The New Alex Guerrero Problem
Back at the beginning of Spring Training, I wrote a piece here called Trying to Solve the Alex Guerrero Problem. In that piece, I noted that the Dodgers were in a bit of a difficult position with Guerrero, as they didn’t really have a spot for him on their Major League roster, and his contract made it very difficult to trade him and impossible to send him to the minor leagues. So, after a pretty strong spring, the Dodgers just decided to carry him as a bench piece; there weren’t a lot of alternatives, and having him pinch-hit and draw the occasional start would give them a chance to get a better idea of what he was.
I’m pretty sure they weren’t expecting this. After 24 plate appearances — seven of them coming as a pinch-hitter, a difficult job that most people struggle with — Guerrero is hitting .500 and slugging 1.273, which is the kind of offensive performance you need to rack up +1 WAR (which he already has) in roughly six games worth of at-bats. Guerrero has already been worth +8 offensive runs above an average hitter, placing him 8th on the leaderboard, in between a bunch of guys who have 50 or 60 more trips to the plate. And so now, the Dodgers have a different kind of Alex Guerrero problem.
He’s not going to keep this up, obviously, but the ability to launch seven extra base hits and strike out once in any random 24 plate appearance sample should be enough to earn you more playing time. That power/contact combination is pretty rare, and even over a tiny sample, this kind of performance already forces us to re-evaluate the pre-season forecasts: ZIPS has moved from a projected .316 wOBA to a .327, while Steamer has jumped from .297 to .318; the average of the two has Guerrero posting a 110 wRC+ going forward, making him a pretty solid hitter even after he stops with the Barry Bonds impression.
Guerrero is forcing the Dodgers to play him more often, and Don Mattingly acknowledged that he’s going to have to put this guy in the line-up more often going forward.
“When a guy’s swinging the bat, you’re going to find playing time for him,” Mattingly said. “That’s just the way this game is.”
…
Mattingly indicated Guerrero likely will get a start soon in left field at Carl Crawford’s expense. Crawford hasn’t yet settled in. He’s batting .229 and has a .245 on-base percentage.
That left-field start for Guerrero figures to come Tuesday, with Bumgarner pitching again, this time at Dodger Stadium.
Carl Crawford is indeed struggling, and you want as many right-handed bats in the line-up against Bumgarner as you can get, so yeah, starting him in left field on Tuesday makes plenty of sense. Except the Dodgers already have a right-handed platoon partner for Alex Guerrero, and Scott Van Slyke is making just as a strong a case for more playing time as Guerrero. In 23 plate appearances Van Slyke is hitting .421/.522/.737, and now owns a career .369 wOBA in 478 big league at-bats. While this piece is about Guerrero, it’s probably time for the Dodgers to give Van Slyke a chance to see what he can do with a larger role as well, and displacing Van Slyke with Guerrero as the right-handed left field option probably isn’t any kind of upgrade.
In the short-term, Yasiel Puig’s disabled list stint gives the team an easy solution, as they can start Van Slyke in right field and Guerrero in left field against lefties, but Puig isn’t expected to miss any team beyond the minimum 15 days, and when he comes back, he’ll take over right field again. So, while Guerrero can get some run in left field in the short-term, sticking him out there doesn’t seem like a long-term solution. The Dodgers already have too many outfielders, so adding Guerrero to that mix won’t solve anything.
So instead, the team will likely have to make a decision on offense versus defense at third base. Juan Uribe is a terrific defensive third baseman, racking up a career +19 UZR/150 in nearly 4,000 innings at the position. Uribe’s glove is a big asset for the team, and since he’s actually hit well the last couple of years, he’s been one of their more under-appreciated assets, putting up +8.6 WAR in just 840 plate appearances over the last two years. As a 36 year old with a mediocre offensive history, you expect much less than that going forward, but Uribe isn’t such an easy guy to just cast aside in favor of Guerrero, even if their 2015 numbers make that look like an easy decision.
Guerrero, of course, is not a great defender anywhere, and so not only would the Dodgers be taking an elite glove off the field, they’d potentially be inserting a significant negative into their defensive alignment. This is exactly the opposite of what the Dodgers spent their off-season doing, as they shipped out defensive liabilities and built their starting line-up around guys like Howie Kendrick, Jimmy Rollins, and Joc Pederson because they could hit and play defense, rather than just specializing in producing value at the plate. Andrew Friedman clearly puts a lot of value on defense, and so it’s unlikely that the Dodgers are going to see Guerrero’s bat as a clear upgrade over Uribe’s glove going forward.
In a lot of these situations, you end up with the offensive guy starting and the defensive guy coming in as a late-inning replacement, and the Dodgers could end up going that direction, but I’m actually not convinced that it’s the right way to use players with extreme skillsets, especially in the National League. Late-inning defensive replacements are a nice idea in theory, but with relievers becoming so dominant — the Dodgers bullpen has struck out 31.4% of the batters they’ve faced this year, for instance — I’m not so sure that it really makes sense to stick your best defenders behind pitchers who don’t allow much contact. There just aren’t that many late-inning balls in play anymore.
So maybe the Dodgers should think about flipping the job-share on its head, continuing to start Uribe so that he’s in the game along with the starting pitcher, then have Guerrero stay in the game at third base after he pinch-hits for the starting pitcher. That way you’d have the better defender in with the contact-oriented pitchers, and Guerrero in when a ball is least likely to find him. Glove early/bat late might make more sense than the historically-normal reverse setup.
But when a guy is hitting like Guerrero, it’s difficult to not put him in the line-up from the first pitch, so he’ll probably get more starts at third base going forward. Which is okay, except the Dodgers also just gave Hector Olivera a $63 million Major League contract, and expectations were that he was going to get some run at third base in the second half of the year. And again, we’ve gone this entire article without mentioning Justin Turner, who could probably start for half the teams in baseball at some infield position.
In reality, the Dodgers probably just need to make a trade. With Brandon McCarthy joining Hyun-Jin Ryu on the DL, the team’s pitching depth is getting strained while they bathe in a sea of useful infielders. But it’s still April, and no one really punts the season in April, or even May. In general, teams wait until after the draft to get serious about trading away their best veterans, and we’re six weeks away from that point. Besides the perpetually-available-for-a-price-no-one-wants-to-pay Cole Hamels and the perpetually-available-because-he’s-bad Dillon Gee, there probably just aren’t a lot of starting pitchers on the block at the moment.
So that resolution is probably at least a month off, as the Dodgers will have to wait for teams to officially give up on 2015. Until then, Guerrero is going to be part of a logjam, and there likely won’t be everyday at-bats for him in Los Angeles. And by the time pitchers actually hit the market and the Dodgers start inquiring about guys like Johnny Cueto, Olivera might be breathing down Guerrero’s neck.
As far as problems go, this is a pretty nice one to have, but it remains a bit of an issue without an obvious resolution. Starting Guerrero over Uribe may seem like the best option at the moment, but it may very well just put Guerrero in the game at a time when his defense is the biggest liability. Perhaps, for now, the Dodgers should mostly just stick with what’s working. Give Guerrero a few more starts than he has been getting at third base, and play him in the outfield against lefties until Puig gets healthy, but beyond that, let him pinch-hit and play the second half of a bunch of games at third base. It’s not a starting job, but it might be the best use of the Dodgers current roster.
Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.
Did Andre Ethier die? He will be playing the OF
not against lefties he wont be
Not against lefties, he won’t
Against lefties, no he won’t be.
Be it against lefties, he won’t.
it, he against lefties, won’t be
Nay, against lefties he willn’t.
Yes, Andre Ethier the ball player died a few years ago.
Every year since 2008, Ethier has produced a 120+ wRC+ and 2+ WAR. Last year is the obvious exception, and he only had a partial season. Let’s not prematurely call him finished.
Sure, he’s a platoon guy, but that’s nothing new. Never in his career has he been good enough to start vs LHP’s (career .285 wOBA), even if his managers didn’t understand that.
He is literally in the ground. You are direspecting the dead with your stat speak.
Sooth, against those of the sinister hand he shall not
He will – but not against left-handed pitching.
He not be against lefties, matee.
Aye, against lefties Ethier will not be playing, says I.
Hmmmm, play against southpaws he will not.
When those of the left handed persuasion are involved, he will be a non participant.
Against lefties, playing not will he.
He has come back to life in a SSS this year hitting .342/.435/.605. I’m hoping some team realizes that he will be worth trading for at some point because he will be an above average hitter that will hit you some doubles but not very many HR.
Not against lefties he won’t be
If the starting pitcher for the opposition throws with his left hand, Ethier, a left handed hitter, likely won’t be starting as the manager will undoubtedly want to take gain from the advantage a right handed hitting batter will have.
Only against righties.
Against cackhanders? No chance man.
Just against the northpaws
If there is some manner of pitcher that throws with the left hand rather than the right, which a hitter whose dominant hand is also that of the left side is generally likely to not be as good at hitting the pitches therefrom as he is those that were last caressed by the right hand, scheduled to pitch against the Dodgers of Los Angeles Baseball Club, Ethier, being such a hitter, is likely to be precluded from taking plate appearances or masquerading as a statue in the outfield by the sage management of Dong Mattingly.
Carson? Have you taken on a nom de plume?
I’ll take that as a compliment.
Against righties, he will.
Not against the handedness that shall not be named, he won’t be.
Ethier he will, or he won’t.
Against righties just.
Not against those of his own chirality, he won’t.
By the weight of my doubloons, only in platoons.
Not against lefties he won’t.
And it’s ended, what a laugh.
The last one didn’t count Craig, already been used (unsuprisingly).
Versus a pitcher who is not right handed, Ethier will indeed not.
only against righties he will not
Go Giants
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One of Dave Cameron’s favorite ballplayers is engaged in a conflict of epic proportions.
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That comment requires upvotes. Your upvotes.
Please!! You must deliver all the green positivly numerical goodness you can muster.
Our hero faces an enemy that is too long to read, and too stupid to reason with.
The only thing that can stop it is the SB!!!
Start Guerrero in a rotation between LF/CF/RF/3B, every 4 days one of the normal starters gets a day off. When guy’s like Puig get injured you have the perfect fill-in. I don’t see him getting traded, I think as the season goes on and we see more slumps/injuries he’ll be getting plenty of at bats.
That could work, but I would take out CF and add 2b. Isn’t 2b his natural position?
I think his natural position was Shortstop while in Cuba. They brougt him over hoping to slot him in at 2nd, but Guerrero’s defense was suspect and Dee Gordon happened.
Brought*
Then his ear got in the way of Olivo’s mouth
*rougned
Guerrero won’t get traded because there’s a clause in his contract which allows him to declare free agency at the end of any season in which he’s traded away from the Dodgers.
Thus, his trade value is artificially diminished compared to his value on the Dodgers roster.
Guerrero in CF is a hilarious joke and the fact that you actually suggested that shows that you know absolutely nothing about the situation.
A couple of serious questions:
1) The projection systems have Guerrero pegged as a .320-330 wOBA hitter moving forward; how well would he have to hit to force his way into the “starter” role? .350+ wOBA?
2) Is it the case that Guerrero is a poor defender, or is it that he is adequate defensively, but simply not as good as Uribe?
In the super small sample of 36.1 innings at 3B, he has so far been pretty good, at least by the numbers, which are very susceptible to small sample size influence. He was never supposed to be a good defender at 2B, so one would expect the same or worse at 3B.
This is the one thing that bothers me about the defensive spectrum. Just because CF, 2B and 3B are about equal in positional value doesn’t mean that a player can interchangeably move between them. Just because a guy has the range and agility to play 2B doesn’t mean he had the arm to play CF or the quick reflexes to play 3B. Or vice versa.
Imagine big fat Juan Uribe at second to see what I mean. He’s a glorious third baseman, but would probably have his leg broken by a take out slide immediately if he was to play second.
I’ve never seen him play, but based on the article it seems that he is a poor defender:
“not only would the Dodgers be taking an elite glove off the field, they’d potentially be inserting a significant negative into their defensive alignment.”
The Dodgers are actually playing Guerrero out of position. He played SS in Cuba and that is the position he prefers. Probably better off replacing Rollins at SS with Guerrero than Uribe at 3B.
MY NATURAL POSITION IS DICTATOR OF HUMANITY, WHERE”S MY CHOCOLATE CAKE??????
Agree – the way the Dodgers have handled this guy is a comedy of errors.
They signed him to maybe be SS and moved him to 2B almost immediately. Then he got his ear bitten off and missed half the season…far longer than I would have thought but that’s a whole ‘nother story.
They finally bring him up for a cup o’ coffee late last year and inexplicably stick him in LF, a position I’m pretty sure he’d never played before in his life. And that’s the small handful of games he was able to get time in.
Then sometime shortly into the off-season, they decide they’re going to try to make him a 3B instead. Again, a position he’d never played before in his life at a position held by beloved veteran Jose Uribe.
Then they wanted to demote him but couldn’t. They’re probably happy he exercised that clause now.
Then they signed Hector Olivera to play there too, partially torn UCL and all.
Now they’re grooming Corey Seagar in AA ball to maybe get him used to 3B in case they want to fast track him to MLB in the event of injury to both Jimmy Rollins and Jose Uribe.
Hard to know exactly WTF the LAD front office is thinking but whatever it is, it’s keeping a guy who is obviously good enough to start for every team in MLB (at a couple different positions) from playing even half the time.
I wish my Pirates could work up a deal for him…he could fill a big need for us at SS. The Dodgers sure as hell don’t know how to use him.
what about it is a comedy of errors. they signed him. he wasnt a SS. they moved him to 2b. Dee Gordon exploded and ran away with the job. he mashed in triple A for 6 weeks before getting his ear bitten off and missing basically the rest of the season. when he came back they had him work out at 3b and LF in the minors to increase his versatility but he was pretty bad defensively.
In ST this year he seemed a lot more comfortable and wasnt a disaster in the field the way he was his first year but he wasnt going to start over Uribe right off the bat or Kendrick. He is a bad defensive SS which is why he was moved off the position in the first place. this FO values defense, especially up the middle which makes sense given the ground ball tendencies of the pitching staff.
he would have to really hit his way into the lineup and now he is – Don has said he will be getting the LF at bats against LHP with SVS in RF for the injured Puig and he will get more time at 3B.
yes, he prob ably could start for most teams in the bigs. however the dodgers have probably the best 40 man roster in baseball depth wise and are a win now team so theyre going to try to win now. up until a week ago that didnt involve Guerrero because of his bad defense and Uribe’s stellar past seasons with the glove and above average last 2 seasons the bat.
So, for someone who says the way the Dodgers handled Guerrero was “a comedy of errors”, what did they actually do that you have such a problem with? Are you saying they should have left stay him at SS (which would’ve meant playing him over Hanley Ramirez, by the way), even though scouts have universally said Guerrero is not a big league shortstop? Or are you saying he should’ve been the Dodgers starting 2B in 2014, despite his struggles and Dee Gordon getting off to such a hot start? Are you seriously blaming the Dodgers for Guerrero having his ear bitten off, or for the fact that he needed so long to recover? Finally, let’s not forget that after returning from that injury Guerrero played terrible both offensively and defensively, so what were the Dodgers supposed to do with him – pencil him in as the starter despite all the question marks? It seems to me they did the only thing that makes sense in filling there holes as well as they could (with Rollins and Kendrick being very nice pieces) and try to let Guerrero work on defensive flexibility.
As a Dodger fan I’m thrilled he’s off to this great start, but let’s be fair: Would anyone really have been shocked if Guerrero struggled in his first taste of the majors, or would they be shocked if over the next few weeks his performance declines dramatically? Of course those things wouldn’t surprise us, because the whole reason we’re having this conversation is because it’s shocking that Guerrero has played well in the first place. So maybe you ought to think things through a little more before you criticize and make such laughable comments.
Yeah point is that almost the whole industry has downplayed what this guy is capable of doing while every single chance he has gotten he has looked like a beast and gotten beastly results… so yeah it would be a surprise if he struggles now. Not saying I expect him to OPS 1.5 but the reluctance to acknowledge that Alex Guerrero rakes has been going on for a while.
The Wacha post was mainly about the strange ride AG has had since signing as a Dodger, not necessarily that it’s all the Dodgers fault here. HOWEVER, in the what they “could have done differently dept,” they could have gone with AG at 2B and not traded for Kendrick. Justin Turner would have been a solid back up plan for that.
They also could have not signed Hector Olivera and thereby further reducing Guerrero’s playing options heading into next season. All they’ve done since signing him is close doors on him and all he’s done is bash them down with his bat.
Either the Dodgers or idiots or his glove is a little wooden everywhere.
The dodgers say he doesn’t have the range to play SS in the major leagues.
Pretty much every single scout and coach that’s seen him at SS say he is NOT adequate at SS. The Dodgers never really considered him an option there.
Guerrero is a SS just as much as Hanley Ramirez is a SS. Which is to say he is not a SS.
I’ve had quite enough of “pegged”, “opined”, and all the other over used baseball blog lingo.
Yur nothin but a bunch of wet infield popup hittin front cap wearin dittoin borish stat nerds.
I peg yur writing to stink, but that’s just my opiiiinneon.
First of all, I now would like to see a chart of balls in play by inning league wide. You’ve got me curious.
Second of all, you didn’t even mention the added benefit of being able to wait for a high leverage situation to be able to pinch hit the superior hitter.
Would Guererro waive the ‘opt-out option if traded’ clause to help facilitate a trade?
I dont even know if the players union or MLB itself would allow that.
Baseball players cannot restructure contracts like NFL players do all the time, so it might be an issue.
It’s not a restructuring, it’s an opt-out, which is a player option.
Kershaw has an opt-out, Greinke has an opt-out. They can chose to exercise it or not.
Yes I know he can choose not to exercise it. But that doesnt happen until the offseason. So they would have to alter the contract in order for there to be any guarantee that Guerrero doesn’t opt for FA when the season ends.
They are not just going to shake hands and let it fly with a gentleman’s agreement.
Carl Crawford is so weird.
Baseballheatmaps.com shows Guerrero as the batted-ball distance leader, FWIW.
“Justin Turner, who could probably start for half the teams in baseball at some infield position”
This seems like a huge overestimation to me and I’d be interested in hearing why anyone thought this.
In roughly 320 PA’s last year (with a lot of that time coming as a PH or playing middle infield) Justin Turner was worth 3.2 wins (above replacement).
That comes out to about 1 WAR per 100 PA. You’re going to have to look at the top-10 MLB position players (not just middle infielders) to find a better ratio than that. He’s continued hitting and fielding well so far this season(if we ignore a few miscues during a brief stint at 1B).
I think the author’s assertion is pretty defensible and probably even slightly understating how effective Justin Turner has been.
But in about 900 PA’s before last year, he was worth less than a half win combined. His wRC+ was just under 100 year after year, and that’s right about where it is this year (in an obvious small sample). He was very productive last year, but you’d have to put a lot of faith in his .400+ BABIP-aided 2014 if you think he’s a starter.
He’s a good guy to have on your team because he’s versatile in the field and he can hold his own with the bat, but there’s a reason the Dodgers got him on a minor league deal a year ago.
Even looking at only 2011-13, only 9 teams got >98 wRC+ from their second basemen and only 5 teams got that from the SS position. When those are appropriately factored in along with last year’s numbers (projection of ~109 wRC+), you get something like a top-25 middle infielder, hitting-wise, not to mention the ability to play 3B. Given that there are 60 starting middle infielders, I think the statement is eminently defensible. Of course, we’ve ignored his below-average defense.
I don’t know if Turner is a starter, but I’d be really interested in seeing what Joe Maddon could do with him in Chicago as the utility guy. With Bryant learning how to stand in LF/CF without looking like Greg Luzinski, Turner effectively backs up 6 positions, easily enough to get him 20 PA/week.
Justin Turner had a .400 BABIP in those 320 PA’s last year.
it’s not like I said that people are sleeping on Alex Guerrero when the season began or anything like that….
Geez, the Dodgers really have a wealth of talent out there… I wonder of their plan has been to have the 2016 IF be Olivera at 3B, Seager at SS and Guerrero at 2B since the current occupants of those positions aren’t under contract past 2015. It may be tough to hang onto Guerrero as long as Cole Hamels is being dangled and the Dodgers arms continue to drop like flies. That sort of swap does make sense.
This is complicated by the fact that I have yet to read a scouting report that sees Seager as a major league quality defensive shortstop, they are all saying 3B.
I thought that Guerrero becomes an FA if he gets traded, so the Phils would get no added value from him in a swap for Hamels.
He would have to get traded to a contender with pitching in need of a middle infielder, and I don’t see why either the Dodgers or that mystery team would bother helping a potential playoff opponent.
I’d say that Guerrero sticks around, in the event that one of their mid 30’s aged infielders goes down.
I’m sure it’s nothing a little money couldn’t fix…
If it’s just a matter of money to get Hamels, they might as well keep Guerrero and just pay more money. Add a few extra bucks and they could probably get Papelbon.
There’s just one problem with The New Alex Guerrero problem: he’s actually looked pretty decent playing 3B.
Small sample, I know, yadda yadda… but at some point actual play will become more important than the narrative, right? Since we’ve seen so little of him play, isn’t it possible that he isn’t the rock-gloved dinosaur that everyone seems to think he is?
I’m not saying one or two games means he’s great… or even passable… all I’m saying is we should be a little more open-minded to the possibility that he’s better than we’re giving him credit for, especially if his glove is showing signs that that might be the case. I feel like the basic premise of this article started with an assumption. Isn’t it possible that assumption is a bad one? I’m not convinced that Guerrero can’t be a league-avg defensive 3B, yet.
Your the first person that I’ve seen that questions Guerrero’s weak defensive skills and I totally agree. I watched him the entire spring training and he played half the games and made some fantastic plays at shortstop, 3rd base and left field and NEVER made an error but Uribe made 3 errors, Crawford made 2 errors and Rollins made 3 errors. I think that Guerrero has been mislabeled as a poor defender and everyone jumped the bandwagon. I also lived in Albuquerque last year with season tickets and Guerrero was outstanding defensively.
Errors can’t measure range. If anything, they penalize range.
Steven did not just mention the errors, but also said that Guerrero made some fantastic plays (that is, probably being of high difficulty or requiring some range). Given that the only two ways you can excel at defense are a.) Making high level of difficulty plays, and b.) not screwing up low level of difficulty plays (which tends to be captured for an infielder by Errors), I’m not sure what the problem anyone would have with Steven’s comment would be. All he basically said was “I watched him all spring and he seemed to make both all the routine plays and some very difficult ones.” Unless you watched him all spring and disagree, you’re not really adding anything by parroting sabermetric dogma.
Guerrero has had what, four balls hit at him at third this season? And none of them were particularly difficult plays. His defensive play this season so far means absolutely nothing.
It means nothing, unless he had butchered them then they would be vindication of scouting reports that so far have been over hyped. His defense has always looked acceptable at 2B to me. He’s unquestionably better at 2B than Dee. A large range can be unimpressive too. Ask Dee how hard the easy ones are.
Saying that the Dodgers have to wait for a potential trade partner to give up on contending this year is misrepresenting the situation a bit. The Dodgers aren’t looking to trade prospects for pitching. They’re needing to offer ready infield help for ready pitching help. They just need a pitching-rich contender to feel a need for an infield upgrade. The problem is there’s no apparent matches on that front yet either, and given the trend of pitching injuries it’s not likely to get any better.
Ironically, the closest thing to a trade partner might be the Padres, who currently have six quality starters on the big league roster and are about a week away from sending Josh Johnson out to an affiliate. They also have a middle infield made up entirely of cutout cardboard figurines.
Justin Turner and Chris Anderson for Doug Fister
Is McCarthy definitely going to the DL with this “elbow tightness” or whatever it is?
Still waiting on the results of the MRI he was supposed to have today. We don’t know yet.
Sad trombones… TJ surgery is coming.
Sounds a lot like the ‘Brock Holt problem’
You’re mom’s a Brock Holt problem.
I am tired of people saying that Alex can’t play defensively! Guerrero had not played baseball for a year, when he came to spring training last year, and had just came to the U.S.! Alex like other Cubans, he didn’t come first class to the US! This is probably why Guerrero defense looked up to par! He was competing against Dee Gordon, who was given advice from Mattingly to play second base in the winter leagues so he might get another chance to make the team! After the Dodger’s first game Guerrero was assigned to AAA. Guerrero was asked to learn how to play second base and third base and left field. Guerrero hit and hit for power in AAA and when he was about to be called up to the big club, he was attacked by a fellow co player, who literally bit off Alex’s ear! Guerrero missed most of the season from this attack! Once Guerrero came back, he once again hit and really didn’t have much chance to prove a was a descent player defensively. Guerrero was a shortstop in Cuba, and I’m am sure he had to be able to at least make the routine plays at shortstop when he was playing shortstop in Cuba. I really thing that Guerrero has been labeled bad defensively, and this is just not true! Once again, he had not played baseball for a year and was new to the US and to Major League Baseball and had not ever played second base, because he had been a shortstop! I truly believe that the Dodgers don’t really know how well Alex can play defense! He might only make the routine plays, but their are a lot a shortstops in the majors that only make the routine plays, and that would be fine if that’s all Guerrero is as a shortstop, especially since Guerrero has shown every where the Dodgers have put him, he has hit and hit, with some power! It looks like Mattingly finally has decided he should get a chance!
I hear ya.
Leave Alex alone!
No mention of Alex Guerrero as a shortstop is a fail of this article.
Signed, Guerrero’s agent.
Maybe Dave would respond better to your argument if you’d throw in a few more exclamation points. Nothing says, “I’m right, dammit! Listen to me!” like exclamation points.
Just cause alex Guerrero isn’t as good of a defensive player as most doesn’t make him a bad one. The only real knock on him defensively is range and at third you don’t need much. I’m a diehard dodgers fan and have watched most of their spring training games and almost every game they’ve played this year and I have not seen a play where Guerrero looked bad. Only think I’ve noticed is he is always communicating with the bench coach while at third in order to know where to be positioned which is understandable seeing as how he’s playing a new position
Seager and Olivera could muck all of this right up soon enough too. Gonna have to be a trade here soon enough, likely a nice piece like guerrero or olivera + Ethier or crawford in a contract dump. bet they go after SP or Catcher.
Guerrero is a perfect fit for PrellerBall — he’s an upside play, and he’s a potential big bat with a limited glove. Padres have a clear need at 2B/SS. The Padres and Dodgers just got a tough, and pretty complicated, deal done for Kemp. Dodgers still have some need for relief pitching while Padres have a surplus. I could see that matching up.
Dodgers bullpen currently leads MLB in FIP, xFIP, and SIERA.
And that’s with their best RP on the DL right now.
While I wouldn’t bet on their bullpen remaining so effective, it’s definitely their rotation that needs some help right now. Dave Huff, Mike Bolsinger and Scott Baker have already made starts for Dodgers so far, and we haven’t even arrived at the inevitable Brett Anderson injury yet.
They need a starter, not a reliever. Guerrero and Chris Anderson for Tyson Ross
Does anyone know if Ethier will play against lefties?(runs and ducks)
Thanks for making me laugh out loud at work, guys.
I actually own Guerrero in fantasy despite his limited starts so far.
Play Guerrero at 3b and trade Uribe. Or let the useless Carl Crawford on the bench, where hes better anyway. Van Slyke and Guerrero are far more productive than the overpaid vets like Ethier and Crawford.
Crawford hit .300 last year and had a 2.6 WAR in 370 PAs last season.
Dodgers have Wieland, a potential star in the making, pitching great in triple A. He’s better than Baker. Not time to settle for a Gee type.
That’s tongue-in-cheek, right?
Guerrero looked pretty good playing defense in the one game he got to start. Let him play until he proves he is not worthy of a start.
Sorry Dave..I have to say this, especially for an interesting article, but by the halfway point in the article I’ve already counted 3 errors. Very clearly an article in need of proofreading. Don’t take this as an insult, I am just pointing out that your educated audience notices.
Can you point out the three errors in question?
I’m not a fan of any particular team, but the solution seems simple to me.
The Dodgers have a surplus of prospects and money and need great starting pitching. The Phillies want to get out from under contracts.
So the Dodgers send Guerrero to the Phils for Hamels and Howard. The either turn around and give Howard away for a minor prospect or cut him and eat the money. They get another ace for a long time.
Philly gets a more effective and less expensive 1B for long enough in his prime that they can take advantage of his skills when they are decent again or trade him later for building blocks. And they save $150 million or so.
They wouldn’t be saving anywhere near $150 million, because they’d have to pick up pretty much all of Howard’s contract to make it happen. There’s no way a team would trade for Hamels and Howard while taking on both contracts. They would essentially be paying about $40 million per year for Hamels.
And yet, for all the gibberish over his so called lack of defense, Guerrero has played a flawless 3rd base, and has had multiple spectacular plays. The kids bat is incredible. Play the kid and being Uribe off the bench.
If 1 WAR is worth 7m dollars, in 22 at bats, Alex Guerrero has already earned it.