No-maaaaahhhhh signs another one-year deal, this one with the Dodgers. The Dodgers’ infield situation is now something of a jumble, featuring Jeff Kent (2B/3B), Nomar (SS/UT), Rafael Furcal (SS/2b?), Bill Mueller (3B/1B?), Oscar Robles (3B), Cesar Izturis (SS), with Hee Seop Choi and Olmedo Saenz apparently platooning at first. Presumably, the addition of both Furcal and Nomar signals the Dodgers’ lack of faith that Izturis will return at all in 2006 from Tommy John surgery. Which is wise; Izturis is at best adequate and at worst horrific with the bat, so it’s prudent to make sure he doesn’t rush back from surgery and damage his ability to make a full recovery as a defensive player, which is his primary asset.
You could argue, I suppose, that given the age and injury history of Kent, Nomar and Mueller, it just makes sense (budget be damned) to have all three of them around and just play whoever is available (especially as insurance if Furcal gets hurt). But if I were Derek Lowe, I’d be heading for the hills; this is not going to be a pretty defensive lineup.
As for Nomar, I fear he’s skipped the “Fred Lynn in Anaheim” stage of his career and fast forwarded directly to the “Fred Lynn in Baltimore” stage. Ask Juan Gonzalez what happens to guys who keep needing to sign one-year deals because their health never holds up, to say nothing of the difficulty of putting up Nomar-style numbers at Dodger Stadium. Still, it should be fun to see if he can pull out a second act.