Fansided Fake Winter Meetings,Van Slyke Traded To Mariners For Two Pitchers

Can you imagine me as a GM guys?  What moves would I make? Which guys would I fire? It’s a scary thought isn’t it? I would probably run the biggest anti-bunting campaign in Dodger history. Every bunt is a 500 dollar fine! I would easily declare. That and Coola-Coos for everyone! And a Dodger Dog per hour. Hey I’m not a monster.

Being the GM of a Major League Baseball club is a mighty stressful job. And who needs that kind of actual stress? Plus the millions of dollars I would be earning. Not me that’s for sure. Instead of wringing my hands in stress, I’m actually kicking my feet up on the couch.

That’s what this Fansided Faux, mock, whatever you want to call it, fake winter meetings are all about. Alan Carpenter has annoyed the entire MLB division for a reason dag nabbit. And that’s to bring you hours upon hours of Baseball entertainment, and fake hot stove goodness. (points finger at reader) It goes down smooth, and is rich and creamy with trades and free agent signings.

So by now you are all probably dying to know what trades I’ve made so far. Well, I have made two. The time has come. The time to trade Scott Van Slyke.

I know I know everybody likes him. I do to, but if I’m the GM, and somebody approaches me, I’m going to do the GM thing and listen on everyone. Except for Yasiel Puig. I can assure you I am not stupid. He’s not going anywhere. And I can tell you this right now, neither is Matt Kemp for that matter.

Well, the way this started was Seattle’s GM emailed me about Scott Van Slyke. He asked me if he was available. So I thought, what do the Dodgers need more than anything?

Before I go any further, I want to reiterate that this is a fake trade. This did not happen in real life. This is fake again. I have to make that disclaimer. Because if the Dodgers actually do go on and trade Scott Van Slyke for two middle relievers from Seattle, then things are going to get mighty confusing around here aren’t they?

So I Traded Scott Van Slyke to the Mariners for two young cost controlled pitchers. 23-year old right hander Dominic Leone, and 27-year old left hander Lucas Luetge.

Both of these pitchers are under team control for the next few years, cheap, and talented. With this move I feel like I’ve strengthened something that has been a team weakness. That is of course middle relief. Here are two young pitchers under team control that can pitch in the seventh and eighth innings, and or long relief.

Leone has a nice mid to late 90’s fastball, and a good slider. He profiles as a solid high leverage middle reliever. In 2014, Leonne pitched in 57 games in his first MLB season. He posted an 8-2 record, 2.17 ERA, and a 3.07 FIP. He whiffed 70 and walked just 25 in 66.1 innings pitched. He is under team control through 2020.

In Luetge we would be getting a solid left hander, with great splits. Luetge has held left handers to a career .211 batting average against. Luetge has posted a 4.47 ERA in three career MLB seasons. He has a 3-5 career record in 110 games.

What Scott Van Slyke brings the Mariners is some right handed pop off the bench. Van Slyke could be a starter at the corner outfield positions, first base, or he could DH as well. Van Slyke batted .297 (63 for 212) for the Dodgers in 2014 with a .386 OBP in 248 plate appearances. In 98 games Van Slyke blasted 11 home runs with 29 runs batted in. He posted an OPS of .910, while splitting time between the outfield, first base, and the bench.

I’ll miss him too. But the bullpen has to be fixed, namely the middle relief. It’s beyond poor, and the Dodgers can’t survive without it. This is a trade I would make in real life. Getting two good young middle relievers and only having to give up Scott Van Slyke sounds like a win-win to me.

In a corresponding move, I am going to be designating for assignment catcher Drew Butera. I’ll explain why in the next post. The meetings are still going on, and I also put in a bid for a special free agent. Dying to know who I’m going to be wasting some of my imaginary money on? You’ll have to wait until the next article to find out. As the Fansided fake winter meetings continue.

All I know is this. Everything I do, I do for the good of the Dodgers. Somebody better hide Brandon League for a few more days. I may trade him to Alaska.