Wake Me When July Ends

When this year's July trading deadline approaches, the question will be whether the Dodgers will be buyers or sellers. However an inside sources with the Dodgers claims that the McCourts' are absolute with their belief that they will be in contention come the deadline and will be looking to bolster the club. That may or may not be the same mentality of Ned Colletti, who more and more looks like he is still on the Giants payroll. In any case, the Dodgers are an interesting mix that on paper still has a chance to win a very mediocre division.

Sleepy Odalis Perez has probably pitched his final game in the rotation. Sunday is his spot in the rotation but that has been given to Aaron Sele who was called up from AAA last night after Perez was placed on bereavment leave. When he returns, the question then becomes what role he will have in the bullpen. With the lack of a solid reliever in the pen, Odalis may become a viable option as the long man or set up man in the 7th and 8th innings. Whether Sele stays in the rotation is up to him, and the Dodgers do have the option to bring up Chad Billingsley from AAA as well.

With all that being said, the Dodgers also have the option to look outside the club for an arm. Cesar Izturis will be coming back in mid-June and has already clashed with management over his role with the club. Rafa Furcal is already at short, Kent is a fixture at second due to Nomar Garciaparra's improved play at first base plus his penchant for getting walk-off hits. Bill Mueller is a permanent fixture at third, so unless Cesar comes around to the idea of manning the outfield, he is going to have to be moved. A name that has been surfacing lately is Dontrell Willis who is off to a 1-3 start in Florida and is only signed through the end of the year. His contract at 4.5 million is also pretty affordable, and a Marlin club struggling with rookies and mediocre players will benefit from a player like Izturis. It may also be a Mike Piazza deal, an inbetween stop before Izturis' final destination.

Another name that is interesting is Tony Armas Jr. from Washington, who is also signed for one year and is on a club that is going nowhere fast. With the Nats also looking to dump Alfonso Soriano during the trade deadline, look for the Nats and the Dodgers to have some pretty productive talks in late June and early July.

As far as what the Dodgers can give up, they have options to package in deal. Andre Either is an attactive player that many have inquired about. Dioner Navarro is a promissing catcher but the emergence of Russ Martin may make him expendable. Jason Repko as well may be a target by many looking to wheel and deal. In any case, the Dodgers have options beyond Izturus and will be looking to package a player that has been given a chance and may not have been all that Paul DePodesta expected.

Then there is the ever agonizing situation with Jason Werth, who is on the extended DL and may or may not be able to recover from his wrist injury. As some in the Dodger's organization have speculated, Werth may be able to return this season, and when he does he can be an added force to the line-up. Imagine a line up featuring Lofton-Furcal-Garciaparra-Drew-Kent-Mueller-Werth-Martin. That's a pretty solid bunch if Werth can return to the 2004 form that saw him hit .379 down the stretch.

More to come.