It’s been a busy day for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Just hours after trading for Jimmy Rollins, the club has traded second baseman Dee Gordon and starter Dan Haren to the Miami Marlins for pitcher Andrew Heaney, outfielder Kike Hernandez, pitcher Chris Hatcher, and catcher Austin Barnes.
Source: #Marlins getting Gordon from #Dodgers for Andrew Heaney. Deal agreed to, sorting through final paperwork. @Buster_ESPN said close
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 10, 2014
#Marlins also receiving Haren. Giving up Kike Hernandez, Hatcher and Barnes.
— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) December 10, 2014
Well, Miami did need a second baseman. Derek Dietrich was penciled in for the job in 2015 after Donovan Solano took a bulk of the reps at the position in 2014 and hit just .252/.300/.323 with three homers. In a 49 game stint in the majors in 2014, Dietrich hit .228/.326/.386 with five homers.
Gordon is likely a better option than either after a breakout 2014 campaign. In 148 games, he hit .289/.326/.378, stealing 64 bases at a 77% clip. However, Gordon’s numbers did fall off in the second half, as he walked only four times in 258 plate appearances and tallied just 13 extra base hits (after 25 in the first half).
Andrew Heaney is a heavy price to pay for Gordon, however. The 23-year old was the ninth overall pick in the 2012 Draft, and made his major league debut this season. In seven appearances (five starts), Heaney struck out 20 and walked seven, but six homers pushed his ERA all the way up to 5.83. In 24 appearances (23 starts) between AA and AAA this year, Heaney struck out 143 and walked 36 in 137 1/3 innings. It looks almost as if Miami is giving up on him far too soon.
The Haren part of the equation is interesting – could the Marlins have acquired him with the intent to flip him? Last month, he said he had no desire to play for a team other than the Dodgers or Angels. Miami is a long way from southern California. He’d slot nicely into the Marlins rotation after a 186 innings, 4.02 ERA season, but who knows if he’d even report to the Marlins instead of retiring?
The other three players heading to the Dodgers having varying degrees of usefulness. Hernandez was acquired during the summer from the Astros in the Jarrod Cosart trade. In 42 games between Houston and Miami, the 23-year old hit .248/.321/.421 with three homers. Hatcher is a 29-year old reliever that pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 56 innings in the majors this year, striking out 60 and walking 12. Barnes will turn 25 on Christmas Eve, and hit .304/.398/.472 with 13 homers between high-A and AA.
I’d probably side with the Dodgers on this deal – it looks like they sold high on Gordon, bought low on Heaney, and cleared some salary with Haren. But if the club isn’t able to pick up another suitable starting pitcher, and starts someone like Justin Turner, Darwin Barney, Erisbel Arruebarrena, or Alex Guerrero at second, will they really end up better off than if they had just kept Gordon and Haren?
