After re-reading Buster Olney's Saturday morning blog post regarding the Braves trading starting pitcher Javier Vazquez, the following sentence relating to the Dodgers interest in Vazquez sparked an idea:
The Dodgers also have some payroll flexibility, and they have an extra outfielder, as the world knows. Juan Pierre hit .318 during Manny Ramirez's absence, but presumably, the Braves would prefer someone with a little more thump.
The last sentence in bold gave me a trade idea that would help both teams. Would the Braves trade Javier Vazquez to the Dodgers for Andre Ethier? I think it makes sense for both teams. Ethier is having another fine season with a .252 Avg, 15 HRs and 52 RBI. He could play either LF or RF in Atlanta and bat 5th or 6th in their lineup, providing the "thump" they so badly need.
The Dodgers could move Matt Kemp to RF and instill Juan Pierre as their leadoff hitter and CFer. I can't believe I just wrote that, actually. But, Vazquez provides the veteran starting pitcher the Dodgers would need if they want to reach the World Series this year. A rotation of Vazquez, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Clayton Kershaw and Randy Wolf would be tough to deal with in September and beyond.
Then again, if you are trading Andre Ethier, maybe you wait to see what other starting pitchers become available in the next few weeks.