Andre Ethier wants to play and the Los Angeles Dodgers are not giving him the opportunity to do that on a full-time basis. The veteran outfielder is on a crowded roster group and if no trades are made before next season, Ethier will be in the same situation yet again. The Dodgers clearly do not favor him as a starter and after Ethier hinted at a potential move, he is now having to go on the defense about the recent trade rumors.
Ethier continued to be the odd man out during the 2014 season. The outfielder was stuck in a rotation with Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, Scott Van Slyke and Joc Pederson. Puig is an every day starter for the team and Pederson is slowly increasing his value while Crawford can take care of the center. After Ethier told the media that he simply wants to be on a team that will play him every day, the outfielder denied it was a paly-me-or-trade-me ultimatum.
"I'm not there saying that yet because there's still a lot of things to hash out and get going with this team," Ethier said, via the LA Times. "It's one where I said through my agent, I want to play every day, and that's what I'm expecting to do this year. It's their decision to make from there what they want to do with that. Whether to play here every day or play somewhere else. It was fun trying to win the way we did last year, but it didn't prove any more successful than me playing every day or not playing every day. I'd rather play every day and help this team win -- or whatever team it is -- to the best of my ability. I feel I can, if given a role. "
Right now, there are no teams lining up with interest in Ethier. The outfielder is 32 with a contract that pays him $56 million through the 2017 season. He is coming off a season where he had a career low slugging percentage and hit just .249. Those are not the most appealing numbers for a team to take on. The Dodgers have been active in looking for suitors for Kemp, but it appears Ethier is destined to remain in Los Angeles.
Kemp is one of the biggest names floating around the Winter Meetings. If the Dodgers cannot trade him in the coming week, they likely will not be trading him at all this season. The Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres have all shown interest in the outfielder while Crawford has fallen in the eye sight of the Chicago Cubs.