Junius Worth
David Kerr
Charlie Nehl
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Andrew Martin
Jonathan C. Mitchell
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Daniel Marino
Michael Schwartze
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Spencer Schneier
William J. Tasker
As part of a blockbuster trade the Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired former Boston Red Sox All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to their 13th ranked 87 wRC+ in the National League.
The Dodgers’ pitching has been holding down the fort for this contender but the offense has been dragging them down and making them look more like pretenders than contenders. But that all changes now as they add some key offensive components as they make a push for the playoffs and improve their team for the near future.
The Dodgers also acquired Carl Crawford who underwent Tommy John surgery to fix his throwing elbow so he will not be a factor in the 2012 lineup but Adrian Gonzalez replaces a horrible first base platoon that has a National League worst 69 wRC+ and it would be the worst in the Majors if it were not for the Seattle Mariners’ 68 wRC+.
Gonzalez currently owns a 114 wRC+, his worst mark since he became a full-time starter in 2006, but he has a 150 wRC+ in both July and August and has hit .355/.386/.569 since June 23rd.
Not only is Gonzalez’s bat over the past two months nearly twice as good as the former platoon of James Loney and Juan Rivera but his glove is a great improvement over their’s as well.
The former Los Angeles platoon owned a near-neutral +0.2 UZR while Gonzalez has a Major League leading +14.0 UZR at first base. Gonzalez also has a +14 Rtot (Total Zone Runs) and +14 Rdrs (Defensive Runs Saved) while Loney and Rivera have a combined -1 Rtot and +1 Rdrs.
For 2012, the Dodgers will only recieve roughly 6 weeks of Gonzalez but that could very well be a two win increase over what the team was stationing at first base prior to this trade.
Yes, the Dodgers are taking on a ton of salary in what looks to be the biggest salary dump in the history of the game but a salary dump usually means the players being dumped are fading or do not have much to offer and that is not the case here, especially with Adrian Gonzalez.
-Jonathan C. Mitchell can be found writing about the Tampa Bay Rays at DRaysBay and the Florida Marlins at ESPN’s SweetSpot site Marlins Daily. You can follow him on twitter at @FigureFilbert. Be sure to follow MLBdirt at @MLBdirt
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis Tagged: | Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford, James Loney, Juan Rivera, Los Angeles Dodgers, Trades
