This evening, Peter Gammons released some scant details about a trade that was in serious discussions between the Dodgers, Angels and Kansas City Royals. Per his blog, The Daily Gammons:
As it turns out, the Dodgers went right down to the trading deadline trying to add parts for a world series run. L.A. sources say they were working on deals with the Angels and Royals for Hochevar and Howie Kendrick and were willing to trade pitchers Zach Lee, Reed and Chris Withrow. It unraveled minutes from the deadline.Since the deal never closed, we can only imagine what this could have meant for the Dodgers.
So, what do you think? Would you have been willing to trade 2 of our top prospects? Would our return have been the key ingredients needed for a championship run?
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Howie Kendrick would have been the key piece of the deal. He is having a phenomenal season at the plate - batting .301 with a .778 OPS, and a WAR of 3.1. There's no doubt Kendrick would have been a huge upgrade over Mark Ellis. On the other hand, he much worse on the field. Baseball America ranked Ellis the 3rd best defensive second baseman in the National League, while nobody would consider putting Howie on a similar list. Also, Kendrick is under contract through the 2015 season, so he would have been under team control for a good amount of time.Luke Hochevar, who was originally drafted by the Dodgers in 2002 in the 39th round, then again in the 1st round in 2005, would have been one of the more intriguing pick-ups. He had been a spectacular failure as a starting pitcher in Kansas City, but has been great in relief this season - his first year in the pen. Hochevar has an infinitesimal 1.65 ERA and a ERA+ of 248 in 2013. Due to his experience as a starter, he has the ability to go long in relief. Whether his role will only be as a reliever may be in question. After all, there's a reason the Dodgers tried to draft him twice, and I'd be willing to bet they would have explored the idea of having him start a game, from time to time. BTW, he is under team control until 2014 - arbitration eligible this coming Winter.
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