Randy Wolf to Dodgers?

This may turn out to be the steal of the off-season. Wolf has the stuff to be a staff ace and a lot of the historical stuff bodes well for him. To wit:

1. Pitchers are normally stronger coming off Tommy John surgery and the second season after the surgery is when you see that return to full strength (or better). Wolf had the surgery in 2005.

2. Baseball-refernce.com lists Brad Penny as the most similar pitcher to Wolf and Jason Schmidt as the most similar by age. If Wolf comes close to being as effective as either - then the deal is a bargain.

3. Speaking of age - Wolf is just 30 and should be in his prime.

With the signing of Wolf - the Dodgers would have one of the deepest rotations in baseball. They could trot out Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Wolf, Mark Hendrickson (who did have a bad second half with LA but I look for him to adjust this season) and either Brett Tomko or 23-year old Chad Billingsley. It is also very possible Greg Maddux will return to the fold.

I really like this signing by the Dodgers. I just wished the Red Sox had made the deal.