Dodgers Introduce Joe "Cool", What's next for GM Ned Coletti?

After two up and down seasons Grady "Gump" Little is officially out as Dodgers Manager despite his option being picked up for the 2008 season. Little stated it was a mutual agreement between himself & Coletti and that "no injustices have been dealt", but the rumors of Dodger deviation seem to hold some truth.

Regardless Los Angeles has the marquee name in Joe Torre that they desperately needed and the man that they hope can restore the status of a storied franchise and bring a World Series to Chavez Ravine. So what's next for GM Ned Coletti, It is unlikely that the Dodger front office will leave the team as is... It just wouldn't make sense to bring in a manager of Torre's caliber without revamping a team that ended their year in a clubhouse division, 4th place in the NL West and a 33-40 free fall after the All Star break.

If it were up to me I would take a page out of the Indians and Rockies playbooks by resigning all the young talent to long term deals at good value. I mean is anyone really having a second thought that All Star Russel Martin is the long term solution behind the plate? Why not lock him up like the Indians did with Victor Martinez. The Dodgers passed on trades for Texiera with the intent to give James Loney the job, he responded by hitting .382 with 9 HR & 32 RBI's in September to finish the year hitting .331 15-67 in only 344 AB's... Why not lock him up like the Indians did with Travis Hafner? This list goes on with young players like Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton & Matt Kemp. Why not lock up the core of this team long term and most importantly on the cheap before they have the type of seasons that price themselves out of the Dodger market.

It's a gamble yes, but it's proven to be successful with other clubs and these young talents have played together throughout the minor league system so you feel confident that this is a core that can bring long term chemistry that is rare in a game with yearly roster overhauls. The other option is a team makeover, and what I am fearful is going to happen. Ned Coletti has two years left on his contract and is under some serious pressure to win and win now. Thus the hiring of Joe Torre, the irrational move last year of signing Juan Pierre to a 5 year contract and the rush signing of Jason Schmidt to the point where a major health concern was overlooked. Many feel the Dodgers priority is to fill the hole at 3rd base currently filled by Nomar Garciapparra and top prospect Andy LaRoche. Currently A-Rod remains the top name and with that Torre link it doesn't seem to far from reality... but at what cost $300 million $350... I mean if anyone is worth it, it would be Rodriguez, but personally I feel baseball is a team sport with 25 spots to fill and that money could bring in 2-3 key players each year instead of being allocated to a single player. The other name that's swirling around is Miguel Cabrera who could be had via trade. No doubt he would cost the Dodgers a Matt Kemp or top pitching prospect Clayton Kershaw... most likely a combination of major league ready prospects. This seems to be a more promising option as Cabrera is a proven run producer with a World Series ring and lets not forget he is only 24 years old.

Another rumor swirling around is that Juan Pierre will be moving to left. It's as if watching everyone take the extra base on Luis Gonzalez's girly arm last year never happened. Of course names like Tori Hunter, Andruw Jones, Rowand and even Mike Cameron have been mentioned as possibilities. Personally I would have no problem signing a guy like Torii Hunter, but beyond him I really don't see the long term benefit and upgrade the others would bring. The Dodgers have a gluttony of outfielders in Pierre, Kemp, Ethier and a guy I want to see get a shot in Delwyn Young. Why spend $80 million or more when you have promising guys waiting in the wings that when given a chance have performed. I know I cannot take another year of watching Matt Kemp hit .342 yet play every other game... It just doesn't make sense to me.

The other rumor that has been tossed back and forth is Johan Santana. Who wouldn't want this guy on their team? With Santana, Penny, Lowe, Schmidt & Billingsley the Dodgers would easily have the best pitching rotation in all of baseball. The trade rumor seems to consistently include Matt Kemp & Clayton Kershaw, the Twins feel Kershaw would immediately step into their starting rotation with Kemp taking the full time CF job left by Torii Hunter. This trade seems to make the most sense to me, yet makes me think the Twins know something we don't. Is Santana on the decline? He has pitched at least 219 innings the last 4 years and his ERA was 3.33 a career worst as a full time starter. I know 3.33 ERA is still amazing but when you look deeper he ended the year very poorly going 5-7 with a 4.04 ERA after the All Star break. Oh yea the Twins seem to have made some great trades in similar situations, landing them both Santana and Francisco Liriano who I hope no one has forgotten. This makes me believe the Clayton Kershaw a power lefty is ready for a shot. Maybe he can play that bridge role in the bullpen like Santana played early in his career or like Billingsley did to start last season. The bottom line is Kershaw is the top prospect in our minor league system and Kemp has all the tools to be a 5x5 superstar, do we really want to trade that for a pitcher on the decline? Don't we have Jason Schmidt to fill that role?

Sure each of these trades would make the Dodgers a strong contender THIS YEAR, but at what cost to the future. I feel like we tried this last year bringing high priced players in Schmidt, Pierre and Gonzo and we got nowhere. Like I mention in my previous post"The Importance of Youth" it doesn't take high priced veterans to reach the post season or win a World Series. This has been proven by the Marlins team of 2001 and the D-Backs, Rockies & Indians of this past year. Frankly if I'm going to lose I want to lose with our young talent. If I'm looking to build a team to win I start by building team chemistry which has been layed out like a formal invitation with the young core we have, growing and learning with each other through the minors & major league levels. I don't want to see a team overhaul, I want to see what this long awaited talented group can do given the opportunity and now a proper Manager in Joe Torre to lead the way.

Aaron Sobel is a self proclaimed expert for FantasyBaseballExpress, to view more articles written by Aaron Sobel or other writers from FantasyBaseballExpress please visit www.fantasybaseballexpress.com