Editorial: Dodgers Sign Two Infielders

Dodger GM Ned Colletti completed two deals during the Winter GM Meetings, signing Casey Blake and Mark Loretta to contracts.

Remember what I said about Casey Blake in my player profile of him?

I'll remind you:

"The free agent market for 3rd basemen is not strong at all... I guess I wouldn't mind seeing Blake back for the 2009 season. Maybe..."

Yeah, that's how enthusiastic I was about it. Still though, it's good to have a third baseman. There's nothing exciting about Casey Blake. We know what he's done in the past, and what he's likely to do in the future. But at least he provides us a solution to the 3rd base problem. He should be a solid 3rd baseman for at least the next two years. The third year, who knows? The fourth option year? Probably not.

But at least, in the present, he's our 3rd baseman. I guess it'll be nice to have a solid player there, if only for a little while. It's not a great signing, but it's good enough.

As for Mark Loretta, I do really like this signing, with a small caveat. The contract is good, one year, small amount of money. That's fine.

My issue is usage. This is a good signing if Joe Torre let's the infield be. What I mean by that is, this signing turns sour for me if Torre shoves Loretta into a starting role, benching a younger player in the process.

Loretta can player 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and even a little shortstop. He's pretty good against left handed pitchers. That's perfect for us. He'll be a good backup infielder and possible spot starter here and there, maybe against a lefty.

That would make this signing perfect for me. I'm sad to see Nomar go, as Loretta is almost certainly taking his spot on the team, but Loretta is a suitable replacement, as long as he's used right.