SAN DIEGO, Calif -- Unable to count on Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers acquired left fielder Scott Podsednik on Wednesday from the Royals for Triple-A catcher Lucas May and Single-A pitcher Elisaul Pimentel.Podsednik likely will be in the Los Angeles lineup Thursday, when the third-place Dodgers face the first-place Padres in San Diego.
"He's a good player who knows how to win and can help us to win in a lot of different ways," said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, whose club entered Wednesday five games out of first place.
Podsednik, 34, was a starter for the White Sox when they won the World Series in 2005. A left-handed hitter who runs well, he is batting .309 with a .352 on-base percentage and has 30 stolen bases in 42 attempts. He has hit five homers.
The uncertainty about when Ramirez, 38, will recover from leg injuries, which put him on the disabled list alongside reserve outfielder Reed Johnson, spurred Colletti to get Podsednik before Saturday's trade deadline. Ramirez, batting .317 with eight home runs, has been on the DL for 36 games this year.
"It's tough to tell whether they're going to be back, or whether [Ramirez] is going to miss the rest of the season," the GM said.
May, 25, was hitting .285 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs, playing most of the season at Triple-A Albuquerque. Pimentel, 22, was 9-3 with a 3.49 for Single-A Great Lakes.
Colletti praised both May and Pimentel, saying May is a "great kid who loves to play" and saying the Dodgers were "somewhat high on Pimentel."
Although it's clear that the Dodgers preferred to go with Podsedknik instead of the left fielder who'd been pressed into duty, rookie Xavier Paul, who has batted .252 in 39 games without a home run, Colletti said Paul's presence on the team post-trade is proof that "we have a lot of faith in him."
Colletti told FanHouse in June that pitching was first on the team's shopping list, and he said Wednesday that trade talks will continue up to the July 31 trade deadline and perhaps through August, when players can be acquired after clearing waivers.
He said it's "tough to tell" whether he'll trade for pitching.
The Giants, who are second in the NL West, also had interest in trading for Podsednik, sources told FanHouse, leading up to the deal.
