The rumors have been flying all day on Saturday that the Los Angeles Dodgers are attempting to organize a trade with the Houston Astros that would bring veteran first baseman Carlos Lee. The Dodgers have been hurting for offense with Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier both on the shelf for unknown periods of time with injuries. The hope is that Lee would represent an uptick in run generation from incumbent first baseman James Loney.
The early indication is that the Dodgers have officially proposed a trade to Lee, who has a no-trade clause in his contract. He is debating whether to accept the deal that would send him to Los Angeles in exchange for a pitching prospect.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports that Lee expects to make his final decision by Sunday. Lee was 0-for-4 on Saturday in a game against the Chicago Cubs.
Before Saturday's game between the Dodgers and the New York Mets, Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly was discussing trades. Without mentioning Lee by name, Mattingly had this to say about potential trade targets:
"If they don't want to be here, I don't want them here. We'll try to improve our club any way we can. To us to get where we want to go, we have to get better."
On Sunday, the Dodgers might wind up with a new starting first baseman, or they might head back to the drawing board.
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