Dodgers acquire Hanley Ramirez, Randy Choate

The Dodgers have acquired shortstop/third baseman Hanley Ramirez and pitcher Randy Choate from the Marlins in exchange for pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and pitcher Scott McGough. Miami will not send over any money to help cover the salaries of Ramirez and Choate. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he couldn't pass up the chance to get a star like Ramirez.

"The addition of a hitter the caliber of Hanley Ramirez improves our lineup from top to bottom, inserting a run producer to go along with Matt and Andre", Colletti said. "We're excited for Hanley to begin a new chapter in Los Angeles."


Plenty of teams were interested in Hanley, however he has $37.3 million remaining on his contract and he is under team control through 2014. He has hit .246 this year, and his trade value is nothing like it used to be.

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly has told Ramirez that he will probably play shortstop until Dee Gordon returns from the disabled list, then he will have Ramirez slide over to third base.

Choate has had an excellent year, posting a 2.49 ERA in 25 1/3 innings for Miami. He will earn $1.5 million in his final season of a two-year, $2.5 million contract he signed. The Dodgers had been actively searching for a left handed reliever.

Eovaldi started ten games for Los Angeles this year, posting a 4.15 ERA in 56 1/3 innings. The 22 year old hurler ranked as the 96th best prospect in baseball before the season started, according to Baseball America. In five minor league seasons he has posted a combined 3.28 ERA with 7.4 K/9.

McGough, also 22 years old, has a 3.88 ERA with 9.1 K/9 in 34 innings at the Single-A level this year. He has averaged more than one strikeout per inning since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 draft.

Analysis: The Dodgers got a steal in this trade. Ramirez's value is so low right now and Los Angeles capitalized on it. I know he is having a rough season but I can certainly see him playing well with the Dodgers. They also got Randy Choate, who has been an excellent left handed specialist this year and last year. He is a solid pickup. The only problem is that Los Angeles now has to pay for Hanley's big contract, but with the new ownership i'm sure they'll find a way. As for Miami, what a collapse. They went from being talked about as World Series contenders to bottom feeders in the NL East. They got fleeced in this deal. Eovaldi could be a great pitcher someday, and we don't know too much about McGough. It seems like the Marlins front office just wanted to get rid of Ramirez and his contract at whatever the cost may be.