Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune first tweeted the deal of Darwin Barney being shipped from the Chicago Cubs to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Other reports have the Dodgers receiving some cash and the Cubs get Mr. PTBNL (player to be named later). Here’s the Dodgers official Twitter…
The #Dodgers have acquired IF Darwin Barney and cash considerations from the @Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 28, 2014
This may be a surprise to some since Dee Gordon seems to be the Dodgers second baseman, but it provides manager Don Mattingly that late-inning defensive replacement. Barney is an outstanding defender. He won the Gold Glove in 2012 and should have duplicated the feat the following season. He owns the defensive metrics.
As far as the offense of Darwin Barney is concerned, that’s a different matter. Over his four-plus seasons with the Cubs, his slashline was .244/.290/.335. The Dodgers obviously didn’t make this trade for his bat.
Barney was designated for assignment by the Cubs on July 22.
On the surface, the acquisition of Barney from the Cubs may not look like much. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal believes there could be something else to this deal.
#Dodgers’ pickup of Barney could be interpreted as a lack of confidence in Guerrero and Arruebarrena short-term…
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2014
#Dodgers optioned Arruebarrena to Class A Rancho Cucamonga after he triggered brawl with slow HR trot while on rehab assignment at Triple A.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2014
The Dodgers shelled out some cash to obtain Alex Guerrero and Erisbel Arruebarrena, the players to which Rosenthal refers in the first tweet. Guererro received a four-year, $28 million deal. The contract Arruebarrena inked was for five years and $25 million.
If the name Erisbel Arruebarrena rings a bell, it might be due to this…