The Dodgers have finally announced the signing of infielder Howie Kendrick making the deal official. Kendrick signed a very team friendly two-year 20 million dollar contract. The signing was originally reported last Friday. Here is the official press release from the Dodgers.
The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the signing of infielder Howie Kendrick to a two-year contract.
In his first year with the Dodgers in 2015, Kendrick, 32, batted .295 with 22 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 54 RBI in 117 games during the regular season. He started in all five NLDS games against the Mets, hitting .273 with a double, a home run and four RBI.
He ranked fifth in the National League with a .360 batting average with runners in scoring position (36-for-100) and also posted a .335 (64-for-191) mark with runners on base. In 59 home games last season, he hit .312 (72-for-231) with 13 doubles, six home runs and 29 RBI and has a .316 career batting average (97-for-307) in 79 games at Dodger Stadium, the fourth-highest mark among active players (min. 100 AB).
Kendrick has a .293 career batting average with 271 doubles, 87 home runs and 555 RBI in 1,198 games in 10 MLB seasons with the Angels (2006-14) and Dodgers (2015). The 2011 All-Star has a .986 career fielding percentage, appearing primarily at second base, and has hit well in the clutch during the course of his career, posting a .298 batting average with runners in scoring position and a .299 mark with runners on base.
The Florida native was originally selected by the Angels in the 10th round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Johns River Community College (FL), prior to being acquired by the Dodgers on December 10, 2014 in exchange for left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney.
Welcome back! I didn’t think we needed Howie, but at 2/20, it’s too good a value to pass up. Gives us more trade bait now come July
Did we really need a second baseman? And one with a negative defensive metric no less. Utley and Hernandez could handle the job and that $10 million could be spent filling out the 40 man management roster. Or securing an 8th inning guy.
Sure, it was a waste of money to sign Howie. I mean what did he really do? He had a solid .290 BA, placed 5th in the NL and 1st on the Dodgers with a .360 BA with RISP. Hell, if every player done that we would’ve walked into the WS and out with a ring.
As far as an 8th inning guy, I have faith that Hatcher/Yimi will do that perhaps Montas. My glass is always half full until somebody knocks it over. That won’t happen until ST or later.
Of all the comments I’ve seen on other Dodger sites, 95% favored Howie coming back and I do too.
Badger – I’m sitting here in freezing temperatures watching the golf from Scottsdale.
Is that the type of weather you have to endure?
Scottsdale? That’s down in the valley. I’m at 4600′. And yes, we have a winter. It’s a junior varsity winter, but it makes you wear a jacket and put a blanket on the bed.
Did you notice the Dodgers farm is now ranked #4?
But, there are two more Cubans FAZ is supposedly interested in.
No, what happened? Was it the Peraza trade?
http://www.dodgersnation.com/dodgers-news-organization-has-4th-best-farm-system-per-si/2016/02/03/
I can’t help noticing that this team looks an awful lot like the one we had last September minus an ace pitcher. While it’s good to have a clutch hitter back in the fold, the lack of reliable help in the bullpen is disturbing. Maybe everything will work itself out. Maybe more big deals are around the corner. Maybe I’ll be able to watch the games on DirectTV. Right.
Agree 100%. The only exception is Seager is an improvement over Rollins. That’s why I am so disappointed with the Brain Trust. You can’t seriously contend that the team is better this year than last with no Zach. The Giants got better – so did the D-backs.
Why only September? This is basically last years team, other than Seager….the team which was putrid at driving in runs when they were in scoring position. Read Scott’s post from last week or two.
We assume that despite being a year older and slower we will drive in those runs! Fingers crossed 🙂
Well, because Seager came up in September.
As much as it might be best to stop talking about the Gordon trade, the Kendrick signing does remind us of Gordon. I have said this a few times now that I think the reason Gordon was traded was to wind up with Kendrick because they traded Kemp and needed to replace Kemp’s right handed bat.
I think it the Gordon trade was a mistake but not because the Dodgers didn’t get enough in return, that’s too subjective or an argument for the next couple of years. It is because Gordon was a Dodger who came up from our system, was the only long range solution for second, and was fun to watch on the field and in the dugout. I always liked the interplay he and Kemp enjoyed.
It seems like most here are glad Kemp is gone but I am not share that thought. Kemp passed my eye test defensively.
I think when they almost were able to trade Ethier they should have figured out a way to get that deal done and kept Kemp and Gordon. And I might add if Puig was moretradable when Kemp was traded than Puig is now, they should have traded Puig for either a great set-up reliever or starter. Might Hammels been available if Puig were offered when the Kemp trade was made?
Kemp would have been the RFer and both Puig and Ethier would be elsewhere thus thinning out the logjam in the outfield. Gordon would be playing second and leading off.
FAZ might be the best thing for the Dodgers in the long run but they haven’t been everything they could have been so far IMHO.
Bum I thought Matt was decent in rightfield too. Sometimes I think these defensive metrics are given to much importance, and probably don’t make that big of a difference, then some think. If you think about it, how often does a rightfielder, make a great play, that effects a win for a team. There are mostly routine plays, that are made in game after game, and if a player can make the routine plays, that is the main thing. It is great to have great defensive players, but if someone has a good bat, and makes the routine plays, that can be valuable too. It is really hard to measure defensive play, and it is hard to measure how much a player’s defense, affects a team’s win, from game to game.
Not sure where Howie ranks in the speed department but it looks like the CF (Joc or Kike) and Puig are the only ones who can score from first in a double. Maybe Howie can still do that. But it’s irrelevant with this administration. The threat of men on base far outweighs actually crossing the plate. Or so it appears.
Well said.
The only thing that matters is runs scored and the lineup last year had a lot of trouble with that. But fortunately we’ve addressed that issue by replacing the coaching staff.
About Howie. I like Howie. I liked him a lot better when he played 157 games, but I think he’s a real pro. I hope he hits that 150 game mark again for two straight years. But I thought there was a different plan. It involved a QO to Howie, which he would clearly reject, resulting in the real nugget we seek – another sandwich pick, then something about getting younger, then Utley at second for $7 million, but he’s here to mentor and platoon……… Hernandez and Johnson……. and I look up a few days before Spring Training and we’ve signed nobody of real consequence, the plan with Howie changed, but the lineup hasn’t……..Hernandez and Johnson……. Greinke is still gone, the bullpen, and ? in some starting pitching spots. It’s deja vu circa Spring Training 2015, with Kazmir in Greinke’s spot. And the midgets and Dbacks have loaded up. It appears they smell blood.
It could go either way in ’16.
It’s going to be entertaining. I can hardly wait.
One of the analysts on the MLB Channel made a prediction that the Dodgers won’t make the play offs this year. Not everyone is buying this team. I don’t want that to happen, and I am glad that the Dodgers are not the favorites this year. Because that takes a little of the pressure off, the team. I do wonder about the Dodger’s odds in Vegas, because in Vegas, they make sure that there not wrong.
Artieboy How about Crawford, and Cory?
I haven’t seen Cory run the bases do I don’t know how good of a base runner he is. CC running full speed is a danger to himself. I would assume he can score from first on a double, but for that he has to be in the game which has been a challenge for him as a Dodger.
Artieboy I know Crawford gets hurt a lot, but if you watch him run, especially in that circumstance, he scored easily.
I have been maybe the biggest negative supporter of Friedman and Zaidi. Because of their many moves of which most do not ring the bell, but stack up the farm, add injured players, and all the rest.
I agree with above, this team is basically the same team as last season but only dropping Rollins and adding Seager at SS. Lost of Greinke and added several pitchers.
Right now, rather than take my life as a Dodger fan for hopelessness,
I cling to a couple of REAL HOPES, and DREAMS.
1. a new manager and coaching staff, and support staff.
2. that there just might be a big trade by the end of Spring Training, moving some players out and new ones in.
I believe this is the age in baseball TODAY where teams that want to plan in the post season —- are making major moves. MAJOR, and really increasing the talent on their team/s. So far, the Dodgers have not done that, player wise. For a year now, it has only been Oakland and Tampa Bay moves of weak trades.
I really don’t get the excitement over Dave Roberts – maybe he will be good but we don’t know. HE HAS NEVER MANAGED AT ANY LEVEL BEFORE!
Excellent point!
However he is there to follow the orders of the technocrats. They will decide lineups, defensive shifts, probably pinch hitters, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they call the particular pitch in a “high leverage” situation.
Dodger rick the reason that everyone is jumping on the Robert’s band wagon, is more the fact that Mattingly is gone, but that is not to say, that Roberts won’t be a good manager. Last year, the Dodgers had really good stats, that projected that they should be scoring more runs, then they did. So I think everyone here, believes that Roberts being such a good base runner, will be able to get this same team, to score more runs, then Mattingly, and his wait for a HR offense.
Just a few things:
1. Every ranking of the Dodgers farm system I have seen has them #1 or #2 – most have them # 1. #4? Put down the crack pipe.
2. “This is the same team as last year?” R U CRA Z? I predict the Dodgers are the most improved team in baseball!
3. THE DODGERS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT SOME OF YOU CAN’T WATCH THEM. The big cable company paid the Dodgers for the ability to broadcast their games. What are they supposed to do? Give the money back? Man, that is dumb!
4. Would you rather have a fast base runner or a smart base runner? They don’t always come in the same package. Yes, I want a smart fast one, but…
5. I didn’t like Howie at $15.5 million for 1 year, but at two years and $20 million he’s a bagain you can’t refuse. Come on, man!
6. Matt Kemp? Matt Kemp? WHAT? MATT KEMP? Kike Hernandez had a 1.4 WAR. Matt Kemp had a 0.6 WAR all for about $25 million more a year! Matt Kemp? You are not serious!
7. Many of you get fixated upon what WAS, not what IS. Last year’s hero may be this year bum. The Dodgers are so much better this year than last… and most of you are clueless about it. Clueless and bitter.
8. That’s what robbed me of the joy of the blog. Enjoy it if that’s what you dig! It’s your thing, not mine. My joy is back! Life is good!
9. BTW, Andrew Miller would not come West, so quit beating that drum.
10. This is going to be a fun season!
http://www.dodgersnation.com/dodgers-news-organization-has-4th-best-farm-system-per-si/2016/02/03/
SportsNet LA , a partnership between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Time Warner Cable, is controlled by American Media Productions, a subsidiary of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Time Warner Cable is the charter distributor; and the exclusive advertising and affiliate sales agent.
If the LAD did not negotiate an out clause for lack of performance by TWC then the new management team has the same level of incompetent negotiating skills as Neddy had.
Their goal to have the most fan friendly sports programming currently is a complete joke.
THANK YOU BOB!!!!!! Put that in your pipe and smoke it Mark
SLOTIM if you live in Southern California you can get the Dodger station. I couldn’t get it before, because TWC was not in my area, and everyone in Southern California can get either TWC or Charter. And now that Charter bought out TWC, everyone in Southern California can get the Dodger channel. All you have to do, is get either TWC or Charter, depending on which of these two providers, are in your area. They both have the Dodger channel. And if you do have Charter in your area, they don’t make there customers sign a contract. If I had my choice, I would have Direct TV, and they would have the Dodger channel, but DirectTV doesn’t carry the Dodger channel, so I got Charter.
mountainmover, I enjoyed Matt Kemp. He entertained me. Not that it could have been accomplished but if it could have been, I would think that the Dodgers would have been a better team starting last year if Kemp, Gordon, and Hammels were on the Dodgers and Ethier, Puig, Kendrick, Hernandez, Barns, and Hatcher were playing elsewhere.
That is basically what I said above so your reply to that thought of this is weak:
………….Matt Kemp? Matt Kemp? WHAT? MATT KEMP? Kike Hernandez had a 1.4 WAR. Matt Kemp had a 0.6 WAR all for about $25 million more a year! Matt Kemp? You are not serious!
I really don’t get your enthusiasm – other than you are a fan like we all are and fervently hope that the team does well this year. But improved?
They have the same position players that they had last year – no one new! (I say that because Seager was up with the team during the last month – I get that he’s not Jimmy Rollins.)
They have the same bullpen that they had last year – no one new! (Except the fabulous Joe Blanton.)
They have a different rotation – no Zach. Instead they have Maeda, an import with such bad MRIs that no one else would sign him, and why else would he take a contract for 8/$25? And Kazmir. I get that Zach had his career year but he will still be better than Kazmir or Maeda.
I understand that they have tons of pitching prospects – and one or two position players. Terrific for 2018 – not for 2016. And other than Bellinger and one or two others, no position players, so they will have to sign a free agent or trade for a position player sometime.
I just can’t share your enthusiasm for 2016. They will be competitive and pretty good but are not championship material.
How can they be better when they haven’t even reported? We hope they’re better, but on paper it looks like the same position players to me, minus Rollins.
8. You were robbed of joy by debate? You must be quite used to getting your way.
I agree with what rick just said below. This is a good team, and with better coaching might play more sound, fundamental baseball. But unless several of the same players who didn’t get it done last year have Zach like career years this is just not a championship club. I still look for more changes to be made. FAZ clearly likes to move and shake, sometimes I think it’s done just for the exercise. I believe it’s possible a few of the moves might actually work. They are due for that to happen. Maybe Maeda will be a 3 WAR pitcher. Maybe Kazmir loves pitching here and will exceed the projected 174 IP. Maybe Puig and Pederson and maybe the bullpen and maybe fill in the blank. If all that happens, we could actually be better than the 92 win team we were last year. One thing is for sure, both Arizona and SF are poised to improve their win totals. They are going to get extra wins at somebody’s expense.
btw, I just checked and fangraphs has our projected win total at 89. They also have Arizona at the same win total, 79, as last year. I don’t think that’s right. I have them at .500. Giants projected to win 86. I say none of those numbers are right. They also have us improving our RS/G which is interesting. More runs but fewer wins?
Yep, gonna be an interesting year.
Badger they have us scoring more runs, but not winning more games, because Greinke is gone. They are saying the Dodgers are going to give up more runs.
MM it is good to hear from you, don’t take everything so seriously.
Still waiting for a RP. May still be waiting in early October when the season is over.
Odds to win the 2016 World Series
Chicago Cubs: 11/1
Kansas City Royals: 12/1
Los Angeles Dodgers: 12/1
New York Mets: 12/1
St. Louis Cardinals: 12/1
Toronto Blue Jays: 12/1
Washington Nationals: 12/1
Those odds will change as the money comes in. Vegas is never wrong.
mover you say you think the Dodgers “are the most improved team in baseball”. Ok. How do you measure that? For me the word improvement means better on the field, which is measured in results. We won the West but went nowhere in the playoffs. Better would mean at least going to the NLCS. Is that what you think this team will do?
I think I would lay my hard earned two bucks on the Nationals right now. They make the AL look weak.
They being the odds makers!
Thanks MM what are the Giant’s odds?
To me, the FAZ naysayers completely lose me when they bring up Matt Kemp. If you’re going to give this FO credit for anything, you have to do it for the Matt Kemp trade. The Pods would love to get rid of him now, but alas, they’re stuck with a guy on the wrong side of 30 and his 18 million salary, arthritic hips, shoddy defense in that huge park, and declining offense. Don’t take my word for it. Look up Kemp’s stats. Look at his defensive metrics. See where he stacks up amongst the league. And the fact that they used that good offensive second half last year to sell high on him and get Grandal was a coup. When healthy, Grandal is an All Star ….and young!….AND…he’s a top pitch framer. Oh wait! Pitch framing….we don’t believe in all of that sabregeek black magic! We want Kemp! He was entertaining to watch!
And I don’t know how you criticize the Kendrick signing. Yeah, I want to see Kike get as much at bats as he can, too. I think he’ll get plenty. Not having a designated position doesn’t seem to keep Zobrist on the bench. Utley may have regained some of that offense he had a couple of years ago, but at 37, maybe not. Kendrick was one of our best, most consistent hitters last year. The opportunity arose to get him on a really team friendly deal. What’s the problem? WHAT’S THE PLAN!!!” Well, when the situation changes and an opportunity to improve the team presents itself, you take it. That’s being smart. Does the Kendrick signing make the team better? That’s the only question you need to ask and answer.
I don’t trust defensive metrics. Even the analysts admit they are evolving. Kemp had a 2.2 oWAR with 23 home runs and 100 rbi’s for a weak San Diego team. And Kemp has something a lot of teams need and that is star power. Nobody leaves their seat when he’s coming up. I think he has DH written all over him and in a different park he could hit 30 and drive in over 100 for another 5 years. He will never do what he did in ’11, but 100 rbi’s in San Diego is a big deal. Until Grandal actually lives up to his hype, that trade doesn’t look all that great to me.
I have to agree – I was against the Kemp trade but it turned out for the good, at least based on one year.
I agree that signing Kendrick was a good move. He is the best defensive 2B on the roster and the most accomplished offensive 2B as well. No negative there.
As far as the “plan” is concerned, the plan was to go with Utley and Kike – until it wasn’t. The plan changed when Kendrick became available for cheap. The problem is now that we have too many old IF, like we have too many old OF – with contracts that can’t be moved. So – who is on the major league roster? If they keep 13 position players like last year, we will probably have the “starters” (Grandal, Gonzalez, Kendrick, Seager, Turner, Ethier, Pederson, Puig), plus AJ Ellis, Kike, Utley, Crawford, Van Slyke, leaving no room for anyone else. So what do they do with Guerrero? What about the new prospects they got from the Sox? What about Barnes? They really don’t have a back-up SS in that group (you don’t want either Turner or Kike playing there). Who do they use if they want to pinch run? (Crawford?)
The major league roster is constructed poorly and the “Brain Trust” calls it “depth”.
Dodger patch I agree it was good money wise, about Kemp, but if you had a choice before Kemp was traded, would you rather have Kemp on the Dodgers, or Ethier or Crawford? I think Kemp would have had a much better season last year, if he was on the Dodgers. I think that trade messed with his mind, even though he tried to not show he was upset. And I do like Grandal. Even Mark has said, that he prefered to have Kemp, over both Ethier, and Crawford. I’m past Kemp now, but I do understand what Bum said, because I was upset when Kemp was the one, that was traded.
I don’t really understand all the angst over the missing RP…Lets get into ST with all our xs of pitchers and see where we stand. Maybe Montas comes up big in ST, Yimi G. is a year older etc. etc…
The only job better than a stat guru, is a So Cal weather reporter who is wrong frequently and keeps his job… Of course now Jackie Johnson on ABC can hang around…
I take the Mets to win it all, but then I had the Nats last year…