N.L. West Preview: New Owner For Same Old Dodgers

When Frank McCourt bought a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004, he couldn’t have speculated what turmoil would eventually accompany that purchase. Now a group headed by NBA legend Magic Johnson has agreed to buy the team from McCourt for a record $2 billion. What they’re getting is a club with one of the longest histories in baseball, but the product on the field leaves something to be desired.

The Action: The prime off-season movement occurred with the change of ownership, which was announced only yesterday. Presumably because of the uncertainty surrounding the team, the on-field personnel hasn’t changed much. The biggest trade general manager Ned Colletti could manage involved sending starter Dana Eveland to the Orioles for minor-leaguers.

Gone are starters Hiroki Kuroda, Vicente Padilla and Jon Garland, along with onetime closer Jonathan Broxton. Casey Blake took his leave and signed with the Rockies (only to be released yesterday) as did catcher Rod Barajas, who signed with Pittsburgh for a one-year, $4 million contract. Among the notable free-agent signings were 2Bs Mark Ellis and Adam Kennedy, SS Jerry Hairston, starters Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano, and relievers Jamey Wright and Todd Coffey.

It’s A Lock: Center fielder Matt Kemp finished second to controversial Brewers star Ryan Braun in the National League MVP voting last season; he certainly posted those kind of numbers (.324 batting average, 39 homers, 126 RBI, 115 runs, 40 steals) but had to settle for being nominated to the All-Star team, as well as being named a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger.

Harang and Capuano add depth to a formidable starting rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, hot prospect Nate Eovaldi, and the venerable Ted Lilly (who is currently dealing with a stiff neck). The bullpen is led by up-and-comer Javy Guerra and smoke-throwing Kelsey Jansen.

Hedge Your Bets: Jerry Sands in left and Andre Ethier in right are supposed to bracket Kemp, but both need to be more consistent: Ethier, in particular, needs to crank up the offensive production. Juan Rivera has been swinging a hot bat in spring, and could split time with Sands or Tony Gwynn at either corner outfield position. Juan Uribe is supposed to be the everyday third baseman, but he doesn’t seem like a long-term solution.

James Loney has never had a power bat at first, but fields the position well enough and can come through in the clutch. Mark Ellis and Dee Gordon could form a reliable second base/shortstop keystone, but that has yet to be proven. The catching will be very young and inexperienced with the likes of A.J. Ellis, Matt Treanor and Tim Federowicz.

The Payoff: The MLB futures betting has the Dodgers just behind the Rockies for the National League West crown, but further back in the race for the World Series. Manager Don Mattingly has some interesting pieces to work with, but Donnie Baseball can’t do it alone: it’s up to the new ownership group to invest some dollars into the franchise. If and when that happens, perhaps iconic broadcaster Vin Scully will have something really interesting to talk about.