Rolen Wants Out

It is now no secret Rolen wants out and now they admit he's on the block. Herein lies a potential bargain for a hard to fill position. I'm not sold as Rolen as a solution for the dodgers even if he came at a bargain price in terms of talent given up for him. First off, he looks like Jeff Kent if Kent shaved off his 'stache. I already don't like Jeff Kent, why do I want his younger clone? Second, he isn't quite playing well with others over there in St. Louis as he's disgruntled. L.A. has had more than enough disgruntled players in recent history:

1. Kent
2. Gonzo at the end of last season.
   
3. Milton Bradley meltdowns.
4. Gagne, but only in the offseason in a 'bring in better guys' context.
5. Tomko a little bit about role changes.
6. Odalis Perez always had choice words for his teammates in postgame interviews.
7. Jason Phillips bemoaning his status in life, living paycheck to paycheck on $300,000 a year. What a tough life.
8. Gary Sheffield always talking about contract extensions and money.
9. Carlos Perez was kinda like Odie.

All these guys are gone except one. I hope the one that's left is sent packing because his 20 homers at second base with terrible defense is overrated. My imagination hopes he's traded to the Padres (they have a hole at second and still will defensively after acquiring Kent). All the dodgers would have to do is hit it up the middle.

But back to the analysis of Rolen at third for the dodgers, third his body is breaking down. Just glancing at his numbers he's missed significant time in 2 of the last 3 years. Dodgers gamble is they could just be acquiring a broken down decline phase of a sort of great player.

Dodgers have gone this route before in acquiring once greats like Bill Madlock, Todd Zeile, Tim Wallach. Zeile is the only one who did great. Given this track record, acquiring Rolen is just a band-aid for a team that kind of contends like the dodgers. On a better team that already looks good on paper, Rolen could put that team over the top if they aren't relying on him for doing well the entire season or anchoring their offense. If the dodgers acquired Rolen they'd have to rely on him, and he can't carry a team (like Kent Can't). Rolen should be avoided as an alternative to ARod. L.A. might as well go with a younger, brittle kid named Andy LaRoche, because Rolen's upside isn't enough to save the dodgers' lack of production at third to put them over the top anyways.

It should be ARod or bust for the dodgers if they upgrade at third. I've thought about a Cabrera vs. ARod posting but I never get around to it so I'll just summarize the obvious in a sentence. Paying money for talent is infinitely less painful than paying talent for talent if possible. So if third doesn't get upgraded they need to...

Pay the marlins to take Pierre back. They will have to upgrade the outfield offense to be successful. Pierre's speed will be a luxury the dodgers can no longer afford on the team due to his weak arm and the team's aggregate lack of power. A trade allows Pierre to be happy that he can continue to play everyday in center field for his old world series winning team.

The dodgers can be happy about this by gaining more flexibility in how it can offensively upgrade the team, gaining the choice to avoid having to run at the cast of soon to be overpaid center fielders. Sliding Kemp or Ethier into center and upgrading a corner, the dodgers could upgrade the offense and outfield defense by simple subtraction. Plugging Delwyn Young into left and seeing if he continues to defy scout's predictions by continuing to crush the ball like he has in the tournament is an option with some merit if the dodgers lose out on Andruwdiculous Jones in free agency (I am against adding Jones as he'll get overpaid and the contract will hold the dodgers hostage a la J.D. Drew). The minus with Young is his defense is bad.

Florida fans can rejoice at the return of their former world series hero and plug up center field for 3 or 4 years until they can come up with a kid to play center for them. He was a fan favorite. He also only left because the marlins can't afford him. Florida needs a center fielder and a subsidized Pierre would be something Florida should jump at as they currently have a gaping hole in center field. I would be surprised if Pierre isn't involved in a Miguel Cabrera blockbuster with the dodgers (although they'd probably prefer Kemp and putting him there).

The dodgers shouldn't consider any move that involves Kemp going somewhere else.