Dodgers Beat Me to the Punch, Demote Jerry Sands
June 9, 2011 at 2:27 pm | Posted in Trent Oeltjen | 27 Comments
No one’s going to believe me on this, but I was just now halfway through writing a post about how the Dodgers should demote Jerry Sands to Albuquerque and recall Trent Oeltjen to take his place. Halfway is apparently as far as I’m ever going to get, because Dylan Hernandez reports that the Dodgers have done just that. Predicting an otherwise out-of-nowhere move? Sounds award-winning to me.
Anyway, I’ve been okay with the idea of Sands getting sent down for some time now, and I’d fully expected him to be shipped out for Marcus Thames last week rather than Jay Gibbons. In fact, at the time I wrote that I’d had to shelve a post explaining why Sands should go that I was never able to use. Here’s the remnants of that draft:
I’m sure that many of you will find this to be a horrendous miscarriage of justice. You’ll wonder why the Dodgers just sent down the player with their second best May OPS. You’ll use this as further evidence that the Dodgers value mediocre veterans over talented young players. And you’ll wonder why Thames is even worth a roster spot in the first place.
These are all valid concerns. Believe me, when I flip on the game, I’d much rather watch Sands than Thames, Jay Gibbons, or Tony Gwynn, in much the same way I’d rather see Ivan DeJesus get a shot instead of Aaron Miles, or a potted plant instead of Juan Castro. I’d rather see players who could be a big part of the future than players that have no future here and barely even have a present. But I’m also not sure I can get on board with this being such a terrible idea.
On May 22, Sands went 4-4 in Chicago in an 8-3 loss to the White Sox, which was the game that saw both Rod Barajas and Andre Ethier collect minor injuries. Since then, Sands has just three hits in 35 plate appearances, dragging his season line down to .200/.294/.328. That’s not entirely fair, as that line represents his entire year, and he definitely showed large improvement in May as opposed to April.
(I updated the numbers in that last paragraph to reflect the last few days.)
Numbers aren’t everything, of course. When Sands arrived, we heard a great deal about his maturity, ability to make adjustments, and command of the strike zone. From this vantage point, all of what we’ve heard has been true and then some. Before his recent slump, he’d shown an increased ability to pull the ball, rather than always going the other way, and even when the power wasn’t there he was seeing a lot of pitches and getting on base.
By sending him back down now, you hope that he goes down knowing he can play on this level, with a few adjustments. This is where the maturity comes into play; some rookies can’t handle a demotion well, but Sands sounds like the type who can. Ideally, he goes back down to ABQ, mashes Triple-A pitching for a while to get his confidence back up (also important, as you don’t want a string of oh-fers in the bigs to get him down), and then we’ll see back up later in the summer. I’d say “when rosters expand on Sept. 1″, but I think we all know that injuries will necessitate a recall sooner.
Besides, not saying goodbye to the minors for good after making your big league debut is hardly the sign that a player is unable to be a productive major leaguer. Matt Kemp came up at 21 in 2006 and in his first 50 plate appearances, he wowed with seven HR and a 1.287 OPS. Over his next 83 plate appearances, he struck out 30 times with no homers and a .539 OPS, as pitchers realized he couldn’t lay off breaking balls low and away. That got him a ticket back to the minors until rosters expanded, and I think it’s worked out pretty well for him. The same can be said for Clayton Kershaw, who got a three-week trip back to AA after eight starts of varying quality in 2008.
So go ahead and be disappointed, because the part of me that watches the team everyday is as well. Just keep in mind that this is almost certainly the right thing for Sands long-term, and that’s where the focus of this team ought to be right now.
That’s how I felt a week ago, and nothing has changed today. Sands is a big part of this team’s future, and it’s in his best interest to go back down and get his confidence back up. He’s not helping the team right now, and he’s not helping himself. He’ll be back, and he’ll be better for the experience.
As for Oeltjen, the Australian lefty appeared in 14 late-season games for the Dodgers last year, and has been terrorizing AAA pitching to the tune of .339/.429/.583 this year. It’s to be expected that we consider that an ABQ creation and while it’s true he’s been ridiculous at home (.382/.451/.607), he’s still been productive on the road (.297/.407/.560), with his eight homers split evenly. He’s not likely to see much playing time, but he can spot at all three outfield positions and is likely to be a Gibbons-esque lefty bench bat. To make room on the 40-man roster, pitcher Luis Vazquez was DFA’d.
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Oeltjen is bad at defense, in any position, but is truly a good hitter who has never gotten a shot. I’m not averse to him turning out to be the LFer going forward during his control years, if he turns out to hit and run like he should, and shifting Sands to 1B
Comment by Alireza— June 9, 2011 #
It was apparent that Sands had fallen from immediate favor when Loney was chosen over him to pinch hit against a lefty last night. Still don’t understand that move, but maybe they didn’t want Sands screwing up Ned’s planned roster move by taking Hamels deep. (just kidding)
Still, if it were my move, Thames would be DFA’d (isn’t he Garrett Anderson all over again?) and Sands would play every day in left field and spot start at first base against lefties. Not sure if I prefer Oeltjen over Gibbons as a lefty bat off the bench.
Comment by SamAdams— June 9, 2011 #
How could one not screw up more than Loney last night?
Comment by Bob Springer— June 9, 2011 #
Mike,
I look at the other Blogs, and yours is my favorite. Although I think you still have to work on your video presentation. And seriously sometimes the others have HUNDREDS of comments to wade thru–the tiny amount of posters you get (HA) is much more manageable.
Keep up the great work and what is your next prediction? Thames DFA? we wish!
David
Comment by DAVID S— June 9, 2011 #
I’m somewhat disappointed about the Vasquez DFA. I heard, I forget where, that he could throw 100 MPH. Plus, Mike MacDougal would have been a better DFA. Oh well.
Comment by juan— June 9, 2011 #
MacDougal? Really. The guy has been the best reliever the Dodgers have had since opening day. If you meant Cormier or Guerrier (overplaced clown, thanks Ned) I would be good. But MacDougal has been worth every cent of his ML minimum contract.
Comment by grabarkewitz— June 9, 2011 #
Absolutely! MacDougal has done well. He was a closer before he got hurt and he’s finally healthy again.
Comment by SamAdams— June 9, 2011 #
How’s that MacDougal doing for ya now?
Comment by Bob Springer— June 9, 2011 #
Oh Bob. Boo. Opportunistic post.
Comment by Money— June 10, 2011 #
Not sure what you’re referring to, Bob. MacDougal didn’t give up a single run last night!
Comment by Dave Pomerantz— June 10, 2011 #
I do recall Tent also having some speed which is something this lineup needs on the base paths too!
Comment by Aaron M. Gould— June 9, 2011 #
Oly can run, I can attest to that, though he’s not the smartest baserunner out there.
Whenever Sands gets here, I’ll have some reaction-type stuff. The real mystery, though, is now that De Jesus is back, who bats leadoff for the Topes. It had been Velez, but they’re gonna play the 40-man guy over the ex-Giant at second base. Maybe Trayvon will get to hit leadoff. We shall see…
Comment by Chris Jackson— June 9, 2011 #
If Sands is who they think he is, then he’ll be back. I wouldn’t say that Thames is GA all over again, and you can thank the disabled list for that. I like that they brought up another young kid though. Tony Gwynn, Jr. continues to survive. Eventually, we’ll see Trayvon up in the bigs. I wonder if Sands gets extended time at 1b because with Robinson in LF, you would think that’s where his future lies.
Comment by Chapter1ne— June 9, 2011 #
2010 Garret Anderson–.181/.204/.271
2011 Marcus Thames–.143/.182/.333
Not a lot to choose between there.
Comment by SamAdams— June 9, 2011 #
Mike, in regards to your comment about Castro being replaced by a potted plant, you should start using a baseball metric that I have grown to love: VORG. VORG stands for “Value Over Replacement Gap”. Basically it is the same as VORP but remove the average player and just imagine there is empty space where that player was.
Comment by Goober— June 9, 2011 #
I just hope he goes back to ABQ and crushes. You could see the potential in him, despite him probably not being quite ready for the Show.
Comment by game6ers— June 9, 2011 #
I am absolutely fine with this. This is what the minors are FOR: experience, reps, and working through issues and growing pains in a less high pressure environment. The big club shouldn’t be an on the job training laboratory.
Comment by Terrel Pruett— June 9, 2011 #
this mite be the bestthing for sands rite now until then we have no left fielder and barajas sucks . remember when him and Matt kemp were tied in homeruns and eithier was his behind them. well ya we all know the rest. Barajas hasn’t hit one in a month and eithier lost his power stroke
Comment by scullyfan24— June 9, 2011 #
I agree, Sands will be back, & better.
Speaking of guys who are struggling with the bat, I’ve got a question for you Mike.
When Uggla went to Atlanta, I was really bugged that we didn’t make a play for him, especially with our gaping hole at 2nd & lack of offense/power. Now that he’s completely falling apart (.170), do you think it could be the time to come to the rescue with a deal to take him off Atlanta’s hands while his stock is so low? There’s no way he doesn’t break out of this slump sooner or later.
Comment by Kirk— June 9, 2011 #
Whoa… I hate to be a dick, but that’s the worst idea I’ve heard in quite a while. I didn’t think Uggla was worth $62mil/5 years BEFORE the slump – he’s a 31 year 2nd baseman who can’t really play second base. AND I hope Ned learned his lesson about “There’s no way he doesn’t break out of this slump sooner or later” after the Andruw debacle.
Comment by Dave Pomerantz— June 10, 2011 #
You make a good point. Definitely way too much money for too little. So what my question really should be is, if you think one of our bigger needs is a 2B with decent pop (aside from the all too obvious bullpen black hole), who’d you go after by the end of next month?
Comment by Kirk— June 13, 2011 #
Nice that Oeltjen getting a leigt shot to stick! Makes you wonder why they are delaying the inevitable Robinson recall…guess it makes sense to wait until September or after the trade deadline…Oeltjen is a good kid, a legit success story here in Australia and one that is seen as an asset to the growth of the sport here in Oz…
So really, when is Ellis getting his recall? It’s clear the Barajas/Navarro platoon is a monumental bust as predicted, so why not cut bait now and make it official…
Comment by Rob C— June 9, 2011 #
Trent going to kill it. Just hope he get some ABs I love watch my dodgers now. I take back every bad comment about donnie. N
Comment by Jaydavis— June 9, 2011 #
Usually 95% w/ the Illness. This is in the 5%.
Boo.
Comment by Money— June 10, 2011 #
I’m fine with Sands going down, but Trent Oeltjen? really?
Comment by Mike G— June 10, 2011 #
[...] the question, though: do you call up Sands or Trayvon Robinson? When the Dodgers shipped off Sands, which at the time I agreed with, the idea was that he just needed to get his confidence back, not that there was any specific giant [...]
Pingback by Which Prospect Could Replace Marcus Thames? « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 25, 2011 #
[...] survived, with Jay Gibbons surprisingly getting the axe on the day that Dee Gordon arrived, but just over a week later it was Sands’ turn: Numbers aren’t everything, of course. When Sands arrived, we heard a [...]
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