Could Scott Hairston help the Dodgers in 2013?

Scott Hairston is still a free agent and our Los Angeles Dodgers should act quickly to pluck him from New York. Word is that Scott is looking to either re-sign with the Mets or change dugouts and join their cross town rivals, the vaunted Yankees. Why should the Dodgers sign Scott Hairston? To compliment Andre Ethier.We know that as a complete package, Andre Ethier is a good player. What you may or not be aware of is that versus right handed pitchers, Ethier is an excellent player. Against southpaws he is a very below average hitter. Luckily for the Dodgers and for Ethier, nearly three quarters of the starters in the national league are right handed, so nearly three quarters of the time Andre Ethier is very good. That doesn’t mean that the other 25% of the time can’t be improved.

Here are his splits by year:

2012 versus R: .325 AVG, 16 HR, .546 SLG, .398 OBP.  59% better than an average NL hitter.
2012 versus L: .222 AVG,  4 HR, .330 SLG, .276 OBP.  41% worse than average.

2011 versus R: .321 AVG, 10 HR, .468 SLG, .410 OBP.  47% better than average.
2011 versus L: .220 AVG, 1 HR, .305 SLG, .258 OBP.  43% worse than average.

2010 versus R: .318 AVG, .20 HR, 564 SLG, .396 OBP. 59% better than average.
2010 versus L: .233 AVG, 3 HR, .333 SLG, .292 OBP.  30% worse than average.

Andre Ethier is a beast versus right handed pitchers. Adversely, Andre Ethier is one of the very worst hitters in all of baseball when a lefty toes the rubber. To further exasperate the issue, the emergence of the left handed relief specialist has slowed his knack for late game heroics. Opposing managers just bring in a lefty when Ethier comes up with the game on the line – and why wouldn’t they?

Here is where Scott Hairston comes in.   Let’s take a look at his splits:

2012 versus L: .286, 11 HR, .550 SLG, .317 OBP.  35% better than average.

Career versus L: .276 AVG, 39 HR, .500 SLG, .325 OBP.  19% better than average.

I won’t include his statistics for all seasons nor his splits versus right handers since the point here is to bring him in as a platoon partner. And in fairness, as recently as 2010 Hairston showed a reverse split. Rumors have it that he’s looking for a two year deal, and if two-years and 6 million will do the trick the Dodgers should jump on it. Using their career numbers, if we use Andre 75% of the time and Hairston 25% of the time, the total stat line will look something like: .310, .525 SLG, .365 OBP.

This duo should combine for 25 – 30 HR and rank about 40% better than the average NL hitter. This makes for a top 10 outfielder in all of baseball. Certainly not on the level of a Braun or a Trout, but think Matt Holliday circa 2012 (unfortunately not the 2007 Holliday).  Matt Holliday was the fifth most valuable outfielder in all of baseball last year according to wRC+. Now this is just back-of-napkin math, but it’s significant. It also takes away the oppositions ability to use a lefty specialist as long as Hairston is on the bench.

So join the grass roots movement today. Sign Scott Hairston – the only viable lefty-masher left on the market.

In other news:

The Dodgers have signed Matt Palmer, Brian Barden and Ramon Castro to minor league deals, while the White Sox have signed former Dodger Ramon Troncoso.

Palmer is intriguing as he posted a respectable season with the Angels in 2009 which included 13 starts but he has gotten progressively worse since then. Castro is a career journeyman who didn’t play in the majors in 2012, struggled in 2011 but had one of his finest seasons in 2010 and has always been considered as passable behind the plate. Barden provides 3B depth in case of the dreaded injury bug.

Troncoso enjoyed a very successful campaign with the Dodgers in 2009 but slipped into mediocrity in 2010 before seeing his 2011 derailed by injuries. He didn’t pitch in the majors in 2012, spending the season in AAA, but he’s just 3 years removed from a strong showing and the Sox aren’t risking much by taking the gamble.

I’m not exactly sure why. Some people tend to think that the Dodgers are still going to trade Andre Ethier, and that Hunter is going to take over in right field. I can tell you right now, that that’s not going to happen. The Dodger’s outfield for 2013 is already set. Carl Crawford in left, Matt Kemp in center, and Andre Ethier in right. So why would the Dodgers want Hunter? The only reason I can think of is because they need a fourth outfielder. That’s the reason the Dodgers are even talking to him. They need a fourth outfielder, and obviously Hunter would be a good one. But the thing is, The Dodgers don’t need him.

The Dodgers have been talking to Torii Hunter, but is he a good fit for the Blue?-Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

There are a lot of options for fourth outfielders out there. So why would the Dodgers want to spend a ton of money on a part time player? They could easily only spend a couple of million and get someone like a Scott Hairston who would be almost as good as Hunter would be in this role.  Not to mention that Hunter doesn’t want to be a part time player. For the role, Hunter would be great. The 37 year old right handed hitting outfielder is still a good player. He hasn’t really started to decline yet, but I expect him to soon. It’s just a fact of Baseball life, he’s 37 years old. Would he be a part time platoon partner for Ethier? He would be a fit for that role since he’s a righty hitting outfielder who can play all three positions. Although like I’ve said before, I don’t agree with that idea. We don’t really need a platoon partner for Ethier, although if that’s what the Dodgers are going to do, then fine. Not to say that Hunter isn’t a good hitter.

He’s been a good hitter his entire career. He was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 1993 draft. He didn’t make his MLB debut until 1997. Yes, he’s been playing for a long time. He began his career with the Twins, and played with Minnesota from 1997-2007. During his tenure with the Twins he hit 20+ home runs six times, and drove in 90 or more runs five times. He’s always been a solid hitter with good power. He walks a lot too, averaging around 50 per season and all total 577 during his 16 year major league career. Hunter is a career .277 hitter with a career .335 OBP, and .801 OPS. He’s hit 297 home runs, driven in 1,143 runs, and stolen 187 bases.

Hunter is most well known for his defensive skills as a center fielder. Hunter can play all three outfield positions, but his main position is center field, where he has played in over 1500 games. Hunter has won nine gold gloves, and garnered a reputation for climbing the fences and robbing guys of home runs. This earned him the nickname of spider man.

Torii Hunter-Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Hunter became a free agent after the 2007 season, and signed a five year 90 million dollar contract with the Angels. Last season he had another solid year. He posted a line of .313/.365/.451, with an OPS of .817 in 140 games. He hit 16 home runs, and drove in 92 runs. Hunter is still a productive player, there is no question but how much money would he demand? He made 18 million dollars last season in the final year of his contract with the Angels. Several teams including the Dodgers have engaged him, but it’s unclear how much he would get. Will Hunter ask for a multi-year contract? How much would you be willing to invest in a 37 year old center fielder?

The Dodgers are much better off trying to go after someone like a Scott Hairston. If you remember I advocated signing him last week. He may not be as talented as Hunter, but he’s much much cheaper, and still pretty good. Hunter seems like overkill to me. We don’t need an all-star as a fourth outfielder on the bench. We just need someone reliable who can hit, and play all over the outfield, backing up in center field if needed.

I know I advocated signing the 37 year old Hiroki Kuroda, but that’s an entirely different scenario and need. A top ranked starting pitcher is much more valuable than a fourth outfielder. I think Torii Hunter (Torii spelled with two I’s) is too old and expensive. Or at least too old and expensive for a part time role. That’s the opinion of this Dodger fan. I think we should pass.