Miguel Montero almost traded for Andre Ethier

Rosenthal's article says, "Under the proposed trade, the Dodgers would have sent Ethier and catcher Tim Federowicz to the Diamondbacks for Montero and lower-level prospects, sources said. Ethier, 32, is owed $53.5 million over the next three seasons, plus a $2.5 million buyout. Montero, 31, is owed $40 million over the same term. The Dodgers would have included significant cash to help cover the difference, sources said; the exact amount is not known."

Well, that would somewhat fit the desire, mentioned yesterday by GM Dave Stewart:

#Dbacks will not move Trumbo, Stewart said. Still in market for left-handed power bat to hit in@middle of order, Stew added

— Jack Magruder (@JackMagruder) December 5, 2014

Ether is certainly a left-handed bat. However, it's probably a stretch to call him much of a power bat, considering that in 130 games last year, he hit exactly four home-runs - one every 95 plate-appearances. For comparison, Cliff Pennington hit one every 100.5 PAs. All told, Ethier had an OPS+ of 97, and was worth pretty much replacement level by bWAR, while earning $15.5 million. It really doesn't matter how much money the Dodgers sent along with him, at that level of performance. We'd be better off with David Peralta [one home-run ever 43.5 PA], as far as left-handed outfielders go. I'm really struggling to figure out quite how this one would have made sense for Arizona.

One of the weirder things is, negotiations didn't stop when Stewart suddenly sobered up. No, according to Rosenthal [emphasis added], "the deal collapsed when the D-Backs’ ownership declined to give final approval," and went on, "A revival of the discussions is unlikely, sources said. Montero is said to be a favorite of owner Ken Kendrick. The D-backs also might not want to deal within the NL West or with their former general manager, Josh Byrnes, who is now the Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations." Damn. If Kendrick was all that stood between us and this deal, it may be one of his best moves as an owner.

As Steve Gilbert points out, the apparent near-trade is in sharp contrast to what Stewart said, specifically in regard to trading Montero yesterday. "If I was motivated to move him, he’d probably be gone by now. Right now, I’m not motivated to do anything. Like I said, our ownership hasn’t told us that we have to move him. So for today, as far as I can tell you, he’s going to be a part of this team." This apparent discrepancy between Stewart's words and actions, strengthens my suspicions that Mark Trumbo is still being shopped, and Stewart's statements to the contrary are as much a marketing tactic as anything else.