August 6th, 2012 at 9:36 am 
by Ron Cervenka The Dodgers have designated outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. for assignment and recalled outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands from Triple-A Albuquerque. Gwynn was batting .232 with a team-leading four triples and 17 RBI in 103 games with Los Angeles.
Sands, 24, has hit safely in his last 10 games with Triple-A Albuquerque, batting .476 (20-for-42) with six home runs and 21 RBI since July 27. Since the All-Star break, Sands leads the Pacific Coast League with nine home runs, a .733 slugging percentage and 28 RBI (T-1st) and ranks ninth with a .372 batting average in 23 games. He was selected as the league’s Player of the Week for the period of July 23-29 after becoming just the fifth player in PCL history to hit two grand slams in a game, doing so in the second game of Albuquerque’s doubleheader on July 29 at Nashville. Overall, the North Carolina resident is batting .286 with 21 homers and 82 RBI in 95 games with the Isotopes, including a .318 batting average with runners in scoring position. Sands will be making his second appearance with the Dodgers this season after hitting .200 with two doubles and an RBI in eight games during his first call-up in May and has a .248 batting average with four homers and 27 RBI in 69 career Major League games.
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Tony is a good guy to have around, limited in what he can give. He is a team player. I hope he gets to play elsewhere.
Having said that, I have been really anxious for Jerry to get a call since he caught fire a while ago. I want him to play, not be a bench player.
To continue: Obviously I love this move and it came before the September call up. The reasons are fairly clear to me. We need another bat, and Jerry’s is on fire. He can play 1B. Management is building as I hoped they would, with one eye on the present and the other on the future: Ramirez, Victorino, League are young enough to contribute beyond 2012. It does remain to be seen if Victorino is then signed as a FA when the season ends. Management wants to know now if Jerry has made the leap and is a major cog in the 2013+ wheel. That is, is he a replacement for James Loney? I really like James but we do have to upgrade at 1B since James no longer gives us 90 RBI a season and a high OBP.
I agree wholeheartedly, Bluenose Dodger. As much as I liked having Gwynn in LF as a late innings defensive replacement, he simply can’t hit – never could. The writing was on the wall with this one the day that the Dodgers acquired Shane Victorino.
This does, however, bring into question Rivera’s future with the team. Jerry has spent a great deal of time at 1B in Albuquerque and is (in my opinion) ready to be an everyday MLB first baseman. It will all be incumbent on how well he hits. He absolutely needs to come out smoking hot.
As always it’s sad to see guys like TGJ going elswhere but in this case all the transactions around the trading deadline worked against Tony. There is simply nowhere for him to be used. I’m just hoping that he’ll latch on to a team that can give him more playing time, and soon.
Good Luck to him.
As for Sands, it will be good if he can hit as well in the majors as he’s been doing in the minors and may either prove to be Victorino’s replacement or maybe our regular first baseman.
Wouldn’t it be nice if he could turn out to be another Paul Goldschmidt!
There’s no guarantee that Victorino will be a Dodger next season. I believe Sands is being looked at as a potential left fielder as well as first baseman. And, I still think we’d have been better off DFA’ing Uribe instead of Gwynn.
I agree, Dick, I do not think that Victorino will be a Dodger next year, but I believe that Yasiel Puig will be the everyday LF next season, with Sands as the everyday 1B (unless the Dodgers go after a free agent 1B during the off season).
As much as I would like to see Uribe DFA’d, Dick, keeping TGJ on the roster makes no sense right now. The only other third baseman besides Uribe is Jerry Hairston… and we don’t fully know whether Louis Cruz is the real deal or not just yet.
However, I like it just the way it is right now with Cruz at third and Ramirez at short. Cruz is proving to be quite the eye opener. If he can keep his game up, then he has to be in consideration for the future of the club… especially being such the bargain that he is right now.
I am wondering if Uribe will be designated for assignment with Adam Kennedy returns.
If Jerry demonstrates he can hit MLB pitching with some power, he will be our 1B player next year. I can’t see signing Victorino for three years with Puig coming along.
I expect that in due course Dee will be moved to 2B, with Hanley at SS and Corey Saeger at 3B. Well, a guy can dream, can’t he?
Another opportunity for Jerry. They don’t grow those on trees you know… Jerry will need to be smoking hot to put aside any further doubt.
TGJ had a nice run there. Hope he catches on somewhere and does the best with what he’s given. He’s a good egg.
I selfishly hope that nobody claims TGJ and he agrees to a MiLB contract with ABQ. He’s a good guy to have in your back pocket.