Report: Dodgers nearly traded Andre Ethier to Arizona Diamondbacks

If not for the objections of the Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick, the Dodgers would have traded Andre Ethier for catcher Miguel Montero, according to FoxSports.com.

The Dodgers would have sent Ethier, backup catcher Tim Federowicz and cash to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Montero and lower-level prospects, FoxSports.com reported. However, the deal failed to receive the blessing of Kendrick, who might best known in these parts for an incident in which he told Dodgers fans seated behind home plate at Chase Field to change their clothes or their seats.

The division rivals would have essentially been trading undesirable contracts.

Ethier, who was relegated to a bench role this year, is owed $56 million over the next three years. Montero is guaranteed $40 million over the same period.

For Ethier, the move would have marked a homecoming. He grew up in the Phoenix area and played at Arizona State.

Ethier recently said he informed the Dodgers he wants to play every day – whether it’s with them or someone else.

Montero would have presumably become the Dodgers primary catcher. His OPS+ has decreased dramatically in recent seasons, from 121 in 2011 and 123 in 2012 to 83 in 2013 and 95 this year.

Montero was a central figure in the violent brawl between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in 2013.