Mar

PRO Rumors: Manny, Ethier, Kemp, Belliard and Aroldis Chapman

By Ryan

Here are a few PRO Rumors stories to check out:

Move over Manny Ramirez as you are no longer the face of the Dodgers. The new face(s) of the team……. Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. A shipment of the Dodgers’ 2010 media guides was delivered to Camelback Ranch and on the cover of the 472-page book: Ethier and Kemp. According to Dodger officials, the honor was given to Kemp and Ethier to commemorate the Silver Slugger awards they won last season. But don’t worry Dodger fans Mannywood seating will still be in effect and you can still wear your famous dreadlocks to the game and not be looked at weirdly.
Dylan Hernandez of Los Angeles Times reported (via twitter) that Ronnie Belliard has in fact not reached the necessary weight of 209 pounds that he needs to reach to make his contract guaranteed. Belliard has to reach the set weight (209) at any point during spring training. When Belliard showed up to camp, he estimated his weight at “210 or 211.”
According to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com Dusty Baker is doing his best to bring Aroldis Chapman along slowly but can he keep Chapman in the minors at the start of the season? Chapman has been very impressive, though one has to remember it is only spring training. Chapman continues to work hard and is also very tough on himself. When Chapman was asked about his performance today he said, “I was not finishing up my pitches very well with the slider,” Chapman said. “That’s why I was not happy with it.” This is coming from the pitcher who made the heart of the Dodger lineup look silly as he got Andre Ethier to foul out, Matt Kemp struck out swinging as he saw a 100 MPH fastball then a 90 MPH change up. Lastly he got Casey Blake swinging. After 6 years, the Reds will probably be arrested for robbery as they are paying Chapman around $5 million a year. A safe bet would be Chapman’s next contract will probably be at least triple the dollar amount of his contract now.