Dodgers say they are still buyers; did they claim Adam Dunn?

Heading the wrong direction, eight games out going into the weekend, the first week of August about done … and do you know what your Dodgers organization is up to?

They’re looking to buy.

This is Los Angeles, so giving up now would not go over well. Otherwise, Manny Ramirez is a White Sox right now. When you’re the Dodgers, you’re supposed to be in to win.

If things become more dire by the end of the month, maybe the Dodgers face the facts and do become sellers.

Right now, though, General Manager Ned Colletti is still looking to improve his 2010 club.

"I think we’re looking to help this club," said Manager Joe Torre. "We’re not, by any stretch of the imagination, out of the hunt in our minds. We’re going to continue to work toward making this ballclub better.’’

Which leads us to the rumor de jour -- the Dodgers claimed Adam Dunn.

Some club put a claim on the Nationals’ first baseman, and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman thinks it was the Dodgers. Schulman admits it’s his speculation, but said it was based on things he’d heard around the league.

Colletti, naturally, wasn’t about to say whether the Dodgers had put a claim on Dunn.

"I can’t tell you that," Colletti said.

Previous to playing first base, Dunn was an outfielder. He’s having a career year, with 30 home runs and 77 RBI, half of which I believe, came Friday night.

Dunn wants to remain in Washington, but looked like someone trying to impress the Dodgers on Friday when he crushed a three-run home run off Clayton Kershaw in the first inning and then did it again in the third.

There’s no way the Nationals are going to allow Dunn to be claimed and get nothing back. They’ll take him back off the waiver wire, and then have 48 hours to negotiate a possible deal with the Dodgers.

Dunn is owed approximately $4 million this season on his $12-million contract. He can become a free agent at the end of the season.

The Dodgers taking on an additional $4 million would go against their recent history. The deal would make more sense if a third team was involved and willing to take Ramirez.

This time of year, though, few deals are simple.

"You have a maze to walk through after July 31st," Colletti said.

To buy, or sell.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Adam Dunn. Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Comments

[mti312]

Maybe to Ned, there's a need for urgency but for the McCourts the team is only secondary. To Joe Torre, he's more a horse racing owner than a baseball manager.
With the Dodgers pitching lights out, and yet gets swept or lose a series is unacceptable.

[mti312]

Are the fans booing Sherill? That's a LOL.
the organ player in Atlanta playing Puff the Magic Dragon when Lincecum comes up to bat is ROTFLMAO!

[Dallas]

Heard the same thing Steve but iot may simply be thwe Dodgers don't want another team, namely the Giants, claim him & since the Blue has the worse record, they may accomplish just that, but nothing more.

I would have signed Dunn years ago, but not for 2 months & lose even more prospects & see Dunn move on, which hje will, unless McDorks sell a few houses & cars to extend his contract - don't see that happening.

[WTB]

This trade would do the Dodgers a lot of good for now and the future:

From Washington Nationals:
3rd Baseman - Ryan Zimmerman
Catcher - Ivan Rodriguez

To Washington Nationals:
3rd Baseman - Casey Blake
Catcher - A.J. Ellis
Closer - Jonathon Broxton

[Dallas]

The reason I am against the deals they recently made is this; Lilly is a walk-away FA, so is Theriot. There is a team option on Dotel for 4.5 next season & also a team option on Podsednik for next season @ 2 million.

I can't see the Dodgers, in their most likely state of confusion as to ownership, manager & hope GM, making it easy to convince big name players to come here for a 3-4 year deal.

[Hollywood Dodger Mark]

Such arrogance. You get beat by a guy whose name you have linked to for years and have dismissed as unworthy and then you say you are trying to get him? Is it possible, just possible that Colletti is a liar. Just a thought.

[Hollywood Dodger Mark]

Furcal is done. Manny is done. Kuroda done. Loney free agent to Rockies. Eithier will be traded to Red Sox and replace JD Drew. Kemp will be traded. He has insulted every single person in the Dodger organization - even Vin Scully. Blake is done. Martin is finished for his career apparently. Lilly free agent. Posednik? Give me a break. Is it me or is anyone else surprised how weak of a fielder he is? Torre is done. I would select Larry Bowa to manage. Mattingly can stay as batting coach. Otherwise every managerial move by Mattingly next year will be second guessed by everyone. Give it to Bowa - or better yet - Tim Wallach. The sooner Joe clears out his office the better.

[Dallas]

Is it worth the Dodgers possibly losing 2 high draft picks, just to keep the Giants or Padres landing Dunn ? Because as I understand it, if the Nats pull Dunn back & keep him thru season's end, the Dodgers would then owe them 2 draft picks.

And the only way I would trade for him would be to have him agree to an extention or the Dodgers would then lose more young prospects for 2 months that may or may not turn into anything.

[joeshmoe]

you are just killin me WTB. what kinda offer is that?

First, why would we get rid of Zim? We got him locked up long term. It would take Kershaw plus a couple of high end prospects for any talks to even get anywhere. I know the Dodgers wouldn't be that silly now so we can end any talk about that.

Broxton? Ellis? That's just too funny. We got our closer of the future with Storen. We got our catcher with Ramos from the Matt Capps deal.

Man you are just too hilarious.

[Bas]

at WTB:

What a ridiculous trade idea how does this trade help the nationals? you gotta be kiding!!

[silverwidow]

Dallas, a few corrections.

Theriot is not a FA; he has two years of team control left (thru arbitration).

Dotel's team option became a mutual option when he was traded. So he could elect free agency.

Podsednik may void his 2011 option with 525 PAs in 2010. He's at 474 right now.

[Since '58]

Einstein defined insanity this way: "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." "We had to destroy the village in order to save it," came out of the Tet offensive in 1968 during the Vietnam war. Both quotes may illustrate the way Colletti and Torre are trying to convince themselves, but not me, that the Dodgers can make a move or moves to save this season. Colletti missed his chance over the winter, but wasn't able to make a move due to the
D-I-VO-R-C-E. Who do we really have left to trade without totally losing what's left of a depleted farm system? Has anybody checked out the standings of our AAA and AA teams? If Ethier, Kemp, Loney and Blake don't start hitting, any trades would be .................... insane.

[Chad Moriyama]

Yeah, that's a realistic trade proposal, WTB, i'm sure the Nationals will be all over it.

[Dreadnok4life]

WTB. The Nationals would NEVER trade Zimmerman. And especially for the lackluster players you mentioned.

[Mike Dudnikov]

I'm not the kind of guy to open up a big mouth after the fact, but since this was something I said at the time, I'll say it again. I thought the Dodgers were crazy to offer Manny a two year contract, much less one at such exorbitant wages. I said then and it certainly seems very true now, that we should have signed Adam Dunn, then also available, for less money and had a little left over to get some pitching help. Dunn gets a lot of criticism, but he is a consistent power hitter and RBI man, whose batting average ain't bad either, and just his youth makes him more agile than lead legs. And even if he is not great on defense, Dunn couldn't be worse than Manny. Though I must admit even I didn't think old dust mop head could have been as big a disaster as he has been.

Get Adam for the Dodgers and a leg up for signing him for next year. Then trade Kemp and sign Jayson Werth in the off season. (If the Dodgers medical staff was up to par, he'd still be a Dodger.)

Imagine a Dodgers lineup with a few bats in it that pitchers will actually be afraid of. Add in Cliff Lee to be the man Jason Schmidt should have been. Obviously this will require solid ownership, but hopefully one way or another that too should be coming by January.

[N.P.Krohn]

I hate this man. Grasping at straws while breathing in the last gasps of a pennant race. The first half of the season was plagued with pitching woes. Had the Dodgers spent less money than we are talking about spending over the 3 week period we are in we would have had Garland pithing 6-7 quality inn. and Mota making sense of the seventh inning. How many series were absolutely givin away in Apr and June when Padilla was out/playing hurt and we had no legitimate 5th starter? As a direct result of said deficit how many close games were thrown away like napkins off the upper deck when a weak bullpen was brought in to work the 6th the 5th the 4th? Every year it seems the Dodgers come out of the break like slugs in peanut butter but the last couple of years we've had a decent lead to withstand the 5 or 6 game loss in the standings. Now comes the Dunn deal. Getting Dunn realing does give us a chance of getting back into the playoffs. Loney is the odd man out. Don't think Dodger fans appreciate how good a player like Loney is. This mess is so sickening. We could've won the west with what we had last year. I can see not giving Wolf multi year at 10mil but why not keep mota and garland for peanuts? Coletti is one of the most creative g.m.s around but not seeing the forest through the trees has cost us the division.

[Dallas]

s/widow thanks for the corrections, but i still think theriot's deal is only thru '10:
"
Ryan Theriot inf
1 year/$2.6M (2010)

1 year/$2.6M (2010)
lost arbitration with Chicago Cubs 2/20/10 ($3.4M-$2.6M)
acquired by LA Dodgers in trade from Cubs 7/31/10 (Cubs paid Dodgers $2.5M in deal)"

but maybe they have yet to update that site.

Mike D. I am with you as I have wanted Dunn for years. I won't get into trade specifics as there's far too man y variables, but I have also been against Kemp since the get go as I saw that " you can't tell me a thing" attitude in his eyes & body language. Where's all those now that have been saying he's a superstar, he's a 5 tooler, blah blah blah ?! He may well be, but it will never happen in Dodger stadium. I would move him, but I would seek a package for a true ace of a SP.

HD Mark, uh, yea re: Dread! I can't stand the guy's decisions as a GM!

HD Mark II - we have far too many FA's coming to term & they are not all gonna settle for the same salaries so this team first needs an knowledgebale owner & GM as well, but as I have said in the recent past, I choose to rebuild from the ground up, with an exception or two.

As I earlier stated in another post, I would keep Ethier, Loney, Kershaw & Kuo & go from there. If they surprise us all & land Dunn, then that's great, or another, but we need a true slugger here. But instead of the nickel & diming Dread & McDork have tried & failed at miserably, we starts from ground zero. Bring in some youth from the farm, acquire a solid catcher & build accordingly.
As a 45+ year fan, at this stage & the current state of the Franchise as it is, I would much rather watch a team grow, with the usual aches & pains of a young team than to just fill in holes with journeymen players.
That's my 11 cents worth(for now!)