December 28th, 2013 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka To say that the recent acquisitions of relievers Chris Perez and Jamey Wright by the Dodgers was a bit of a surprise would be a gross understatement. After all, re-signing Brian Wilson and J.P Howell, bringing back Paco Rodriguez and Chris Withrow (and even newcomer Onelki Garcia) and having a healthy Jose Dominguez meant that aside from Ronald Belisario, the Dodgers had their entire 2013 bullpen back.
But where the surprise really comes into play is that the Dodgers just picked up Seth Rosin in the Rule 5 Draft from the Phillies (through the Mets), meaning that if Rosin is not on the Dodgers 25-man roster for the entire 2014 season, he has to be offered back to the Phillies; and with last week’s signing of Perez and Wright to guaranteed MLB contracts, I simply do not see where Rosin fits into the Dodgers bullpen or how he can possibly make the opening day roster.
In a matter of two days, 25-year-old Seth Rosin went from having a good chance of making the Dodgers opening day roster to now having little chance of making it.
(Photo credit – Ralph Trout)
Granted, anything can happen between now and opening day and injuries will undoubtedly occur during spring training, but not having Rosin on the 25-man roster is not an option for the Dodgers if they want to keep him; and I have to believe that the Phillies would definitely want him back.
Without trying to beat a dead horse, signing Perez and Wright to guaranteed MLB contracts pretty much means that Chris Withrow and Jose Dominguez will most likely begin the 2014 season at Triple-A Albuquerque and it goes directly against “Phase II” of Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten’s plan to “get younger.” But what it does do is once again prove Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti’s propensity for snubbing young Dodger players and prospects, just as he has done throughout his eight years as the Dodgers GM.
When you compare Perez to Withrow, there is… well… no comparison. In 54 innings pitched in 2013, Perez was 5-3 with a 4.33 ERA. He walked 21 while striking out 54 for a K/BB ratio of 2.57 and had a rather unimpressive WHIP of 1.426. Withrow, on the other hand, was 3-0 with an ERA of 2.60 in 34.2 innings pitched. He walked 13 while striking out 43 for a K/BB ratio of 3.31 and had an outstanding WHIP of 0.952. The simple question here is: who would you rather have in your bullpen as a middle reliever, Chris Perez and his ‘baggage’ or Chris Withrow, who has clearly proven himself as an excellent reliever?
Withrow made his MLB debut on June 12, 2013 and promptly struck out Dbacks centerfielder A.J. Pollock.
(Ron Cervenka – ThinkBlueLA.com)
Of course there are those who suspect that Colletti acquired Perez and Wright to shore up the Dodger bullpen in preparation for a pending blockbuster trade, but even this makes little sense. Why would the Dodgers even consider including Withrow and/or Dominguez in a trade package when their most attractive top pitching prospects are starters?
While the Chris Perez and Jamey Wright signings make absolutely no sense to Dodger fans, imagine what Seth Rosin must be thinking about them.
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For once I think I’ll take the Joe Pierre approach- “We’ll have to wait and see what happens”! I can’t help but think Ned has something up his sleeve.
I’m not buying into the conspiracy theory, Dick. I think that the Dodgers will make a full-on frontal assault to get Tanaka, but if they do not (or even if they do) I think Ned is done for this off-season – well… except for that little Kershaw thing, that is.
If Jamey Wright or Chris Perez were starters I might buy into the ‘Ned has something up his sleeve’ thing, but neither of them are valuable trade pieces – but Chris Withrow and Jose Dominguez definitely are; but they are also far more talented that Wright and Perez, so why kick them aside?
In my opinion, the Dodger bullpen got worse not better with the Wright and Perez acquisitions.
Seth Rosin will land on his feet. He seems like a fine young man. Ned seems to prefer risky characters. I’m saying that in sarcasm but I do expect he is all in favor of “experience”. Have I ever mentioned that experience is overrated as evidenced by the plethora of experienced guys brought on through free agency – costing more that $1B – with very small return and no WS rings?
We will have to wait and see as something definitely must be in the works, perhaps a three way trade. As mentioned, Chris Withrow is no longer “in waiting”. He has arrived and will only get better.
The element that I don’t get is the Perez signing unless they are thinking he is some sort of great reclamation project. He isn’t an upgrade in any sense of the term and has been roundly classified as a “head case.” Jamey Wright on the other hand is a solid pickup. Even though he is a bit long in the tooth he has actually improved over the past two years. He serves a very different purpose of eating innings and stabilizing games that are going south. I like the signing for this year. Even though it doesn’t make the team any younger, he has become quite the crafty reliever. I have to think Withrow will make it somehow, but Dominguez still needs to prove he can maintain command of the strike zone.
Am I right in thinking that Wright and or Perez are not the ones that could possibly be involved in a trade but more likely to be someone like Withrow, Dominquez or some other young farmhand?
This is exactly the point Joe – Perez and Wright have very little trade value whereas Withrow and Dominguez (and Zach Lee and Chris Reed and Ross Stripling and Joc Pederson and Cory Seager and Scott Schebler and Jarret Martin, etc.) most definitely do.
This is why I do not see the acquisitions of Perez or Wright as a precursor to a trade because, quite frankly, nobody would want them. They are nothing more than roadblocks for young pitchers already in the Dodgers farm system.
Could it be the reason why they signed Wright and Perez, was to put Withrow and Dominquez on the side to be traded later when the time comes?