizona was willing to deal within the division, but [D-Backs GM] Josh Byrnes said if there's a chance to help his club, he'd give it consideration," Colletti said.
The Thome opportunity, however, arose late Monday morning and Colletti compared it to the last-gasp deal that brought Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers last summer.
He said Thome called him before the trade was complete and said he'd be happy to help the Dodgers in their title drive, but physically was not able to play first base. He will be used exclusively as a left-handed power bat off the bench. With the White Sox, he had done nothing other than be a designated hitter the past two seasons.
Thome, 12th on the all-time list with 564 career home runs, will give the Dodgers the left-handed threat that Matt Stairs provides the Phillies, who beat the Dodgers with a home run off the bench in the playoffs last year.
Colletti said that Thome also brings the kind of leadership any clubhouse could use in a pennant race.
"He's a great influence in the clubhouse, one of the true good guys in the game," Colletti said. "He's a tremendous leader. He called me to make sure we knew first base was not an option for him, but he'd help in any way he could. For a player to get on the phone just lets you know what kind of guy he is and I appreciate that."
The moves come one day after Colletti acquired Ronnie Belliard for added versatility as a utility infielder. Belliard homered in his first Dodgers at-bat on Monday night, starting in place of All-Star second baseman Orlando Hudson.
Garland, an All-Star in 2005, is 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA for the D-backs this year. He's also played with the White Sox and Angels and has a 114-100 career mark and 4.29 ERA.
Thome, a five-time All-Star, has 23 homers and 74 RBIs this year.
"He's a great guy in the clubhouse," said Ramirez, a teammate of Thome in Cleveland. "I can't wait to see him. He's one of the best hitters, too. I'm just happy he's on my team."
Thome will be a free agent after this season, but the Dodgers will pick up some of the remaining $2 million of his $13 million salary this year. The remaining $1.2 million of Garland's 2009 salary, plus a buyout of either $1 million or $2.5 million from a 2010 mutual option, will be paid by the D-backs.
The Dodgers will need to make several moves to clear space on the 40-man roster for Thome and the anticipated activations from the 60-day disabled list of Doug Mientkiewicz and Will Ohman.

Posted by: I Are Baboon

Damn. The Dodgers aren't messing around.

Posted by: Triple Threat

If Thome isn't going to play first base, that means he'll be limited to 1 AB per game. He shouldn't be that much of an impact.

Posted by: Triple Threat

The White Sox have waved the white flag and are cleaning house, sending Contreras to the Rockies. Their next move should be to move Ozzie.

Posted by: min0 lee

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple Threat

The White Sox have waved the white flag and are cleaning house, sending Contreras to the Rockies. Their next move should be to move Ozzie.

They just traded for Rios...bet they regret that now.

Posted by: min0 lee

Drown and out feeling

by Joe Cowley, The Chicago Sun-Times , Chicago Sun Times

With the S.S. South Sider in full-fledge sink mode, Captain Ken Williams was frantically trying to lighten the load with anything that wasn't nailed down.
A big piece of cargo was tossed overboard Monday night after yet another embarrassing loss to the Minnesota Twins, this time 4-1, on a road trip filled with embarrassments. With an 11 p.m. deadline for players to be moved and be playoff-eligible for their new team, an ESPN report had White Sox general manager Williams sending out a list of players that were available, including Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, Scott Linebrink, Scott Podsednik, Jose Contreras and Octavio Dotel.
By the time the deadline passed, Thome was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Contreras to the Colorado Rockies.

Posted by: IainDaniel

Quote:

Originally Posted by min0 lee

They just traded for Rios...bet they regret that now.

I am glad they took him

wish they wanted wells as well

Posted by: I Are Baboon

Seems to me that getting rid of Contreras was addition by subtraction.

Posted by: min0 lee

To think that both the Yanks and the Bosox were after this guy like little school girls.

Posted by: I Are Baboon

Quote:

Originally Posted by min0 lee

To think that both the Yanks and the Bosox were after this guy like little school girls.

Ha! For a few seconds there I thought you meant RECENTLY.

Yeah, they were stumbling all over each other trying to get him. At least he did manage to have a few decent years when he was young.

Posted by: min0 lee

He was young?

Posted by: P-funk

Being from Cleveland I am a huge Thome fan. He will always be one of my favorite players. But, I think that was a horrible trade for the Dodgers since Thome is not going to play first base and their is only no DH in the National League. Unless they make it to the World Series, he is pretty much useless to them. This trade was nothing like the Manny Trade at all! Manny is at least an every day player (maybe not mentally but he goes out there and stands around and does something).

I don't know how many more seasons Thome has left in him. He has some impressive offensive numbers though.

patrick

Posted by: I Are Baboon

I don't see how this is a bad trade for the Dodgers. They gave up basically nothing and added a huge bat to the roster. How is that a bad thing?

Thome wanted to go, too.

Posted by: min0 lee

They did expand the roster or they will soon, this looks like they are getting ready for post season.

Quote:

I am a huge Thome fan. He will always be one of my favorite players.

Same here.

I didn't know he wanted out, is there any reason other than Ozzie?

Posted by: min0 lee

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple Threat

The White Sox have waved the white flag and are cleaning house, sending Contreras to the Rockies. Their next move should be to move Ozzie.

hmm..

Quote:

Still, a calmer approach — particularly from Guillen — might help. The entire organization gives off a volatile vibe, and there is little doubt that some players find it unsettling.
While right-hander Gavin Floyd, outfielder Carlos Quentin and left-handed reliever Matt Thornton blossomed after joining the Sox, others — particularly Braves right-hander Javier Vazquez, Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher and Nationals closer Mike MacDougal this season — improved after they left.
At least one rival GM believes that right-hander Jose Contreras might get the same type of boost after getting sent to the Rockies.

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