LA Dodgers Acquire Shane Victorino from Phillies

July 31, 2012

The Los Angeles Dodgers front office continued its push toward the World Series today by acquiring Philadelphia Phillies' outfielder Shane Victorino in exchange for right-handed reliever Josh Lindblom, minor league right-hander Ethan Martin, and a player to be named later or cash considerations.

“We’re excited to add an All-Star caliber player with postseason experience,” said GM Ned Colletti. “He plays the game with passion, gives us a top of the order bat from both sides of the plate, can steal bases, and is solid defensively in the outfield.”

It has been an impressive week thus far for the Dodgers brass. After adding a legitimate middle-of-the-lineup threat last week in Hanley Ramirez, and then adding a quality righty reliever yesterday in former Mariner Brandon League, LA swooped in on the last day of trading deadline to nab a very good outfielder in Victorino.

Victorino has been a noted villain at the Ravine ever since Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch over his head during a heated Phillies-Dodgers playoff game. Victorino memorably gestured to his body after the pitch, essentially telling Kuroda to aim for his body rather than his head.

Victorino, 31, is batting .261 with nine homers, 24 steals and 40 RBI in 101 games this season with the Phillies. The switch-hitter is hitting .316 against left-handed pitching this season and is swinging a hot bat of late, having hit safely in five consecutive games and nine of his last 10 at a .378 clip (14-for-37) since July 18.

The two-time All-Star has a .277 career batting average with 88 home runs and 394 RBI in nine Major League seasons. In addition, the speedy Hawaii native has twice led the NL in triples and has been successful on 81.9% of his stolen base attempts with 186 steals in his career.

In the field, Victorino is a three-time Gold Glove Award winner and ranks 10th in the Majors with 54 outfield assists since 2006.

Lindblom, 25, has gone 2-2 with a 3.02 ERA in a team-leading 48 relief appearances this season. The Indiana native is in his second Major League season after being selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Purdue University.

Martin, 23, was the Dodgers’ first round selection (15th overall) in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft and is 8-6 with a 3.58 ERA in 20 starts this season with Double-A Chattanooga.

By Staff of The Daily Sports Herald and news services

No comments:

Post a Comment

We encourage all intelligent, passionate comments. Please refrain from any ignorant, racist, or offensive rants.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...