While everyone wants the Los Angeles Dodgers to make a splash trade, the old adage is that to get something; you must give up something.
Therefore, it’s nice to see one MLB.com prospects writer singing the praises of the Dodgers’ prospects in the minor leagues. Our friend Mike Rosenbaum writes that the Dodgers are one of the top-10 teams in baseball with prospects to trade. Now let’s take a look at what he has to say about the farm system and its holdings.
With the Winter Meetings just around the corner, here's a look at 10 #MLB teams that have the prospects to pull off a blockbuster trade and bolster their chances in 2020: https://t.co/SlSkhKBz4C pic.twitter.com/fGhD1L7Yq0
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) December 4, 2019
Notably, Rosenbaum says the Dodgers’ have a number of directions they can go while piecing together a few trade possibilities. While he doesn’t see Gavin Lux being dealt, he mentions the key returns the Dodgers received from the Yasiel Puig trade last winter.
While the Dodgers have one of the better hitter-pitcher prospect pairings in Lux and right-hander Dustin May (No. 32 overall), it’s a safe bet that neither player will be made available in offseason trade talks. The rise of rookie catcher Will Smith has opened the door for the Dodgers to trade Keibert Ruiz (No. 33) — another prospect the club opted not to deal ahead of the 2019 Trade Deadline — and there should be plenty of interest in the young switch-hitter, just as there was during the regular season. The two prospects (Jeter Downs, Josiah Gray) that L.A. acquired from the Reds in last offseason’s Yasiel Puig-led trade emerged as Top 100 prospects in 2019 and could once again be dangled as bait in the right deal, while players such as DJ Peters and Omar Estevez, upper-level hitters who lack a clear path to playing time in the Majors, could be packaged into a larger deal.
Obviously, if the Dodgers are going to go out and acquire a wishlist item or two that isn’t a free agent, they will have to part ways with someone mentioned above. Indeed – it’s nice to know the Dodgers have either a nice grouping of prospects to go get a great current player – or a window that should extend longer for the current core when some of these players become big leaguers in their own right.
NEXT: How Would a Mookie Betts Trade Work for Both Teams?
