By Alan Matthews
July 14, 2003

After dropping back in the National League playoff race thanks to their weak offense, the Dodgers added a much-needed bat on Monday. Los Angeles picked up Jeromy Burnitz from the Mets in exchange for three minor leaguers: second baseman Victor Diaz and righthanders Joselo Diaz (no relation) and Kole Strayhorn.

Because he was traded, Burnitz gets a $500,000 bonus that will be paid for by New York. The Mets also will pick up more than half of his remaining salary for 2003. Burnitz is making $11.5 million this season, after which he'll become a free agent.

Burnitz is having a far better season than anyone in a Dodgers lineup that is averaging just 3.53 runs per game, the second-worst mark in the game. Bouncing back from an atrocious 2002 in which he batted .219-19-54, Burnitz is hitting .274-18-45 in 65 games. His slugging percentage is at .581, which would be a career high and dwarfs that of Los Angeles' leader, Paul LoDuca (.438). Burnitz missed a month earlier in the year after Billy Wagner hit him with a pitch and broke a bone in his left hand. A solid defender with a strong arm, he should take over in left field for Brian Jordan, who had season-ending knee surgery last week. Burnitz has hit .253-225-703 with a .355 on-base percentage and .488 slugging percentage in 1,212 big league games.

As opposed to his July trades for Paul Shuey and Tyler Houston a year ago, Dodgers GM Dan Evans didn't fork over any premium prospects this time. However, the Diazes and Strayhorn do possess promise.

The best of the trio is Victor Diaz, who claimed batting crowns in each of his first two pro seasons and was named MVP of the Double-A Southern League all-star game last week. A 37th-round pick in 2000 who signed as a draft-and-follow a year later out of Grayson County (Texas) CC, the 21-year-old Diaz has an innate ability to hit pitches anywhere in the strike zone and, at times, well out of the zone too. He has a quick stroke with remarkable hands and excellent eye-hand coordination. He was hitting.291-10-54 with a .462 slugging percentage in 85 games at Jacksonville. Diaz isn't a good defender, and an attempt to move him to third base last year didn't work.

Joselo Diaz and Strayhorn project as relievers. Diaz, a 23-year-old formerly known as Jose Diaz and Joselo Soriano, signed out of the Dominican Republic as a catcher in 1996 and didn't become a full-time pitcher until 2002. He hit just .195-15-88 in 212 games, but he also turned in home-to-second throwing times as low as 1.75 seconds. Diaz touched 98 mph last year, but had no command of his pitches unless he toned down his velocity and even then struggled to throw strikes. This year he's showing a better feel for his splitter and regularly has thrown in the mid-90s. In 20 games (11 starts) between high Class A Vero Beach and Jacksonville, he went 6-3, 3.12 with a 76-51 strikeout-walk ratio and .181 opponent average in 69 innings.

Strayhorn, 20, was a 2001 fourth-round pick from an Oklahoma high school. He suffered through a dead-arm period last season and spent significant time on the disabled list with arm trouble while topping out in upper 80s. He has rebounded this year at Vero Beach, going 5-2, 2.93 in 30 relief appearances. In 46 innings, he had a 44-13 K-BB ratio and opponents batted .236 against him. Strayhorn was regularly throwing in the mid-90s, though his maximum-effort delivery is a concern.