Matt Kemp’s sprained ankle is worse than originally thought.

Matt Kemp

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp has made three separate trips to the disabled list this season. (Getty Images)

Injured center fielder Matt Kemp won’t come off the disabled list once he’s eligible next Tuesday, when the Dodgers visit the St. Louis Cardinals, and there is no timetable for his return. Kemp sprained his left ankle July 21.

“By the time all four (outfielders) are ready to play, we’ll be a few weeks from the end” of the season, general manager Ned Colletti said.

Continue reading “Matt Kemp’s sprained ankle is worse than originally thought.” »

Deadline lackluster: Dodgers acquire catcher Drew Butera from the Minnesota Twins.

The Dodgers have acquired catcher Drew Butera from the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later.

Update (1:55 p.m.): The final deal is Butera for a player to be named later or cash. He will report to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Butera, 29, was batting .229 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 26 games for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings. He also appeared in two major-league games this season, going 0 for 3.

Butera missed two months earlier this season with a broken finger after being hit on the left hand by a Ramon Ortiz pitch in a Triple-A game. Butera played for Italy in the World Baseball Classic and hit .375 in 16 spring at-bats for the Twins. He is the son of former Twins catcher and current Toronto Blue Jays scout Sal Butera.

As one of five catchers listed on the Twins’ 40-man roster, Butera was expendable. He’ll give the Dodgers some organizational depth at the position behind A.J. Ellis, Tim Federowicz and John Baker, and could be in line for a call-up in September when rosters expand.

Butera gives the Dodgers 40 players on their 40-man roster.

That was the only trade the Dodgers completed before Wednesday’s 1 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. Teams can still trade players who pass through waivers before August 31.

Padres unite Ian Kennedy, Carlos Quentin in trade with Diamondbacks.

The Dodgers haven’t completed any trades this morning, and don’t appear to be close on any either. They have had some interest in making trades within their division, but that’s a difficult proposition. Especially when you’re in first place, the rest of the division trying to knock you off your perch.

That didn’t stop the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres from pulling off a rare intradivision swap Wednesday morning. The Padres receive starting pitcher Ian Kennedy, while the Diamondbacks receive relief pitcher Joe Thatcher, minor-leaguer Matt Stites and a draft pick.

The trade unites Kennedy and outfielder Carlos Quentin in San Diego, the two players responsible for inciting benches-clearing brawls with the Dodgers this season.

Daily Distractions: How Ned Colletti plans to upgrade the Dodgers’ bench.

Andre Ethier reacts happily to scoring the game-winning run Tuesday. (John McCoy/Staff photographer)

When Yasiel Puig was in the midst of his historic first week with the Dodgers, one question hovered around the team: What would the Dodgers do if all four outfielders were healthy?

Since then, the question has quietly faded into the background. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and Puig have been healthy enough to play in the same game exactly once. That game ended with Kemp spraining his ankle and going back on the disabled list, and he’s still there.

So with the trade deadline set for 1 p.m. today, the Dodgers are expected to keep all four outfielders.

I asked Ned Colletti about it anyway, and his response was interesting.

“You always talk about addressing your bench,” he said. “That’s something we think about, but when you get your four outfielders back, you’ve got somebody that’s not starting that game, that’s obviously a really good problem.”

Basically, Colletti turned the question of how to handle the four-outfielder situation into a question about how to upgrade the Dodgers’ bench. The answer is that either Kemp, Crawford, Puig or Ethier becomes a bench player as soon as Kemp comes off the disabled list (and Don Mattingly said Tuesday that he plans to play Kemp as soon as he comes off the DL). It makes sense; the Dodgers won’t be able to acquire a better bench player in a trade today without mortgaging their farm system. And — getting way ahead of ourselves here — if the Dodgers advance to the World Series they will have an obvious choice for a designated hitter sitting on their bench, a luxury few National League teams enjoy when they play in an American League park.

The likely takeaway: Ethier isn’t going anywhere today and the Dodgers aren’t likely to add a position player. They aren’t closing the book on adding a starting pitcher, but are not desperate for change with Chris Capuano pitching adequately for a number-five and Stephen Fife preparing to come off the DL. (The teams that pull the trigger on last-minute deals usually do so with a sense of desperation.)

There are some question marks in the bullpen in Carlos Marmol (13.50 ERA) and Chris Withrow (nine career games), but there are also reinforcements waiting in Brian Wilson and Jose Dominguez. So don’t be surprised if the Dodgers stand pat.

Some bullet points for a trade deadline day:
Continue reading “Daily Distractions: How Ned Colletti plans to upgrade the Dodgers’ bench.” »

Dodgers officially sign Brian Wilson.

Brian WilsonThe Dodgers officially announced a one-year, major-league contract with free agent right-hander Brian Wilson this afternoon. The former Giants closer will report to the Dodgers’ facility in Glendale, Arizona to begin his comeback from Tommy John surgery.

“The one thing we’ve talked about is that power quality arm on the back end,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “This is another guy that gives us that, we think, (who can) get the ball to Kenley [Jansen]. It’s one of the areas we felt could still help us.”

In his prime Wilson was a three-time All-Star (2008, 2009, 2011) and saved a major-league high 163 games from 2008-11. He saved six games in seven tries during the 2010 postseason, and was on the mound when the Giants clinched their 2010 World Series victory. He pitched only two games in April 2011 before having the season-ending surgery.
Continue reading “Dodgers officially sign Brian Wilson.” »