Making Moves: McGwire Hitting Coach, Ryu Rights Won, Silverio Outrighted, 23 MILB FA

The Dodgers officially announced the hiring of Mark McGwire as hitting coach, replacing Dave Hansen. McGwire spent the past three years with the Cardinals as their hitting coach. Under his tutelage, the Cards offense was top-five in OBP in each of his seasons at the offensive helm, leading all of baseball last year. McGwire has stated that his philosophy includes not forcing change upon established sluggers, so Matt Kemp will be allowed to be himself. Hopefully McGwire can rub off on some of the lesser bats in the lineup while aiding Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez in regaining some of their previous offensive clout. The willingness McGwire displayed as a player for drawing a walk could also be a great starting point for most of the team, as that aspect of the game can never be emphasized enough. —– As Chad noted yesterday, the Dodgers won the rights to Korean southpaw Hyun Jin Ryu, according to Mike Petriello. The Dodgers are spending money like they have a printing press hidden away in Ned Colletti‘s suite, and this seems like just another example. —– The club has outrighted Alfredo Silverio to AAA Albuquerque, opening up a spot on the 40-man roster. Silverio missed the entire 2012 season while dealing with multiple injuries suffered in a car crash. —– 23 minor-leaguers, most notably Ramon Troncoso and Josh Fields, became free agents earlier this week. If Troncoso were to return, it would just be as AAA roster filler, as the Dodgers possess a plethora of bullpen arms and Ramon has been mediocre at best recently. Fields is your typical AAAA player, and he could be a back of the bench player with some pop, though considering that he didn’t see The Show in 2012, he’s not all that likely to see it in 2013 with the Dodgers. ===== Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.