IT'S OFFICIAL: CHISOX LAND FRAZIER IN A 3 WAY DEAL

We wanted to wait until we got official word on that Todd Frazier trade from the other day.  Well, it's complete and here you have it...

Todd Frazier is packing his bags in Cincinnati and heading to the Chicago’s South Side. The White Sox landed the third baseman as part of a three-way trade with the Reds and the Dodgers.

In exchange for Frazier, the Sox deal second baseman Micah Johnson, outfielder Trayce Thompson, and pitcher Frankie Montas to the Dodgers.

(In Photo: Jose Peraza)
The Dodgers are sending infielder Jose Peraza and outfielders Scott Scheduler and Brandon Dixon to the Reds.

David Schoenfield at ESPN notes that the acquisition of Frazier (who hit .255 with 35 home runs) gives the Sox an upgrade at the hot corner:

  
“In the end, the White Sox -- as they do -- decided to try and compete in 2016, trying to build around Chris Sale and Jose Abreu while they are in their primes. Frazier and Lawrie aren't necessarily solutions to their OBP issues (second-worst in the American League) but should provide more power to a lineup that ranked last in the AL in home runs and runs.”

The Dodgers add three young prospects to their roster and are again see their cup overrun with outfielders with the addition of Thompson. With Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier perpetually on the trade block, the boys in blue could finally dump some contract-heavy baggage this off-season.


    
--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist &
Los Angeles Dodger fan
Twitter:  @heylexyg





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DODGERS ADD CUBAN SENSATION HECTOR OLIVERA

Hector Olivera has agreed to a six-year, $62.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers according to MLB.com.

Source: Cuban INF Hector Olivera has agreed to a 6-year, $62.5 million deal with Dodgers. $28MM signing bonus. Check http://t.co/mkcBse7p5i
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) March 24, 2015

The infielder will get a $28 million signing bonus once his physical clears.

Olivera was courted by many big league teams including the Yankees. The shortstop hit .341 and had 17 home runs last year in Cuba and looks to be an immediate impact player. Though his decision to don Dodger blue comes to no surprise to many baseball insiders, Olivera still has a couple hurdles to clear before he makes his debut in the majors.

One - Olivera might have issues with his throwing arm that could require Tommy John surgery. This would leave him out for a whole season. Two - he also still needs a visa—which could again hold up his debut in the big leagues.

The Dodgers also have plenty of infield talent. They traded away arguably one of the most promising infielders in Dee Gordon this offseason to get Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins in the middle infield. If Olivera is to see any playing time this year, he will probably split duties with Juan Uribe at third base. But Rollins and Uribe’s contracts are up after the 2015 season which could give way to a permanent home for Oilvera in the infield.

I like the deal because it gives the Dodgers flexibility to make some roster moves down the road. They have a crowded outfield and will need to deal some players (like Andre Ethier) to make room for developing talent. Having another card to add to the deck will only strengthen the Dodgers negotiating position. It’s also a promising sign that the new front office is serious about building a balanced lineup that gives the team the best chance to win a World Series.

Now if we could just get the games on TV.

--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist
Twitter:  @heylexyg







 
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CARDINALS BEAT MATTINGLY & THE DODGERS!

For Clayton Kershaw, it was deja vu all over again.

The Dodgers ace had another costly seventh inning and allowed three runs as the St. Louis Cardinals came from behind to win 3-2 and advance to the NLCS.

It all started just as it did in Game 1—Matt Holliday led off the inning with a single, followed by another base hit from Jhonny Peralta. Then first baseman Matt Adams came to the plate and drilled a hanging curveball over the right field fence for a three-run homer.


Kershaw—who is contender for both the Cy Young and MVP awards—had a forgettable postseason. He had an ERA over 6 against the Cardinals and could not make it out of the seventh inning in both starts.

But Kershaw’s under performance was not the reason why the $290 million Dodgers payroll failed to advance yet again in the postseason. All year long, the team has struggled with RISP and the bullpen has been garbage—at BEST. Add that in with Mattingly’s constant tinkering with the lineup and you have an underachieving lot. You may be able to get away with these deficiencies in the regular season, but they show up big time in the postseason. And that’s what did the Dodgers in.

Mattingly’s decision to bench Yasiel Puig in favor of Andre Ethier didn’t seem to factor in the game. Puig had eight strikeouts in 12 plate appearances against the Cardinals. And while Ethier was picked off at third in the sixth, let’s not forget the Puig made the most outs on the bases (not counting steals) than anyone in the Major Leagues this year. 

Credit is also due to the Cardinals who just find a way to win. This is their fourth trip in four years to the NLDS and is manager Mike Matheny’s third NLDS appearance in a row since taking over for Tony LaRussa in 2012.

--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist
Twitter:  @heylexyg



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THE GUY THAT ALMOST KILLED SANDY KOUFAX

Trust me, you don't want to be the guy who killed Sandy Koufax. You don't want to almost kill him either.
I just found this nugget and wanted to share it with you.

Spring training started out like any other day for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then, this was tweeted by True Blue LA guy Eric Stephen:

The line drive that struck Koufax was hit by Andre Ethier
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) February 21, 2014

That was followed by photos and tweets from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times:

Sandy Koufax hit in the head by a foul ball. pic.twitter.com/MYrRFm0lgk
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) February 21, 2014

There was blood and Koufax was down, but he was conscieous which was a good think and it turned out that Koufax was fine, but there was no question that one of the most sacred Dodgers in baseball was shaken up.

That, in turn had all of Dodgertown shaken up and then they looked at Andre Ethier ready to shake their fists like the old man who wants you off their lawn as if to say, "You kill Sandy Koufax, and I guarantee you'll be out of here."

Trust me... my friend Alexis has been begging for Ethier to get traded... so maybe her dream will come true after this incident.

Anyway, just thought I'd share... carry on.

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IT'S A WALK OFF...

But not the team we wanted.

Now give credit where credit is due, both pitchers, Andy Pettitte and Zack Greinke pitched well.  Pettitte gave up 8 hits but just 2 runs and Greinke gave up 5 hits and 2 runs. It was a battle against a good team, no doubt, but we just ended up losing which is unfortunate.  It also makes today's trade deadline more important for the Yankees who just have no offense whatsoever.

The run scoring went like this: In the 2nd, Lyle Overbay homered, his 12th.  Later in the fourth, Overbay grounded out allowing Alfonso Soriano to score. Then... nothing.

In the bottom of the 9th, Mark Ellis hit a liner to Brett Gardner allowing Andre Ethier to score.  That came off Shawn Kelley and that's the ball game.  Not sure why the Yankees chose the go to Kelley when David Robertson was pitching before that and clearly could have handled it, but you can't go back... the Yankees lost. Blah!

Final: Dodgers 3 - Yankees 2

And by the way... that GIF up top? That's from the movie Zoolander.  If you haven't seen it, see it... it's fun... more fun than the Yankees right now.

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BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE PLAYER TRACKER #5

Andre Ethier: Ethier is NOT on the trading block.  That's what a "source" told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, read HERE. OK, this is all fine and good, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are on a shopping spree...because they can, and if they think they can improve their team and trade Ethier, they're going to do it.  Trust me.  Stay tuned for that.

Shin-Soo Choo: The Red Sox are everywhere lately.  Right now they are linked to Shin-Soo Choo. Will they trade for him? I'm not so sure, in fact, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says No...read HERE. Remember, the Yankees claim to not be in on Choo, read HERE, but this could be interesting between division rivals. 

RA Dickey: MLB.com says HERE that Dickey could be traded but the goal of the Mets is to try and reach an agreement with him.  RA Dickey would prefer to stay with the Mets.

Raul Ibanez: Will the Yankees sign Raul Ibanez for another year? It would be a smart move.  In my personal opinion, sign Ichiro Suzuki and sign Raul Ibanez. Use that platoon in right field. That's it. Cheap and smart.

Ryan Madson: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says HERE that the Reds are looking to get Ryan Madson back. You have to know though that Madson is coming off Tommy John Surgery, so... we'll see how that goes. There is also talk about Madson coming back to the Phillies, read HERE.

Josh Hamilton: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe believes that the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Mariners, or Orioles are teams to watch when it comes to Hamilton. Read HERE. I do not see the Yankees in this, I find his price tag and years ridiculous.

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SWISHER OR ETHIER...THE DEBATE BEGINS

I love Swish. You love Swish. Hell, all of Yankees universe loves Swish. How could you not? He’s incredibly likable, personable, and is a bang-up good guy. He’s always smiling and joking with reporters, even if he went 0 for 5 or had a game ruining error, he’s just one big ball of happiness. We all love having him around and at a certain point it becomes easy to ignore his stats. But if you look at them, it begs the question: Is this champion losing his spunk?

Nick Swisher has averaged 23 home runs and 71 RBI per season, pretty solid numbers, but has hit for a paltry .254 career average. Obviously he looked like a star last year, hitting .288 with 29 homers and 89 RBI. He’s an above average player and last year he was an All-star. So thoughts have been raised about what the Yankees will do at the end of this season. Will the Yankees let Swish walk if there is a choice between him and a bona fide All-star? The Yankees could very well face this serious dilemma in the off-season. Los Angeles Dodgers star right fielder Andre Ethier has repeatedly said that all signs seem to be pointing towards 2011 being his last season as a Dodger. He also said that he wants to stay with the Dodgers as long as he feels they are moving in the right direction and seem to be in contention to win. Well, it’s a little too late to hope the Dodgers are moving in the right direction. MLB had to take control of Dodgers management, all but making the future of the Dodgers look incredibly grim. If that isn’t enough to make them look like a train wreck, keep in mind that their farm system is outright terrible, landing only 2 players on this year’s top 100 prospect list by Baseball America, and one of them is a relief pitcher… Ouch.

To top it off, The Dodgers are off to a losing start and even backed by Ethier and Kemp’s superhuman performances and Kershaw’s excellent work as staff ace, they can’t turn it around. That’s not a good sign for the franchise. Add in that Ethier’s arbitration discussions have frustrated him, and you have a perfect storm for the Yankees to try and get the superstar.

The problem comes when you see Swish in our rightfield area, a true fan favorite. What other Yankees rightfielder salutes the bleacher creatures? Just mad respect right there. So what do the Yankees do? Do they stick with the fun loving Swish who’s been slumping hard all year or do we look at someone like Ethier with his .366 batting average and his 4 homer runs? It’s a tough call, I know, because Swish could break out at any time, but will he? Will he prove to everyone that he still has what it takes to help the Yankees win? Swish is hovering around .217 with 2 homers right now. Swisher is good for an average of around .260, with 25 home runs, and 80 RBIs. Where is it Swish, where is it?

And let’s talk personality, shall we? If Ethier was a guy who was a complete mood-killer in the clubhouse, it would be much easier to not want to let that into the Yankee family, but he’s not. Much like Swish, he’s a class act and an all-around great guy, always smiling and he’s always humble. To top it off, Ethier would have a rather smooth transition hitting for the Yankees, seeing as he’s a lefty and could do major damage in Yankees Stadium and Fenway Park.

(Photo: NY Daily News)

Look, I realize it sounds like I’m bashing on Nick Swisher. I’m not. Hell, I opened this article professing man-love for him. I think that’s as far as I need to go to prove that I’m not out to get him. He’s loved in New York. He’s a great player who has potential to put up All-Star worthy numbers in a good year, but he’s just not going to put up the same numbers as a guy like Ethier, that’s all I’m saying.

Letting Swish walk would make him incredibly sad, as well as all of us, I would hate that. So perhaps out of wishful thinking and wanting to keep Swish around, maybe we could also sign Ethier to a big contract. I’ve thought up a somewhat ideal idea, and an unlikely scenario:

Russell Martin walks, Jorge Posada retires, Jesus Montero takes over as catcher, Ethier is signed to a big contract to play right field, and Swish gets the DH job. It makes sense and yes, I’ve grown to really like Russell Martin, but unless he gets his average back up above .270 his days could be numbered with Montero reportedly becoming bored with not even having to try to do well in AAA.

Who knows, maybe Ethier signs a huge extension with the Dodgers, or another team snatches him up. Until then, it is something to think about. I know that Swisher pleases the fans, but the Yankees winning pleases the fans more. The perfect scenerio would be if Swisher was helping the Yankees winning, maybe then, we wouldn’t even be talking about this.

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--Grant Cederquist, BYB Staff Writer

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WHY I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS

Today has been weird. I obviously have Yankees on the brain with tomorrow being Opening Day and I like to read all I can about them. Today, for some unknown reason, I noticed 2 nuggets that I can't seem to forget about.
(photo: Eduardo Nunez)

1. Joel Sherman of the New York Post had a big full page description of the Yankees this year and what to look for. In it, I noticed a tiny blurb about something he "Wouldn't be surprised about". Read it HERE. It said that he wouldn't be surprised if Eduardo Nunez and Dellin Betances were traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this year for Jered Weaver. He went on to say that the Yankees could be worried about another Weaver brother (like when they had Jeff), but Jered is just way too talented to pass up. Then he moved on. There was no explanation. There was no "a source told another source, which told my mom this is true." Nothing. Just dropped the bomb and walked. My question is, did he just make that up or is someone else hearing that, because I hear and read alot of stuff and I've NEVER heard that one. I wanted to tell you all.
   
2. Then, I just read the Bleacher Report. I like it. Some don't...whatever. Anyway, I noticed a piece that caught my eye about Andre Ethier from the Dodgers. Read it HERE. It turns out that he and the Dodgers are going to talk contracts and in the event the talks turn into a non-tender talk situation, the Yankees would "allegedly" emerge as some front runner for the guy. They then broke down how after 2011, the Yankees could clear $30 million off their payroll, so Ethier would be right up their alley. It goes on to talk about Swisher being a fan favorite New York, but that doesn't matter, because it's a walk year for Swisher anyway and the Yankees could use Ethier's talents. It then basically dismisses Swish, which you know, I hate when they do that. Anyway, read it for yourself.

So, I read that and I said, what?? It's the eve of Opening day. Is this an April Fools Day joke? Why are these unusual rumors popping up now? Is anyone believing this stuff? Look, I am all about talking about players and rumors and telling all of you...with my opinion of course. These are just out there, and I don't mean "strange" out there... I mean Will Ferrell "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills" out there. Look, I'm not going any further with these rumors until I find more information about them, but I wanted to at least show you all. What do you think? Please comment. I'd be curious to hear if you like what you see, I'm confused... then again, I usually am.

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