Kuzul

Following in the footsteps of his father, Tom Gordon, 22-year-old Dee Gordon is currently on the fast track to play in the major leagues for one of baseball’s highest profile teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gordon is currently ranked first on Baseball America as the Dodger’s top prospect.

Widely considered as a tremendous hitter and fielder, Gordon may also be the best all-around athlete in the highly talented farm system.

With the hype surrounding Gordon, there is a great chance that he will be starting at shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers by the end of the season.

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The NL West was arguably one of the best divisions last season thanks in large part to the Giants bullpen and the Padres’ early success.

With young talent running deep, the NL West looks to continue its exciting play and eventually sponsor a squad in a playoff run in October.

Let’s look at 25 guys that could make that a reality, or a repeat.

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With spring training quickly approaching, several questions continue to linger in terms of how the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 25-man roster will shape up once the players arrive at Camelback Ranch to prepare themselves for the long journey ahead.

Although general manager Ned Colletti has been very active this winter with numerous new additions to the club, there are still players on the free agent market available who may have the skills or abilities to complete a roster with a few holes.

Right now, the buzz around Dodgertown suggests that the team’s biggest needs are an outfielder with power, a number-two hitter in the lineup, and a left-handed arm in the bullpen. While Colletti may indeed explore free agent possibilities or entertain trade options, the organization is rich with talent and there are plenty of components to assemble a formidable 25-man roster.

Several roster spots may be determined by individual performances during Cactus League play, most specifically the fifth outfielding spot and the sixth arm in the bullpen. While there will be tight competition to finalize these several spots, the new coaching staff will also look to establish chemistry and generate positive momentum heading into Opening Day.

Assuming that the roster stays relatively the same as the season approaches, the following slides project all 25 players who may find themselves on the 25-man roster, show a handful of players who will be in heated battles to earn a place on the big league squad, as well as recommend a starting lineup for Opening Day on April 1.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy this offseason, locking up several players already and in the hunt for even more.

General manager Ned Colletti has been aggressive following a disappointing fourth-place finish for the Dodgers in the NL West. The team, picked by many to win the division, managed only an 80-82 record and was never really in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Colletti is determined to change that, building a roster around young studs Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.

But will the new additions be enough to vault the Dodgers past the defending world champions, the San Francisco Giants?

Here’s an early look at what the Dodgers have done so far and a grade for each of their moves. 

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With the signing of Miguel Tejada to a one-year deal (salary and bonus equaling $7M) the first question that comes to mind is: Why? 

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for signing Tejada, but why let Juan Uribe leave after winning a World Series with your team for the same exact amount of money?

Whether or not one will have a better year than the other is debatable and it seems like the biggest sticking point, for the second year in a row with Uribe, is the amount of years.

Tejada now has a one-year deal and Uribe has a three-year deal, although for the one common year between the two contracts (2011), they are making the same exact money.  So why let a company man walk over two years?

Furthermore, Tejada is 36 years old right now and 37 when this contract will be up.  Uribe is 31 right now and will be two years younger than Tejada is now when his contract expires.

So again, for similar quality players, the question remains. Why let Uribe walk for Tejada?

With rumors of Jason Bartlett’s availability, that is still an option worth looking at and that’s what I thought Giants GM Brian Sabean was up to. 

Listening to Juan Uribe talk about the courting process of the LA Dodgers, however, makes one realize it was more the proactive approach the Dodgers took that got the deal done with Uribe, who, for the second straight year, was left out to market over length of contract by the San Francisco Giants.

The rival Dodgers showed interest in Uribe from day one and made him feel “very proud,” and “very emotional,” he said when describing the courtship of the Dodgers.  Stephen Covey would be proud of the proactive approach the Dodgers are taking in this offseason and it is yielding results.

The Dodgers reportedly tried to lure away Aubrey Huff in the same manner and Huff accepted the Giants matching offer.  This strategy went the opposite way with Uribe, who is all smiles in his new uniform.

So now what’s done is done and the Giants made the right reactionary move in signing Tejada. 

Still, with Tejada’s age and limited range, are they signing Tejada to play shortstop or third base?  Putting a shortstop at third base worked in the playoffs beautifully. With Tejada’s lack of range at short, he still possesses veteran hands and would be a brick wall at the hot corner. 

This brings us back to Jason Bartlett, who at 31 years old is in the prime of his career at shortstop and is available for trade from the Tampa Bay Rays, who are looking to deal with a team with a deep bullpen.

Bringing in Bartlett is now an option again and he will also bring much-needed speed and defense to a notorious pitchers’ park, not to mention a WAG that will surely make one of the lists on BleacherReport.com. 

Is Bartlett even necessary, though, if Panda works out and returns to his form of two years ago and Mark DeRosa comes back and plays healthy this year?  If Bartlett plays short, Tejada plays third, then where do you put these other guys?

One can imagine a defensive alignment in this case looking like this.

C—Buster Posey

1B—Pablo Sandoval

2B—Freddy Sanchez

SS—Michael Bartlett

3B—Miguel Tejada

LF—Mark DeRosa

CF—Andres Torres

RF—Aubrey Huff

Then what happens if the Giants re-sign Cody Ross?  Most likely Mark DeRosa goes to the bench as a utility player and Cody goes to left field. 

What if Pat Burrell re-signs?  He becomes our pinch hitter.

But, of course, if Sandoval spends the year in Triple-A, then there is room for everybody.

Based on the reality of the situation, signing Miguel Tejada was a swift, decisive and correct move for the World Champions that didn’t cost them anything in a trade.

Trading for Bartlett using their bullpen depth would give the Giants long term security at shortstop, which is now needed, considering the moves made by the Dodgers getting Uribe and the Colorado Rockies signing Troy Tulowitski to a 10-year extension.

These two moves answer a lot of questions and give the Giants the same kind of veteran depth that they enjoyed in their championship run.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There has been a flurry of moves the past few days, so let’s take a look at the fantasy implications: 

Javier Vazquez signs with the Florida Marlins

This is the biggest move of the past few days.  After struggling mightily in the AL East (5.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 6.9 K/9), he returns to the NL East.  Let’s not forget, in 2009 while with the Braves, Vazquez put up Cy Young-esque numbers (2.87 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 9.8 K/9).

It’s easy to expect an improvement just from escaping the new Yankees Stadium, though it’s not like he only struggled at home in 2010 (5.29 ERA at home and 5.34 ERA on the road).  He was simply bad, there’s no other way to put it. 

The most important thing to look at isn’t his peripherals, considering his BABIP (.276) and strand rate (71.9 percent) were both realistic numbers.  The problem was that he seemingly lost his fastball.  Just look at his average fastball over the past four years:

• 2007 – 91.8 mph
• 2008 – 91.7 mph
• 2009 – 91.1 mph
• 2010 – 88.7 mph

That is a huge drop-off and easily helps to explain the dramatic falloff in strikeouts.  He also had a huge loss in his control, with a 1.8 BB/9 in 2009 to a 3.7 BB/9 in 2010.  Granted, his 2009 mark was a career best, but he had not posted a mark worse than 2.6 since 2000. 

We can easily expect for him to improve with the move back to the NL, but the velocity is another problem altogether.  If he doesn’t get it back, he likely won’t be able to return to the days of a K/9 of at least 8.0, meaning his value is just not going to come back as much as fantasy owners hope. 

His new location certainly makes him a better player to take a flier on, but he is far from a lock to rebound.  I wouldn’t overdraft him based on the transition.  He remains a late round flier at this point. 

Juan Uribe signs with the Los Angeles Dodgers

After hitting .248 with 24 HR, 85 RBI and 64 R, Uribe leaves the Giants for their division rivals.  The first thing that jumps out is his average, which we would’ve expected him to improve upon regardless of where he signed. 

He actually improved his strikeout rate (17.7 percent) but suffered from extremely poor luck (.256 BABIP).  He’s had struggles there in the past, so while it isn’t a lock that he improves, you would have to expect him to be at least a little bit better.

While the majority of his struggles did come on the road (.215 average), it’s hard to read too much into that.  In 2010, he hit .258 with 3 HR, 9 RBI and 4 R at Dodgers Stadium.

What may be most appealing is that he joins a lineup with more offensive punch.  With Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Co., there should be plenty of opportunities for Uribe to continue to produce. 

He is likely to play 2B, meaning he may lose his SS eligibility long-term (though, does anyone expect Rafael Furcal to remain healthy).  It’s worth keeping in mind but shouldn’t sway his value in 2011 (as he will have eligibility there).

He was a low-end option to begin with and should remain as one now. 

Miguel Tejada signs with the San Francisco Giants

It didn’t take long for the Giants to find a replacement for Uribe, at least at some level.  It’s possible that Tejada plays 3B, depending on their stance on Pablo Sandoval, but that would still leave a void at SS.

Does the move change his fantasy value?  Not really.  His power is diminishing (I can’t put too much stock in his eight home runs after the trade to San Diego), he has no speed and is likely to hit for a good, not great, average. 

Just leave him valued the same as you would’ve. 

Yorvit Torrealba signs with the Texas Rangers

His presence in Texas likely means the end of Bengie Molina’s tenure there.  Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez will likely get looks as well but will likely be more of the backups.

Even if Torrealba does get the bulk of the at-bats, he has a career .257 average with no power (he’s never hit more than 8 HR in a season).  At this point, Texas catchers are not worth owning, even in two-catcher formats. 

Ryan Theriot is traded to the St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals needed help in the middle infield and Theriot is a nice fit.  If he finds himself hitting at the top of the Cardinals order, he gets a huge boost in value. 

He has a career OBP of .348 and certainly could push 90+ runs scored with Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday hitting behind him.

Couple that with a little bit of speed (20+ stolen bases each of the past four years) and you get a player with value in deeper formats. 

He has little to no power, which hurts his overall appeal, but don’t rule him out because of it.  A solid average, runs scored and stolen bases…you could do worse in deeper formats.

What are your thoughts on these moves?  Whose value increases?  Whose doesn’t?

Make sure to check out our early 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Second Basemen
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• Top 20 Starting Pitchers
• 2011 Fantasy Draft First-Round Breakdown

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After losing Juan Uribe to the Los Angles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants have found their replacement in veteran Miguel Tejada.

It has been reported that Tejada has signed with the Giants for a one-year deal worth $6.5 million. Tejada’s deal also includes $500,000 in performance-based bonuses.

Tejada is not a major upgrade and is not the All-Star he once was, but the Giants needed to find a replacement for Uribe and Edgar Renteria. Renteria’s team option of $9.5 million was declined by the Giants. Tejada batted .269 with 15 home runs and 71 RBI with the Orioles and Padres last season. Tejada is 36 years old but does still have some power left.

Tejada is nowhere near his 2002 form when he won MVP honors, but he still has a lot to bring to the table for the Giants. Tejada was one of the few options available in free agency and the Giants have made their second splash during the offseason.

Last week, the World Series champs brought back first baseman Aubrey Huff for 2 years and $22 million.

General Manager Brian Sabean would have loved to keep his 2010 roster in tact, but he has to do his best with what is available. The Giants made a smart move in bringing back Huff and have made a solid move in signing Tejada, as he was one of the best shortstops available in free agency.

Source: Enrique Rojas on Twitter

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Two Thumbs Up

The Colorado Rockies locked up Troy Tulowitzki through the 2020 season with the announcing of a seven-year, $134 million contract earlier today.

Basically, Tulowitzki is going to be a member of the Rockies for the majority of his playing career. He’ll be 36 when his current contract is up.

You can’t blame the Rockies for this one. The 25-year old shortstop is quickly developing into one of the best shortstops in the game, if he isn’t already.

He plays solid defense, runs well and swings a mighty bat.

The Rockies will end up with a huge bargain in the end and that’s what they are hoping for—but it doesn’t come without risk.

Tulowitzki has missed significant time in two seasons now. He sat out most of 2008 with a torn quad muscle. This past season, he suffered a broken wrist after being hit in the hand. The injury caused him to miss a month of the season.

Had he not suffered the injury, Tulowitzki would have been well on his way to another 30 homer, 100 RBI campaign.

I think we will see a 40-homer season from Tulowitzki at some point.

2011 Forecast: .299, 33 HR, 115 RBI, 15 SB, 105 R

Two Thumbs Down

In other news, the Dodgers are reportedly close to signing a three-year, $21 million deal with SS Juan Uribe.

Uribe hit .248 in 148 games with the Giants last season, while posting career highs in homeruns (24) and RBIs (85).

I don’t know why the Dodgers insist on paying Uribe that kind of money to play infield for them. He provides decent pop, but I doubt very seriously that he’ll reach 20 homeruns again.

His defense is average at best, and he produces a lot of outs (career .256 average, .300 OBP).

Uribe hit .280 with 13 homers and 34 RBIs in 261 ABs at AT&T Park last season. To extend upon that, he hit .346 in 182 ABs at AT&T Park with 9 homers and 32 RBI in 2009.

In contrast, Uribe hit a paltry .215 on the road in 2010 and .241 in 2009. Maybe the team that signs him should consider benching him on the road.

This will be another waste of money for the Dodgers organization.

2011 Forecast: 400 ABs, .250, 17 HR, 60 RBI, 45 R

Marlins Bolster Their Staff

Javier Vazquez also cashed in, signing a one-year deal worth $7 million.

Normally, I would say this is a good move, given his poor history pitching for the Yankees, but there are too many red flags here.

He isn’t getting any younger, for one, but he also lost velocity on his fastball last year.

Couple that with career worst ratios in HR/9 (1.8), BB/9 (3.7) and his worst K/9 since his last stint with the Yankees (6.9) and you’ve got yourself quite a risk.

Vazquez likes to use his fastball up in the zone after working his breaking pitches down in the dirt to produce strikeouts. It’s harder to do that when you don’t have your old velocity.

Don’t expect a miraculous recovery in velocity, either. That’s unlikely at his age.

He will really have to use his other pitches effectively if he wants to avoid another 2010 season.

The good news is that he is a different pitcher in the National League—for the better. Another positive, Vazquez only allowed hitters to hit .258 against him last year and 18 of his 32 homers allowed came at Yankee Stadium.

It’s a risky deal for Florida, made even worse by his no-trade clause. That will make dealing him at the break very difficult should he register any success with the Marlins.

2011 Forecast: 165 IP, 6-8, 4.35 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 140 Ks

More to Come

The Winter Meetings are upon us and there are still some very high-profile free agents on the market. It should make for an interesting conclusion to the offseason.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box below. You can e-mail me suggestions or questions at jtmcadams@aol.com. Follow me on Twitter @JoeSportswriter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal has reported via Twitter that former San Francisco Giant infielder Juan Uribe has signed a three-year deal worth $21 million with the Los Angles Dodgers.

This is a nice deal for Uribe, 31, who batted .248 with 24 home runs and 85 runs batted in. The Dodgers will get some pop with Uribe’s bat and will certainly get experience. Uribe’s bat will boost the Dodger’s lineup and his glove will improve the Dodger’ infield— as he will probably play a lot of second base.

Uribe played at shortstop, second and third base last season, so he is certainly capable of playing second base.

The departure of Uribe does hurt the Giants—Uribe hit two big home runs and drove in nine runs during the Giants’ World Series run. Uribe will bring his two World Series rings to Los Angeles in hopes of bringing a World Series ring home for the Dodgers for the first time since 1988.

With a hole in the Giants’ infield, they must now explore other options around the league. Miguel Tejada, Jason Bartlett are available. Also available and rumored to have been contacted by the Giants already is Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter, but his price may be too high.

This is an interesting move that is all taking place within the National League West division. Many will anticipate this matchup next season because it is always fun to see a player take on his former team.

Career Stats: Uribe is a .256 career hitter with 1114 hits and 151 home runs under his belt.

Source: Ken Rosenthal on Twitter

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The San Francisco Giants are looking to rebuild the left side of their infield after winning the world series with a combo of Edgar Renteria at short and Juan Uribe at third base.

This duo led the Giants with a series winning solo homer over the Phillies in game six on the road by Uribe in the NLCS and a three run shot by Renteria in the heart of self-proclaimed ‘God’s Country’ to win the World Series.

Renteria was under contract with a team option for 2011 and was due to make over $10M. Even though Renteria won the World Series with one shot, his health concerns and overall durability over a 162 game season is highly questionable. So the Giants smartly elected to pay off the $500K that declines the option and ends the contract, as the Giants needed that money to keep Aubrey Huff, who just signed on for another 2-3 years and is making Renteria’s old salary.

It would be great to sign Renteria on as a role player that is more appropriate for the Giants’ budget. Clutch players like him are evidently worth their weight in gold come championship time. That’s probably not an option though as Renteria has publicly stated he wants to end his career in either St. Louis or Florida.

Uribe on the other hand is younger, nearly as clutch, a club favorite (U-Ribe!), and with Renteria at short, that whole left side was shut down to right handed bats trying to find a hole.  

Uribe is a free agent and was offered type B arbitration by the San Francisco Giants. This means if another team signs Uribe, the Giants are at least compensated with a draft pick from the signing team. This move was made in an attempt to protect Uribe from other clubs while getting the price for Uribe the Giants are willing to pay; $5.5M-$6M.

Then the Giants’ rival Los Angeles Dodgers entered the picture and are courting Uribe to fill their own holes with oft injured short stop Rafael Furcal and third baseman Casey Blake contract ending after this season.

When a lesser known Juan Uribe left the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox to take more money in San Francisco, White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen said that he will be your (team’s) best shortstop, your best second baseman, you best third baseman. Guillen was right as Juan Uribe has contributed as much as anyone to the Giants over the years.

So if Uribe goes because the Dodgers outbid the Giants, then the Giants are left with a glaring hole or two that will be filled with either free agency or by trade or both.

This is where Miguel Tejada comes in and a return to the Bay Area is the perfect fit for the veteran batsman. Tejada is a veteran plate presence who works counts and gets timely hits. Last season, he was one of the better players for the Padres late in the season against the Giants. A bat like his in the lineup has ripple effects on an entire lineup.

He is a solid infielder and still makes great plays at shortstop. If the Giants decide to trade for a shortstop like Jason Bartlett, then Tejada could shift to third as Bruce Bochy demonstrated last season how important it is to have a flexible lineup that can match up against different sorts of teams.

Lastly, Tejada is an iron man. He’s available to play every game from spring to winter year in and year out and Tejada will provide the consistency that was missing from Edgar Renteria, while providing the flexibility and pop that will be missed if Uribe leaves.

This is really the only area of the team where the Giants are in rebuilding mode. Making the right decisions at short stop and third base will make the Giants a better team than they were last year. Miguel Tejada is a step in that direction

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com