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All signs point to the Dodgers being close to acquiring Boston's slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzales, the former Padre. If the talk among the baseball writers is accurate, and it sure seems to be, it would be a huge deal bringing several highly paid Red Sox to Los Angeles in exchange for young Dodgers pitcher Rubby De La Rosa (who has already endured one Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow), young hitters Jerry Sands and Ivan DeJesus, and the completely expendable James Loney.
The Dodgers need an everyday slugger like Gonzales much more than they need a pitching prospect like De La Rosa, so on that front it's good. Though Dodger Thoughts blogger Jon Weisman is worried De La Rosa could turn into another Pedro Martinez. Perhaps greater pain will be felt if the Dodgers have to include one of their top pitching prospects in minors. They don't really have any top hitting prospects down there.
For procedural reasons, De La Rosa was sent to the minors today — a move that will allow him to be traded. Also on the procedural side, the Dodgers have won waiver claims to Gonzalez and pitcher Josh Beckett, steps that are necessary in order to acquire them via trade at this time of the season.
ESPN.com's Boston reporter Gordon Edes, the former LA TImes sports scribe, cautions on Twitter that the deal is not done despite the scratches. Medical clearances and other signoffs remain, he writes.
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