Re: The Diminishing Marginal Utility of 6 Quality Outfielders

I Don't even know who to address this to...

Dear Mr. Magic Johnson:

Firstly, let me thank you on behalf of Dodger fans everywhere for your commitment to success, which has been apparent since you took ownership of the team following the McCourt fiasco. We appreciate all of the work you have done to put our Dodgers in a position to win the division.

However, from an athletic and economic standpoint, there are pressing roster concerns that must be addressed. Put simply: Our payroll is too high and our win production is too low.

After thorough analysis, I discovered the root of this problem:

We have SIX outfielders who can play a full time Major League Role-- FIVE of which are current or former all-stars, and one who I believe has the potential to be, given a full time role.

As you probably know, there are only three starting outfield positions on a baseball diamond. This is what we in the biz call diminishing marginal utility. The value of talented outfielders drops off significantly at the 4th outfielder, given that this player will most likely sit on the bench and take the space of, I don't know, say a capable middle reliever, or a budding prospect.  I will go through each commodity, one by one, in order to determine the value of each player.

Yasiel Puig- Bullish, budding superstar. Young. Marketable. 5-tool star. MVP potential.
Retain at all costs.

You keep a guy like this.

Matt Kemp- Elite centerfielder in his prime. MVP Potential. 5-tool star.
Andre Ethier- Dodger fan favorite. perennial .270 with a penchant to come through in the clutch.
Carl Crawford- former all star. Aging, but clearly capable of a starting role in the major leagues.
Scott Van Slyke - Polished hitter. has performed exceptionally when called upon.
All-Star potential.
Chone Figgins - All-star in 2009. a get-on-base guy with wheels. OBP of .450 as of May 22.


My expert advice: Move an outfielder.

"For who?" you may ask.

A reliable reliever. We don't have one yet, as I mentioned in a previous blog post.


My recommendation: put Ethier and Crawford on the block. There are definitely a few teams that could use some depth in the outfield. A team that comes to mind is the Texas Rangers, who have just been destroyed by injuries.

If you really want to be aggressive, I wouldn't even be opposed to dangling Matt Kemp on the block. If the price is right, the price is right.

As far as I'm concerned, any attempt to move one of our five talented outfielders on this roster is a step in the right direction.

Anything else is just bad business.

Speak with you soon, Earvin.

Best,

Mike Annunziato
michael.annunziato@eagles.cui.edu
@mannunz