The Dodgers have decided to shift Nomar Garciaparra from 1B to 3B to open up a position for the hot-hitting James Loney.  Loney has played in 10 games so far this season for the Dodgers and he’s 12 for 28 (.429 avg, 1.269 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs.  The Dodgers are hoping that this jumpstarts their offense that has been slumping lately.  It’s also possible that the Dodgers may have made this move to showcase Loney as trade bait.  Garciaparra will be replacing Wilson Betemit who will move into a utility role.  Betemit has played in 61 games this season and he’s only 23 for 120 (.192 avg, .737 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 7 homers and 19 RBIs.  The Dodgers will likely send rookie Tony Abreu back to the minors so that he can play every day.  Abreu has played in 29 games this season for the Dodgers and he is 25 for 93 (.269 avg, .683 OPS) with 11 runs scored and 7 RBIs.

It’s a shame that Yhency Brazoban will miss the rest of the season after fighting back from injuries to get back to the majors.  He had surgery to repair a torn right labrum last Friday.  Brazoban has pitched in 4 games for the Dodgers this season and it covered only 1.2 innings in which he allowed 3 hits, 3 earned runs, walked 3 batters and whiffed 5. 

Jason Schmidt is done for the season after having surgery yesterday to repair a torn labrum, inflamed bursa and a frayed biceps tendon in his right shoulder.  It’s questionable as to whether Schmidt will be able to regain the ability that the Dodgers paid for when they signed him to a 3-year, $47 million dollar contract prior to this season.

The Dodgers have designated outfielder Brady Clark for assignment.  Clark deserved to go based on his play on the field.  In 47 games, Clark was 13 for 58 (.224, .601 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  The Dodgers have 10 days to trade or release Clark.  In they release Clark he should have no problem getting a new job as he has a career .277 batting average.

It’s possible that Nomar Garciaparra is having problems with his wrist again.  Nomar is having a awful season with the bat in his hands so far this season.  Garciaparra has played in 67 games so far this season and he’s only hitting .279 with a .662 OPS.  That is not an acceptable OPS for a starting first baseman in the major leagues as most 1B have an OPS of over .750.  He isn’t producing runs either as he’s only scored 17 runs, cracked only 1 homer and has 37 RBIs.  Top prospect James Loney is now with the Dodgers and he could start stealing some of Garciaparra’s at bats unless he starts to play better soon.