The Dodgers acquired the left-handed hitting reserve they were seeking late Tuesday, agreeing to acquire Torrance native Skip Schumaker from the St. Louis Cardinals, pending a physical.
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Schumaker’s physical is scheduled for Wednesday.
Though the exact package was not known, the Dodgers are expected to send minor league infielder Jake Lemmerman to St. Louis in the trade. Lemmerman, also a Southern California native (Corona Del Mar), batted .233 for Double-A Chattanooga last season and played for Team Israel at the World Baseball Classic qualifier. The Dodgers took Lemmerman in the fifth round of the 2010 draft out of Duke University.
He’s been retweeting various welcome-to-St.-Louis tweets tonight.
Schumaker, 32, is a career .288 hitter who can play second base and all three outfield positions. Though he was used as a utility player most of the last two seasons, Schumaker has reached at least 300 plate appearances every season since 2008.
He’s a career .305/.359/.403 hitter against right-handed pitchers and .205/.276/.245 against left-handers, so his role off the Dodgers’ bench seems pretty clear.
Schumaker has one year and $1.5 million left on his contract. He’s reunited in Los Angeles with former Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire. Schumaker still lives in Laguna Niguel.
The Dodgers currently have 40 players on their 40-man roster, so a corresponding roster move would have to be announced before Schumaker can be officially added.
