By Jim Callis
December 13, 2003

Looking to upgrade baseball's worst offense from 2003, the Dodgers picked up Juan Encarnacion from the Marlins for a player to be named later on Saturday. Florida isn't expect to receive more than a fringe prospect, as its primary aim was to avoid going to arbitration with Encarnacion.

The Marlins didn't want to face arbitration with Encarnacion, who made $3.45 million in 2003 and could have gotten a $2 million raise. They'll give his right-field job to überprospect Miguel Cabrera. Los Angeles, which reportedly offered Encarnacion a two-year, $8 million contract, will play him in left field. One caveat for Dodgers: While Encarnacion will be one of their best hitters and is coming off a .270/.313/.446 season with 19 homers and a career-high 94 RBIs in 156 games, he offers below-average power and on-base skills for a corner outfielder. He runs well, making him a threat on the bases (19 steals in 2003) and giving him good range in the outfield, where he also shows a plus arm. He's a career .270/.313/.445 hitter with 96 homers, 403 RBIs and 108 steals in 752 games.

December 15 update: On the same day that the Dodgers signed Encarnacion to a two-year contract, they also finished the trade by shipping outfielder Travis Ezi to the Marlins. Ezi, 22, signed as a 12th-round pick out of a Baltimore high school in 2000. He's one of the fastest players in the minors but thus far has offered little more than pure speed. He doesn't make enough contact or get on base enough to take advantage of his wheels, and he's not very instinctive on the bases or in center field. He hit .259/.314/.346 with seven homers and 42 RBIs in 120 games at South Georgia in 2003, his second crack at low Class A. He fanned 136 times and drew 33 walks, matching his number of steals in 47 attempts.