Andre Ethier: Fodder for Thought

Even a rational Red Sox fan has his white whale. Listen, over the past few months I have given up my personal pipe dream of a Hanley Ramirez reunion with the Red Sox and in his place I have developed a strong liking for Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder, Andre Ethier.

Here's the kicker though - as much as I acknowledge the fact that Ramirez was never coming back to Boston, there lives a strong possibility that Ethier could come to Boston for the right circumstances. Let's just get a couple of things out of the way, first being that he has publicly stated he would love to end his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks playing with Dustin Pedroia. They played together at Arizona State University and are friends. It is a nice gesture.

Secondly, over the summer Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman wrote an article on Ethier and his displeasure with the Dodgers, stating that he (Ethier) had "Boston in his mind."

This reminds me a lot of the whole Jarred Saltalamacchia thing back when he was with Texas. There were trade rumors that Boston was interested and Salty went on record stating he would love to play here. Fast forward three years and we finally landed him.

The stars could potentially be lining up for an Ethier-to-Boston type of move. Frank McCourt has agreed to sell the Dodgers. This could actually hurt the potential of Ethier coming to Boston. His displeasure with the team stemmed directly back to ownership. However, the Dodgers have taken measures to have suitable replacements for their right fielder (Juan Riveira, Jerry Sands, Tony Gwynn Jr. to name a few.)

There has been rumblings that the team has been looking to move on from James Loney as well, their first baseman. Depending on what the Dodgers view as needs, the Red Sox do have several options they could offer up for Ethier to make a deal work. In my quick glance at the team, the Dodgers have needs in the middle infield as well as possibly the outfield. This could, COULD be a scenario where the Red Sox could base a package around a Jed Lowrie/Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick deal. The Dodgers ownership might be looking to cut back on some spending while beefing up their offense. A move based in that foundation could be the start of a legitimate trade conversation.

However, on the flip side, the new Dodgers ownership might want to come in with guns blazing. For example, if Mark Cuban buys the team, he could address the needs by adding Pujols, Reyes and C.J. Wilson for the fun of it.

As I stated before, this could be just another pipe dream of mine, but it looks like there is a basis for a conversation to be had. For those unaware - Ethier is only 29. He hits in the .300 range consistently, can average 80 RBI's and 20 home runs and has a career OPS of .843; in other words, he's just the type of player the Red Sox like in right.