Ivan De Jesus Jr. Traded Again

It’s pretty slow time right now in Dodger land. So while we’re waiting for the next move from the GBM, we like to catch up with some old friends, and give you an update on where some of the former Dodgers who are now spread across the league are going to be playing for the 2013 season. As it turns out, Ivan De Jesus Jr. and Jerry Sands are now trade buddies.

We’ve learned that former Dodger prospect Ivan De Jesus Jr. has been traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Pirates in a six player trade that also involved another former Dodger prospect outfielder Jerry Sands. De Jesus was originally involved in the blockbuster trade that sent him and Sands from the Dodgers to the Red Sox, along with James Loney, and pitching prospect Rubby De La Rosa for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto. This time he was traded back to the National league with his fellow trade partner Jerry Sands.

Ivan De Jesus Jr. wasnt long for the Dodgers.-Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The Pirates traded closer Joel Harahan, and infielder Brock Holt to the Red Sox for pitching prospect Stolmy Pimentel, relief pitcher Mark Melancon, outfielder Jerry Sands, and infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr.

De Jesus, also known as IDJ, is the son of former big leaguer Ivan De Jesus Sr. who also once played for the Dodgers. The Dodgers drafted IDJ in the second round of the 2005 amateur draft. IDJ is just one in a long line of hit or miss former Dodger mid level type prospects. Once ranked fairly high, IDJ fell off the Dodger’s depth chart, and out of favor with the club.

De Jesus has played three seasons in triple-A, and has posted a career minor league triple slash line of .298/.370/.389. He has hit 30 home runs, and stolen 66 bases. Last season with Albuquerque before he was traded, IDJ hit .295 with one home run, 44 RBI, in 243 plate appearances.

De Jesus was first called up to the big leagues, when he made the Dodger’s opening day roster in 2011. De Jesus played in 17 games, batting a putrid .188 (6 for 32), in 35 plate appearances. The 25 year old prospect has split time between second base, and third base, primarily playing the keystone position.

Sands while with the Dodgers during spring training-Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

When I first saw De Jesus play at the big league level for the Dodgers in early 2011, I wasn’t very impressed. Although he had appeared before in previous spring training camps and I wasn’t impressed with him at those times either. He had very little to no plate discipline, or power, and his defense was suspect. The Dodgers sent him back down after only 17 games. He got only one more call-up with the Dodgers before he was traded to the Red Sox. In early 2012, the Dodgers called him up once again. This time around he played in 23 games, and posted a line of .273/.324/.364 (9 for 33) in 37 plate appearances.

It was obvious from the get go that De Jesus was not going to last very long with the Dodgers, especially after he was not given a September call-up in 2011. Both De Jesus and Sands fell off the Dodger’s depth chart very quickly because they were unable to show much progress with their plate discipline, and defense. Most prospects never make it to the majors, or don’t last long. It’s easy to see why a lot of these prospects are over hyped, probably because the Dodger farm system has been so thin over the last few years. (Thanks McCourt you scum!) Their real worth is as trade chips. It’s not surprising to me that both prospects were traded twice. De Jesus will now likely be battling for a roster spot in spring training, but he probably will slot as a bench guy, or pinch-hitter. We’ll never forget his go-ahead two-run pinch-hit double that won the game for the Dodgers back on May 22 at Arizona. We wish De Jesus all the best of luck in his new digs in Pittsburgh.